EDLD 5352 - End of Course Reflections

Technology Skills Reflection:

This course has reintroduced me to Web 2.0 Tools.  Although I was originally introduced to them in an earlier course, the online collaboration and group work that took place in this class has truly helped me to understand the value they could add to my classroom instruction.  Web 2.0 Tools such as Google Docs (Google Drive), Edmodo, Explain Everything and many more would facilitate learning and collaboration in my classroom.  Not only do I think these tools will enhance student learning, I also believe these tools will help excite students and stimulate engagement in the learning process.  Another idea introduced in this course is the idea of a Flipped Classroom.  Although this would take a lot of preparation up front, the idea is great!  It teaches students how to be accountable for and take ownership of their learning and it provides more class time to take the learning process to the next level; to really allows students to apply concepts in ways there was not time for before.  As we move into a new school year, I hope to continue my growth in the area of instructional technology.  As a current classroom teacher and future instructional leader, I hope to implement some of these tools and instructional strategies in my classroom.  I hope by having the experience and knowledge to make them work, I can help teachers do the same when I move into the role of an instructional leader. 

Internship Status Update:

As I move into the 11^th course of this graduate program, I continue to make progress on my internship plan activities and action research project.  As we get back to campus to start a new year, I am constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to add to my ever-evolving internship plan.  My goal is to have as much experience as possible in all competencies areas by the completion of the program.  As for my action research project, as a new school year starts, I will continue to collect assessment data and analyze each tested TEK utilizing heat maps.

EDLD 5352 - Web Conference Reflection

I attended a web conference during week 3 of this course because I had some questions about that week’s assignment.  The directions on blackboard and the directions on the word document instructions did not quite align.  Once I connected to the web conference, it became apparent that the large number of participants was causing technical difficulties and significant delays on the camera and voice feeds.  Aside from these issues, I was still able to read the questions my colleagues were typing in the chat box.  Reading these questions helped me to realize I was not alone in feeling confused about the week's assignment.  In addition to asking questions, some of the other participants were also answering the questions being asked in the chat box.  Reading the chat box helped me to understand that the plan my team and I had developed through our online collaboration was right on track to be successful on that week’s assignment.  In short, although there were technical difficulties, I was able to connect with a large number of colleagues for this course and gain understanding and clarification on the week’s assignment. 

Web 2.0 Tools - Team Showcase

The Collaborators

Team Members:

Alicia Eichhorn

Angel Deluna
Aaron Garcia
Ryan Fowler

Week 3 Assignment - LiveBinder Web 2.0 Tools Collaborative Document

Alicia Eichhorn

1. Blog Booker- This is a way for students, teachers, administrators, or any combination of an educational community to document and record thoughts which can turn into a tangible product for exploration, collaboration, and evidence of time well spent. Within a few minutes of production time, having followed an intense period of research, collaboration, and reflection, there is a sound byte of time well spent. Independent study, professional learning communities, educational community outreach, are all avenues for documentation and publication. Each member of the learning community could contribute depending on how the curators want to proceed. Action research at large, or more intimate study of a class assignment could be a viable option. Each and every content area could utilize the application. One graduating class could even use this as a living legacy for the next class to inherit. Grant money funding may arise when it comes to usable data that is yielded in the process. Technology students may document attempts to start an active, on-line public forum, Literature classes could start their own on-line poetry slam, History students could discuss the applicability of national documents and their impact on our current public school system, etc. Control of ideas in a contained environment are available for anyone to access 24/7. The possibilities are endless! I would absolutely offer this idea to teachers on my campus in order to give people a forum for an open dialogue which could very well allow them to answer and trouble-shoot some of their own concerns. Moving toward and away from consensus may yield more valuable Human Resource information than we have known before.

2. Gone Google Story Builder- Is a fun, interactive way to tell events from multiple perspectives or to rewrite history, better a conversation, begin a team meeting, create song lyrics, or challenge people to free associate a particular topic. Students could even challenge one another to solve story problems or equations by seeing how fast it can be expressed. By having the ability to manipulate sound, add characters, create lists, or see how fast a team can work on its feet, it may be an interesting way to see how people work together in a beginning of the year in-service or team-building meeting. This may also be a way to differentiate learning and collaboration for those who don’t like to work alone. It could very well spark the creativity and having to think on one’s feet that some are hesitant to do if left on their own. It is something of a non-negotiable which forces lively participation without having to necessarily be in the same location to participate. I would absolutely endorse this on my own campus and delight in what raw product we come up with. By curating or giving specific directives, some stressors of what people labor over in closed door sessions, may be worked on over extended periods of time in a more relaxed atmosphere. Adult and student learning per educational community could definitely gain from well-placed participation.

Angel Deluna

1. Edmodo- we use this tool school wide.  We are part of a new tech network and are required to use edmodo as a communication tool.  This keeps teachers, students, parents, and administrators connected to what’s going on in the classroom.  It’s a great collaboration tool for all parties that use it however, It’s very beneficial for students when working on projects.  This gives the teacher an idea of who’s collaborating and which student is not performing.  Edmodo also gives many students the ability to personalize their page and has them take a little ownership of the work posted on the site.  Students are very engaged because they can communicate with friends even if they’re not in the same class.  This helps them bounce ideas back and forth and often helps them get started on their projects.  Teachers can access students homework, send messages to the students/parents, and school notices are sent using edmodo.  Basically, this is the facebook used for teachers and students.  My experience has been great using edmodo.

2. Wikis- On my campus, many teachers use wikis as a way to communicate and establish project guidelines.  A variety of teachers prefer wikis because they are easy for students to navigate and can be very engaging.  Wikis include information such as the project/task, expectations/rules, directions, comment boxes for questions between students and teachers, which automatically creates collaborative writing.  Wikis also simplifies teachers classroom management.  You can keep several different teaching tools or resources on your Wiki to increase student participation.  Some students prefer certain applications or resources so it caters to their individual needs.  Several teachers also use wikis as a way to gage the learning progress.  If an assessment is added by the teacher, the students take the quiz privately and the web tool gives the teacher immediate feedback.  This is a great tool for teachers to know where their students are academically and gives an idea on what needs to be retaught.  I personally enjoyed working with Wikis and would highly recommend this tool for teachers looking to engage students or create a collaborative culture.

Aaron Garcia

1. Animoto - is a good web tool.  Animoto allows you to create videos in a short time.  Instructions are easy to follow; the type of video you desire can be easily set up by selecting a background, music, and animations.  Photos, images, text, and/or video clips may be added via internet or your very own collection.  These items can be arranged in any order of preference.  Once the information that you have selected is inputted and/or downloaded, you may create your video, preview it for editing, and save your it upon completion.  

Any created video can be shared via email, shared drives, and/or social media websites.

Animoto, for any principal, can be a valuable web tool that can:

    Enhance presentations through video

    Create weekly/daily announcements through video

Create Motivational videos for teachers and student body

Provide visual examples for set campus/school rules and desired student behavior

Create Recognition videos for school/student accomplishments

Create Preview/Highlight videos of school activities

For teachers, Aminoto can  be utilized to:

Create videos of classroom expectations and daily procedures

Create presentation of syllabus

Promote Student Collaboration Activities

Showcase Student Achievement and Talent

Increase Student participation through videos project presentations

2.  Google Calendar -  Is  a great web tool that  provides an easy way for  teachers, administration, and students to share time-related information such as  team schedules, assignment deadlines, and school holidays.  Teachers can input all of their respective individual classes and share information such as test and quiz dates, assignment deadlines, and class topics with a designated group of students and parents.  Teachers can also organize their schedules with other teachers and administrators.  

Administration can use Google Calendar to keep students and parents updated about teacher-parent conferences, school activities, and school holidays.  Google Calendar also allows coaches and school club sponsors to share activity schedules with students, teachers, and parents.

Ryan Fowler -

1.  Google Drive (formerly GoogleDocs):  Google Drive is a free, web-based document creating program.  It allows users to create, edit and collaborate in real time.  Similar to Microsoft Office, users can create word documents, presentations, spreadsheets and more.  These documents can be shared to other users to allow for group editing and collaboration both in the users’ own time and in real time.  The program saves changes within the document every few seconds to minimize lost work.  

For teachers (and administrators) this tool is great for creating and storing documents.  Teachers no longer have to worry about carrying around a jump drive or external hard drive containing all of their instructional documents and resources.  Google Drive keeps all of your documents safe are are accessible from school or home.  Documents can easily be uploaded or downloaded from Google Drive when needed.  Google Drive also allows for easy collaboration between teachers who might be teaching on the same team.  Teachers can easily share instructional materials between users.  Personally, I have used Google Drive to input student data for my principal.  The principal shared a the spreadsheet with all the members of the Biology team and we could input our test scores for easy analysis.

Teachers can also utilize Google Drive much in the same way we have utilized it for this course.  If a team project or paper is assigned,  students would be required to create the document within Google Drive to show group collaboration.  The student groups would share their documents with the teacher so he/she could easily monitor for progress and collaboration.  

2.  Wordle: A Wordle, also called a Word Cloud, is a visual depiction of key words.  Administrators can encourage teachers to utilize word clouds in a number of ways in their classrooms.  Some examples are as follows:

1. Create a Wordle with key words from a new unit.  Project the Wordle on the overhead as students are entering the classroom.  This will help start a discussion about what students think the next unit will involve.  
2. Students create a Wordle to summarize main ideas from a reading or unit.  
3. In Chemistry, students can create a Wordle for each element to illustrate its uses.  The element name would be bigger than the uses.
4. Biology students can create a Wordle to describe the different scientific biomes.  
5. In a history class, students can create a Wordle to summarize an event in history or a historical figure.  

Administrators can also use Wordles in similar ways in faculty meetings and/or professional development sessions to start large or small group discussions.