Week 8 Blog

I tend to use as many online communication tools as I can. My current principal is not one that requires online usage by students and staff. He is very "paper friendly" and thus, doesn't focus on technology as much as past administrators. My students don't have as much access to computers as other students in the country. With this in mind, I try to assign lessons to my students to be completed at home. In a previous poll of my students all but two of my 190 students had a computer and internet access at home. Many of them have their own computer. The webquest I created for this class is one I will assign over the winter holiday. My students will learn and will bring back a knowledge of Newton's Laws of Motion without the required in-person lessons. Because the end of semester tests will be given the week after we come back for winter break, my students will need the additional time to learn and study. 

I have begun using Edmodo in my previous classroom. I liked the ease of use but I didn't find my students capable, at their level, to upload word documents. I did find they liked talking with their peers about school related topics. I find, in my technology explorations, that I learned that their are many more elementary technology type websites. Although given these, I find there is much information that can be shared within the classroom.

In this classroom, I learned the most by writing technology explorations. There were many more than what I learned. I would have chosen to complete more of these instead of blogs like this one. Reflection works but only if its something learned at the moment. For myself, I like technology and use it frequently.

There are many things I plan to incorporate into my classroom. First, I plan on using several of the technology explorations in my room. Like I have mentioned, I have used programs like Edmodo and the Microsoft suite in my classroom. I haven't assigned a webquest to be completed at home but will be doing this prior to the winter break. The powerpoint I created has already been used in my classroom.

Week 7 blog

The webquest I created was on Motion and Newton's Three Laws. My student's in the 8th grade are currently working on Newton's Three Laws of Motion. Standards require the students to use technology in their learning and is also a teacher standard in the state of Kentucky. Because of this, I try to use technology in my classroom on a routine basis. For my webquest, I chose to use Zunal because it seemed to have the most details and the abilities to change the photos was a bonus for me. The webquest can be found here http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=223667.  For this task, I changed many of the tabs on the left hand side to make the webquest a little easier for my students to use. As discussed in my past blog, I didn't like the way the author had each task in one tab. The way mine is set up requires the student to complete individual tasks and then move on to the next task. 

I didn't have many problems with creating my webquest. The time consumed to create it was much more than I originally thought. Although I originally intended for this webquest to cover two and a half class periods, I'm thinking it may take 5 full class periods to complete.  The webquest allows the students to have fun while learning and are given several forms of assessment - for their own knowledge and for my required goals.

I had a few issues with this webquest. First, I didn't like that the tasks, when clicked, required the student to go away from the original webquest. I would like it if the students clicked and it automatically opened a new window or tab. Second, the tabs on the left could be changed but no tabs could be added without paying for a different version. Third, the tabs were very easy to change but they contained material that was unnecessary and required me to empty each one prior to creating the webquest.

If I were to create this webquest again or if I were to use it, I would have the students complete each step for each day of the week with the final task taking two complete days. I would provide to the students papers they could just grab instead of printing to save time in the classroom.  I may also have a little more detail in my webquest so I am not answering as many questions and focusing more on the learning going on.

Week 6 blog.

When searching for webquests on the internet, I found there were many that were strictly used in an individual classroom and less for a blanket science classroom. I found some where documents needed passwords to enter, some that were incomplete, some that just required the students to perform a single task with no higher-level thinking and still others that required the student to perform no summative or formative assessment - more about fun. Although I am a proponent on "fun learning", I am also an educator that requires the students to show me what they have learned by performing a particular activity. Without this type of assessment, it is almost impossible to determine the level at which the students learn. With this in mind, I have created a Web-quest that allows the students to have fun while still learning and requires the students to complete formative and summative assessments along the way.

There was a webquest I found contained most of the requirements I would find necessary in my classroom. This website can be found at http://www.questgarden.com/86/07/1/100228175329/index.htm. When looking for different webquests in relation to the topics I am currently teaching, I wanted a webquest that looked at a single topic without being too broad or too narrow in learning. This webquest has tabs at the left that lesson any type of confusion the students may have. In this task area, I like that the author has broke everything down into tasks and contain assessments for learning. In each task, the students are required to perform a particular assignment - some of the assignments outside the classroom. Only Task One and Task two requires the students to use the internet for learning. In the other tasks, the students only need the internet for reference. 

There are problems with the webquest that I find need help. The first is that when clicking on the particular link for each law, the author doesn't have it set up to open a new tab or window. Instead, the students lose the window in which they are working and must go back to the webquest to continue their assignment. Although this is an overall study of Newton's three laws, it may have been better if each task represented a particular task and then a final task that covered all three. This may have prevented any confusion in learning.

Week 5 Blog

This presentation was about the composition of matter. It was created as a beginning to matter in the 8th grade. Many of the students have studied matter and the composition of matter but always need a refresher course in the main aspects of matter. When a student is asked "What is Matter?" They will often answer with liquid, gas, solid, and plasma. Although this is the correct answer, there is much more information they must know in order to move into a more detailed investigation of chemical science.


I have never used transitions in my PPTs. I do not like them because it takes my students so long to take notes from lengthy presentations. I try hard to provide to my students the easiest note-taking experience but its not always possible. For this presentation, I like that my colors are easy on the eye and the material is brief but heavy. Also, in the PPT, I created instances where the students are required to collaborate and then come back as an entire class. This is always important at the middle school level. I did find two slides where I can use transitions to provide the necessary material and they worked great.

I would like to provide real life examples (pictures or video) of how the students should be separating their mixtures. I would also embed a video into the PPT but for this particular lesson, there was no time to add a video.

My students didn't realize they were being presented with notes and information. I had many facts in the presentation that were interesting and well-taken. My students also seemed to like the collaboration within the presentation. It helped to keep their attention when a normal note-taking assignment would be met with groans of pain!

I use PPT with my students whenever I can. I try to use all forms of Microsoft Office including Publisher with my students. I allowed my students to use PPT when creating their science experiment but only if they were not interested in showing at the district science fair. I am not a fan of multiple black on bright colors or transitions and my students know this. Some of them, because of this expectation, like to do their work on poster board.

One final thing I would like to mention about my PPT. I did not use a lot of photos. I once read that sensory overload diminishes the learning capabilities of the student in the classroom. I use as little photos as possible but instead fill in moments of collaboration between my students and videos that can increase student knowledge.

Technology Explorations 17-20

Digital Passport

Digital Passport are web-based games and videos meant to be used by 3^rd through 5^th grade students. This is a website that is intended to be used for independent learning. There are many different modules that focus on digital safety, respect and community. Each Module teaches the students something different about digital citizenship. There is a communication, privacy, cyberbullying, search, and how to credit module. Each module has a video, tests, and materials the teacher can assign to her class for completion. 

There is an Edmodo app that can be used with Edmodo. There is a new edition coming out that will allow students to use the website on their iPad’s or on student cell phones. An elementary school teacher or maybe 6^th grade teacher could use these teach technology awareness. The students can watch videos, answer questions on printed PDF handouts, and take quizzes to show their content mastery. Because the students are able to see what they have done and a printable poster is available, students will be excited about completing the modules.

As a teacher, digital citizenship is always important. As I discussed in a previous discussion post, I set rules for my students when in the computer lab or in the classroom. I am often asking my students to use their phones for research purposes and require them to follow all the rules. This website, although age appropriate only for 6^th grade and below, can be beneficial to the classroom and the teacher. It is not content based but does help to create digital citizenship and falls in the guidelines of common core and the national education for technology standards for students. If time is an issue in the classroom, this can also be used outside the classroom as homework.

Professor Garfield

Professor Garfield is a website that focuses its attention on creating literacy for all children. This is a completely free website that caters to students up to grade 8. It promotes literacy in the form of materials and educational computer links. There are instructional materials available to teachers and parents in an effort to get all students, regardless of their disability, reading and writing. For each grade there are a multitude of different games and activities the students can play. For example, one game at the 8^th grade level allowed me to play against other players or Professor Garfield. The questions asked were of a trivia type of question. Many of the questions were facts based on common core goals.

I would use this in any level prior to 8^th grade. There are very limited games or instructional opportunities for 8^th grade but the three I played with helped to master content based learning. There are comic strips, trivia games, music videos, interactive content for learning disorders and dyslexia, and for the older children – a career section. Because the kids can compete with one another, a room could be set up where students ask a series of questions and compete for highest score. Competition at any level is great!

I would recommend this resource but only on a limited type use. Although the content matches national requirements, there is not determined content area. As a science teacher, I want my students to learn what I am teaching in my designated time. For this grade level – and for other grade levels – this type of separation is necessary. The website is free, there are many resources, and many links but I don’t find it to be acceptable for classroom use on a regular basis.

KidsHealth

KidsHealth is a website teaching health to students. This website offers teachers free lesson plans to teach students about health and eating right. There are experiments provided to help students understand the effects of certain foods on their bodies. All the lessons include standards that follow with the national standards. All Questions are written in language appropriate for the grade level and allow teachers to use this is as a guide in teaching students the required content.

There are tips on the website that help the teacher to use this website in the classroom. The first is to share articles with students that are related to the health of the child. These articles could be used for core writing in the classroom. This website is a great way to share news with parents, coordinate with other educators including nurses, coaches, and counselors. Because cross-curriculum education is so important, this website can be used to support this type of learning environment.

I would recommend this website to any educator looking for some type of lesson in regards to the body of a teen and younger person. The resources are great and also offer quizzes to be used in the classroom after a lesson is given. The resource is absolutely free and can be used from any computer lab if the teacher is looking for something technology based.

Remind 101

Remind 101 was designed to assist teachers in their communication needs with students and their parents. Because communication is one of the largest problems between teachers and parents, this website allows the teacher to send a bulk text to all in the group for reminders and assignments due.  This is a safe way to extend the classroom outside the brick and mortar without the normal problem with exchanging phone numbers and such.

Remind 101 can be used in just about every school setting. For the middle school and above students, the teacher can send a class reminder for upcoming assignments or needed supplies for an up-coming assignment. Because the classroom often ends at the end of the students’ class period, it can be impossible to contact students for reminders. For my classroom – I use Remind 101 to remind about studying and supplies the students may need.

I recommend, from experience, the use of Remind 101. Many schools do not agree with the use of Remind 101 because they have an all-call system in place. In my past school, I had to explain that Remind 101 was completely different and safe. When I needed to connect with my students on a Sunday night, I was able to send a message. It is a phenomenal source that allows the students to be connected outside of the classroom.

Technology Explorations 13-16

Scootpad

Scootpad is an online classroom similar to the blackboard system we use for college classes. This is also similar to the program Edmodo that we researched in the past. There are some differences besides the platform. Scootpad is a site that allows the students to practice all common core standards for both reading and math. For the teacher, real time results can be investigated and detailed up to the minute progress can be seen. This is available for grades K-5. There are many features offered to the students. A teacher can track behaviors, create plans for engagement, create assignments and homework and projects for students to complete.

This program can be useful for all elementary classrooms. The common core is built into the system for ELA/Reading, spelling, and math. Students can be given certain assignments that need to be completed at home or during spare classroom time. I saw other uses such as when students finish early in the classroom. A teacher can set up centers that allow the usage of a particular assignment using technology in the normal classroom and as mentioned above - homework assignments.

For the K-5 student, I think this program is useful. Since it does have the common core for these grade levels, it can be used to increase student knowledge. There are rewards to provide incentives, the teacher can communicate with the student and watch the student as they work through a problem.There are built-in messages for ease of providing an incentive to the students. Students are not allowed to talk with one another which helps decrease wasted time. Overall, the price is free for the basic program and could be beneficial for this grade level but not for an entire district use.

Photopeach

First off, Photopeach has been highlighted by the Discovery Educator Network. There are many ways to use this program. For the library, you can introduce upcoming books with the image of the covers, for the ESL class for vocabulary use, in the technology class, and as an assessment tool. This program is used by educators and students all around the world. It is a place to create slideshows of different things done in the classroom. It is best used for collaborative group work when created by the educator.

Photopeach can be used as a station or center on the smartboard. It helps to reinforce techniques learned during a demonstration or information presented to the class. For learning concepts, this program will allow the teacher or students to create a presentation that requires the students to answer questions on the smart board by choosing a particular answer. A timer can be set up to time the students on their answers. This is an interactive program that can be used by all students. Review of tested material is one way I would use this in the classroom.

If I had a smartboard in my classroom, I would use this as a station. The price is a little high for the teacher salary. For a district, it could be quite high in price. For the medium it is 25 dollars a month for 150 students. For the free account, unlimited photos and documents are not allowed. The teacher would probably need to use the class premium and this is the expensive one. For a district, this may not be feasible. The use of smart board accessories may be the best way to go. I would still use it if it were provided.

Storybird

Storybird's are short, comic strip-like stories that students can make and share with others. This website makes it easy for students to tell a story using digital media. Students and teachers can create stories by combining pictures and text. When using this, the students can print their books, watch it on a projected screen or share with others. Storybird helps to get kids writing and helps them to work in teams to create a document for all to see. This can be used at home or in the classroom and is good for all ages - even adults!

Storybird can be used in any classroom to create a story about something the students are learning or for the purpose of reading and writing. Since creating short stories are part of a state's curriculum or student's portfolio, this can be used as a required task. In the art class, students can create digitalized images to be shared with others. These can be simple or more detailed for use in a child's story book. This is great - as I mentioned earlier - for use in any classroom. For the science classroom, I would use this to create a comic strip about the laws of motion - a child's book I already use but make it digital.

I would give this a two thumbs up. This program looks fun to use and the program looks easy. Although the larger program is not free, it is worth the cost. I love that there are many options for use, it is safe, and kids can receive feedback from those that read their story. Kids are imaginative by nature and allowing the student that can't draw but has a vivid imagination, the opportunity to create something with graphics is high on my list. One final thing about this website - students at the high school level or above can add graphics they have created and make a commission off these images.

Wordle

I have always wondered how people made posters with random words on them - and the time it took to make said posters. This is where this can be done! Wordle is a website that allows the user to use a list of words to create a presentation that is full of key words used in a particular topic. The user can use any list of words and can change the colors and fonts of the words in the Wordle. Wordle was created by a single individual and is free to use. It is difficult to print large copies of this document because most schools use pc's for student use. According to the website, there can be issues with printing.

Wordle is not something that will take a long time to create. The creative process comes when the students need to change the words to match their personal style. The website allows a ton of changes to font, color, organization, addition and removal of words and such. This can be used to learn vocabulary - as a study guide for words - and for key words to be used in a science class.

I really liked this website and made my own wordle. This is something I will definitely use. I am thinking of using this to create a bulletin board of my students names for each class period. In my classroom, I have student grades posted according to their student id number. Above this is an ugly poster with their period number. I am going to remove this ugly poster and replace it with a wordle. The kids will love trying to find their name in the list of names. It will be great. I would recommend the usage of this for presentations on the walls of any classroom!

Technology Explorations 9-12

Kid Blog
Kidblog is a blog that gives kids a blogging experience in the classroom. This website is a platform that is suitable for K-12 students and allows the students to use technology without the typical interruptions found on many other sites. Kiblog allows the students to share with their peers and the global community. This is a paper-free system - something every school should work towards achieving.

This is perfect for K-12 students and according to the website, it can be used for older students as well. In the classroom, Kidblog allows the teacher complete control over the blogs and student accounts. The blogs are completely private and only viewable when made so. All comments can be blocked just as with many blogs allowing complete protection for the students. There are no personal requirements of the students.

I would recommend this program to teachers using technology as their basic teaching and learning device. In order for this to be successful, plenty of time must be provided to the students. Teachers must be willing to be diligent in looking at and monitoring student activity. It may be time consuming but looks like a good program to use - and its free!

Glogster
Glogster is a program that can be used to make interactive posters to share with other students, teachers, and friends. Students are able to use Glogster to create posters or web pages by using the drag and drop technique. It has premade pages that the kids can use when creating a glog. The company services more than 1000 schools and a million plus kids. There is a cost associated with the use of Glogster. One teacher, for free may manage up to 10 students.

This can be used to showcase what a student has learned in reading, writing, social studies, and science. The student can use this to showcase a science experiment or book report in digital format. They can share these amongst their friends. This can also be used to create web pages for things going on at the school or for extracurricular activities.

I would not recommend this to teachers that teach in excess of 40 students. Although the program seems easy, it takes work on the educators behalf to accept each and every one of the students. The cost for an educator to have more than 125 students is 390 a year and only allows 250 students. The program is unreasonable in that it only offers for one teacher 125 students. For many teachers around the nation, 125 is a dream class load.

ePals
ePals allows students to communicate with students in other parts of the world. The website offers many different products for teacher use in the classroom. Mostly this website is a portal for other companies and features these companies for purchases of their products. ePals allows the teacher to connect with another teacher and classroom that is also ready to collaborate on a lesson. This helps to build a community outside the student's community. ePal also offers E-mail to the students that allows a protection like no other. The email accounts are free as is the collaboration part of ePals.

ePals can be used to form a community with other students across the world. For the high school spanish class, a class learning English in South America may be able to help the students by pronouncing words appropriately - vice versa. For the science class, the students could collaborate with other classes in other regions of the United States that have different weather patterns or landscapes. Sharing anything in the classroom is beneficial to the learning of the students.

With the use of Facetime, Skype, and other visual technology, I'm not sure this is going to be something I would consider using in my classroom. I am familiar with Skype and tend to choose this over anything else. It is free as long as the person to which you are speaking has an account as well. Personally, I like the ease of use, the lack of commercial ads, and the sound I receive when calling. One final thing - many schools have transitioned to student emails for school. The use of an email that is not school related may cause problems with passwords and removal should a student move to another school.

PBWorks
PBWorks is a host of workspaces for students, parents, and teachers. This can be used to encourage student-centered learning and allows students to build web pages, embed images & videos, and post documents. There are tons of resources available to the teacher and staff of a school. The sharing of resources across schools can be done through this website. There are many different versions - some free some cost money.

Classroom space in PBWorks can be used to publish class notes, PPT lectures, schedules and policies and show of examples of student work. Students can work together on group projects and can create their own portfolio of work they have created. In addition, students can share and interact with other classrooms and groups on every corner of the globe.

This website is a little confusing to work through. I am savvy when it comes to technology but this website - although it offers resources, seems to be lacking the content necessary for my grade level. There are many free resources that are user friendly for sharing of resources. At many schools, there are sharing accounts over servers that allow the sharing of documents from one teacher to another. I personally wouldn't use it just because the website is terrible.