Voki

Voki Introduction Text

Voki Avatar

     Voki is an easy tool to use to create an avatar for your personal use.  When it came to creating the avatar I found that it was very simple and if you could click then you could create.  After rewriting my introduction numerous times I felt that creating the avatar would be just as challenging but found it to be fun as I looked over the various options.  For the voice I used the generic one that was provided by Voki but the option to add your own voice is available as well. 
     This avatar could be used I feel at the beginning of a school year as an icebreaker exercise for the students to get to know each other.  Just as we did each student could create their own introduction Voki and this would help the teacher learn a little about each of their students while also introducing each student to the class.  As I get ready to move into a new building this coming year I find that I am already wondering if I can get a computer lab so my students can create this. 

NETS-T STANDARDS

In creating the avatar using Voki I feel we have used the following standards.

1A- We are showing students innovative thinking in using the avatar.  The Avatar could be used as an icebreaker for students or as part of an assignment to highlight what the presentation will be about.

1C- Students could use an avatar to reflect on what they have learned from a lesson.  By using an avatar students might feel more freedom than standing and saying it themselves.  This reflection will help us clarify the process that students go thru which will help us in standard 2C.

2C- By having students reflect on the lesson using an avatar we will be able to see the process they go to and identify what we need to change in order to address the varied learning styles we have in our classroom.  As I mentioned above an avatar could also empower students because they will not feel the pressure of standing in front of their peers or teacher and having to reflect on something.

3B- The avatar I created for this project that gives an introduction of me could also be used on a class website to introduce myself to parents as well as highlight the course for them. 

Wordle

 



     I have never used the program Wordle.  However after using it I have placed it in my favorites and plan on using it in my teaching. 

      The below images show the Word Clouds that I created of the NETS-T Standards of 2000 and the updated NETS-T Standards 2008. By looking at each Word Cloud that I created in my eyes I see that in 2000 the standards were geared towards teaching students about technology and learning with technology.  In 2000 technology did not have a big footprint in school so their was a need for students to learn not only about technology but also learn about using it.   

 

NETS T STANDARDS 2000

 

       When the revise in 2008 was done students had been exposed to more technology.  Not only exposed to it but grew up with it.  This change in student experience with technology allowed the standards to shift to more of an application emphasis.  Students are now encouraged to use technology to enhance their learning experience as well as develop and create their own learning experiences.  Not only are students encouraged to enhance their learning experience but educators are held to the same standards with technology.  Educators can now use technology to help advance the profession and improve themselves in their classrooms. 

 

NETS T STANDARDS 2008

     Each set of standards was geared towards the perception of technology for the year it was released.  In 2000 the internet was still something new and in 2008 internet was in practically every home in America.  Are the standards geared towards the internet no, but this example shows how technology has grown and changed over a short eight year time span.

      For a Word Cloud I could use in my classroom I created one of Article One of the U.S. Constitution.  In Civics I always start by teaching about the Legislative Branch and the powers they hold.  Students always seem to get confused when we put the whole pie together and they get the questions of which article of the Constitution pertains to what branch of government.  A World Cloud would give them a nice visual to associate which article goes to which branch.  I liked the way this turned out because two of the bigger words are Representatives and Senate as well as Congress.  These key words will help students to associate correctly. 

Article One U.S. Constitution

 

 

NETS T STANDARDS

     I feel we have covered the following standards:

 

2A- By creating Word Clouds we are asking students to adapt a relevant learning experience using digital tools.  A word cloud could be used to help show students the upcoming key terms or students could create a word cloud to help identify key points from recently covered material.  Also as we did in this project we can compare and contrast two items.

 

2C- Each student can customize their own Word Cloud which would allow them to personalize their learning and would address any diverse learning styles.  Students would be able to show us what they felt were the main points or show what they took from the lesson by utilizing a Word Cloud.

 

3C- With my example I took what I normally hang on my wall in the U.S. Constitution and transferred it with a digital tool to something students would want to take a look at and figure it out. 

 

3D- As stated with 3C I am taking current information and using a digital tool to analyze the information.  In the Word Cloud format I am supporting research and learning for the students as they look at and investigate.

 

 

(For some reason when I went to embed the Word Cloud I created for my classroom it would not let me resize the image to something that was viewable it would only stay small.  To work around this I used Jing and then inserted an image)

 

 

 



Google Sites

     I have used Google Sites for a different class so creating the site was something I was familiar with.  However I ran into problems when it came to inserting my rubric that I created for my Web-Quest activity.  Each time I clicked to insert a spreadsheet for some reason it would insert a video.  I tried to work around this by embedding the rubric into the website using HTML however I found that a box appears and asks for you to click reload.  If you close the box out you can see the rubric but that is still a trouble that shouldn't be present.  I have submitted it to Google and am waiting on a response so I will update my site to fix this bug when a fix is available.  Other than my mentioned trouble I found the Google Sites to be very easy to use and was able to create a website by simply clicking and typing what information I was wanting. 

Educational Technology Website

     After creating this site and using Google Sites on a couple occasions I can see where this would be a great tool to use in the classroom.  For the past year I have been trying to plan out a way to create a site that would allow students to complete work that they have missed as well as keep students who are absent up to date on what they have missed.  With new textbooks this coming school year I am hoping to work on this and have it up and running before long.  Students would be able to answer bonus questions as well as complete some assignments from home with ease.  With what I have previously learned in this course with Google Forms along with the self grading abilities I feel I can create something that the students would enjoy using and at the same time would give them another tool to use in master the content I am teaching them.


NETS-T Standards

As for standards I feel that we have covered the following:

1A- By utilizing this we are having students think outside the box and create something of their own. 

2A- A website promotes the student to design something that shows what their learning experience was.  Not only are we having students design something in theory but a website lets them use digital tools to explore what they have learned and display it.

2C- With students creating their own websites we are allowing them to customize and personalize the learning activity to themselves.  By letting the student customize and personalize it we are adapting to their learning style and letting their true abilities come thru.

2D- A website would allow us as teachers to have another tool to assess student achievement.  Students could create a website as we just did of their completed works and now they have a portfolio that can be assessed to show the learning process. 

Excel 2

     This activity used the research question "Does student's gender impact 4th grade reading level".  In order to answer this question we used information from the NCES website.  From this website we obtained the information we wanted to test.  Once we had the information we performed a T-Test using Microsoft excel.  The T-Test allowed us to compare male to female reading scores.  By comparing these scores we would be able to decide if gender was a factor in 4th grade reading performance. 
     As you can see below the results indicate that we will not reject the null hypothesis.  By saying we will not reject it we are indicating that yes their is a difference however this difference is occurring most likely to chance or a measurement error.  So overall with these scores you can conclude that gender does not impact 4th grade reading performance.

     I could see using this in my classroom to help me see what the performance difference is in the children I teach first period and eighth period.  Students in first period seem to be just waking up and at times still wanting to sleep while students in eighth period generally are more awake but have already went thru the day and can be wore down mentally from the lessons they have already received. 

Nets-T Standards

     As for standards I feel we have covered the following

2D- We are taking the information we are receiving from students thru varied formative and summative assessments and using that information to help create data that will inform the learning and teaching.  By using the T-Test function we are enabling ourselves to see what we need to change in our teaching to help close the gap in student performance.

3D- By using excel we are using current digital tools to help analyze and evaluate data to help support our teaching. The data we break down will help us mold our instruction to help students achieve higher comprehension of the material being delivered.

5D- Using this tool we are taking data from students and letting it contribute to the effectiveness of our teaching.  By measuring our effectiveness we are promoting self-renewal of the profession as we change how the material is being covered.




Excel 1

How is West Virginia doing?

     West Virginia is located near the bottom of the list in this category.  West Virginia comes in at 43 out of the 52 states.  Below West Virginia 9 other states are listed and above West Virginia we have 43 states.  Once the numbers were sorted I could see that we are below average here and this really showed once the information was placed into a scatter plot. Once again a visual helped the information sink in a little better as you can see below. 

 

 

 

 

     The process for creating this visual was easy as I was able to highlight the column and then click insert then scatter.  Once in the tab for the scatter charts a wide variety was available to chose from.  I found it much more challenging to install the add on and use it.  The below picture shows the information I was able to generate from using the Data Analysis Tool Pack in excel.

 

 

 

 

 

I found this information useful as I was able to see what the average was for all 52 states.  However again I was bugged by the fact that West Virginia showed up below the average.  I take concern in this as I have a 5 year old getting ready to enter school next year and my wife and I debate on public school or finding a way to pay for private schooling.  Once this information was obtained I then wanted to see exactly what the ranking of West Virginia was.  I then highlighted the information and sorted it as the below picture shows.





 

 

 

 

     I feel this process could be beneficial in the classroom if I utilized the self grading form.  I could take the information that is supplied to me in the spreadsheet and analyze it.  By analyzing the information I would be able to identify what students are struggling and to see what I am needing to either reteach or provide enrichment on. 

 

Nets-T-Standards

 

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

    I feel that we touch on A, C, and D.  On Sub-standard A we are designing and adapting the learning experience to help us gather information to gain comprehension on how students are progressing with the subject matter.  This knowledge will allow us to customize and personalize the learning activities as mentioned in Sub-standard C. By having the information to address each student and to see what works best for them we will be able to see what diverse learning styles are in our classroom based on the numbers.  By applying the resulting data we are now seeing how each student learns best and we can change the teaching if need by as mentioned in Sub-standard D.

 

 

 

Rubrics

     A scoring rubric is used to define a standard performance for a desired process.  I use Rubrics in my classroom for various projects I have students complete.  The first job I was able to get in the school system in my county was teaching Tech Ed. or as it is better known woodshop.  I used rubrics in teaching that course frequently for various projects.  In my classroom today teaching History my projects range from map creation, timeline creation, research, or as my example below shows Web quest activities. 
     Using Rubistar to create a rubric as become as simple as point and click.  Rubistar provides a wide variety of topics to choose from when it comes to creating your rubric.  The grading criteria is also simple to choose as you look down the ones that are already created for you, however if you don't see what you like then you can simply type in your own.
     For my example rubric I created one to assess my students on a web quest.  Parts of this web quest required students to create a blabberize and an Animoto.  I was able to easily add to the rubric what I was looking for in these two elements by simply typing in what I wanted.  Also on my rubric I placed a range of points a student could achieve for each marker.  I placed this range because I feel it allows me to be fairer when grading as well as lets me give better feedback on the smaller details.  On the day I introduce this project I pass out to each student a copy of the rubric so they can have it with them as they work thru the assigned tasks.  I have also emailed this in the past to students who have requested it. 


Multimedia Project: Web quest Activity Civics


Nets-T-Standards

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
     Sub-standard C deals with promoting student reflection using collaborative tools.  I feel that using a tool such as Rubistar to create a rubric will allow students to reflect back on their project and then collaborate with the teacher to improve the project or to gain clarification on why they achieved the score they received.

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
     Sub-standard D applies to this because we are supplying students not only with varied formative and summative assessments but we are providing them with guidelines for each step of the way with the rubric.

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
     Sub-standard B in my mind reflects directly to the use of Rubistar.  By using Rubistar and sharing the rubric using Google Drive I can send this directly to parents and students.  If a parent sees something that their child might have problems with or have difficulty gaining the resources for they can inform the teacher about this.  This open collaboration between teacher, student and parent would solve a lot of problems before they even began.

Google Earth

     Google Earth is a program that allows us the ability to show places in a 3 dimensional aspect.  After searching for my residence I found that it marked where my house was incorrectly and that it was a very low resolution.  The only things I can make out of my neighborhood is the road that goes thru my neighborhood and the cul-de-sacs that it creates, that is how I was able to figure out which house was mine.  

      The Taj Mahal came in very clear and I could make out the details of the building and explore around the grounds.  As I looked around the image I found it very interesting how I could see photos that Google users had submitted.  Some of these photos are random things from around the Taj Mahal but none the less they are interesting and I feel would allow students to get a grasp of the area surrounding what ever location you are looking at.  I did enjoy exploring around the Taj Mahal and looking at different details by zooming in and out.  I also noticed that you can set up a Tour using Google Earth.  This tool alone could be very useful as you can help students place a visual with what topics you have discussed. 

      Opening up Google Maps and clicking my places I was able to see a link for KML, I clicked this link and downloaded the file.  I went back to Google Earth clicked open and then opened the KML file.  The markers from Google Map were now viewable in Google Earth.  These markers were now making it easier to find the places I wanted to show instead of searching for each individual one.  Doing this would allow me to aim students to the places I wanted them to go without slowing down faster working students but yet helping students who might have problems using Google Earth. By zooming in on each point students would be able to see what each place looks like and then "virtually" walk around the area to see what it looks like.  By importing the Google Maps information on my field trip to Google Earth I was able to turn my physical field trip into a virtual field trip that all students could experience.

 

The below images show what the map on Google Earth looked like before my import of the KML information and then shows what the map looked like after the import of the information.

 

 

 

 ISTE NET-T Standards

     I feel that we have touched on the following standards with this exercise. 

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
     I feel that we have touched on A, B, C, and D with this process.  We are showing innovative thinking and inventiveness in my opinion by organizing the field trip using Google Maps and then transferring it to a virtual field trip.  Once we are on the virtual field trip side we are engaging students to look at real-world issues by using digital tools and resources depending on our topic.  For example if a dam is set to be taken down students could explore the area around the waterway to see how it is going to affect the surrounding area while working to see if any solution could be made for it.  While working thru this we are getting students to reflect on what they are seeing in front of them while giving them a conceptual understanding of what we are talking about.  We are taking ideas and providing students with images to tie them to. 

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments
     B under this one falls into the project exactly.  If I take this project and turn it over to students and allow them to plan a trip out as we did and then convert it to Earth we are then allowing students to pursue their own curiosities.  As a teacher this will allow is to get away from being the sage on a stage to being a guide for students as they learn.