OTEN conference 2011

I recently attended the OTEN conference, and had the opportunity to listen to quite a few great speakers. By far, my favorite session was about YA reading and technology. I learned many great ways to integrate various forms of technology into the classroom, and I can't wait to try them out.

One component we discussed was making posters to help get students interested in literature. One way is by creating a Wordle to give students something to look at when they become bored or disengaged in class. It happens to the best of us, so creating informational posters is a great way to help students learn even when they are "spacing off".
Use a Wordle to make a poster for the classroom and have students guess what the book actually is. My example is the text pasted from Chapter 1 of my favorite book. Take a look at the Wordle below, and see if you can guess what famous book this is.





Another great tool to help engage students in the classroom is by creating a wallwisher where students and parents can communicate, take notes, or get feedback. Check out my sample example of one way to use wallwisher to connect parents and students.



Wallwisher is great because there a different settings allowing others to create notes, or simply just allowing the creator to add and edit notes. Either way, this is another tool the teacher has at her disposal.

Another great tool to use in the classroom is GoAnimate. This is a fun alternative for students to present interesting information to their peers. It is important to note that although this is a free tool, to access the fun and interesting options, one must upgrade to a pay account. Check out my GoAnimate to hear Cleopatra and Edgar Allen Poe discuss literature.


GoAnimate.com: Cleo and Edgar sit down for dinner by swhitley

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Overall I really enjoyed listening to the many ways we can integrate technology in the Language Arts classroom to build upon creativity and enjoyment. 

Standards and Requirements

Today I'm going to spend a little time speaking about the new Oregon Technology Standards and Requirements. Specially, I will be addressing three standards, and how they relate to the classroom.


The three standards I feel most connected to are as follows: Creativity and Innovation; Communication and Collaboration; and Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making. I have outlined each of the standards below and how I feel that I could implement them into my subject area.

1. Creativity and Innovation 
This standard asks students to demonstrate creative thinking and problem solving skills, and to begin developing innovative products using digital technology. Students should be able to apply existing knowledge to come up with potential possibilities, generate new ideas, etc. Students should also be about to create original works either individually or as a group, and to also to explore complex systems, issues or trends.


Within the language arts classroom, I strongly believe in helping my students use their creativity and individuality to express themselves. This includes using online tools to bridge the gap between literature and the student, perhaps by blogging about their experiences, or using online mediums to highlight their projects. Students will be encouraged to work both as an individual and in groups to explain the literature and writing projects to the rest of the class, and furthermore I will also technology to help bring this information to my students.

2. Communication and Collaboration 
This standard asks students to use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, across the global community, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students will be able to interact and collaborate with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. Students should also communicate with various audiences using a variety of media and formats. Furthermore, they will engage with learners from other cultures to establish global awareness, and contribute to team projects.


So much of literature study is about drawing connections between the words, the ideas, the writer, and the reader. I plan on creating an environment where students are able to share and collaborate with one another to further investigate the meanings behind artifacts presented in class, and working together to share this information with varied audiences. Students may create podcasts, blogs, or videos to communicate and work with one another, as well as convey the information they have gathered.

3. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
This final standard will help students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students should be able to identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation, plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project, and collect and analyze data to identify solutions and or make informed decisions. Finally, they will use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

While this standard is a bit of a farther stretch for the language arts classroom, I can still ask my students to use media to help in their critical thinking processes. Perhaps this will be used in identifying a major problem that is addressed in literature, such as social justice, and then using multimedia to identify various solutions for this problem. Students will be able to use a variety of online and technology based sources to achieve their solutions, or at least explain them to the fullest extent possible.

There are a variety of challenges that students and the classroom faces in addressing these standards. First and foremost, technology is not available in equal access to each student, each classroom, or each school. While most students will have computers at home, the fact still remains that many students who are of lower socioeconomic status will not. Secondly, the technology is constantly changing and evolving, and it may be difficult to keep up on the most current technology on an ongoing basis. Because I will specifically be focusing on language arts and the English language, I will not necessarily have the time to devote to updating my technological knowledge.

Using Google Spreadsheets

Numbers and more Numbers....

So on tap for today we are going to be talking about Google Spreadsheets. If you have ever used Excel, this is really quite similar. Like all other google 2.0 forums, these spreadsheets are easy to share from one person to the next, as well as allowing mutliple users to access and edit the information all at one time. I'm going to be honest and say that this project was actually somewhat difficult for me, and if it wasn't for the amazing help of Krysta, I don't think it would be completed. So that said, here is exactly what i did for this homework assignment.


What you are viewing are as follows.

First I put all of the raw data into the first sheet. I then sorted out the information to just include Tests 6-10. I calculated the average scores, as and finally filtered out all students who were below the class average. I finally graphed my data.

Honestly, I am entirely unsure how to analyze this information. I am by no means a math or data person, and I really didn't enjoy doing this project. The chart was very difficult for me to graph, and if it wasn't for Krysta (smartest girl ever!) I probably would not have even completed this. I'm not even sure if the data on the graph is correct. I will never use google sheets to graph my test scores, as I really don't see the value in tests to begin with. Realistically, in my Language Arts classroom, the majority of my tests will be done in essay format, and students will also be graded on class participation, and group projects. I also know that there are grading programs provided through the school, and that these programs can graph the information for you with only one click.

As indicated by the graph, most students experienced at least a modum of growth. However, Katherine seems to be the exception to this rule, as her scores go both up and down. It's good to see that the majority of students improve in their test scores as the tests continue, and seeing who does not improve may help create individualized plans for the student. However, I also feel that one would be able to see this same information by looking at the data without graphing it. It may be that this particular graph does not speak to me, and if in another form (bar graph for example) I would understand how to intrepret this information better.

Here is the link to the dataa, if you are interested in viewing it in another format. https://docs.google.com/a/willamette.edu/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0Ahu6--SA9cF2dDEzeHRGTHhuV2x2eU5GR2Y0eWROVlE&output=html

My Favorite Web2.0 Tools

And off we go to Web2.0....

Today our journey begins on the internet and ends in the classroom. Some of you may be thinking, well here she is, again, blogging about interesting technology that can be used for education and that infamous "classroom". Well you guessed correctly, and today I want to spend a few minutes talking about Web2.0. You may be thinking "Web2.0...what on earth is that, and why should I care?" "Well," I would say in reply, "That is exactly the question I had at the beginning of my assignment this week. Let me show you what I have found." At this point you would either agree or disagree (which of course you would chose to agree, and thus you continue to read).

Basics of Web 2.0
-a.k.a "the cloud" or cloud computing
-can access the information from any computer because it is not saved to a specific computer or device
-the software is constantly updated and improved upon
-the information is non-proprietary, so you can use it on any system (Windows, Mac, Etc)
-some examples of Web2.0 include Google Docs, Picasa, YouTube and Skype

For more examples and history about Web2.0, click HERE. For a video representation, click HERE.

Now that we have discussed Web2.0, lets take a deeper look at some of the tools available.

TEAMVIEWER
Teamviewer is a program that allows an outside support person limited access to a client's computer, in order to help with questions or issues. The process is simple: the client will Download or Run the software needed ( http://teamviewer.com/download), client will share ID and Password with support person, support enters info, and TADA! they are connected.


It is important to note that teamviewer does no create a permanent link between the two computers, but it can be used for malicious intentions. For a more detailed explaination of Teamviewer and all that it can do, click HERE.


This is a great tool to use between a teacher and student, if for instance the teacher has assigned a take home project, and the student is having difficulty. The student can log in to TeamViewer, with the teacher, and they can work through the problems together. No longer can the student use the excuse "well I couldn't figure out how to use the program", as the teacher is easily able to connect and view the process with the student, providing help and feedback when needed.


Teamviewer has obvious benefits to the teacher/student and technology relationship. Let's look at another tool that is also a benefit to the classroom dynamic.


USTREAM
Visit the ustream website HERE.


While I have never used many online recording devices, I am extremely familiar with the use of YouTube. Honestly, one would probably have to be living under a rock to not know YouTube, and the crazy videos that are uploaded on an hourly basis. Similar to YouTube, but perhaps even easier to use and record directly from the computer, is Ustream. It's as simple as creating a free account, logging in, creating a channel of your choice, and beginning to record and broadcast.


Ustream is a great way to connect students and technology. To hear me talk about how I would use Ustream in the classroom, click HERE.
Or view my video below. 






Embedding this video was actually much easier than I thought it would be. I enjoy the thought of being able to record information easily by video, and just as easily loading it up to the internet.
Well that's all for today folks. Until next time!

GOOGLE DOCS Group Project

  This week in our ED TECH class we had the opportunity to learn about the many different online resources we have through Google Docs. My group was assigned to working with Google Docs, while some other groups worked with other forums such as Google Presentation or Google Spreadsheet. As a group we spent some time playing around with the document, using the collaboration option so that we could all edit the document at the same time from different computers. We spent time writing about what we could do, adding pictures, etc. You can view our DOC here.
   I have used Google Docs in the past, and really appreciate it as a tool to access documents from any computer. I also enjoy the ability to share these documents with other students, get feedback, and have multiple people edit the same document at the same time. I often use this to edit my peer's papers, or have mine edited in return. As I already had quite a bit of experience using Google Docs, I was able to facilitate my team in learning the many different things one can do. I was somewhat of a team leader, and I enjoyed being able to help my classmates who had never used a forum like this before. Furthermore, I also learned new tasks that I had not previously known, simply by poking around on the button options.
  In my own classroom, I can definitely see using this tool to help my students collaborate outside of the classroom, or even take group notes during class. While this may be somewhat distracting, it really is a great way to get a group to work together. I will also be recommending to my students that they save their documents in Google Docs so that they have access to them whether they are at home or at school.

Blogging and the Classroom

When one thinks of the average classroom with the average teacher, I'm sure that the word "Blog" does not come to mind. Many students view their teachers as antiquated, boring, and technologically incompetent individuals. Unfortunately, this may have been the case for some students, but that need no longer be true! As our students are gradually integrating more and more technology into their own lives, everywhere from text messaging to "talk" to their friends, to Facebook for sharing pictures and updating your "friends" on how you feel or what you are doing at that exact moment, it is vital that the educator not only understand the various modes of technology, but also how to use them to reach these same students in a way not previously broached.

So how exactly can we use Blogging in the infamous "Classroom"?

One great way is simply for the teacher to blog periodically about what is going on in the class, perhaps share important info, etc. with students, parents, or anyone who is interested in learning more. By including the blog URL on the syllabus and sending it home with students, interested parents are able to feel more involved in their students learning and even leave feedback or questions for the instructor on said blog. Students are also able to refer back to the Blog if they have questions about what was covered while out sick or for vacation, and can also use this as a way to interact with the teacher outside of class for questions or to share other information that relates to class content.

Blogs are also a great way to foster discussions outside of the classroom. Perhaps the teacher will assign a reading assignment or research topic, and require the students to blog about what they found, how they responded to the material, or questions they still have. Instead of using class time (or perhaps in addition to limited class time0 this blog site allows students to interact with each other and the instructor in an online forum. This information can then be referenced later when the student is preparing for a test or final project for study material, or can be reused to put together a portfolio.

It's obvious that these two ideas are not the only way in which a Blog can be used in the classroom. In fact, the possibilities really are endless. So instead of holding a typical classroom debate, try blogging! Instead of waiting until Student/Teacher Conferences to interact with parents for the very first time,  try blogging! If your feeling bored, try blogging!

Oh blogging....the places we will go, the people we will meet. 

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A Snapshot of Me!

When composing a brief bio, it's hard to figure out what information to include and what to leave out. How can I sum up who I am in only a few brief sentences? Well I will certainly try! Here are a few brief bullet points that help give someone the overall picture of who I am:

-I am a newly wed! I just recently was married in March.
-I have two dogs whom I adore. Kozmo is a Black Lab/Siberian Huskey and Grayson is an 8 month old long-haired Chihuahua. I spend most of my free time with them and pretty much treat they like my children :)
-I would like to teach High School Language Arts, but will also being getting authorizations for Middle School Language Arts and HS/MS ESOL.
-I love reading! My favorite book is Pride & Prejudice, although I recently read the Hunger Games series this summer, and would have to say that I also greatly enjoyed them as well!
-I have two younger brothers, a brother and sister-in-law and one adorable niece. Family is incredibly important to me, so I often try to visit them as much as possible.
-Outdoor sports are great in any season! In the Winter you can find me out skiing at Mt. Bachelor, hiking in the snow, or ice skating where possible. In the Summer I love to swim, boat, wake board, wake surf, and cycle.
-I wish I was better at sports, unfortunately I am fairly uncoordinated.
-My favorite color is yellow!

Well that's all I have to share with y'all for now. Thanks for taking a few to get to know more about me.