6 - Wiki

Jefferson Middle School in San Gabriel, CA includes 'class pages' on their school's website. Sticking with my subject of interest, I chose the 8th grade Honors History class. The class page contains the teacher's contact information and links to history resources. The supply list for the 2015-16 school year is also still available for parents to see. The 'Announcements' section may contain more information for students and parents, but not much is shown without logging in to the school's site. These specific class sites would be very useful for updates throughout the year, similar to the blackboard sites we use at FSU.

When it comes to teacher productivity and efficiency, both the podcast and the textbook reference word processing and spreadsheets as useful tools. A suite like Microsoft Office is very useful because of the different applications included. Chapter 7 of the text lists organization and the use of formulas as two descriptors of electronic spreadsheets. I plan to use spreadsheets to further analyze test scores and averages. The data displayed on the spreadsheets should give me a quick and organized idea of median grades and associated trends. I can use this information to adjust my teaching methods as needed. The other applications, like word processing, can then be used to change lesson plans or to take notes on my observations. As the podcast states, having these digital tools allows for teachers to easily share data and compare their findings.

I learned a lot from the wiki assignment this week. The software on the website was new to me and learning the shortcuts and techniques took some time. However, after understanding the concepts and embracing the link functions, I was able to assemble the wiki with my group members and utilize our newly made Website Evaluation Form. While the site we used may not be the most user friendly application, the group was able to work together because of the 'share' feature. With more practice we may have been able to improve the aesthetics of the wiki. I can see how designing a wiki for my future class(es) could be useful for sharing information and links.

5 - Web 2.0 and Concept Map

Podcast: class blog, diigo - share resources and comment online similar to a discussion board, twitter

Find a 2.0 tool and post a link. Don't use something that we have used in class.

I learned a lot during the concept mapping assignment because I had never created nor used a concept map in the past. At first, I was frustrated because I was new to the software. I became more familiar with the options on the mapping website as the week went on and I believe I ended up with a good product. Concept mapping can be a useful tool for my students and me in the future. I may choose to create such maps for study guides just like the assignment described. The maps are useful for seeing the main ideas and connecting certain concepts.

I have had experience with collaborating online before. Instant messaging or shared documents can be a great way to work together on an assignment or project. I have even used a type of conference software that allows all of the participants to talk out loud to each other while collaborating on a product. These tools can be useful for students during group assignments like what we experience in this class.

Let me know what you think of our map!

4 - Hunting the Web

The resource that I chose for my imaginary students falls under the classification of Educational Games. While teaching social studies, I would like to incorporate both adventure games as well as educational arcade games. The link I'm providing today is for an arcade game. The game consists of a puzzle in which students will need to place states and capitals in the correct location on the map. This type of activity will help students visualize the proper locations and should increase motivation toward the subject. As our text implies, the game may seem like a type of reward for the students, but will continue to support the learning objective.

The state alignment game can be found at http://yourchildlearns.com/mappuzzle/us-puzzle.html. This puzzle and other educational games would help students with the social studies standard in 5th Grade. This full standard is "SS.5.G.1.6 Locate and identify states, capitals, and United States Territories on a map." Again, Chapter 8 in our text lists the educational games as a useful resource in the classroom.

Before listening to this week's podcast, I suppose a used a version of the ABCDT technique without knowing it. I am always cognizant of certain site details like the domain type. I have always found that .gov and .org sites are usually trustworthy and informative. Other information sites may have suspicious content or unfriendly designs. I have always based my resource selection on the structure and content of the sites that I search. In the future, I will pay more attention to any bias or perspective in the information that I use.

Lastly, I did learn a few things while completing the Web Hunt assignment. I had never used Google Scholar before and I found the resource to be very useful for published articles and papers. I also got some insight as to how many teaching aids there are on the web. It is nice to know that a simple Google search can return a long list of resources that teachers can use in their classrooms. I will be researching some of the online resources, such as graphic generators and videos, as I write my future lesson plans.

Now I have a couple of web hunting challenges for you...

1. You are teaching your students about the European explorers and their experiences in the "New World". Can you find an online game or trivia activity on the subject?

2. You're discussing the creation of different national flags. You ask your students to list ten different countries that have three stripes on their nation's flag. What website can the students use to see a list of countries with their associated flag?



 

3 - Teaching Tech and Newsletter

When I am a teacher in the future, I'd like to incorporate many of the technology resources found in Ch. 9 of our text. I would like to teach high school level and above, so I expect my digital native students to already have a basic understanding of the web and common software applications. Students and parents will be able to email me for any questions or concerns. I may also want my students to post entries online in a blog or discussion board. I'll need to reinforce digital citizenship standards in order to ensure that the students use the resources correctly. Concepts such as citing work, professional and encouraging posts to other students, and avoiding plagiarism will all be constantly held in high regard. Applications and online resources are always evolving and it will be interesting to see what is available as my career progresses. 

ELA technology standards include online resources and presentation tools. I feel comfortable in teaching students about online discussion boards and online interaction. I’ve used these resources in the past and I believe that I can teach my students about their proper uses. However, I need to investigate other resources further before sharing them with my students. There are websites and applications, like Prezi, that I am not as familiar with. I wouldn’t be able to teach the options and opportunities with such online tools because I am not well practiced with them myself. 

The ELA Standard "RHST.7 Multimedia: History/Social Studies" is the standard that I would feel most comfortable teaching. I would be confident in using videos, maps, and online resources to further emphasize certain aspects of my History class. The specific standard that I would struggle with the most would be W/WHST.2 “Write to explain/inform”. I am not familiar with teaching students to write and get their own ideas across to an audience. I would need to practice my writing instruction techniques.

Lastly, I'm not going to lie -- I didn't enjoy the newsletter assignment on Word. As I was completing the assignment, I kept thinking about how much easier it is to arrange things on Powerpoint and other applications. I did, however, learn more about changing columns on Word. I learned that I can go back and forth and change the number of columns throughout the document with the "more columns" feature and the associated options window. Despite my hesitations, I think everything worked out with my newsletter… Even if it’s not quite “Best in Show” quality.