Sunday, November 22, 2015

ILP "Toolbox"- Class Dojo

Notes:

Opening: Class Dojo is a creative application that is easy to use and readily accessible for teachers

Slide One: Class Dojo is a tool that allows teachers to do many things. It inspires students to participate and behave in class by awarding them points or taking them away. It is a data collection tool for teachers to be able to do things like take attendance. It also allows teachers to keep up with grades that can be integrated into the gradebook later. Additionally, it gives parents readily available access to their students' behaviors and accomplishments.

Slide Two: Class Dojo can be found at www.classdojo.com

Slide Three: Class Dojo is incredibly easy to use and access. Teachers simply need a device that can access the Internet. It is free to use and sign up for, so no costs need to be worried about.

Slide Four: Class Dojo inspires students to be their best. They can see how things they do in the classroom is affecting their grades. It is also reinforced by parents who are able to also encourage their students based on the information they receive from Class Dojo. Teachers have a record of which students are doing well and which might need extra help and attention.

Slide Five: Class Dojo promotes student learning, designs digital age assessments, and also
models digital age work and learning. These contribute to technology standards that teachers are required to address

Presentation:
https://prezi.com/m/olnlipn7e-y2/class-dojo/

ILP "Participation" - Lynda.com "Mike Hathorn: 3D Printing in the Classroom"

Mike Hathorn uses 3D printing in order to inspire his students. His classes are almost completely full. He uses 3D printing so students can create things and be able to see them come to life. His main goal is to make sure his students are introduced to cuttting-edge technology. He started with bringing models of his town to life. Then, the students made an interview up about the history of the building. Sketch up, the tool his students used, was sold to Google. So Mike was inspired to move onto 3D printing. The school district was able to purchase computers and the printer to make the dream become reality. The students are problem solving and making their own designs. He gives his students almost free reign in developing course curriculum. Currently, they are still trying to make a mock up of their town for historical purposes. He inspires children by being tech savy and getting down onto their level. He wants to change them from consumers to creators of technology. He takes his students to "Tech Jam" in order to introduce his students to up and coming technology. They are also able to showcase their 3D printer in a STEM seminar. He loves to watch the kids engage in technologies. Even as the landscape changes, the hope is that he can use the same principles and apply them to new things that develop in the tech world.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Blog Post 10

The PowerPoint project from this week taught me how to use transitions and make a non-linear presentation. It gave me an idea of how to make a creative game for my students in the future in a very accessible way. I liked that I was able to make the presentation fun and come up with my own creations. I was given an outlet to test my skills and to also make something about a topic I love.


I will use Data Collection Tools in my classroom to do many things. I hope to be teaching second grade someday. It is important to keep up with the progress of my students. I might use a tool such as Class Dojo in order to keep track of points for behaviors and being on task. It would also allow the parents of my students to stay in touch with what their child is up to. I will also use the materials to do things such a take attendance and record grades. In order to tabulate what grade a student has, I must be able to keep a record of their grades on assignments. I've also seen these tools used before in order to keep track of a student's progress overall. It helps give a bigger picture of what subject areas and activities a student might be struggling in. It can also point out to a teacher which areas he or she might not be teaching adequately enough.

My classmates blogs gave me insight not only to what trains of thought other teachers might have, but also some ideas that I might not have thought about before. For some links they posted, I got more acquainted with things like web 2.0 tools or resources I could use when I'm teaching. It also helped me confirm some things that I believed were important or understand that maybe I was not alone in my opinions. It was reassuring to know that I might not be alone in not completely understanding how to use these different forms of technology even though I grew up in the age that technology became popular.

I want to learn how to better use things like smart boards and excel. Mostly, I want to be able to polish up on the techniques I've learned. I want to be able to make a PowerPoint smooth and easy to read. I also want to be able to make a class website that is very interactive. I want to learn how to use resources such as lesson plans that are available to other teachers online. I need to learn how to incorporate all of this into my real life so that I can become more comfortable with it all for when the time comes.

I will achieve my technology related goals by practicing the skills I have. My plan is to be able to use all the things we have been taught and practice with them. Doing some mock assignments and lesson plans would probably be helpful. It would also be nice to be able to explore on my own some new technologies or websites that have not been discussed in class before.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Blog Post 9

The flipped classroom is where children learn instructional materials at home and come into school to discuss the ideas and do activities. Essentially, the teacher gives the students a power point or lecture to listen to/read at home. This way, the student is able to grasp the material at their own pace. It is an effective tool because everyone learns differently and needs time to absorb information. When they need a teachers help after they have tried to understand the material, they just come to class as usual and do activities or discuss everything in the way they understand it. This would be a good tool for older children, but probably not for elementary schools.
http://flippedlearning.org/domain/36

https://www.pdresources.org/
This is a web based resourse that is all about professional development. They have been accredited by the APA, NBCC, ASWB, ASHA, AOTA, Florida, and the CDR. Here, a teacher can find many different courses for a rang of topics. These include, but are not limited to, courses on autism,temperament, bullying, and special education. They also have many different formats for courses, such as videos and test based ones.

This is an important tool for teachers to reach outside of their classrooms in order to learn and understand things that they might not have been trained on before. This website in particular allows teachers to buy the courses themselves so that they won't be limited only to what their school has to offer. Unfortunately, not all schools are able to set up resources for teachers to go to seminars or conferences so this would be a good alternative. While it does require a cost, the courses tend to be $50 or less and the teachers get to keep the materials to review later. It could also be good for a group of teachers to pitch in money for so that they could all share the content.

The PowerPoint for Information Dissemination gave me an opportunity to really get used to PowerPoint. Usually, when I've had to present things in the past, I've used Prezi more often than anything else. I liked that I was able to get creative and learn about the different animations and slide formats. I believe that will be a great tool for elementary schools because children like bold colors and pictures.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Blog Post 8

I believe open content is the best tool for educators. It allows teachers to draw from outside resources to come up with new ideas. It also creates a new level of information and resources. Not only can teachers get lesson plans online, but their students can access information also. If a student needs to write a report or do a project, they can use the internet for ideas of to access new information. This form of advancement opens up new doors with endless possibilities for adapting and learning.

Another form of technology that could be huge for students is the use of social media. With this tool, students can access homework and lesson plans in the blink of an eye. They can easily collaborate with students, such as if they get stuck on a problem or need to do group work. If they need to get ahold of their teachers, they can use things like twitter to instantly message them and get a faster response. Social media makes communicating with others much easier and more efficient.

I am on the side of the people who have readily available technology. I have many different technologies at home as well as WiFi. I grew up with it all around me, especially since my dad's whole job is centered around it. The divide will affect how my students are able to access information and complete assignments. The best way I can think to cope with this is to find alternative ways for students who don't have access at home to get the same opportunities as those who do. For instance, if a student does not have the internet to submit a homework assignment, I could print out a physical copy for them to complete. I could also try to find ways for students to use the computers in the school as much as possible so that they won't have to use them as much when they get home.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Blog Post 7

Creating could be supported by using formulas to develop understandings about particular parts of lectures. Teachers could support the evaluation process by having an article posted within the power point and asking the students to discuss the key points of the article. Analyzing could be used by having students answer short questions about certain slides to quiz them on their understanding. Applying could be in the form of students making their own power point to demonstrate the ideas that they've already learned. Understanding could be executed by students putting into their own words what they have learned from each slide and summarizing the key points. Remembering what kinds of things were taught on power points in bulleted lists or acronyms to make sure that the information was absorbed could also be a useful tool.

People who are blind may use a microphone to input their thoughts into the computer to make words. Someone who does not have good motor skills might use a trackball to navigate computer home screens. Text-to-speech technology can also help those who can not read well understand key concepts they might not understand otherwise. I personally have never seen anyone use these technologies. Adaptive technologies might become a problem if it disrupts other students. It could also be problematic if a student needs to use such technologies but the school district can not afford to give them these needed adjustments. Students might end up not passing classes simply because they do not have the tools to do so.

The web page design assignment helped me understand new ways to incorporate important information. I enjoyed being able to access the resources I might need in the future and coming up with fun ways to put information out the the public. I would like to be able to understand next time how to incorporate something like a google calendar that parents could sync their devices to automatically. I might also like to have a page for students and for parents so that each gets their own benefits. I will definitely be able to use this for my own future class so that I can keep everyone up-to-date with the lessons that are currently going on in my classroom.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Blog Post 6

I took a look at my old elementary school, Wakefield Elementary School. I focused on the second grade in particular since that is what I hope to teach. Most of the pages had different tabs. One gave a description of the teacher, although the depth at which they described themselves varied. Most pages were decked out very colorfully with interesting patterns and pictures. Some had helpful links, while others had wish lists. Almost all of the pages I saw also included guidelines and expectations. Some were even helpful enough to put down the curriculum that the students would be learning.

I could see myself using calendars in order to make sure I have everything planned out ahead of time and also so I don't loose track of myself. I could also see myself using a lot of spreadsheets as different kinds of checklists in order to make sure my students and I stick to the tasks at hand. I would also make all of my lesson plans on digital files so that I could reuse and update them in the future. I would probably use both Digo and Evernote to be able so save and take notes on websites I wanted to save, maybe even on the lesson plans that teachers share online. Email would probably be the thing I use most because I always like to keep into contact with people anytime there is new information that I find out. It would also make the communication with teacher and parent better than having students relay what I say.

By working on the wiki, we learned how to properly evaluate websites to make sure they are something that can be used in the classroom. It also gave us a chance to create our own ideas about what exactly makes a website valid. I liked that I got a hands on experience to be able to understand for myself what makes information valid. I am a very kinesthetic learner, so being hands on really helps things sink in for me. I think next time I could make the questionnaire longer so that I can get into more detail about what makes a website that is valid better than another that might also be valid on a basic scale. This assignment will help me better understand what resources I can use in my own classroom.