Week 5: Digital Citizenship

It is very important to be a good digital citizen when using the internet, social media sites such as facebook, twitter and myspace, and even emails. A good digital citizen should  be respectful and use common sense when communicating online. To be a good digital citizen one must be sure to only post information that belongs to them. Anytime information is borrowed from an outside source it must correctly cited to give credit to the source for the information. Do not post any information that uses rude language and always identify yourself. Being a good digital citizen helps protect  all who use the internet. Since the internet can be a very dangerous place and includes viruses, cyberbulling, cyberstalking, and identity theft it is important that everyone practices being a good digital citizen.

It is also very important to have a good digital reputation to protect yourself. Things that are posed on the web can be very conflicting if not posted cautiously.  Everything that is posted on the internet will always remain there. The is a saying that I like to use that goes "Think before you post". If it is something that could potentially cause problems in the future I would suggest that it not be posted. One must consider all angles before posting something that may cause damage to their reputation or damage someone else's reputation. Many employers are researching social media sites to get information about prospective employees. A good digital reputation is good for everyone!

For additional information on digital citizenship please visit this  digital citizenship presentation.

Week:4 Material Generators

During my undergrad studies I was required to do research on material generators that were useful to teachers. I  had the opprotunity to explore some of the material generators. At the end of the semester we were given the chance to exchange our most useful ones. I have a file ready to use during my first year teaching.

During my field experience I often used worksheet and puzzle generators.  I taught second grade and I often used worksheets and puzzles as Morning work. I also used them in the earlier finishers basket. Student were only allowed to go to the early finishers basket if there work is complete and there is spare time. Occasionally I would use the worksheets generator to make math homework sheets.

I have also used test and rubric generators.The test generators allow me to chose the question and format that I would like to use to test students. I often use test generators when I have give a teacher choice test. I have used to rubric generator to assist with grading projects and writing assignments. This assures that each student is graded fairly using the same requirements.

During my field experience I did not have the chance to use a whiteboard, which we call a Smart board. The school that I taught at was an older model school that only had on smart board on wheels that had to be shared between all teachers. This past year I was fortunate enough to be able to sub at a variety of schools. Many if the new schools had smart boards installed in each class. It was during this time that I became familiar with smartboards. Smart boards allow teacher to make fun, creative, interactive lessons. Students seem to enjoy the interactive lessons. I am looking forward to using a Smart board in my class. I have become familiar with some math and language arts programs that I'm planning on using the Smart board with.

Web 2.0 Resources

For the Web 2.0 assignment I chose Social Studies standard #14.) Describe the social, political, and economic impact of the modern Civil Rights Movement * Identifying important people and events of he modern Civil Rights Movement. I chose this topic because learning African American History is one of my favorites. This was also a very informative topic to work on. As I researched for my assignment I was constantly learning new things and I absolutely loved it!

The concept map was  much easier for me since this was my second time doing one. My topics included important leaders and events during the Civil Rights Movement along with important details of each.

 The Web 2.0 Resources assignment required that we use several different parts. This was my first time using Glogster. I enjoyed creating my very own interactive poster. The site was very easy to use and I found the tools to be very handy. It was beneficial to have the You Tube videos that were already loaded into the program. I did not like the fact that I had to manually type in the URL to add a link. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment and it is something that I will use again. I also plan to have my students make a graphic glog using Glogster. Feel free to view my glog at http://mrsjevans0716.edu.glogster.com/glogevans-ed505/

Animoto was also a requirement for this assignment. While working on the Animoto assignment I had a difficult time finding pictures that were not copy righted. I searched and searched diffrent non copy righted websites and was unable to find pictures that related to my topic. I eventually came across a site called Wikimedia which is a free commons webpage. Wikimedia has plenty of pictures that related to the Civil Rights Movement. Once I found the pictures and uploaded them things were much easier. I found a song from the movie Selma Lord Selma that I wanted to use for my music. I wasn't really sure how to save a song from You Tube so I googled the directions. I ended up downloading a mp3 file converter; which worked great. This was my first time using Animoto. It was an experience but I do believe that I will be using it in the future. Feel free to view my Animoto video at http://animoto.com/play/SK7LlPHxBz7KVsi3rrR6VQ

For my free choice assignment I chose the Blabberize pictures. I chose two important leaders and one event from the Civil Rights Movement to blabberize. I decided to blabberize the two leaders from a first person perspective as if I was the leader. The sound quality from the voice recorder on Blabberize.com was horrible. It sound was very low and hard to hear. I used http://online-voice-recorder.com/ to record my voice. I then downloaded and saved the recording. Online voice recorder is louder and much clearer than the recorder provider by blabberize.com. In order to meet the 30 second time line, I had to record several times. I felt a little rushed and would have liked to have more time.After practicing for a while I was able to speak all of the information within the 30 seconds. This assignment is very fun to watch and would be a hit for any grade level. This is something that I also plan to incorporate into my teaching lessons. Feel free to view my blabberized pictures at the following links:
http://blabberize.com/view/id/987382

http://blabberize.com/view/id/987368

http://blabberize.com/view/id/987365

Week 3: Types of Instructional Software

Computer programs that are designed specifically to assist with the delivery of instruction on a particular topic is known as instructional software.  Spread sheets and word processing programs are known as tool software and are known to enhance instructional activities. Explained below are the five types of instructional software: drill and practice, tutorial, simulation, instructional game, and problem solving .

Drill-and-practice: provides exercises where students work example items one at a time and receive feedback on their correctness. Feedback can range from a display like "correct, or try again. Types of drill practice include flash card activities, chart fill-in activities, branching drills, and extensive feedback activities. Example Software: http://www.resourceroom.net/math/onetimes.htm

Tutorial: An instructional sequence on a topic, similar  to the teacher's classroom instruction. Students should be able to learn without any other help or materials. Tutorials are categorized  as linear or branching tutorials. Linear tutorials gives the same instructional sequence of explanation, practice, and feedback to all learners regardless of performance. Branching tutorial directs learners along an alternate path depending on how they respond to questions and whether they show mastery of certain parts of the material. Example Software: http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/index.html

Simulations: A computerized model of a real or imagined system that is designed to teach students how systems work. Alessi and Trollip divided simulations into physical and iterative which teach about something. Physical simulations allow users to manipulate things or processes represented on the screen. Iterative simulations speed up or slow down processes that happen so slow or so quick that students can't see the events unfold. Simulations that teach how to do something are procedural and situational simulations. Procedural simulations teach appropriate sequence of steps to perform certain procedures and situational simulations give students hypothetical problem situations and ask them to react.  Example: Software:http://www.howthemarketworks.com/

Instructional Game: Increase students's motivation by adding game rules to drills or simulations. Games give students a chance to practice skills or problem solving in a fun way. Instructional games also challenge students to compete and win. Teachers often look for appealing formats and activities, instructional value, and reasonable physical dexterity when choosing an effective instructional game. When teachers choose topic that are fun it often motivates students to want to spend more time learning.
Example Software: http://www.superteachertools.com/jeopardy/

Problem Solving: Teaches through explanation and or/practice the steps involved in solving problems. Problem solving helps learners acquire problem-solving skills by giving them opportunities to solve problems. Selecting challenging, interesting formats and and clear links to develop specific problems-solving skill are the two main criteria for effective problem-solving software. Problem solving software can be beneficial to students because they improve inert knowledge and improve interest and motivation in students. Example Software:http://www.toolfactory.com/onlineLearning.html

Week 2: Hot Topic Debate

Should students play (software) games in school? This question has been debated among educators for many years. Schools that have have a college preparatory focus do not allow the use of instructional games at all. Meanwhile, there are educators who believe that education should include more games to tap into students' natural love of the format. Some teachers feel that anytime learning can take place from the guise of a game that it is a great thing.

Mark Bauerlein conducted a study on video games and academic achievement. The study covered boys ages six to nine. One group was given a video game system and the other group received a video game system four months later. The boys were given test in reading, math and writing at the beginning and after the first four months. The results concluded that the boys who received and started playing video games right away spent less than doing homework and other after-school activities than the boys without the video game system. The study also concluded that the boys with video games did not perform as well on the follow up reading and writing test, math scores were not affected. A study conducted by Sunha Kim and Mido Chang also found no significant effects on the students' math achievement.

I feel that games make great instructional aids and should be used. I encourage instructional gaming at school but I feel that is should be limited and monitored closely. Having students use preassigned games during centers or as a reward is a great idea. Children love any type of games because it gives them the chance to learn while having fun. Due to rules and regulations, during my field experience I was not able to allow my students to use gaming activities on the computer or online. Students were only allowed to use the computer to complete STAR reading/math and Accelerated Reading test. To encourage the use of instructional games vs. non-instructional, violent or arcade games I provided parents with a list of instructional games that students may use while at home,library etc.