Final Activity!

Here is my VoiceThread Digital Story.  I think there might still be a few kinks, but overall I am proud of it and like the way this resource worked.  I like my voice as part of the story; I can covey so much more emotion with it verses something written.  I can see why this might work with students in a variety of ways.

Activity 16

I was curious about the idea of a Flipped Classroom.  I had no idea what is was and had never heard the term, so I went to the Flipped Learning website to learn more. Basically, through reading part of this website and founder Jon Bergmann's blog, and looking at his YouTube channel (particularly this video), I came to understand that a Flipped Classroom is one in which all verbal information (they call it lectures) is recorded, and students usually watch it at home the night before.  Then, in class they spend time on application, be it homework they may have done in a traditionally modeled classroom (where info is delivered in class and practice is done at home), re-watching the lectures to gain greater mastery, or other higher-order thinking activities. The teacher is working with small groups or individuals, but is almost never standing in front as the "sage on the stage" as that is the purpose of the video lectures students have already watched.  As Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sterns said in their presentation, what was done in class is now done at home and what was done at home is now done in class.  It ends up evolving into something unique for each teachers, changing activities that are done, the set-up of the classroom, how students are assessed, etc.  I think many of us are trying to engage our students through these tactics; let's be honest that hands-on learning, differentiated assessment, and higher-order thinking are not new concepts to most teachers, but the notion of transferring the direct instruction to the home environment with videos could be very powerful in transforming our classrooms even more!  I think that this means that all our students would need to be wired, both at home and in school, and I'm not sure this is the reality.  Another challenge I see for my content is that I usually don't lecture for an entire period; I might give a series of mini-lectures (for lack of a better phrase) so I'm not sure how I would transfer those to a video  without the connecting activities I do in class.  I guess I usually think about students reading the textbook as the preparation and content learning and in class as application of that, but I need to spend time going over what they read for clarity.  Perhaps using video would engage the students more and help them learn more than reading and taking notes.  Lots to think about!

The other topic I found interesting were Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).  I was interested in this because my father-in-law has told me about a couple in which he enrolled for fun, and I wanted to learn more about them.  This brief overview from EDUCAUSE gave me a great understanding.  Basically, many universities are putting their courses online (through partnerships with other organizations or universities) and anyone can enroll and learn!  People can participate in as much or as little as they like, moving in and out of the microlectures, readings, online discussions, and/or face-to-face meet-ups however they want within the time the course runs.  People, like my father-in-law, might do this just out of interest, but others might do this to help perfect a skill, advance a career, or learn about a new area.  Here is a list of MOOCs.  In looking around here, I learned that MOOCS do have substantial work attached to them, and you are expected to complete whatever work you plan to do within a specific time frame, so there is some structure.  I narrowed to only Social Science MOOCs, and I found three on the first page I'd be interested in taking to enhance my own understanding of topics I teach!  This resource has the great potential to take down barriers to education, allowing anyone with internet access to participate in higher education. It greatly taps into my own desire to be a life-long learner, and I think that this could be a trend in high school as well, offering more choices to students to connect with topics they are passionate about.

Activity #14 Reflection

The first session I watched was "Tradigital History: Bringing the Past Alive".  Dr. Beeghley started out speaking about some issues that resonated with me--the idea that many teachers don't delve into Web 2.0 tools because they don't understand it or don't have time (I often feel this way).  He also said that students feel that way too, and that they end up using resources they already know (like Google searches) and end up wasting time because there are much more effective ways to search.  He countered the excuses saying that for students and teachers, technology can make things easier, more streamlined, and often a lot more interesting (especially when you're talking about history and high school students).  He used some great resources from the Library of Congress (mostly primary documents like maps and photographs). I'm not sure how useful these will be in teaching World History, but they still are very engaging).  One resource that I loved was wordle.net, a place where you can input text and it creates "word clouds."  I can see using this as a way to analyze primary documents in different ways in World History!  His last thought was about how to deliver information students learned.  He challenged listeners to allow students to create reports in any format  (Prezi, Glogster newspaper, etc.) adhering to the criteria (writing and content) rather than just a traditional essay.  I like this idea, and it certainly fits in with ideas we've discussed in this class.

The second session I watched was "Digital ID A Project Platform for Learning, Sharing, Remixing, and Teaching Digital Citizenship".  This presentation really reminded me of how at our school, we have talked about integrating information literacy skills for a number of years, but now it is not optional, but necessary and in some situations required by law.  Every subject needs to take ownership of teaching these skills, from how to write a proper email to a teacher to what students and teachers can use from online without violating copy write to considering your digital footprint.  On resource they mentioned was Common Sense Media, and in quickly looking at this website, it looks like it has some great lesson plans and ideas for all of us.  The two speakers also founded the Digital ID Project that looks like a great resource for teaching important concepts such as cyberbullying, digital privacy, and other topics.  It's divided not only by topic but also by grade level--it seems very user-friendly!

Activity #13: Padlet Wall

Created with Padlet

Activity #13

Write a reflective blog post based on Formative Assessment and technology. How do you see yourself rolling out some of these tools in your class? How can you share with course team members? What are some uses for these tools outside of Formative Assessment?

I think that all of these tools have great potential to replace some of the more "old-fashioned" formative assessment I already do.  I routinely give notes quizzes, through which students can assess the quality of their notes, and instead of doing this on a copied sheet of paper, I could do this using Google Forms (grading with Flubaroo).  I'm curious to see how the grading portion of this works, since I'm not sure Flubaroo will mark it correct or incorrect if they put words (like the rivers) in a different order.  However, I think it has potential for some quick, informal "do you know this?" checks, both in class and out of class.

I also really like Padlet--it seems like a great way to build a class understanding of a question or concept, or to do a "bumper-sticker" type sharing (which I created here) that I might have done on butcher-block paper or just on note-book paper and pass around.

Socrative is really neat and could also be used for quick knowledge checks. I like how you can watch the results come in (we could do this in a computer lab as kids complete it on their own computers) or I could leave the activity open and they can respond at home on their own time.  All great tools that I look forward to trying this fall.

I think that I could share these with my course team members by trying it out and then sharing a finished product with them--that would give them the confidence that it can and does work!  Outside of formative assessment, these tools could be used for test and exam review, and perhaps students could create their own quizzes or walls to share with the class, as an activity.  I can see this especially with Padlet.

I shared my Quiz on a Google Form on Google+, but here is the link as well:  Hilary's Sample Quiz
My room number for Socrative is:  357636.  

Activity #12

I think that OERs are the most exciting thing I've learned about in this class!  In my previous post, I talked about how I do feel much of my teaching material is borrowed from others and that I am excited to share what I've created, and now I see that there are online communities out that believe the same and are doing the same!  I looked mostly at Ted-Ed (I have used some Ted Talks before and love them, so this was the natural place for me to start) and I found many lessons I could use in World History (one on Ancient Rome, a couple on China), but the one I am sharing here is on the Electoral College.  I always have to teach the Electoral College during all my classes in election years, and it tends to be something hard to explain.  I will certainly use this video in the future, and it also has some multiple choice questions and additional resources I can send my students to for an informal assessment or digging deeper!  Here is the link:  http://ed.ted.com/lessons/does-your-vote-count-the-electoral-college-explained-christina-greer

On a side note, I have seen students use Khan Academy to enhance and test their understanding of math and science concepts, and it is exciting to me that KA is branching out into the Humanities as well.  I think this could be a great site to send kids to if they need additional help on certain topics or want to dig deeper on their own; the ARC tutors should know about and use this resource to assist students that come in there (if they don't already)!

Activity #11

I have not seen the CC logo, but I will look for it now.  It was interesting to search through CC for an image to use; I wanted to find something that I could use in World History, but all of the image ideas that came to mind ended up being so old (medieval European illuminated manuscripts, paintings of Napoleon) that they are public domain, according to CC, and therefore the CC licencing didn't apply.  I will have to think more about how to use audio and video clips I can find here.  However, I do think that teaching kids about fair use, including CC, is very important as we more forward in this digital age.  Especially as I do more projects where they capture images from online, they need to know what is legal and what isn't and how to do things the moral, and legal, way.  A downside I saw to using CC is that some of the images I use in power points (which is a main way I use images in my teaching) are diagrams, and I didn't see many diagrams that were included in the CC searches.  So, perhaps I should think about constructing my own diagrams and licensing them through CC so that they can be used by others.  I believe all my teaching materials are eligible for use, reuse and modification by others.  So many people have shared with me over the years I can't be certain that anything I do is totally a product of my own creation.  For me, teaching is a community activity, and I want to share my work with others and have it be used by others.  That's part of the reason why CC is so exciting to me.

My quiz score was an 8/10.  I didn't totally understand what a CC license gives the down-loader the ability to do, but after taking the quiz and reading the correct answers for the ones I got wrong, now I do!  This seems like a great resource to revise and spruce up some of the power points I use each year, which now I know certainly need to be re-done because I am outside of Fair Use since they are older than two years.  

Here is the image I captures from CC.  It isn't connected to my teaching at all, it just reminds me of a cat we used to have who would sit like this occasionally.  I think it's funny.  :)

By Photographer: Lynne R. Lawrie (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Prezi Sample

This is a sample Prezi for an assignment I am thinking about for the first week in my new Sophomore English class next year.  Students will create a getting-to-know-you Prezi about themselves with minimal text and mostly images (like my sample).  They will present to the class, talking about each image as they click through.  The Prezi theme must in some way connect to a way in which they see themselves, their life, etc (you will see mine is a journey).  They will turn in a brief written piece explaining this more symbolic connection--so I will have a baseline speech and writing sample from one assignment!

Animoto Sample

Make your own photo slideshow at Animoto.

Activity #8-10 Reflection

Although I have trouble thinking about how I will use Voki in the classroom, I really do have lots of ideas for Prezi and Animoto.  I used Animoto for a project in World History last year (transformed a traditional poster project into an Animoto project--my model for this WH project is what is shared here) and not only did I enjoy the films, the kids had a great time making them!  I think I would like to use Animoto more next year as well as start using Prezi.  As I embark on teaching Sophomore English, which has a siginfiicant speaking component to it, I think that both of these tools could help support student speeches.  They can be more dynamic and less text heavy than power point, and yet they can offer visuals for students to speak from during an in-class, live presentation!

Voki does provide a bit more of a challenge for me to integrate; but after looking through some of the sample lesson plans, there are some good ideas!  One for High School Social Studies suggested having students input information they learned or researched into their Voki and then the teacher collects and embeds them into a website for a study guide.  This could work well, especially when preparing for exams; I could help the students make a more comprehensive study guide by dividing up the units and having them share virtually in this way.  I also liked another idea I saw about creating a Voki for a character from a book and creating a "slogan" or "modern phrase" for that character via the Voki. That seems like a fun way into a book or an historical figure!

Overall, I think these three Web 2.0 tools could really help to engage more learners in more dynamic ways. They can be made an shared during class, or they can be created at home and shared via a class blog, Google Doc, or email for students to access outside of class. They all give students more opportunities to have their voices heard.

My Voki!

Activity 7-Google + Reflection

Google+ is an interesting place to be--it seems to have great capacity for personalizing and connection with others, both professionally and personally.  In addition to adding the D113 Learning 2.0 collegues, I added a number of friends and family to my circles.  I'm not sure how many of them do use Google+, but it was fun to see who had photos posted.  I looked around in the communities and joined a couple education ones (Google Apps for Educators is one) and some for my interests (Indian Food Bloggers and Great Books for Kids).  At first, it was a little hard for me to navigate around Google+, but the more I did it, the more intuitive it became (back to that principle of "play to learn"!).  I did not complete my hangout experience yet, but I watched a good portion of the recording of Maureen's "Giddy for Google" hangout, and it was really neat to see how this concept can bring together people virtually for a really healthy, interactive experience!  It was interesting to see too that even the pros have some technical difficulties (that were quickly ironed out); it gives me confidence to work through issues I might have with technology when I see others, even those who are experienced, do the same.  I am interested in trying a hangout and then seeing if I can use it, especially for connections with my family that does not live close by and always wants to see my kids!    

Activity #6 - Twitter Reflection

I am not sure a live tweet session would be something I'd be interested in.  I think it would be very hard to follow, and I'd rather be part of a full conversation than one via twitter; I think that even a chat room or a video chat would be more my speed.  However, I think it is an interesting concept, and I believe our students would really be into this type of communicating and collaborating.  I followed a wide range--from famous people who I think it would be fun to see what they say to news sources to entertainment news, to some of my friend who tweet.  It was neat to see who all has twitter feeds, I think it is very cool to get the news updates so quickly and concisely   I like the brevity of twitter for these quick updates!  I have not yet picked up any followers, we'll see if I do as I continue to explore.  I honestly don't think I have anything that interesting to say!  I liked the titter glossary; I now really do understand what someone says when they say "hashtag. . . "  That feels good!  

Activity #5-Google Chrome Reflection

Reflect on your experience using Google Chrome. What do you like/dislike right off the bat? Which apps or extensions did you explore? What additional apps or extensions did you install? After using Chrome for a few days, what are some words of advice you would share with your colleagues?

Google Chrome is a very intuitive browser.  I like the home screen; it is very clean and neat.  It also seems to run a bit faster than my Internet Explorer, so that is nice!  I explored Edmodo, Read and Write, and Google Dictionary.  Read and Write and Google Dictionary seem to have great potential for me to use with my students to help differentiate my instruction.  Edmodo is interesting  but to be honest I don't think that I will use it that much; I don't have the time to sift through what's there.  But, it could be good if I want to brainstorm and connect with other colleagues to get some ideas.  Some advice I would give other is give it a chance--use the browser for a few days and play around with it.  It might be hard to change, since many of us are used to explorer, but this browser has amazing potential and actually is very easy to use once you get the hang of it!

Activity #4 Reflection

This was useful for me; I was reminded of a couple of features I forgot about in Google Apps, and I learned some new features!  Some ideas I came up with for Google Apps include. . .

1. Using a Google Form for getting to know you. . .I usually have students fill out a paper copy of this form and save them in a binder, but if I make this process one that is done through Google Drive, then I can use it as a way for my students to familiarize themselves with their Google Drive and I can have this information saved electronically, saving space and paper.  I would put them all in one folder in my Google Drive.
2. Using Google Docs for creating assignments with my course team. . . As I mentioned in my sample Google Doc, I started doing this with Niki A. at the end of the year, but I want do this with the larger World History course team as well as with my other courses.  It is such a great way to share and collaborate on assignments with colleges, but then I can also share it (without editing privileges) with my students.  Then, they will always have a copy and I can update it in real time.  
3. Using Google Calendar for birthdays. . .This seems so obvious, but I have never thought to use an online calendar with reminders for the birthdays of friends and family.  What a great idea, and once I set it up I have it from year to year.  I'm excited about how this can keep me organized!

Activity #2 Post-Video Link

Here is my video link; it is entitled "A Vision of 21st Century Teachers"
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=168119

Activity #2 Post--Thoughts about Web 2.0

Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice. How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today's "digital learners?" Why would you want to? How might you be able to use these tools to support your own learning?

·        These videos and articles definitely made me start thinking about the skills I need to teach my students, as opposed to the content.  I certainly have always thought about my teaching in terms of content and skills, but the skills have focused on reading, writing, research, and speaking, all connected to improving thinking.  Now, I am find myself contemplating incorporating more technology or digital literacy or collaboration or Web 2.0 skills. The line in the first video that pointed out that we are preparing kids for jobs that don’t even exist yet really struck me!  I need to think not only about the content I am teaching, and what really matters from that, but also the skills I am teaching because I just don’t know what they will encounter.  I need to prepare them in a broader way—thinking about how to collaborate effectively (in person and online), how to co-author a piece fairly, how to interact online in an ethical way. . .

      I think that incorporating blogs or other online, interactive responses, perhaps using Google Docs, is a great way to engage digital learners.  Students could do formative and summative work via Google Docs and share it with me and others in the class in order to have them comment/give feedback.  I also like the idea of having students create review guides for tests in a collaborative, online way, and share it with me so I can comment and support their learning and review process too.  

      

      I have to remember that the Web can support my own learning; if I have a question I probably can find a place that will help me figure out that technology question online.  It should become part of my "toolbox" rather than more of a place of frustration.

Activity #1 Post

• Which habit(s) may be most challenging for you to employ as part of your D113 Learning 2.0 experience?
• I think that seeing problems as challenges will be challenging for me. As a couple people mentioned on the VoiceThread, I often get frustrated with technology or don't want to take the time to figure out a kink; I view it a problem that derails my lesson or learning rather than a problem that will teach me in the end. 
• Which habit(s) will be easiest, or are most resonant for you as a lifelong learner?
• I think that taking responsibility for my own learning will be the easiest for me.  I believe I naturally do this, and I try to model this for my students and own children as well, so I hope that I will do this well in this class, too!   
• Which habit do you think will be most important for you as you work through this course, and why?
• As I mentioned on the VoiceThread, I think that using technology to my advantage will be most important. I often don't want to change my teaching practice to incorporate new technology just because I am easily overwhelmed by it and I don't view problems I run into with it as challenges.  But, I think that Web 2.0 has some powerful, and very important, applications for my students, and it is my responsibility to teach them about it.  And, I think it could be fun too--they are more used to being "prosumers" than I am, so I think they will welcome this with open arms and teach me a few things!