Complete

Capstone II What an Adventure. Working with fantastic educators throughout the State of Virginia was a dream come true. It is impossible to explain everything that was learned during this adventure. Above you will find a brief video capturing the highlights of my adventure. I hope you enjoy!!

Final Week At Last

So where will I go from here. To be honest, I am hoping to take a break this summer, but knowing me, I will be taking another technology course. I would like to teach on the community college level some day so I will need at least 18 technology credits. I am not sure if this counts for 8 or not??

To explain what I learned from Capstone would take more than a few paragraphs. I can say Katie sure stretched me in Capstone I and she also assured us that Capstone II would not be as difficult which were both true statements. I always wanted to use bookmarks such as PortaPortal; however, I never had a chance to set them up before. Now I have it set up and I am able to use my bookmarks no matter where I am. In addition, the tools I gained through everyone in both classes are amazing. Never thought I would say this, but I will miss this class, well all of your ideas. Finally, check out my final project and let me know what you think.

The most significant learning moments were working with my eighth graders  and high school classes to create an Edu.Glogster portfolio which I would have never done without this class. Also, presenting to the faculty with confidence and the over 50 fellow educators at the Hampton Roads Association of Christian Schools was also something that Capstone helped to push me towards.

My next steps professionally would be to continue to be a life-long learner. Probably everyone in this course has that to say as technology is constantly changing and our students pick up to it so very quickly that we have to continue learning to stay ahead of them, or at least try to stay at least a week ahead of them.

Thanks everyone for everything. It would be great for us small school types to have all of your knowledge on a continuous basis. Feel free to stop past my blog anytime you find something new or amazing. Thanks again.

Capstone II is Coming to a CLOSE!!

I just submitted my final Portfolio for Capstone II. It is hard to believe I am finally almost through. All that is left is to make corrections from the final reviewer and create a demonstration to share with the faculty at our school. Not to say that will be the easiest thing in the world to do, but once those two items are completed, I will be completely done. Is all of this worth eight JMU credits?? Ask me that in a few weeks :) I will truly miss learning from each member of my class. The new technology I learned during this session include Museum Box, Edu.Glogster, Answer Box, Animoto, just to name a few. My PortaPortal is full of resources that I will be able to look back over and try a few.

Well as normal, I have grading to do so until next time. . . .

More New Tools

While deciding what I will complete my final project with, I had time to reflect on some new resources I learned in Capstone II. My new favorite is Kizoa.Com; however, I got half way through with this free slideshow creator to realize that I could not add my voice for FREE. I thought about adding video in a slideshow using PowerPoint, but I have to look at a million of those soon so I decided not to use it. I could have used MovieMaker, but my students just finished using that too so I wanted something new. Animoto is great. It only cost $5 a month, but still I was looking for free. Finally my oldest son, who is not computer savvy, used PhotoStory so I knew I could not be so hard. So PhotoStory it is.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Let me know if you find a new resource you would like to share with me.

Edu. Glogster is the Bomb

One tool I used during Capstone II is Edu.Glogster. Edu.Glogster is an online poster creator that students have been using to upload their Middle School Portfolio and their Internet Marketing “notebook.” Students are able to create videos or upload YouTube videos, add text, add images, or add links. The purpose of Edu.Glogster is not only to create online posters, but to also allow students to collaborate with each other. Students are able to look at each other’s glogs and make suggestions or comments. The free version of Edu.Glogster does not allow you to attach student work to the glog; however, the premium version does. I did not know this at first so I had already told my students we were going to create portfolios and when I realized they could not add attachments I had to go to plan B which was upload all of the projects to my website. Uploading all of their projects on my website took some time and then I had to explain to them how to read the URL so they were able to link their project to their glog. To do this, they added a picture that related to their attachment and then linked my website address specifically with their projects to their glog. This took some time; however, the students were quick to figure out the process and the portfolios looked great.

The teacher may upload an entire class roster to Edu.Glogster or simply add student. The free version allows you to have different classes and up to fifty students to your account. I have a couple of different accounts each using a different email account. I also have free premium coupons that I would seriously like to give away. They expire April 24, 2011 so let me know if you are interested.

Blooms taxonomy can be at various levels; however, I use it mostly at level 5 as students are building a structure or pattern from varied elements.  In addition, they are putting parts together to form a whole, while emphasizing the creation of a new meaning.

The way Edu.Glogster allowed me to attach prior knowledge to a new situation is previously we created portfolios using PowerPoint. Students use PowerPoint constantly and I wanted a way that would allow them to collaborate with each other online so Edu.Glogster was an easy way to do this.  Another way I was able to attach prior knowledge is students use to create three ring binders. With Edu.Glogster, they are able to attach their project in one long document and I do not have the issue of “I forgot a binder.” Students have much more fun and it allows them to create an e-portfolio which will be a much needed tool once they enter college.

A couple of student samples may be found using this link: http://sa7jbpy.edu.glogster.com/portfolio/glog-flow 

Collaborating and Communicating

Collaborating and communicating with fellow colleagues and others across the globe are happening at an amazing rate. Email, Skype, Ning, Wiki spaces, and Edu.Glogster and other Web 2.0 resources are just a few means of collaborating and communicating with others. We have had email and Skype for some time now. In fact, we have had all of these resources for some time now; however, now teachers are realizing the importance and benefit of sharing their resources with others.

McAnear indicated the following in her article entitled Communication and Collaboratin 2.0:  “Students must be able to develop and create digital media, use it to communicate, and understand its effect on themselves and society.” Are you training your students to create digital media? Until next time.

Works Cited

McAnear, Anita. "Communication and Collaboration 2.0." Learning & Leading with Technology. International Society for Technology in Education, Aug. 2008. Web. 19 Mar. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=81949>.  

Museum Box Just Another Resource To Train our Students

Museum Box allows students to learn new information and share it with their peers and teacher in a unique and creative way. Sri Kusumawati Md Daud, Fauzan Mustaffa, Hanafizan Hussain and Md Najib Osman in their article, Creative Technology as Open Ended Learning Tool: A Case Study of Design School in Malaysia, concluded that students need a wide variety of technology training and open ended assessments to allow students to think on their own and determine the best way to display their findings. Employers need students who can figure out the problem and solve it. A list of six technology standards which students should know nationally by eighth grade to enhance employable skills and raise Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy in the United States are listed below (Kay and Honey, 2005):

• Communicate Effectively: Students must have a range of skills to express themselves not only through paper and pencil, but also audio, video, animation, design software as well as a host of new environments (e-mail, Web sites, message boards, blogs, streaming media, etc.).

• Analyze and Interpret Data: Students must have the ability to crunch, compare, and choose among the glut of data now available Web-based and other electronic formats.

• Understand Computational Modeling: Students must posses an understanding of the power, limitations, and underlying assumptions of various data representation systems, such as computational models and simulations, which are increasingly driving a wide-range of disciplines.

• Manage and Prioritize Tasks: Students must be able to mange the multi-tasking, selection, and prioritizing across technology applications that allow them to move fluidly among teams, assignments and communities of practice.

• Engage in Problem Solving: Students must have an understanding of how to apply what they know and can do to new situations.

• Ensure Security and Safety: Students must know and use strategies to acknowledge, identify, and negotiate 21^st century risks.

By using Museum Box, a student will be able to give a presentation about a given topic, analyze and interpret data and display it in one of the many boxes. In addition, they will need to map out their boxes and prioritize which information needs to be shared. Engage in problems solving and maybe even embed their paper on internet safety strategies. In closing, while Museum Box takes a little to set up for your school, the time spent is well worth your while.

How are you measuring up in your classroom with the above mentioned standards?

Work Cited

"Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement." Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm>.

Internet Safety

Capstone II continues to be challenging. This week we are asked to blog about our schools efforts to teach Internet safety. Recently my eighth grade class developed a PowerPoint for the FBLA competition that was sent to headquarters in hopes of winning the PowerPoint competition and this year’s topic was Internet safety. The students were given several websites to study and were also given a video to embed into their PowerPoint. The class was divided into four groups and each group worked hard to prepare their best presentation. The students then shared their presentation with the class. This activity worked so well, I am going to continue using it each semester. We also discuss digital ethics in our Internet Multimedia Class and Internet Marketing Class. In addition, we discuss internet etiquette in each class sharing how it is important to give credit where credit is due. 

Furthermore, our principal hired a police officer to come to our high school to talk about Internet safety and sexting. Additionally, each year, our parents are invited to an Internet safety seminar conducted by our school. Finally, our guidance department just sent home a PowerPoint sharing the importance of Internet safety which also had tools parents could use to keep their students safe.

The readings in Capstone II are endless. One website that I enjoyed this week was Netsmartz. The website was created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The website has information for educators, parents, teens and tweens. Take a few minutes and take a look.

HRACS Here We Come!

I will be conducting my first Professional Development outside of our school this week and I am just a little nervous. We were able to practice in front of our colleagues last week and one of the suggestions they added was they wanted specific ways that each technology could be used in THEIR classroom. I am guessing that is what the teachers this week will also want to know; therefore, we will have to make sure we share how we are using the different software such as Voki, Edu.Glogster, Quizlet, Blogs, Museum Box etc. in our classrooms. For instant, Voki is simply fun for students to play around with. One student last week had his Voki singing a  Christian rap song, while one of our English teachers is using Voki to connect student learning from the previous day to what the student will be learning today. Instead of her repeating herself for each class and possibly leaving off an important fact, her Voki catches the student's attention and engages them in learning. Next we will go over Edu.Glogster. Edu.Glogster, is a creative way to capture the students attention and gives them a way to display their work in a new way. Both Edu.Glogster and Museum Box allow students to learn new information and share it with their peers and teacher in a unique and creative way. Sri Kusumawati Md Daud, Fauzan Mustaffa, Hanafizan Hussain and Md Najib Osman in their article, Creative Technology as Open Ended Learning Tool: A Case Study of Design School in Malaysia, concluded that students need a wide variety of technology training and open ended assessments to allow students to think on their own and determine the best way to display their findings. Employers need students who can figure out the problem and solve it. In addition, Quizlet has increased several students quiz scores after using the software to study for their quizzes. It is an easy program that teachers are picking up on very quickly. Finally, Blogs are being used in Bible classes, English classes, history classes, and technology classes to collaborate student learning. A list of six technology standards which students should know nationally by eighth grade to enhance employable skills and raise Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy in the United States are listed below (Kay and Honey, 2005):

• Communicate Effectively: Students must have a range of skills to express themselves not only through paper and pencil, but also audio, video, animation, design software as well as a host of new environments (e-mail, Web sites, message boards, blogs, streaming media, etc.).

• Analyze and Interpret Data: Students must have the ability to crunch, compare, and choose among the glut of data now available Web-based and other electronic formats.

• Understand Computational Modeling: Students must posses an understanding of the power, limitations, and underlying assumptions of various data representation systems, such as computational models and simulations, which are increasingly driving a wide-range of disciplines.

• Manage and Prioritize Tasks: Students must be able to mange the multi-tasking, selection, and prioritizing across technology applications that allow them to move fluidly among teams, assignments and communities of practice.

• Engage in Problem Solving: Students must have an understanding of how to apply what they know and can do to new situations.

• Ensure Security and Safety: Students must know and use strategies to acknowledge, identify, and negotiate 21^st century risks.

How are you measuring up in your classroom with the above mentioned standards?

Work Cited

"Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement." Web. 20 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm>.

Keep Creativity Alive

I found the following quote to be very eye opening:

“With important groups such as ISTE, AASL and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills all calling upon schools to stress originality, imagination and creative production, the meaning of those terms along with related concepts such as synthesis, innovation and invention becomes central to defining the purpose of education.”¹

I feel fortunate to be employed by an administrator that realizes that every lesson will not go well. Ken Robinson in his video entitled “School Kills Creativity” put it another way. He defines creativity as “the process of having original ideas that have value.” He continues by saying, “If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.” Is not that the issue with us technology immigrants versus the technology natives that we teach on a daily basis?

While teaching high school students, I try to make them think and explain to them what I, as an employer, use to expect from my employees. I would have a basic idea for a flyer and I would share my idea with a high school student, give them the pricing, and give them a few days to come up with a one page front and back flyer. They would show it to me, we would make suggestions, edit it for errors and eventually they would print it and watch it being stuffed into monthly statements. Today of course, the same flyer may be attached to a website or emailed to customers, but the idea of allowing a 16 or 17 year old to have that much influence was, I am sure, scary at first. As a teacher, I teach the same way I use to manage. I do not give them all the answers. YES they get frustrated at me at times, and yes I do have to help some students more than others depending on their SIP (Student Intervention Plan), but all in all, I am hoping they will leave my class knowing how to think on their own and have the confidence to still make mistakes. As Ken Robinson also stated, we may not see the future; however, the students we are teaching need to have the skills to make something out of it.

One resource I use in the classroom is Microsoft Publisher. This is a simple program in which the students are able to make brochures, flyers, door signs, websites or whatever they wish to make. One student just brought me her health brochure she made depicting the heart and its importance to the human body. She was really proud of her progress. I might say, it was pretty impressive looking. Until next time . . . .

Work Cited

¹"A True Original." Educational Technology Students Schools Libraries Teachers Parents Staff Development. Web. 09 Feb. 2011. <http://www.fno.org/jan09/original.html>.

Pageflakes.com is my new discovery. You are able to set it up as your home page, attach your  RSS reads, connect to Facebook, have the weather right in front of you each morning as you wake up and read your favorites, and even attach your to do list to keep you organized. Andy Carvin in his article entitled What is RSS? explains that RSS, Really Simple Syndication, allows publishers of web articles to simply find updates to a set number of articles of interest. One such article on RSS's suggested that you limit your list to five blogs to follow to begin with. You are able to add to this list or subtract by a simple click of the mouse. No longer is it necessary to log in to all of your favorite blogs, now you are able to just list them on your RSS and as they are updated, you will receive the update on your RSS. What is next? Until next time . . . .

Works Cited

Carvin, Andy. "What Is RSS?" PBS Teachers Learning.Now. 2009. Web. 6 Feb. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=81920>.

Free Google Downloads

Well Capstone II is here. Another twelve weeks of hard work. In addition, a colleague and I are planning a workshop for HRACS and I just found a new blog and five free downloads. The titles and link to the pdf files is as follows: Other Technology Guides for Teachers, Google for Teachers, Making Videos on the Web - A Guide for Teachers, Beyond Google - Fifteen Tips and Tools for Improving Internet Search, Google Earth Across the Curriculum, Twelve Essentials for Technology Integration, Download all five free guides at http://www.freetech4teachers.com/p/free-downloads.html. Hope you enjoy your visit to my blog and are able to take away something new.  Until next time.

AP Test Revisited

New York Times article shares how the current AP tests will be revamped. For years, students and teachers alike have been stuffed with loads of information and finally administrators realize that enough is enough. While we want our classes to be challenging, why give our high school students a harder test than our college students are taking on campus. The change will not happen until the 2012-2013 school year, but at least they will happen. US History and Biology are the first two test to be revamped. Please see http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/edlife/09ap-t.html for more details. Who knows, one day I may get to teach AP Accounting. Until next time. . . .