Lesson Reflection

Thinking about a concept that my students usually have trouble understanding, continents immediately came to mind. Although it doesn’t affect the whole class, the students who do not understand the difference between a country and a continent are far behind their classmates. To solve this, I created a unit that guided students into understanding. The unit started off as a class discussion regarding different continents and countries, and the countries that make up continents. After that the students took notes on the definitions of each. Students then played a memory game online learning the locations of different continents and countries. Finally, the student created a word cloud to use as a study tool. This of course was followed by a variety of formal and informal assessments.

I did make some changes after writing my original lesson plan. The discussion on metacognition made me think about changes that I wanted to implement. Parts of my lesson already included memory, and attention, although I think there can never be too much focus on attention in a classroom. What I was concerned with was development. I wanted to see how the students developed their skills by using the map quiz game. I then implemented a score sheet that the students had to fill out each time they played the map quiz game. The students just had to jot down their score so I could see how they improved throughout the class period. I also would be able to better identify how students were progressing, and those who needed additional resources.

I implemented the lesson plan over the weekend with my cousin Eleni. She’ll be going into 8th grade next year. Although I’ll be giving this lesson to 7th graders, she was a pretty close match. Delivering the lesson to a class of one was a little bit different than instructing an entire class, but I did understand a few things that worked and what needs to be improved. I started by discussing a little about continents and countries. Only having one person in the discussion, there wasn’t much chatter back and forth. We discussed North America , and Africa and what we knew about the world. After that, I lectured, and Eleni took notes. I then stopped to check what she had learned. She seems to be understanding all of the information, and had no questions over what I had explained. We then went on the computer to the sheppardsoft site where she played the continents game. I had her keep track of here score. In the level that we chose, a continent was highlighted and she had to type the first three letters of it. She ended up taking the quiz four times, the last two times she reviewed a perfect score. On the first quiz, she mixed up Africa and Asia and the Arctic Ocean and Antartica. On the second quiz, everything was correct except she labeled the Atlantic Ocean as the Pacific. We then summarized what we learned. Though that informal assessment, I think the lesson was a success.

Technology played a large role in this lesson. Being able to play an interactive game that corrects student mistakes, has a score and instant feedback is exciting. There is no way that I would be able to quickly grade and give feedback to a class of thirty students the way a computer can. A disadvantage would be that some students might be lost when they take the test on paper, with a blank black and white map. The technology is much more user friendly and entertaining for the students.

My student seemed very excited to use the website. Even before we were finished she mentioned how much she wanted to play other games, and see what she could do. It turned into a competition, which made the lesson very interesting. Already understanding how to use this technology, she didn’t have any questions, other than thinking aloud to her herself about which ocean went where.

I think this technology helped students understand the content better because it made them an active participant in the lesson. I have taught lessons before that have explained the same concepts, but they haven’t been interesting. By creating an interesting lesson that students enjoy, it allowed them to put more effort into learning, and increased their achievement. I am very excited to present this lesson in the fall to my seventh grade class!

Group Leadership Project

For the last few weeks, I've been working with some scholarly educators from around the world. One group member is just over an hour from me in Michigan, and one is literally a world way in Bengladesh. Though a variety of conferencing tools, we've met multiple times to create a great tutorial on Google Docs, something that every teacher needs to use in their classroom.

Here is a link to the video and some information about it.

Using Google Docs

What tool did your group use to deliver the PD tutorial?

There were a few different programs that we thought about using to create our final video. We ended up settling on iMovie, a program standard on Apple computers. At first we were not sure what program to use, but Reaz was very familiar with iMovie. One of the things that we were looking for was a program that would allow you to create long video, which ruled out Jing. Jing, even the pro version will only let you create a 5 minute version. After creating our MP3 narration in Audacity, Reaz put the narrative into iMovie, and we have our finished product.

What did you learn during the development process of the final product?

I learned a lot when I created this product, not only on video production, but on other uses of Google Docs that I didn't know about. There are some great tools that I was not aware of, like Google Drawing and Google Wave. Even though we didn't end up using Google Wave as part of our final presentation, I learned a lot about that collaborative tool and some of it's uses.


What would you do differently if you had to develop a similar product again?

If I were to develop a similar product, I would try to structure better group meetings. Our group ran into many problems trying to meet. One part of this problem was our hectic schedule, and the other problem was the time difference. Suzy and I were able to find times outside of our workday when we could meet, but linking up with Reaz proved more difficult because of the time difference. Because of this, communicating though Gmail was easier than video conferencing because we were able to collaborate at times that worked for all of us. In doing this again, I would use the same software that we did before in our creation with the exception of iMovie. I have a PC, and I would probably end up using Windows Movie Maker, which I've had success using in the past.

Professional Learning Plan

You can view the Google Presentation here.

Mobile Learning

I recently joined a website called Classroom 2.0 to explore ways of teaching using mobile learning. Here are some of my results.

What tools did you try?
Flip Cameras in the classroom - We're beginning to discuss economics in my class and I've been beginning to put together plans to have the students us the flip cameras to interview adults in the buildings about personal finance. It would be interesting to be able to get the view of multiple adults and bring them into the classroom.

I also have two students who have iPads who I allow to take notes using their tablet. If it's easier for them, and provides them with a digital copy, they are more than welcome to use it in my classroom.



What ways are you thinking about integrating mobile technology into YOUR classroom?

I'd really like to use mobile technology in my classroom for students to ask questions through a backchannel like Todaysmeet.org . I think that would be a very interesting way for students to ask questions and direct the topic of the lecture or discussion.


What challenges (or inspirations) do you foresee?

I had a few troubles using mobile technology in my classroom. Although I feel the results could have been different in a non-middle school setting, see a few challenges. One problem that I saw was that students were very focused on their phones during this time. The ratio of phones out, to answers received were very low. I don't know what percentage of students used their phone for educational purposes during the activity, but it wasn't too high.

Another challenge that I faced for my students who used tablets in my room was poor wireless signal strength. I'd love for my students to be able to get online and download my lecture notes in a fill in the blank form, but it was just taking too long.

My PLN

Here's a video that I created for my PLN assignment. I used a program called Prezi - that I learned from some cool people this summer at the FTE conference at Cornell.

Took me about 10 minutes to put it all together. If you don't know Prezi, you need to. Go play around with it, it's very cool.

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My PLN VISUALIATION (Tom Gunnells) on Prezi

Getting Things Done

As part of my CEP810 Masters Course, I'm getting things done. I've put together an organizational system to help keep track of things that I need to get done, and to help get them done in an organized manner. It's always difficult decided what needs to get done first - especially when some projects are long term. It's possible to work on parts of projects, while also taking care of other items that can be done quickly - the trick is however, being organized.

To do this, and to make it work, I had to find a program that could help me keep track of what needs to get done. I decided to use a program called GoogleNotebook. I chose this because it's something that I can't lose. I try to be really organized, and that means doing tasks on computers. I don't like losing things, and it's easier to keep track when their saved to a hard drive or the internet.

I organized my process by creating 6 Notebooks in GoogleNotebooks. Inbox, Calendar Items, Next Action, Waiting For, and Completed Items. When I get something that needs to get done, it goes in my inbox. I can tag the task with what it relates to. CEP810, Work, Home, Car -whatever. This should allow me to quickly see tasks in different categories. While putting items in the inbox, I can also add notes, share with others or add a date. Once an item in my inbox is complete (not done, but entered with date, tags and comments), I can move it to one of 4 boxes. Calendar items, Next Action Items and Waiting On. Once an Item is completely finished, I can move it to the Completed Items folder.

Going Through The Process

Going through the process for the first time was difficult. I found that it took a little bit of time organizing everything that needed to get done into once place. I also found that I was trying to complete tasks before they were entered into my Inbox. Once I put the brakes on, the process sped up. I focused on entering all the tasks into my inbox.

Once everything was entered, I was able to organize the tasks by "priority". Next Action, Calendar Items, Projects and Waiting On. By prioritizing these items, I was able to see what could be taken care of immediately, and what things were more of long term goals. This also allowed me to work on a number of quick tasks that might have gotten lost in the shuffle earlier.

Next came the review phase. Since I haven't done this for a full week yet, I've decided that Wednesdays are going to be the day that I review all the tasks that need to be completed. It's not last minute, and I'll still have time to finish tasks that are incomplete. I would like to try and pick a time each day where I can review my tasks and crank out some work that needs to get done.

I think this process will be very helpful in allowing me to organize my tasks. It should also increase my productivity. I now have a program where I can list everything that needs to get done. This is accessible from my computers, as well as my phone. Instantly, I can add tasks wherever I am. I can also see at a glance what needs to be completed.

I hope this process is something that I can continually use and improve on. I'm hoping this will cut down on sticky-notes that get lost, of assignments that fall through the cracks. Time will tell how useful this is, and if I will continue it, but after a few days, it seems interesting - and very useful!

1. Do you think you will continue this process? If not, what will your process be?

Social Networking and Me!

Even though its been around since college, I feel Social Networking is new to me. I've been on Facebook for a few years, and more recently twitter. Each of these "new" creations have a profound effect on how I do work, and how I learn.

Personally, the social networking tools that I use, mainly Facebook and Twitter have changed the way I communicate with my friends. They have allowed me to stay in contact with friends from high school, college and old jobs. With Twitter, I can follow friends, celebrities and athletes and see their updates and get a glimpse into their lives. As exciting (and unnecessary) as this is, the benefits of Social Networking from a work standpoint are even larger.

Twitter and Facebook have allowed me to become better at my job. The opportunity to learn more, and being able to share that information with my students helps everyone gain more knowledge. I originally created my Twitter account as a quick way to contact my students parents and to let them know what the homework assignments were. In a perfect world, all of my students, and parents would be on Twitter, and they'd be following my tweets. Unfortunately, my old district had Twitter blocked, and few families had internet connections. In my new position, more families have internet access, and Twitter is unblocked. Because of this, I envision a point where Twitter will become a very important tool that I can use in my classroom.

Facebook also plays a role in my professional life by allowing me to network with other education professionals. The opportunity to stay in contact with teachers that I have met at conferences around the United States is amazing. Many times I have met teachers at conferences and we've had some great educational collaborative discussions. Though Facebook, and groups, we've been able to continue those discussions. Although I've been reluctant to reach out to students through Facebook, it has been an important tool for me with co-workers.

As for my students and peers, I feel my students are much more immersed in Social Networking, compared to my peers. Many younger teachers have adopted these technologies, but not at the rate that students have. As younger teachers enter the field of teaching, I think we will see the number of educators utilizing these tools increase.

RSS Blog Post

Here is a screenshot of my RSS Feed. At this point, I had only added the 5 required feeds. I soon added more. Pics to follow.

A comment that I've added to a blog that I follow through my RSS feed: I follow a blog called Michigan Council For Economic Education. They had a great post on visualizing unemployment, which can be seen here: http://mceeblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/visualizing-unemployment.html

I commented that it was a great resource that I used in my classroom to show the impact that the recession had on the mid-west and Michigan specifically. It really hits home when you see how dark (most unemployment) Michigan gets, and how much worse it was in the rust belt. (I am waiting for my comment to be accepted by the blog and posted)

Tracking the news on my RSS Feed

Monday:

Using my RSS feed I've found information on a program called dropbox. This program allows me to put files into a folder on my home computer, and have them appear in the same folder on my work computer. This is going to save me a ton of time not having to e-mail myself notes, or upload files to webspace that is hard to access from school. I don't know if I would have normally found that article. I don't find myself reading each and every article that comes into my feed, but I'm able to skim and find the news that I find interesting, and then I can look farther into it. I can also tailor my RSS feed to my needs. I am finding interesting articles that are useful to me.

Tuesday:

Not too many interesting articles today (my perspective at least) but I think I could really use this in my class. If I create an RSS feed from trusted sources, with specific topics or information, I could use this with my students when they are trying to do research. I've done a lot of work with my classes and current events in the past, but it is always difficult to get the students to find quality articles. Now I can build a database of articles for my students to look through. It is easy to navigate, and will provide an endless source of pertinent information for them to use.

Wednesday:

Today I checked my RSS feed again. I have 49 new posting. There is a lot to look at, and I've realized that you can put feeds into folders (I'm using GoogleReader). Having folders helps me organize the news sources that I follow. I think that I could find specific feeds that give specific information, and then sort them by the units I teach. This means students could explore at their own pace. Ive also found some RSS feeds that I began to follow that aren't what they seem. It means I'll have to research feeds before I subscribe to them. I wouldn't want to use sources for my students that can be inappropriate at times.

I read an interesting article on a Blackberry Tablet that may be coming out - that was really interesting. I also read a good on how an Economics teacher got her students to remember the MC=MR formula.

Traditional Web Pages vs Blogs

There is a large difference between traditional webpages and blogs. Understanding the difference can help make you more efficient on the internet. Traditional webpages may hold information that is never updated. It might provide directions, or information on a subject. Blogs however, if used correctly are frequently updated. Blogs are more of a running journal, written by one or more authors. Blogs can be found on a variety of topics. These blogs allow readers to comment on the "journal entries" and also allow readers to read previous updates as well (not an option on most traditional websites.)