LEC 3.3 Reflection: Using Web 2.0 Tools

Reflect upon what an activity in your classroom might look like using one or more of these Web 2.0 tools. Think about:

• what the experience looks like for students.
• types of outcomes students might have.
• how the outcome is tied to curriculum objectives.
• what Web 2.0 tools are aligned to the outcomes and lead to higher order thinking skills.
• kinds of directions or guidelines you will provide in order to ensure success.

Write a post that briefly describes the activity you would create and how you might minimize possible challenges students and the teacher might have to address.

I have embedded the LiveBinder for the River Valleys project that is a culminating, or capstone project, for the first quarter in my World History class. It has been updated to reflect the increase in access to technology in my district, and so is now an online project. 

River Valley Project

As this is the capstone project for the quarter, it gives students more choice in regards to what tool they choose to use to display their learning. In Lexington One, I would now be able to offer more options than just Web 2.0 tools, as all middle school students have iPads as of last year. If I were to include possible apps, it would increase the amount of choice that students have. 

The primary tool students will be using for the initial parts of the project are LiveBinder, where I have curated a selection of resources for their use, and www.easybib.com, so that they can get in the habit of properly citing sources for their research projects. This is a project that would occur during the 1st nine weeks, so it is extremely important that the teacher model how to research, create citations, etcetera. 

From the student point of view, they will have already been exposed to all of the web 2.0 tools earlier in the nine weeks through smaller assignments. A large project such as this is not the time to introduce a new presentation tool, at least in my opinion. Their teacher will have already exposed them to and modeled for them how to research, summarize, and present information. This modeling will continue throughout the project. 
After students choose their two civilizations, they will first review the notes that they already have on these civilizations, and then use the resources in the LiveBinder to accumulate and compile any other required information for the project. Once again, the teacher will model and use "think-alouds" to review note-taking and research skills. 

Once students have compiled all of their research, they must then create a graphic organizer(either using Google Docs, Popplet, or some other mind-mapping website) to organize their information and citations. Then they must choose the format of their final presentation, and build on their graphic organizer to create a storyboard or outline. The students will have two weeks to complete their research and to create their final project. 

In order to ensure student success, I will go over each part of the project requirements. I will also review the project in smaller chunks using mini-deadlines that we create as a class. Students will turn in graphic organizers and their final project using Edmodo. 

The outcome of this project directly correlates with Social Studies standard 6-1.3, "Compare the river valley civilizations of the Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia), the Nile (Egypt), the Indus(India), and the Huang He (China), including the evolution of written language, government, trade systems, architecture, and forms of social order."

The following Web 2.0 tools are possible options for this project. I am going to list the tool with its corresponding level/verb of Bloom's Taxonomy. 
LiveBinders - Remembering
Popplet, Google Docs - Understanding (summarizing, paraphrasing) 
                                          Analyzing (organizing)
Animoto, Google Presentation, Glogster,  WeVideo - Analyzing (Mashing, comparing, organizing, integrating)

Some possible stumbling blocks for students include:
-difficulties organizing and keeping up with notes
-unfamiliarity with chosen web 2.0 tool
-difficulty creating presentation using notes and provided resources
-possible technical difficulties, if the website goes down

The more the teacher models and checks in with her students on the progress, the fewer frustrations the students face. 

Some possible stumbling blocks for teachers:
-unfamiliarity with all web 2.0 tools
-technical difficulties, either with devices, websites, or district filtering

Unfortunately, technical difficulties can be difficult to prevent. Teachers can log on to their district's network as a student and test all provided resources and suggested tools before presenting the project to her students. I believe it is extremely important for teachers to explore and experiment with web 2.0 tools before presenting the tools to her students. 

LEC 2.3 Reflection: Methodologies of the Online Instructor

1. Reflecting on the information covered in this module, how might your instructional methodologies need to change in an online or blended learning environment?

In reading the assigned text for the week, it became very apparent that the amount of planning and organization required for an online teacher exceeds that of the tradition teacher. In the traditional classroom, I was certainly prepared and organized, but I would follow a general timeline wherein I would change due dates and assignments based on the needs of my students. In an online teaching situation, I would have to carefully plan out each unit and assignment, rather than going with the flow, as I was wont to do as a classroom teacher. It’s not that I was disorganized in the classroom, but I typically just had an overarching timeline I would follow, but was always ready to adjust as my classes needed. An online instructor, on the other hand, has to do the vast majority of the prepping and planning before the course even begins. 

Another necessary change in my instructional methodology would be to change my methods of formative assessments. I could still do something similar to the exit slips and class discussions, but would of course need to modify them so that they would be more effective in the online setting. Instead of an oral class discussion to check for understanding, I would have to organize, create, and facilitate an online discussion. Online asynchronous discussion forums can be even more informative than typical classroom discussions, but would need to be facilitated over a period of days, rather than the 20 minutes of class time that I am used to. 

I enjoy the idea that with the online and blended learning, I would be able to personalize the learning more for my students. When I instituted a blended learning scenario in my classroom two years ago through the use of Edmodo, I was able to give individualized feedback, build a stronger classroom community, and personalize projects and instruction. I believe the same is possible with online courses as well. I need to learn more about how to effectively personalize learning in an online course. 

1. What skills and strategies might you improve or expand upon in order to best support student learning in a blended or online environment?

I need to improve upon my organizational strategies and shift my thinking in order to properly prepare and teach an online course. As I stated earlier, my typical classroom instruction style was very flexible and would change from day to day, and from period to period, in order to best serve each particular group of students. I of course would still use that flexibility to meet the needs of students in an online course, but I would need to put in place a more rigid organizational structure for any online course I taught, so that the students had clear expectations of deadlines and of the time commitment required of them weekly. I also need to learn strategies that will help me learn about my students’ learning styles and weaknesses online.

 Also, I need to work on my time management skills in regards to teaching and monitoring an online course. When I first started using Edmodo to create a blended learning scenario in my classroom, my students became accustomed to my constant online presence. (I broke my foot and fractured a knee that year, so I was effectively immobile when I got home from school.) This did not pose a problem for the first few months, as I was recuperating from injuries and still going through physical therapy. However, when I was able to resume my typical active lifestyle that spring, my students became frustrated that I did not respond instantly to every question they had. It was entirely my fault that I did not discuss expectations of when/how often I would be online to assist them, but became a problem I had to address. After I healed completely and realized this problem, I made sure to address it with my students and gave them my online office hours, to let them know when they could expect response from me. I still had a tendency to log on immediately  after receiving notification that a student had made a new post. I have improved on this, but it is still a weakness. 

LEC 1.2 Reflection: Personal Learning Goal

Prompt:
Considering the online learning self-assessment you took this week, and thinking about your reasons for taking this course, what is your highest priority learning goal for this course? What are some specific skills, strategies or tools you are hoping to learn more about?

My highest priority learning goal for this class is to learn and expand my repertoire of effective strategies and online tools that my teachers will be able to easily use next year as they move towards a blended learning classroom. More specifically, I would like to learn more and investigate how a blended learning classroom could be successful in a high poverty school where many students do not have internet access outside of school.  How can we cross this “digital divide” to help our students reach their learning goals? In my opinion, blended and/or online learning is even more important in high poverty schools, as many poor students are not afforded the out of school learning opportunities that their well-to-do counterparts have. 

My goal this summer is to learn tools and strategies that will give my teachers the best chance for success with the blended learning model. I know that if I cannot find workarounds/strategies for students without internet access at home, it will be hard to convince any of my teachers to try it. I have some this past year who researched “flipping” their classroom, but were unable to make plans that would accommodate all students. I also look forward to learning new tools and strategies that I can implement in the technology professional development I teach at my school. This coming year, we are planning to do more targeted/personalized professional development by meeting with grade level departments, rather than full faculty meeting professional development. My principal, literacy coach, media specialist and myself will meet and plan our initial PD - from there we will use their feedback to further personalize their professional development. 

According to the TOoLS self-assessment, I am an excellent fit for online learning classes. This makes sense to me, because I have always been a self-motivated learner, and have a strong background in technology which makes online learning easier for me. The only negative tendency that I noted in my self assessment(which is one I often struggle with), is my occasional tendency to procrastinate. I hope and plan that my procrastination will not show up this summer, as I am involved in this and one other online course this summer, in addition to attending several days of training and a national conference this summer. Thankfully, my procrastination is usually balanced my tendency to make lists and plan out my week’s work. 

I look forward to learning more about online and blended learning throughout the eight weeks of this course! 

Formative Assessment - Google Docs

What's that you say? A formative assessment that grades itself? Miraculous!

We are lucky enough to live in a era where many technology tools exist that can make our lives as educators a little easier. Some of my favorites include Socrative, InfuseLearning, and one of the simplest, Google Docs. If you're not familiar with Socrative or InfuseLearning, keep an eye out for my upcoming posts about these two wonderful tech tools!

Last week I did a tech tutorial with my teachers on using Google Docs for grading. A few of my more reluctant technology users told me that there was "No way technology could make her life any easier." After we finished, she wanted to know when I could come work with her to create her first quiz!

Getting Started
You need to create a Google Drive account. If your school district is like mine, you'll need to create a separate account using your school email address. Our email system blocks emails from non-school email addresses, so Flubaroo would be unable to email you students their results.

1. Go to https://drive.google.com
2. Sign out of your personal Gmail account(if you are currently signed in)
3. Click the Sign Up button in the upper right hand corner.
4. When on the Sign Up screen, select "I prefer to use my current email address" under the Choose Your Username box.
5. Fill out the form using your district email address.
6. Google will send a verification email to the address you provided. Once you verify your account, you're ready to go! 

Flubaroo

Flubaroo's website does an excellent job of explaining how to use it in conjunction with Google Forms. Check out their intro video here:

Here's a link to their user guide: http://www.flubaroo.com/flubaroo-user-guide
Flubaroo User Guide
In addition to its uses in the classroom, it's also a good way to find out how much your faculty/staff know about a particular topic. We used this in a faculty meeting to gauge the knowledge level of our staff on a particular topic. Try it out - let me know what you think!

Padlet Rocks!

Wallwisher was one of my favorite websites to use in my classroom. I used it for a quick exit slip, class discussions, vocabulary review, etcetera. It was quick and easy to use, easy to set up, and I could control the level of privacy for each board I created. 

This year Wallwisher became Padlet, and all sorts of fabulous changes have occurred since the name change! If you don't know about Padlet, here's a brief description from their site:

"We give you a blank wall. 

                                       You put anything you want on it, anywhere.
                                                            Simple, yet powerful." 

It really is that easy! With its updates, Padlet now lets you choose the format of the board, change the background patterns, privacy settings, and my new favorite - you can now export your boards! Check out the nifty Share and Export menu they've added.

You now have the option to share via social media, embed it on your website, or share via QR code. Once you have collected all of your responses, you could also print it, or export it as an image, PDF, Excel, or CSV file. Also, Padlet now updates in real time, so you no longer have to refresh your browser to see new posts from others. This website works on any device with internet access. 

To get started, go to www.padlet.com and sign up for your free account. 

Here's a Wallwisher/Padlet I had my teachers complete as an exit slip for a PD session. 

Let me know if you use Padlet in your classroom in the comments. I'd love to hear how others are using this wonderful tool! 

I ♥ Edmodo!

Last year, I posted on Tumblr about my new-found love for Edmodo. (Click here to see that original post.) Now that I've used Edmodo for over a year, I thought it was time to revisit it.

If you are not familiar with Edmodo, here is the description from their website:

Edmodo provides teachers and students a secure place to connect and collaborate, share content and educational applications, and access homework, grades, class discussions and notifications. Our goal is to help educators harness the power of social media to customize the classroom for each and every learner.

Last school year, I began to use Edmodo with my students. At that point in time, our district had a different LMS, but many of my students had difficulty logging on and finding materials I shared on there. The difference Edmodo made to my students was astounding! They posted and learned with each other as the year went on. We used Edmodo to share content, host class discussions, celebrate our learning by sharing projects, and for assessments. Students who were too shy to speak up in class were some of the ones who shared the most on Edmodo! It made a huge difference and our classroom community was stronger for it.

This year, there have been lots of changes. I changed positions in the district, so I'm not in the classroom anymore. I'm the Technology Integration Specialist at a small school in our district. Our entire district adopted Edmodo and Moodle as our LMS, and the biggest change of all - our middle schools all went 1:1 with iPads. It's been a busy year!

I've trained and worked with many teachers and students on using Edmodo, and I love seeing how they use it this year in the classroom. We also have a schoolwide Learning Commons group, and we use this to share tech tips, upcoming events in the Learning Commons, and the students have started sharing their favorite novels as well. Since the Edmodo iPad app update in December that allowed students to turn in assignments from other apps, my teachers have started using it even more. It is a huge asset as we move towards a paperless classroom.

What are your experiences with Edmodo? Do you feel that it has enhanced your classroom community, or is there another site you prefer? Please share!

Are you paying attention?

I was on Edmodo earlier and Ryan Correia posted this video, entitled "Pay Attention". This video is a little dated, but the same message holds true still today.

Are we really paying attention to what our students need from us in the classroom? Even if our schools have gone to 1:1 computing, will it make a difference unless we change how we teach as well?

Too many times teachers adopt new technology and teach the same way they did before. That is not an effective use of technology. We need to give teachers the time, training, and support they need so that they can fully utilize the technology to enhance and support the learning that occurs in the classroom. Are you paying attention?