Tuesday, May 5, 2009
ICP Lesson Reflection
Overall I think the lesson went well. I would have liked to have more class participation and I think next time I will give more opportunities to do so. . I also feel that I need to monitor my time better. I was a little over and I may have rushed a bit. I need to be more aware of the time constraints and make sure that I cover my material in the allotted time.
Finally done!! And I mean that in a good way...
Last night was our final class night and day 2 of our presentations. I went last night and it is a huge load off my shoulders! Although I am glad to be done with this course because it was a lot of work, I think it was well worth it. I really learned a lot more than I expected to and I experimented with many technological tools that I normally would not have. I think this course has really helped me be a better teacher and I cannot wait to have a classroom of my own to try out everything I learned. I'll have to take it slow at first, but I think it will all work out well. In particular, I really want to try blogging, having a website/wiki, and using other web 2.0 tools such as puzzle makers, podcasts, etc. I really liked using photostory 3 as well and I may experiment some more with that. Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of this course and I think it has been one of the most beneficial courses to my teaching career.
Monday, May 4, 2009
The end is near. . .
Tonight is our final class session and I can't believe how quickly it went. It is our final day for presenting our ICP. I present tonight and I am looking forward to it. This was the last major thing for me to complete and after tonight, I just have lots of self reflecting and rubric submitting to do. It feels good to be almost done!
Here is the link to my final project:
Using Technology to Develop Students' Creativity and Critical Thinking Skills
My lesson plan can be accessed on my personal website.
Here is the link to my final project:
Using Technology to Develop Students' Creativity and Critical Thinking Skills
My lesson plan can be accessed on my personal website.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Heather's ICP Presentation
3 Facts About Digital Storytelling:
1. Can cover a wide range of topics.
2. Can incorporate a multitude of pictures, music, etc.
3. Can be a more interesting way to cover material.
I utilized my information literacy skills when I created my digital story because I created my digital story based on past historical events.
1. Can cover a wide range of topics.
2. Can incorporate a multitude of pictures, music, etc.
3. Can be a more interesting way to cover material.
I utilized my information literacy skills when I created my digital story because I created my digital story based on past historical events.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Authentic and Smart Assessment
Required Blog:
Blog about your learning experience during this week about "Assessment" and the ways technology makes it authentic and smart.
My learning experience this week consisted of two things:
1. reviewing what I know and have learned about assessment and making it authentic and smart
Let me start with the course readings...I found the reading entitled Assessment: Overview and Discussion to be the most helpful in guiding my thinking and learning. Through reading this question and answer overview, I really found myself reflecting on the different issues, areas, tools, etc. of assessment. I think the first part discussing diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments was a great review of material I had learned in previous classes. It was a good reminder for teaching and for that section of the MSMC lesson plan that I am working on for my final project. The remaining parts were also a review, but they just led me to reflect on the importance of grades and tests and how they should play a role in my future classroom. Grades are essential in almost all schools, but what is graded and the criteria the grade is based on depends on the teacher in most cases. This is where I feel the teacher needs to know her students and their motivating factors, as well know the curriculum and what the students need to know. When these two factors are well known, the teacher should have less difficulty with both grading and creating authentic assessments. As far as the state tests are concerned, they make up a major part of the teachers school year, but they should not be everything and teachers can prepare the students for the tests using authentic assessments. I personally feel most students will learn the necessary information better and then the only other factor is teaching the students to transfer their knowledge and use it on the state tests. Through test prep and teaching good studying techniques, teachers should have little problems doing this. I think the future will lead to a more authentic way of teaching and learning and assessing as these philosophies are further explored. I found that the Conceptual Framework for Classroom Assessment reading contained a much more detailed look at what was discussed above and just allowed me to reinforce my thoughts on assessment.
As far as the additional resources provided are concerned, I found the web 2.0 tools to be most useful in creating authentic assessments. They are quick and easy and most teachers with a grasp on technology should be able to use them. I found that this technology will make it much easier for teachers to provide what their students need such as flashcards, rubrics, quizzes, etc. Not only does this take students away from the drill and practice routine, but it also provides ways for students to practice and communicate outside of the classroom, which many parents are looking for as well. Many of the technologies also answer the question, "how am I supposed to grade all this?" Many of the sites will grade the quizzes, tests, etc. for the teacher and then it is just the job of the teacher to transfer the grade. This is two fold in that it provides immediate feedback for the students as well.
Overall, I find that technology can only aide in creating and using authentic assessments, not take away from it. I think there are many different tools for teachers to explore and use and through doing so, their students will benefit. With the way of the world shifting, using the technology justs incorporates what students already do outside of the classroom and shows them how to apply it to their own learning.
Blog about your learning experience during this week about "Assessment" and the ways technology makes it authentic and smart.
My learning experience this week consisted of two things:
1. reviewing what I know and have learned about assessment and making it authentic and smart
and
2. how using technology can contribute to creating authentic and smart assessments.Let me start with the course readings...I found the reading entitled Assessment: Overview and Discussion to be the most helpful in guiding my thinking and learning. Through reading this question and answer overview, I really found myself reflecting on the different issues, areas, tools, etc. of assessment. I think the first part discussing diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments was a great review of material I had learned in previous classes. It was a good reminder for teaching and for that section of the MSMC lesson plan that I am working on for my final project. The remaining parts were also a review, but they just led me to reflect on the importance of grades and tests and how they should play a role in my future classroom. Grades are essential in almost all schools, but what is graded and the criteria the grade is based on depends on the teacher in most cases. This is where I feel the teacher needs to know her students and their motivating factors, as well know the curriculum and what the students need to know. When these two factors are well known, the teacher should have less difficulty with both grading and creating authentic assessments. As far as the state tests are concerned, they make up a major part of the teachers school year, but they should not be everything and teachers can prepare the students for the tests using authentic assessments. I personally feel most students will learn the necessary information better and then the only other factor is teaching the students to transfer their knowledge and use it on the state tests. Through test prep and teaching good studying techniques, teachers should have little problems doing this. I think the future will lead to a more authentic way of teaching and learning and assessing as these philosophies are further explored. I found that the Conceptual Framework for Classroom Assessment reading contained a much more detailed look at what was discussed above and just allowed me to reinforce my thoughts on assessment.
As far as the additional resources provided are concerned, I found the web 2.0 tools to be most useful in creating authentic assessments. They are quick and easy and most teachers with a grasp on technology should be able to use them. I found that this technology will make it much easier for teachers to provide what their students need such as flashcards, rubrics, quizzes, etc. Not only does this take students away from the drill and practice routine, but it also provides ways for students to practice and communicate outside of the classroom, which many parents are looking for as well. Many of the technologies also answer the question, "how am I supposed to grade all this?" Many of the sites will grade the quizzes, tests, etc. for the teacher and then it is just the job of the teacher to transfer the grade. This is two fold in that it provides immediate feedback for the students as well.
Overall, I find that technology can only aide in creating and using authentic assessments, not take away from it. I think there are many different tools for teachers to explore and use and through doing so, their students will benefit. With the way of the world shifting, using the technology justs incorporates what students already do outside of the classroom and shows them how to apply it to their own learning.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Engrade Evaluation
Today I had the opportunity to experiment with Engrade, an online grade book. I created an account and because I am not in the classroom yet, I created a 5th grade math class to input grades for. I set up the grade book to have four categories - Tests, Quizzes, Homework, and Projects. I then assigned them percentages. I then inputted grades for various assignments. My reflection on this web 2.0 tool is below: * Tell what features you liked, disliked, and why.
I liked the tool a lot. It was very user friendly and easy to navigate. I liked how easy it was to set up my class and how each student has their own number and ability to access their grades. I think this is a great feature to use and will save a lot of questions at report card time because students and parents can track their grades throughout the marking period.
I liked the tool a lot. It was very user friendly and easy to navigate. I liked how easy it was to set up my class and how each student has their own number and ability to access their grades. I think this is a great feature to use and will save a lot of questions at report card time because students and parents can track their grades throughout the marking period.
* Provide some ideas or features that you think would improve Engrade.com
As of right now, I cannot think of any features that would improve it. I'm sure once I'm in the classroom and entering grades everyday, I will find something that I would think needed improvement. Everything I thought of and tried to experiment with today worked great.
* Tell why you think this software would or would not be useful for classroom teachers.I think it would be useful in a lot of ways. Its simple to use, and once you set up a class list once, you can use it for multiple subjects. I also think giving students the ability to track their grades is great motivation for improvement. I also feel it would save a lot of questions at report card time. I also think it may be a lot of pressure for teachers to constantly make sure their grade books are completely updated on an almost daily basis because some parents/students will look for their grades everyday
* Tell why students and/or parents would like this online gradebook software, or why not.
I think students and parents alike would enjoy the ability to track their grades or that of their child's. I don't think all students and parents would participate, but I think for those who would, it could be a good communication device between parents and teachers in reference to grades.
Here is a snapshot of my "gradebook":
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