21 Things Portfolio Work Sheet - Mrs. Boettcher's Classroom



21 Things Portfolio Work Sheet

For the following seven elements of the 21things, please use this document to complete the activities and include a screen shot of each. Please note your reflections should be a minimum of 150-300 words. At the end of this document will be your capstone reflection related to all seven, which should be a minimum of 2-5 pages. Submit this segment of your portfolio as per the deadline given by your Agency Coordinator. Include additional pages where appropriate to attach additional information.

Make sure to include your name, district and time logged at the top of each element.

Thing Name: Staying Informed Thing Number: ___15___ Time Logged: 4 hours

PRE-ASSESS

1. Before beginning this "Thing", complete the Pre-Assessment of your technology proficiency. Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Complete the following activities for Staying Informed portion of the hands-on activity for Thing 15:

2. Select one of the RSS aggregators above and create an account. 

Insert a Screen Shot of #2 above

[pic]

Reflections of #2 above: Having a Real Simple Syndication (RSS) aggregator is a helpful way to stay informed without having to scurry around and search for up to date information. This tool is going to make all teachers more productive, there will be no time wasted looking up information, the information will just come to you. You can subscribe to teacher websites, science websites, technology websites, world news and even local news. I like to subscribe to local news to stay up to date in what is happening locally.

I think it will empower students also. Students using this tool will become more informed about current events. You as a teacher could have the students set up Google reader and carefully select RSS subscriptions. The class can then discuss the latest events that are happening. This tool will put the information right into the student’s hands and then they can use it to support class debates on topics.

3. Navigate to three of your favorite sites which could include: blogs, news sites, and/or podcasts. Select those that you want to subscribe to and add them to your RSS aggregator. 

Insert a Screen Shot of #3 above: Local News

[pic]

4. Capture screen shots of your RSS aggregator page, showing some of the feeds you subscribed to, and write a reflection for your portfolio about how this can be a useful resource for teaching and learning.

Insert a Screen Shot of #4 above:

[pic]

Reflections of #4 above: Using RSS feeds can be useful in school. I can have my students set up their own Google reader accounts and subscribe to a blog that I do, science news, or even things that they are interested in. I think this will make students become people who are more informed. When new news breaks, they can easily talk about it and bring it up in class. They will be "on top" of things so to say. This is great for my science classes and I look forward to telling my students about this. Of course this tool is also great for my own personal learning to stay current on the latest news or any topic that I am interested in. I have added feeds to newspapers, recipe blogs, education sites, technology blogs, and photography. What a fun and easy way to browse through a lot of content. I know in no time I will have a huge list.

POST-ASSESS

5. After completing all of the activities for this "Thing", take the Post-Assessment of your technology proficiency for this "Thing". Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Thing Name: Research & Reference Tools Thing Number: ___16__ Time Logged: 5 hours

PRE-ASSESS

1. Before beginning this "Thing", complete the Pre-Assessment of your technology proficiency. Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Complete the following activities for Research & Reference Tools portion of the hands-on activity for Thing 16:

 2.  Evaluate the basic student MEL Educational Databases. Select one of the following pairs of databases recommended for student research and select a topic to search.  Capture a screen shot. Compare/contrast the a) appropriateness, b) usability, c) content, and d) credibility of the pair of databases for use within the classroom.  Post your reflections to your portfolio.

*e-Library Elementary and Kids InfoBits  (Elementary level)

*InfoTrac Junior Edition and InfoTrac Student Edition (Middle/High School level)

*SIRS Discoverer Deluxe and SIRS Renaissance (Middle/High School level)

Insert a Screen Shot of database 1 in #2 above: [pic]

Insert a Screen Shot of database 2 in #2 above: [pic]

Reflection of #2 above: I researched the SIR Discoverer Edition and SIRS Renaissance. As far as appropriateness, the Dicoverer was targeted for K-9 and the Renaissance more of a High School/ College level. They both used lexile scores to rate the articles. I thought this was a wonderful feature. The Renaissance definitely had higher lexile scores, and if I was to use this tool in my classes, I would choose the Discoverer. As far as usability, the Discoverer was more visually friendly and color coded with a legend, making it very easy to use for the younger ages. There was a convenient popup dictionary and thesaurus as well for unknown words. The Renaissance was less visual, but had a very easy interface as well. The content in each could be found through a search by word or topic. Both gave magazines, newspapers, reference, pictures. A summary of each topic was given in both and many contained downloadable PDFs or worksheets. The content in the Renaissance definitely seemed written at a higher level and were longer and more in depth. Both sites had cited sources and reliable references to give it credibility. Again, after looking at each, I would definitely have my students use the SIRS Discoverer Edition.

|Web Site |Appropriateness |Usability |Content |Credibility |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

3. Select one of the advanced MEL Educational Databases. Capture a screen shot. Compare/contrast the a) appropriateness, b) usability, c) content, and d) credibility for use within the classroom.  Post your reflections to your portfolio.

*Academic One File, General One File, or General Reference Center Gold

Insert a Screen Shot of database 1 in #3 above: [pic]

Insert a Screen Shot of database 2 in #3 above:

[pic]

Reflection of #3 above: I looked at advanced research by selecting the General One File database and General Reference Center Gold. Both database included lexile scores which is very helpful when you quickly want to see if the article will work for a certain grade level. I felt that the General Reference Center Gold had higher lexile scores and there for maybe better for high school students. General One could be used in upper elementary and in middle school. Both had an easy to use searchable database similar to many of the other ones. Both were easy to navigate and both included a dictionary as well as email, citation tools, and downloadable MP3 - great for the ESL learner or students who prefer the auditory learning. The content was given in full text and included academic journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and multimedia. I recognized many of the resources as credible and valid. This is definitely a great resource not only for my students, but for myself.

|Web Site |Appropriateness |Usability |Content |Credibility |

| | | | | |

| | | | | |

4.  Using the MEL databases, create citations.  

 Work Cited - 1:  Complete a search for an educational topic.  Create a citation for the web address using the citation tools within MEL, in either MLA or APA format.  Copy and paste a screen shot and the citation into the reflection of your Portfolio. 

Insert Screen Shot of #4 above:

[pic]

Citation:

"Magma ocean bakes moon." Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication 11 Nov. 2011: 15. General OneFile. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.

Document URL



5.  Using other FREE Citation Makers, create citations. 

Work Cited - 2:  Complete a search for an educational topic.   Select one of the FREE citation makers (Ex: BibMe, LandMark Citation Machine, etc.) and create a citation for a book or journal/magazine article.  Capture a screen shot of the citation tool you selected, and copy/paste the citation into the reflection of your Portfolio. 

Insert Screen Shot of #5 above:

[pic]

Citation: Magloff, Lisa. Volcano. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2003. Print.

POST-ASSESS

6. After completing all of the activities for this "Thing", take the Post-Assessment of your technology proficiency for this "Thing". Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Thing Name: Professional Learning Networks Thing Number: ___17___Time Logged: 4 hours

PRE-ASSESS

1. Before beginning this "Thing", complete the Pre-Assessment of your technology proficiency. Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Complete the following activities for Professional Learning Networks portion of the hands-on activity for Thing 17:

2.  Go to LearnPort and register for a free account. Check out the courses and other resources available to you. Capture a screen shot and create a reflection for your portfolio.

Insert a Screen Shot from #2 above:

[pic]

Reflections from #2 above: LearnPort offers a lot of courses! There are numerous courses on things I have been learning: website building, web communication, differentiated learning, backchannel, etc. It looks like you can sign up for a class and take it online. Some of them are also for SBCEUs. I didn't know that this was available to me. I see many courses that I marked and would like to take. There is also a collaboration center with community rooms for sharing ideas and resources or chatting about topics. A resource center with videos, lesson plans (though not too many of these) and newsletters. There many videos that were really good, and there are many on technology. I plan to play around on this site and see what else they have to offer. I always love learning new things and this is a great convenient way to do it without having to go to a conference and deal with subs and best of all, they look like they are free.

3. Sign up for a social networking site, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. In your portfolio, insert a screen shot and reflect on the purpose and pros/cons of using these sites inside and outside the classroom.

Insert a Screen Shot from #3 above:

[pic]

Reflections from #3 above: I have been part of the social networking site Facebook for a little over two years now. I have family out of state so in helps to stay in touch. I really enjoy it, and can't believe it took me so long to become part of this. As far as the classroom, I also see where this could work but also create problems. It would be a great way to keep a line of communication between students and teacher - assignments posted, reminders for tests, help with work, useful links, and creating events. Create motivation - utilizing technology such as social networking plays on the fact that students like this sort of avenue for information retrieval as well and being social. It allows me to communicate better with parents - having parents be part of this community would allow them to see what is going on in my classroom, when things are due, see photos of projects or activities, and to ask questions. It allows for communication between students - students can ask each other questions, opinions, or just help one another with assignments. What worries me is the logistics of it. I know it takes time and requires a lot of "checking" in and posting. I wouldn’t be able to stop cyber bullying or heated disputes between students or possible parents. It could get really ugly. I don’t think there is enough control for me as the teacher to have this at other at this point.

4. Research and join the MACUL Space.

Insert a Screen Shot from #4 above:

[pic]

5. Research at least one professional organization in technology and media. In your portfolio, describe the purpose, cost and benefit of membership within the organization. Explain the unique skills and abilities you could contribute to the organization.

Reflections from #5 above: I chose the International Society for Technology in Education. The purpose of their group is to advance excellence in learning and teaching through innovative and effective uses of technology. The cost is $95 for a standard membership and $215 for a premium. The benefits from this group include: access to thousands of resources, connecting with other educators around the world through special interest groups or social channels, growing professionally, improving technological skills, access to 3 journals and a magazine "Learning and Leading with Technology" - about emerging technologies and best practices; book discounts, access to 20 special interest groups, and webinar and conference discounts. I love to try new things in my classroom, am always looking for feedback. I work with low income kids, so I have a unique view on some of the problems with having little access to technology, but finding ways to incorporate it into my teaching. I like to network and think that this organization would be a great resource.

POST-ASSESS

6. After completing all of the activities for this "Thing", take the Post-Assessment of your technology proficiency for this "Thing". Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Thing Name: Virtual Classroom Thing Number: ___18___ Time Logged: 4 hours

PRE-ASSESS

1. Before beginning this "Thing", complete the Pre-Assessment of your technology proficiency. Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Complete the following activities for the Virtual Classroom portion of the hands-on activity for Thing 18:

2. Create a plan on how you can extend your classroom. Explain how this would improve teaching and learning, how you can help meet the NETS-S for your students.

Reflections on #2 above: I truly believe that I am moving in the right direction in creating virtual classroom. In this world of information students need to know how to utilize the many online resources; to gather information and be more responsible for their own learning. It is also a great tool for teachers to reach more students and in unique ways. My plan to extend my classroom has been in my dreams for a long time. I wanted to create a website where students could go to get missed notes, assignments, watch videos of me teaching concepts, do quizzes, have links for research, do independent studies, and to stay in contact with me. This is actually happening through my weebly site. This has really expanded my teaching and their learning. I still struggle to keep the website up to date and need to find time to make that happen. I also know that many of my students in Van Dyke Public School do not have computers with internet service at home like we all do. This is a problem if I start to require them to do assignments online. The whole prospect of online learning blended with the classroom learning is very exciting to me and I wish there was a way all my students could have online access at home.

3. Choose the student role in Navigating the Land of Online Learning.  After looking at the student requirements, summarize what is necessary to be successful as an online student.

Insert a Screen Shot on #3 above:

[pic]

Reflections on #3 above: Navigating the Land of Online Learning was an interesting website that let you take on the different roles in learning online. I played around with the every role. I found out that the student should be asking many questions with regards to their online classes in order to be successful. Questions should be asked to administrators, counselors, technology staff, mentors, and parents. Some of these questions include: Where can I access my class from? What is the tech support I will get? What are my choices? What are my requirements? Will there be someone in class helping me? How do I get graded? What are the deadlines? Is it an accredited course? What if I want to drop? How is my work checked? Do I need my parent’s permission? How much time to I get with my mentor? How can I contact them? In addition to these questions, I believe that other aspects needed to be successful online include: responsible, motivated, organized, and self-learner are all qualities and skills needed.

POST-ASSESS

6. After completing all of the activities for this "Thing", take the Post-Assessment of your technology proficiency for this "Thing". Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Thing Name: Digital Story Telling Thing Number: ___19___ Time Logged: 10 hours

PRE-ASSESS

1. Before beginning this "Thing", complete the Pre-Assessment of your technology proficiency. Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Complete the following activities for Digital Story Telling portion of the hands-on activity for Thing 19:

2. Create a storyboard for your project. Include a screenshot or copy with your portfolio.

Insert a Screen Shot of #2 above:

[pic]

3. Choose one of the resources listed to create a short 2-3 minute video that includes title, content, transitions and music. Post your digital story to your Face of the Classroom site; provide the URL for the site.

Insert a Screen Shot of #3 above: [pic]

Web site address:

4. Write about two ways digital storytelling can be used in your classroom or educational setting to help meet multiple means of expression.

Reflections of #4 above: First, I have to say I had so much fun making this movie. This is something I could work on for hours. Next, I have to say my frustration trying to post this file was horrific. I finally thought of another way to get around Weebly not allowing the upload because the file was too big to be free and me not wanting to pay for Weebly Pro. I posted the movie to YouTube and then just placed a link to my Weebly Home Page.

But after stating all of my troubles I still love this Thing number 19! My excitement and amazement of watching my final product was so great that I know my students will feel the same way. This could be so powerful in the classroom. I am going to have my 6th grade students put together movies on science topics. First, I will have them work in partners to take pictures of hardboiled egg models of the Earth representing each section; core, mantle, and crust. Then they can make a movie explaining how the egg represents the Earth. They can choose their title, transitions, captions and music. Secondly, I will have my science students build clay models showing convergent boundaries, divergent boundaries, and transform boundaries and take pictures of each. Then they can make a movie showing each of the boundaries and how they are represented on the Earth’s crust. They can choose their title, transitions, captions and music.

5. Include some feedback from a student or a peer about your project and what suggestions for improvement were recommended in your reflection.

Feedback/Reflections on #5 above: I asked my student if they would like to do this project. They were so interested and thrilled it even excited me. I loved their enthusiasm. They stated they would like to take more than just the three pictures I had suggested for the Earth model. I asked them what else they would take pictures of and they wanted to make other models such as one made of clay cut in half so you could see the interior. I thought that would be a great idea. They also thought they should make labels to be put in the photo showing the different layers of the Earth. They also inquired if possible instead of music if they could input their own voices. I think this is possible. I will have to look into that. Overall they were very excited and can’t wait to start. Now I need to look and see if Windows Live Movie Maker is on the computers in our Media Center and how I will save the movie project, maybe on a thumb drive?

POST-ASSESS

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

6. After completing all of the activities for this "Thing", take the Post-Assessment of your technology proficiency for this "Thing". Circle your score below.

Thing Name: Online Video & Audio Resources Thing Number: ___20___ Time Logged:

PRE-ASSESS

1. Before beginning this "Thing", complete the Pre-Assessment of your technology proficiency. Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Complete the following activities for online video portion of the hands-on activity for Thing 20:

Explore the online video resources available to you.  For your portfolio, capture a screen shot of one of your video sources. For the reflection portion of your portfolio address the following:

Insert a Screen Shot of one of your video resources:

[pic]

2. Describe how you could integrate online video and audio resources into your classroom instruction. Submit your reflection as part of your portfolio.

Insert a Screen Shot of #2 above:

[pic]

3. Explain the features of one of the tools listed above. Capture a screen shot and submit your reflection as part of your portfolio.

Insert a Screen Shot of #3 above:

[pic]

Reflections of #3 above: I love Brainpop and so do my students. This video resource is a perfect companion to a teacher lecturing on a topic. I use it weekly and sometimes even daily. Whenever I feel I am not reaching my students on a topic especially in science I stop and find a Brainpop video to explain it in another way. Brainpop is in cartoon format which is what my students related to best, plus it has dry humor to it and middle school students love this. Right now in science we are learning about plate tectonics and Brainpop has a wonderful 4 minutes video explaining this theory. Students actually ask me to find Brainpop videos to supplement their learning. As a teacher I see light bulbs going off when they connect ideas I am teaching and the visual representation in the videos.

Brainpop has many tools use can utilize. There are quizzes, activities, experiments, FYI’s, timelines, question and answers. I love the Brainpop quizzes. Brainpop offers a graded quiz, a review quiz and a printed quiz. I like to do the review quiz together after we have viewed the video because it doesn’t let you move on until you give the correct answer.

I am currently using an audio resource in my 8th Grade English Class. We are listening to one of our novel on a CD. This is working out very nicely and the students are enjoying it.

4. Compare/contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the video resources compared to audio resources in your reflection. Submit your reflection as part of your portfolio.

Reflections of #4 above: In comparing video resources to audio resources I feel that video resources are much better. I find that not many students are truly auditory learners and need a visual to grasp concepts. Audio resources do have their place though, I am currently “reading” in my 8th Grade English Class “My Brother Sam is Dead” and we are utilizing Audio CD. This is working out wonderfully for my students. They do have the book in their hands but are just listening to the narrator read the story.

I feel that most students would rather have a video resource than an audio resource. If you were to ask my students about a novel we are going to read the first thing they want to know…..Is there a movie to this novel? They just love to have something to visualize when they are learning. So I would say that video resource have more impact on my students.

POST-ASSESS

5. After completing all of the activities for this "Thing", take the Post-Assessment of your technology proficiency for this "Thing". Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Thing Name: Flipping Your Classroom (Screen-casting) Thing Number: ___21___ Time Logged: 4 hours

PRE-ASSESS

1. Before beginning this "Thing", complete the Pre-Assessment of your technology proficiency. Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

Complete the following activities for the Screencasting portion of the hands-on activity for Thing 21:

2. Reflect on the elements of a Flipped Classroom that you could incorporate into your classroom.

Reflections on #2 above: I love the idea of flipped classroom but worry about many aspects of it really fitting in all my student’s lives. Even though 80% of my students have a cell phone I would predict that only 30% have internet access on a regular basis at home. So, I will tell you about the elements I could incorporate in my classroom using the computers in our school. At this time I have to sign up for computer time in the media center and then I have 45 minutes to use them. I have done 2 quizzes which I have linked through my weebly page. I have my syllabus online for students and parents to read. I have some of my lesson plans online and I have a few links to science websites. I have a blog that students can leave comments on. I have a short movie I made of my family for my students to view. I am preparing to have my students create a movie and I will post it on my weebly soon. It is my hope to have all of my lesson plans online next year; time has been an obstacle in succeeding in this vision. As I stated before I am leery about requiring students to get their assignments strictly from my website.

3. Decide on a quick lesson (remember 5 minute limit) which you will record from your computer screen. This might be something in your content area which they have trouble remembering how to do, steps in a math problem, how to do something with an application such as Word, how to use the web to create citations.  Use something you found on Thinkfinity, or in Interactive sites. You want to create something that will be a useful tutorial for your classroom or setting. Record it in Jing or Screencast-o-matic.

Insert a Screen Shot:

[pic]

4. Send the link, or show your screencast to a peer or student to get some feedback. Reflect on the strengths or weaknesses of your screencast, and strategize how you can improve your next recording. Include the web address/URL of your posted recording.

Reflections on #4 above: I showed this screencast to a fellow teacher and they thought it was pretty good. I however have a hard time listening to my own voice. I would next time make out a script because one of my weaknesses was I became lost in what I wanted to show in the screencast. If I had a script or simply a note listing what exactly I wanted to cover it would make my screencast better. I was also amazed at how fast the time elapsed. I thought I only talked for about a minute but when I looked back it was 3 minutes. I know with students you have to keep it short and sweet or you will lose them. Next time I think I may try and talk just a tad faster so I could get more information in. After watching it a few times I thought one of my strengths was that it seemed pretty clear on how to create your design background how to add a page. I think you just have to practice your cast a few time dry and then go onto recording it. As they say practice makes perfect!

Web Address: screencast of creating a weebly

5. Optional:  Post your video to your Face of the Classroom site.

Web Address:

POST-ASSESS

6. After completing all of the activities for this "Thing", take the Post-Assessment of your technology proficiency for this "Thing". Circle your score below.

|Proficiency Score: |Score |Score |Score |Score |Score |

|Lickert Scale |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

|NETS-T Performance Proficiency |------ |Beginning |Developing |Proficient |Transformative |

For things 15-21, please type in your reflection. Please note the minimum requirement is 2-5 pages. Submit this portion of the portfolio to your instructor by the deadline.

Thing 15: Staying Informed

I had heard about RSS, but really had no idea about how they worked or how to go about using them. I created a Google Reader account and started searching through some websites that I liked. I found they all had RSS links so I could click on it and then I was "subscribing" to it - meaning that whenever they posted new content, I would know. This will save a lot of time of looking through bookmarks and going to various sites, just to find out if they actually had new content or not. Now I have all my feeds in one location and can easily see which ones have new information posted. This can be a resource that can be useful in school. I can have my students set up their own Google reader and subscribe to a blog that I do, science news, or even things that they are interested in. I think this will make students become people who are more informed. When new news breaks, they can easily talk about it and bring it up in class. They will be "on top" of things so to say. This is great for my science classes and I look forward to telling my students about this. Of course this tool is also great for my own personal learning to stay current on the latest news or any topic that I am interested in. I have added feeds to newspapers, recipe blogs, education sites, technology blogs, and photography. What a fun and easy way to browse through a lot of content. I also think that my students will really enjoy this as a way to incorporate Marzano’s cooperative learning and cues, questions, and advance organizers.

Thing 16: Professional Learning Networks

As an educator, I believe it is important to communicate with and stay informed on topics in your subject area or general educational issues. I learned about some great learning communities online, especially ones that are for discussing the integration of technology in the classroom such as . I found this site to be very interesting and spent a lot of time browsing through the topics. The benefits of being part of this community include access to thousands of resources, learning from other educators, being part of special interest groups, magazine publications, and webinars. Helping me grow professionally would in turn help my students. I plan to continue learning new ways to incorporate technology in my classroom and help my students become more successful. I have signed up for the MACUL space where I have already got several lesson plan ideas and technology tips. I plan to attend their conference in the spring and continue to become more a part of this community. In addition to these networks, I really liked learning about MI Learning! This is an online resource with audio, video, and PDF resources submitted by educators throughout Michigan. The topics are endless and it is a great way to continue learning about a wide variety of topics that interest me. The fun part is that I can just download them to my MP3 and listen to them whenever I have time. Learnport is another great resource with tons of online courses, professional development, and collaboration. It is definitely a place that I will be spending more time in and utilizing what I learned in my teaching. Marzano addresses cooperative learning and objectives and feedback in this Thing.

Thing 17: Research and Reference Tools

The first one I explored was Michigan E Library. I never even heard of this resource, but after exploring this site, I was amazed at all it had to offer. This is a tool that will benefit not only me, but my students - especially for research. The site contains magazine articles, newspapers, and has over 40 databases. It is advertised as a place that is valid and reliable and a great place to take students instead of letting them wander aimlessly in search engines where they have to wade through thousands of hits that may not even be worthwhile or accurate. Also how important it is to make students aware about Wikipedia's inaccuracies. From our online conference, I also learned about the Archives Image Collection and Michigan which has a large collection of historical documents. This would be great for looking at science issues in Michigan and would definitely help the students out with history. Another similar type reference tool is where I or my students can get news, calendars, translations, and much more.

When students do research and use resources from places like the above, they always have a hard time citing their references. I learned about some wonderful tools to help make this job much easier for them. Some great sites are citation machine, bibme, knightcite, and easy bib. In these tools, a student can enter the information from their resource or in many cases just click on the resource and have it automatically cited. During the online conference, I learned of an even better way to cite through Firefox and Zotero which even captures all the information for bibliographies from website with one click. The citations will be kept and can even be alphabetized and printed out. This is definitely something that I will be sharing with the English department as well as using myself in the future when I have research papers. I wish that I would have had this resource when I was writing my Masters! Marzano's similarities and differences; summarizing and note-taking; homework and practice; and generating and testing hypothesis were addressed in this thing.

Thing 18: Virtual Classrooms

I first learned about the MMC that all students are expected to take an online class or participate in an online experience, which I didn't know. This really shows how technology is becoming more of a part of the educational experience for students and why it is so important for teachers to stay informed on the technology out there to help students learn. I have come a long way in my own growth in this area from taking this class. I have developed my own website for my extended classroom and have been keeping it updated daily and getting some great feedback. I can already see how helpful it has become in students who have been absent or suspended and in directing students to the site for extra credit or taking quizzes. I have always wanted to have an online presence and this class allowed me the opportunity. As I learn more things, I incorporated it into my site, such as the Google calendar or Screen-casting. I plan to implement Skype to talk to scientists in various areas that we are studying. I also would like to take a Moodle or Blackboard class and learn more about that component. I feel that I will be a step ahead and that I can positively contribute toward creating some online learning lessons. In the future, I think it would be great to get students Skyping with one another for homework help as well as meeting online together to do things like reviews. The whole prospect of online learning blended with the classroom is very exciting to me especially now that I am more technologically literate! Marzano standards addressed are incorporate cooperative learning and non-linguistic representations.

Thing 19: Digital Story

To be honest, when I first read this and saw our assignment, I was less than excited. But then I thought about how I always wanted to have an introduction story about myself when I first started school or changed classes and the semester. Sure, I can always tell a little about myself, but to add a visual story with it ... it would allow kids to really get to see a little more about me. I think too often our students don't see us as people! So I started out and made my story about myself. It was a lot of fun finding photos and deciding which main things I wanted to put in it. The software was really easy to use and I ended up creating another thing that I have always wanted to do, but never did. This class seems to really be helping me in that way! I took my story and added it to my website as well. When I start my new class at the semester, I am excited to show them about me in this way. As far as using this tool for my classes, definitely. I can easily see how the students would have fun creating a story like this. I could use it for a get to know you assignment, for them to present a concept or a chapter in the book, to present a story of an historical figure, teach a difficult concept in a different way, or to do a review over something we learned. They can add music and voice as well. This is especially great for my diverse learners. The only downside, is that I don't have a lot of access to computers for every student and that it takes time, and everyone knows how teachers are on a tight schedule. I do find value in this and want to find a time when it can be incorporated into my curriculum. Marzano standards addressed are summarizing and note-taking, non-linguistic representation, and cues, questions, and advance organizers

Thing 20: Online Video and Audio Resources.

Thing 21: Flipping Your Classroom

The last Thing that I had a chance to learn in this class was Screencasting. I loved doing this and see all kinds of potential! It took me several times to get the screencast right (I would forget what I was going to say or forget a part), but eventually I got a great product of a how-to video for my class to help them learn how to do Quizlet. I upload the screencast to Youtube and then posted it to my website. After doing this, I can see many other uses in my classroom. I can continue to use it for teaching students how to use a website, create an account, I can use it with my webcam to show how to do a math problem or explain a concept, I can read a passage for my ESL learners to follow or create substitute teacher lesson plans when I am out for a conference. I am definitely excited to try more things with this and to learn how to use it with my webcam I bought for Skyping. Besides me using this, I want to teach my students and have them make how-to videos, teach a concept, or make their own video this way for something such as a commercial or rap song around a topic we are learning about. The possibilities for this are endless as well and I continue to come up with and write down new ways. I have also told several friends about this and plan to teach them as well. What a great and fun tool! Marzano standards addressed are summarizing and note-taking; non-linguistic representations; cues, questions, and advanced organizers.

I can't believe that I am actually through all 21 Things already and will actually miss learning this technology! I plan to continue to move forward in my proficiency of the 21 Things learned and go back through and spend more time on many of the resources given as well as put them into practice. I cannot begin to explain how much I have enjoyed this class and found it to be one of the most useful graduate classes that I have taken. I am looking forward to another class like this in the future!

Things 15-21 – Capstone Reflection

A. How will you use these technology applications to improve learning experiences for your students and/or improve your own practice?

B. What effective teaching and learning strategy(ies), based on the work by Marzano ( ) will these technology applications address, to make a difference in the learning experience for your students?

C. Check out one of the student activity links provided from the resources repository. Create your own project-based student activity lesson you could implement in your classroom that meets a Michigan curriculum standard and Educational Technology standard (NETS-S and/or METS). Your lesson should use one or more of the 7 things you have learned about. Follow the directions provided to copy the blank template and create a student activity lesson. Make sure you modify the Share settings so that anyone with the link can view it. Add your lesson to the repository per the directions on the share-lessons page. For your portfolio, include the name of the student activity lesson, include a summary about the activity, and a hyperlink to the lesson in Google.

How to Create, Share, and Add project-based lessons to the 21things4student lesson repository:

We want to encourage you to use the templates provided to develop your own project-based student activities and teacher lesson plans, share them, and add them to the lesson repository for others to access. Please put your name as the lesson creator, and include your email address in the private field (it will not be displayed in the database).

You will need a Google docs account to access and edit these.

Before you start these directions, log into your Google docs account.

|[pic][pic] | |

| |Step 1. Open one of the student activity buttons on the 21things4students |

| |pages or click either of these buttons which are hyperlinked to a student |

| |activity to view some samples. |

| | |

|[pic] | |

| |Step 2. Open the Blank Student Activity Template. |

|[pic] |Step 3. Click on the name of the document, |

| | |

| | |

|[pic] |and in the Rename Document window, create a new name for the document |

| | |

| |click on OK. |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| |Step 4. Edit the lesson and save it, adding in any Curriculum standards, |

| |the NETS-S and METS standards as appropriate. |

|[pic] | |

|[pic] |Step 5. To make it available for others to view, click the Share button |

| |(top right) and where it says "Who has access" you can click on the |

| |"Change” link to make it available to others. |

| | |

|[pic] |Private (default) – keeps it only visible to you. |

| | |

| |Anyone with the link (no sign-in required) lets you email or post the link |

| |for students or others to click on to access the document. |

| | |

| |Public on the web makes it available for anyone to find and access. Note if|

| |you include your email address on it, or other personal information, then |

| |that will become public as well. |

| |*** Please *Make it available to anyone with the link or Public on the web.|

| |Please Note: If you share it with us, and add it to the lesson repository |

| |it becomes public domain. All efforts will be made to honor creative |

| |commons licensing you attach to your lesson. |

| | |

|[pic] |Step 6. To submit your lesson to the repository, go to the |

| | web site and scroll |

| |down to the bottom. |

| | |

| |Click on the Add button. |

|[pic] |Step 7. With your Google doc student activity open in a browser window, |

| |copy the URL. Paste it into the URL box. |

| | |

| |Link Name box. Put the Title of your activity here. |

| | |

| |Type: Indicate if this is a: Student guide, Student activity or Teacher |

| |activity. |

| | |

| |Things: Select the “thing” from the list which best fits your lesson. |

|[pic] |Description: Type in the objectives/goals for your lesson with a short |

| |headliner to interest others. |

| | |

| |Grade(s): To select more than one set of grades you can hold down the |

| |control keyboard key (mac users use the command key). |

|[pic] |Subject(s): Select the appropriate subjects, if more than one, hold down |

| |the control key (or command) to select more than one. |

| | |

| |Creator name: Put your name in this field |

| | |

| |Creator email (kept private) : Please provide your email so we can contact |

| |you. |

|NOTE: Your lesson will not show up automatically in the database immediately. The administrator will be checking the submitted lessons to prevent spam |

|or student misadventures. *Send any questions to our 21things4students@ address. |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download