Posts
Post #8B
15 years ago
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
I forgot one! Here's my rubric for my wiki project
Whoops! Here is one of the rubrics that I used for my most recent wiki project and there are a few things I would change. First of all, I would not include the rough draft in my grading of the entire project. I would make that a separate grade. As it was, I was not able to thoroughly help each and every student on their rough draft, and therefore I had to make my judgement about that part of the rubric based upon their final draft (which is fairly easy to do with 7th graders, but still not the most transparent). Anyhow, feel free to steal anything you like.
Wiki Project
7th Grade Language Arts
Walk Two Moons
Assignment: To create a wiki page that informs the public about the book Walk Two Moons
STEPS TO COMPLETE
1. CREATE A BOOK REVIEW: A book review is a piece of writing that describes what happens in the book, parts that you liked, and parts that you didn’t like. This book review should be about 2-3 paragraphs long.
2. INSPIRATION CHARACTER WEB: You must create a character web that shows the names and descriptions of all the characters using the computer program Inspiration. This web should include 20-30 bubbles.
3. POST ALL OF THE ABOVE ON THE WIKI PAGE
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1. You must have all parts approved by Ms. Ward before you put them on the wiki
2. All grammar and spelling must be perfect BEFORE it is posted on the wiki
3. Follow the checklist below in order to make sure you complete each of the steps
CHECKLIST:
1.______ Book Review (30 points)
____ Rough Draft
____ describes what happens in the book
____ describes parts you liked, says why
____ describes parts you did not like, says why
____ all grammar and spelling is correct
_____ 2-3 paragraphs long
____ Final/Wiki Draft
____ all grammar and spelling is correct
____ all necessary information is included
2. ______ Inspiration Character Web (30 points)
_____ Rough Draft
____ All major characters are included
____ All major characters are described
____ Web is easy to understand
_____ Final/ Wiki Draft
____ All major characters are included
____ All major characters are described
____ Web is easy to understand
____ Web is colorful and organized
____ All spelling and grammar is correct
3. ______ Wiki Page (15 points)
____ Wiki page is neat and organized, uses heading and subheadings
____ Wiki page includes all of the necessary components
____ Wiki page has correct grammar and spelling
____ Wiki page has a link in the sidebar on the Front Page
Wiki Project
7th Grade Language Arts
Walk Two Moons
Assignment: To create a wiki page that informs the public about the book Walk Two Moons
STEPS TO COMPLETE
1. CREATE A BOOK REVIEW: A book review is a piece of writing that describes what happens in the book, parts that you liked, and parts that you didn’t like. This book review should be about 2-3 paragraphs long.
2. INSPIRATION CHARACTER WEB: You must create a character web that shows the names and descriptions of all the characters using the computer program Inspiration. This web should include 20-30 bubbles.
3. POST ALL OF THE ABOVE ON THE WIKI PAGE
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1. You must have all parts approved by Ms. Ward before you put them on the wiki
2. All grammar and spelling must be perfect BEFORE it is posted on the wiki
3. Follow the checklist below in order to make sure you complete each of the steps
CHECKLIST:
1.______ Book Review (30 points)
____ Rough Draft
____ describes what happens in the book
____ describes parts you liked, says why
____ describes parts you did not like, says why
____ all grammar and spelling is correct
_____ 2-3 paragraphs long
____ Final/Wiki Draft
____ all grammar and spelling is correct
____ all necessary information is included
2. ______ Inspiration Character Web (30 points)
_____ Rough Draft
____ All major characters are included
____ All major characters are described
____ Web is easy to understand
_____ Final/ Wiki Draft
____ All major characters are included
____ All major characters are described
____ Web is easy to understand
____ Web is colorful and organized
____ All spelling and grammar is correct
3. ______ Wiki Page (15 points)
____ Wiki page is neat and organized, uses heading and subheadings
____ Wiki page includes all of the necessary components
____ Wiki page has correct grammar and spelling
____ Wiki page has a link in the sidebar on the Front Page
E-Portfolios
Between illness and the demands of being a 1st year teacher, I'm afraid my attendance to this class has been less than stellar. As such, I missed our discussion on E-portfolios, so I will have to simply share my experience with them. In the post bac program at the U, everyone is required to create an E-portfolio. I realize that there must be circles where this would be a valuable way to communicate information about oneself as a teacher, but in education (at least in Minnesota), districts are still a little behind the times. Each district application has a number of documents that must be attached, and therefore all things that one might put on an efolio are made redundant.
Further, I found that even though I did give out the address for my efolio and encouraged people to go and look at it, the paper copy that I had in my hand was much more useful. I carried a binder with pictures of former students, examples of unit and daily lesson plans, my teaching philosophy, letters of rec, and other projects that I had done during student teaching and in my time teaching in Ecuador. Unfortunately, this is one area where the gap between what academia thinks is going on in schools and what is actually going on in schools (in my experience) is quite wide. Many principals (and teachers for that matter) have just learned how to use email. They are unable to fathom the idea of an online C.V. Still, I know that eventually this will be the way of the future, so I am glad that I know how to do it.
As far as using this technology with students, I think it is excellent. Right now, even though my kids don't know it, they are creating a portfolio of work that will exist for them for a very long time (hopefully forever). They will not only be able to look back over their work from the beginning of the year, but also for their work during 7th grade. It is very empowering for the kids to be able to see what a difference their hard work and effort makes to their learning. I can tell now that kids are excited about the improvement they've made just from one wiki project to the next. We've even used the revision tool on the wiki to show the progress they've made from when they first began the wiki page to when they "turned it in" for credit. Meta-awareness of the learning process is a valuable tool in building motivation and engagement, and it serves as the truest example of natural positive reinforcement.
In all, I believe that like most other things, efolios have their place and their value. This depends largely on audience. One has to ensure that the audience is able to access and appreciate the effort and the progression of the efolio in order for it to be truly valuable.
Further, I found that even though I did give out the address for my efolio and encouraged people to go and look at it, the paper copy that I had in my hand was much more useful. I carried a binder with pictures of former students, examples of unit and daily lesson plans, my teaching philosophy, letters of rec, and other projects that I had done during student teaching and in my time teaching in Ecuador. Unfortunately, this is one area where the gap between what academia thinks is going on in schools and what is actually going on in schools (in my experience) is quite wide. Many principals (and teachers for that matter) have just learned how to use email. They are unable to fathom the idea of an online C.V. Still, I know that eventually this will be the way of the future, so I am glad that I know how to do it.
As far as using this technology with students, I think it is excellent. Right now, even though my kids don't know it, they are creating a portfolio of work that will exist for them for a very long time (hopefully forever). They will not only be able to look back over their work from the beginning of the year, but also for their work during 7th grade. It is very empowering for the kids to be able to see what a difference their hard work and effort makes to their learning. I can tell now that kids are excited about the improvement they've made just from one wiki project to the next. We've even used the revision tool on the wiki to show the progress they've made from when they first began the wiki page to when they "turned it in" for credit. Meta-awareness of the learning process is a valuable tool in building motivation and engagement, and it serves as the truest example of natural positive reinforcement.
In all, I believe that like most other things, efolios have their place and their value. This depends largely on audience. One has to ensure that the audience is able to access and appreciate the effort and the progression of the efolio in order for it to be truly valuable.
Blog Reflection
As I look back over my posts, I realize that my attitude towards using technology has evolved a bit. First, when I began this class I was fresh from teaching in St. Paul (both student teaching and summer school), where access to computers both in and out of school is limited for the student population. This, understandably, gave me an attitude of weary optimism when it came to techology. I wanted to reach my students where they were, but I kept finding that my students were not where all the research said they were. It frustrated me deeply to hear scholars and academics or people from affluent schools talk about how the digital divide is a myth, that it is really just a broadband divide. I still invite these people to spend time in poorer schools and then revisit this notion.
Now, after spending the last four months in a more affluent district (albeit one that is certainly not "rich"), I understand how people can have this misconception. I now understand what it is like to teach in a school where the majority of the kids have computers at home, even if they don't have much else. Also, if the kids don't have a computer at home, there are hundreds of computers for them to use at school. We have things like podcasting microphones and a tech department that can fix problems. We have teaching tools like Vision and other capabilities that allow us to really incorporate technology into our lessons without it being a major production that ends up detracting from learning instead of enhancing it.
Further, as I look back over my writing, I can tell that my attitude has changed regarding the possibility of using technology in the classroom as well. In my later posts, I examine the viability of the technology in classroom assuming that the basic technological capabilities are there to begin with. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing; I want to be a voice for those who go unheard in academic circles, but I also want to be a good teacher to the students I have before me. These students still have hurdles to overcome. For instance, they are not allowed to have web-based email addresses or access youtube or flickr or picasa, ,etc, because of the security filters. Still, when we want to access the computers, with a little planning, we can do that at South St. Paul, whereas I was unable to at Como Park H.S. in St. Paul.
In all, I am happy that I have deepened my knowledge of using web 2.0 in the classroom, and I intend to continue to find ways of incorporating it. I do notice that it seems to reach kids on a level that I (being relatively young) can somewhat understand, but not fathom completely. I do proceed with caveats, however; web 2.0 does not solve all problems of engagement and motivation. For further evidence of this, I recommend checking out my class's latest wiki efforts. Their pages are full of spelling and grammar mistakes, lazy formatting, and missing requirements. Overall, though, the benefits outweigh the detractions.
Now, after spending the last four months in a more affluent district (albeit one that is certainly not "rich"), I understand how people can have this misconception. I now understand what it is like to teach in a school where the majority of the kids have computers at home, even if they don't have much else. Also, if the kids don't have a computer at home, there are hundreds of computers for them to use at school. We have things like podcasting microphones and a tech department that can fix problems. We have teaching tools like Vision and other capabilities that allow us to really incorporate technology into our lessons without it being a major production that ends up detracting from learning instead of enhancing it.
Further, as I look back over my writing, I can tell that my attitude has changed regarding the possibility of using technology in the classroom as well. In my later posts, I examine the viability of the technology in classroom assuming that the basic technological capabilities are there to begin with. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing; I want to be a voice for those who go unheard in academic circles, but I also want to be a good teacher to the students I have before me. These students still have hurdles to overcome. For instance, they are not allowed to have web-based email addresses or access youtube or flickr or picasa, ,etc, because of the security filters. Still, when we want to access the computers, with a little planning, we can do that at South St. Paul, whereas I was unable to at Como Park H.S. in St. Paul.
In all, I am happy that I have deepened my knowledge of using web 2.0 in the classroom, and I intend to continue to find ways of incorporating it. I do notice that it seems to reach kids on a level that I (being relatively young) can somewhat understand, but not fathom completely. I do proceed with caveats, however; web 2.0 does not solve all problems of engagement and motivation. For further evidence of this, I recommend checking out my class's latest wiki efforts. Their pages are full of spelling and grammar mistakes, lazy formatting, and missing requirements. Overall, though, the benefits outweigh the detractions.
Powerpoint Reflection
I am not a huge fan of powerpoint, but I do notice that in districts that are less savvy about technology (I'm not naming any names here), powerpoint seems to be an easy way for teachers to say they are "reaching" children of the digital age. I agree that interactive powerpoints would certainly constitute web 2.0 material, but in my limited experience, I see so few teachers actually using powerpoint that way. What I normally see is teachers using Powerpoints as replacements for the whiteboard; that is, teachers usually just type their notes ahead of time and slap them on some slides. This technology also allows teachers to 'cover their butts' for students with IEP's and 504's who are legally required to receive a written copy of the notes.
In my opinion, you can make Powerpoints as game-like as possible, but it still means that you have 20-40 kids sitting in the dark looking at a huge screen. For me, I like to model the note-taking process as creative. When I write on the board, I erase between classes so that each class gets to see what it looks like when you have an idea and then transfer that idea to paper. Further, the act of writing is an act of learning for me, as I suspect it is for many students. When I have kids take notes off of the overhead, even when I have had some interactive element to it, it ends up being a rote copying situation, where the kids do not hear the words coming out of my mouth because they are too busy copying.
Anyhow, I do like the idea of sliderocket for posting notes to my website. This does make it easier to have a record of what went on for the kids who were absent that day, and since I can add audio, it almost makes my earlier podcasting idea irrelevant! I can just put a presentation up and the kids will be able to access it. Further, if they were having trouble understanding, they would be able to seek help from another adult. Lastly, it would help me to be more reflective as a teacher. I would be able to go back between years, figure out how I taught the lesson the year before, and then find ways to make it better.
In my opinion, you can make Powerpoints as game-like as possible, but it still means that you have 20-40 kids sitting in the dark looking at a huge screen. For me, I like to model the note-taking process as creative. When I write on the board, I erase between classes so that each class gets to see what it looks like when you have an idea and then transfer that idea to paper. Further, the act of writing is an act of learning for me, as I suspect it is for many students. When I have kids take notes off of the overhead, even when I have had some interactive element to it, it ends up being a rote copying situation, where the kids do not hear the words coming out of my mouth because they are too busy copying.
Anyhow, I do like the idea of sliderocket for posting notes to my website. This does make it easier to have a record of what went on for the kids who were absent that day, and since I can add audio, it almost makes my earlier podcasting idea irrelevant! I can just put a presentation up and the kids will be able to access it. Further, if they were having trouble understanding, they would be able to seek help from another adult. Lastly, it would help me to be more reflective as a teacher. I would be able to go back between years, figure out how I taught the lesson the year before, and then find ways to make it better.
Reflection on Video
As I have fallen deeply behind on most things in my life, so have I fallen behind on my blogging for this class. I will therefore seek to catch up on what I might have missed out on telling you.
I enjoyed learning the video tools. While I have used imovie quite a bit, and I've even had my kids make videos in class, it was nice to actually learn how to use the different buttons/functions from an actual human being. I dislike tutorials, so I have never taken the time to actually go through the entire imovie or moviemaker one because I find it boring, confusing, and usually unhelpful. I would love to teach a film class where students were able to make their own films and analyze others. I took one in college, and it was a blast. Also, it goes a long way towards teaching those analytical skills we are always trying so hard to achieve in literacy education. Based upon this desire, my goal is to create a unit for the end of the year that focuses on critique, and thereby have the kids analyze, critique, and create their own films and other alternative texts. We'll see how that goes.
In all, I intend to continue to use imovie and moviemaker in my classroom. I think that it is an excellent way for kids to understand the procedural nature of academic creativity; that kids actually learn how to be more organized writers by making films.
I enjoyed learning the video tools. While I have used imovie quite a bit, and I've even had my kids make videos in class, it was nice to actually learn how to use the different buttons/functions from an actual human being. I dislike tutorials, so I have never taken the time to actually go through the entire imovie or moviemaker one because I find it boring, confusing, and usually unhelpful. I would love to teach a film class where students were able to make their own films and analyze others. I took one in college, and it was a blast. Also, it goes a long way towards teaching those analytical skills we are always trying so hard to achieve in literacy education. Based upon this desire, my goal is to create a unit for the end of the year that focuses on critique, and thereby have the kids analyze, critique, and create their own films and other alternative texts. We'll see how that goes.
In all, I intend to continue to use imovie and moviemaker in my classroom. I think that it is an excellent way for kids to understand the procedural nature of academic creativity; that kids actually learn how to be more organized writers by making films.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)