NETS Chart

This is a snapshot of my groups NETS chart. Our group worked very well together to make the project go smoothly. We looked at each standard and matched our class assignments to the standard it correlated with. We found that with all of our assignments we have met every standard in the class. It was interesting to see how the assignments match the standards. It is a great thing to do even in our own classrooms. It makes you aware of what you may be missing and what needs to be done. I know some schools have the teacher write the standard on the board for each lesson they are teaching. It is not a bad idea because it allows the teacher and the student to be aware of the objectives of the lesson. An administrator once said write an objective and standard for each lesson to know you are not teaching a lesson that is unnecessary!! I always follow that advice when I teach.

Trying to keep up!!

We are in the last couple weeks of class and I am trying to keep up!! I can't believe how fast this semester has gone. I have not blogged as much as I would have liked to but I felt very overwhelmed. Aside from this class I have had a challenging year at work!! With all the assignments in this class I feel like I am missing something. I hope I can get it all done!

Authentic Assessment

Reading the authentic assessment toolkit and watching the video of authentic assessment in action provided me with great information and a better understanding of how to implement authentic assessment. Authentic assessment is having students perform real world tasks. The work they do should be related to thier real life. It is a shift from the traditional paper and pencil task to performance based assessments. The shift is so important because handing out a test to a student only tests thier academic ability and we need to start testing thier ability to apply the knowledge they learn. It is essential for them to be able to use the knowledge they have learned in the real world. I love the example they use in the article. If you were to teach someone how to play golf you woudn't test thier skill by giving them a paper and pencil test, instead you would have them play golf. I also enjoyed the video where the students actually built the object from history that they were learning about. Some examples of authentic assessment are portfolios, blogs, rubrics, e-folios, etc. Authentic Assessment is grading several real world tasks performed by students and not just one product.
The articles and videos on authentic assessmemt have provided me with examples and information to help me use this in my classroom. I need to start using authentic assessment in my classroom. Sometimes I find this hard to do with all subjects but I am going to do my best to make it work.

Digital Storytelling!

This was my first digital story and it went better then I thought. I used Photo Story to make the story. It was user friendly and easy to navigate through. The only problem I had was recording my voice. It sounded low and I tried it several times but it didn't come out as well as I would have liked.
I did my digital story on parts of speech. I choose that topic so I could use it in my classroom. It is a different way to get the information across and it really captures the studens attention. I plan on making several more digital stories for my classroom!!

Engrade

I created my first online gradebook using engrade software. This online website is free. I actually was unsure of using an online gradebook because I am so used to my gradebook I write in and my method of grading. Also, I teach third grade so I do not have to be as concered with a number grade as middle school and high school teachers are. We don't have to put number grades on the report card. We have a scale that has to do with how the students are completing their work. For example, they get a 1 if they need constant assistance to complete their work and they receive a 4 if they exceed expectations. However, I found the online gradebook to be a useful tool. I liked how you were able to put in the grade scale and the computer figures out the scores for you. Honestly I liked all the features on the website. There was nothing that I didn't like or would change. I thought it was a great idea to include a place to post a comment. It is always nice for students and parents to see how they are doing.
I found this to a useful tool that I would use in the classroom. I think parents would love this. They would be able to check their childrens grades, attendance and even what is going on in the classroom! Most parents in my district love to be involved so this would be great for them. This is also a great way to communicate with the parents throughout the semester about the studens grades. When the time comes for the report card to go home the parents will not be shocked if the students aren't doing well because they would have been able to check on the website.
One more thing I liked about the website was that it had a calender where teachers could list events or tests coming up! This is great for communicating and keeping parents in touch with what is going on in the classroom.

Another way to use Excel!

I found yet another use for excel. What a great idea to create a crossword puzzle. It ended up being easier then I thought. The directions were very explicit and following them I was able to create a crossword puzzle. It is a great tool! I plan to use this in my classroom as a review. I plan on using this tool again and I may have the students give me the questions to include in the puzzle and I will make it for them.

Inspiration is an aweosme tool!

For the mind mapping activity I chose to use Inspiration. It is a program that has to be purchased but it allows you to download a 30 day trial. It was easy to navigatge through and I loved the features it offered. It even had mind maps already created that I could use in my classroom. The topic I choose for my mind map was making a family tree. I choose this because in our Social Studies curriculum we have the students create family trees and I think this is a great tool to use. In our school we have kidspiration, which is also a great resource.
After using Inspiration in this class I saw it advertised in the Scholastic Book Order. I have not ordered it yet but I am going to buy it with my scholastic bonus points now that I have used it in this class!
The most important thing I learned from this assignment was how easy it was to create a visually friendly mind map. This is a great tool to have when teaching a new concept.This is a great resource!

Implementing the Standards

2007 National Educational Technology Standards for Students :

1. Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

3. Research and Information Fluency
Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

5. Digital Citizenship
Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

6. Technology Operations and Concepts
Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.

All of the standards are being met in this online class, however I do not think that all the standards are implemented a lot of classrooms. I would say Standards 2, 3, 5 and 6 are mostly implemented in the classroom setting. Students are definitely familiar with different technology resources and systems. From what I have seen computers in schools are mostly used for researching information and gaming. I feel I am ready to implement most of these standards into my classroom. The only standards I need to become more comfortable with are standards 1 and 4. I do have a Smartboard in my room but that is more for whole class or small group instruction. I would like to allow students to be able to use creative and critical thinking skills to create and manage projects. We do have a computer lab that I am going to start taking advantage of so students can use programs such as Voice Thread to do thier projects. I hope to learn more and slowly implement what I learn into the classroom!!

An Ever Changing World!

After watching all of the videos and researching the difference between Web 1.0 and 2.0 I see just how far technology has come and it is continuing to change! I was not really familiar with what Web 1.0 was so I did some research. From what I found Web 2.0 is more technology intergreation rather than just using the computer for research or typing. Web 2.0 offers so much more, which we need in this ever changing world. It can be overwhelming looking at all of the new technologies. I am trying to do a little at a time so I can learn it better and then introduce it into my classroom!

I was amazed by the video Shift Happens! I was telling my family all about the statistics. I can't believe that Nintendo spent more on research then we did on education!! I also found it fascinating that China will soon be the #1 English speaking country. It was all shocking information but when you step back and think about it the world is changing so much. We are teaching and preparing kids for jobs that don't even exist! I just hope I can keep up with all the new technology.

Schools Killing Creativity!

I really enjoyed watching the video from TED: Ken Robinson- Do Schools Kill Creativity? I was so interested because I felt everything he was saying was absolutely correct. First of all schools are so hung up on academics that they don't pay attention to the students creativity.In his presentation Ken said that we are experiencing academic inflation and degrees aren't worth anything anymore. I completely agree with this statement and have seen it happening to many of my friends. They come out with a business degree and have no idea where to even start looking and when they do they can't find anything! It is sad to think that a bachelors degree is not enought now. We are so centered on academics that we are missing the whole person.I have seen this in my own family. My brother is so great with cars and loves to work on them, yet everyone gave him a hard time and told him he couldn't just go to a 2 year college for that. He had to at least get a 4 year degree because you will not get anywhere without it. Well he did what he wanted to do and got his 2 year degree in mechanics and is happy and awesome at what he does!! Everyone is so hung up on education and a piece of paper or now 2 pieces of paper. The schools are squashing creativity and telling the students to worry about thier academics. As Ken said, "creativity is as important as literacy," and we need to rethink our principles of teaching. As a side note I did also fully agree with the statement that women are better at multi-tasking!! This is very true in my household! Well I hope we can begin to support all of our students differences, whether they excel academically or excel creatively.