Here is the link to my classroom blog. Currently it's pretty empty, but check back next week and we should have a few posts about the first days of school (we start on the 3rd). To upload pictures to this blog, I plan to use Picasa, just as Keith showed us during STI.
As for my tutorial math videos, I'm thinking of creating a Google Site to store them. I'm not sure if this is the best option, but I want to be able to organize the videos so they are easy enough to find and access.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Lindsay's Project Setup
Part of my project proposal was to create a unit pathway in Educate (our course management system). Within this pathway, all the learning targets of the unit would be assigned as well as resources and assignments that went along with each learning target. I have made the pathway in Educate and tagged all the applicable learning targets. My next step is to gather/upload all the resources for each learning target (including capacity matrices/rubrics, homemade videos, assessments, evidence options, and additional tutorials). My video hopefully explains a little bit of what a Pathway is, how it works, and what it looks like. As I work more with the program, all the steps of my Pathway will be much more detailed, I promise!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Chapter 8 - Digital Citizenship n a Dangerous World
What are the Dangers?
- Misinformation
- Malinformation
- Messed-up Information
- Mostly useless information
The author talks about a balanced solutions....
I equate it to Drivers Ed. We expect our students to learn how to drive... we do not only allow them to drive in a closed parking lot without anyone else around. We don't let a student drive until a certain age and then we make them take a class and help them practice. Even after that they have to drive on the "live" road with "live" traffic with experienced driver beside them.
This is how we need to do this for the internet. You can't block everything.
The running joke at any school is that Facebook is blocked.... only for teachers but no student.
Scare Factors do not work. I have found when I tell students that if they tell me when something comes up inappropriate that they will get into MORE trouble if they DON'T tell me then if they tell me.
I give them a place to practice in. We also need to understand students that are at risk online are usually at risk offline.
Just as bullying, cheating, fighting and writing notes occurred before the internet it occurs after it regardless of the technology.
This is why we still need to teach proper behavior regardless of the technology.
I would also point out that this new generations live in this world. We tend to think cyber presence has a higher value and consequences in a kids everyday world. I recently saw this when my wife's niece announced on Facebook she was pregnant. She had no concept that this wasn't the first place she should have gone (her parents, grandparents, and other family member had no idea) through other channels first.
All schools need a CIPA (AUP) policy does yours have it?
Do you Teach Digital Citizenship?
Does your school hide behind the "Filter"?
Does your school teach difference between a public and private internet presence?
Monday, August 26, 2013
Chapter 7: Copyright and the Free Web
Chapter 7: Copyright and the Free Web
I really liked the section of this chapter title "Why Should I Care about Copyright?" Marcovitz makes you feel guilty about not caring about copyright laws and not setting a good example for our students as well as hooks you in with the financial implications of violating the laws. I guess, when I look for information or videos it is not something that comes to my mind, which means that I'm definitely not instilling this practice into my learner's research process. All of the different sites that he posted to get images from go way beyond my limited previous knowledge of Creative Commons. I think that posting all of these different resources as an anchor chart in your room or on your classroom (or the library's) blog would be an excellent way to educate and remind students about copyright laws.
I also took a school law course this summer, so I found the actual laws about time limits for copyrighted material and the 10% usage of text, multi-media, songs rule interesting. I said many times in that course that every school staff member should have to have taken a basic school law course as there is so many potential liabilities within schools. Which makes me wonder, why have I never heard about these rules before? Or, maybe I have but it was brushed over as unimportant? Either way, we do need to be setting good examples for our students and be transparent about where we get our materials as well as sharing this information with colleagues. I also liked that Marcovitz shared his personal story about how copyrighting text actually pushed him into formalizing his work into a book so that he could receive royalties from the sales. I think it's important to share with students why copyrighting exists and what you're doing to the actual owner/creator of the information if you are using it inappropriately.
As Marcovitz describes the three worlds of sharing and copyright issues at the beginning of the chapter, I was immediately reminded of our new digital management system, Educate. Part of my project for this course is to create a Pathway in Educate that is linked to all of our curriculum's learning targets. Another feature of Educate is what Marcovitz describes in the third world. As my district uses this program more, every lesson, activity, assessment, resource, etc. I link to a certain learning target has the ability to be seen by any Educate user in my district (if I choose to "publish" it). This worries a lot of the staff in my building, but I see it as a very powerful tool and idea generator. Just like anything I find in a book or online, I'm probably going to tweak it to fit me and my learners' needs, but think of all the potential (and access to un-copyrighted material!)
I really liked the section of this chapter title "Why Should I Care about Copyright?" Marcovitz makes you feel guilty about not caring about copyright laws and not setting a good example for our students as well as hooks you in with the financial implications of violating the laws. I guess, when I look for information or videos it is not something that comes to my mind, which means that I'm definitely not instilling this practice into my learner's research process. All of the different sites that he posted to get images from go way beyond my limited previous knowledge of Creative Commons. I think that posting all of these different resources as an anchor chart in your room or on your classroom (or the library's) blog would be an excellent way to educate and remind students about copyright laws.
I also took a school law course this summer, so I found the actual laws about time limits for copyrighted material and the 10% usage of text, multi-media, songs rule interesting. I said many times in that course that every school staff member should have to have taken a basic school law course as there is so many potential liabilities within schools. Which makes me wonder, why have I never heard about these rules before? Or, maybe I have but it was brushed over as unimportant? Either way, we do need to be setting good examples for our students and be transparent about where we get our materials as well as sharing this information with colleagues. I also liked that Marcovitz shared his personal story about how copyrighting text actually pushed him into formalizing his work into a book so that he could receive royalties from the sales. I think it's important to share with students why copyrighting exists and what you're doing to the actual owner/creator of the information if you are using it inappropriately.
As Marcovitz describes the three worlds of sharing and copyright issues at the beginning of the chapter, I was immediately reminded of our new digital management system, Educate. Part of my project for this course is to create a Pathway in Educate that is linked to all of our curriculum's learning targets. Another feature of Educate is what Marcovitz describes in the third world. As my district uses this program more, every lesson, activity, assessment, resource, etc. I link to a certain learning target has the ability to be seen by any Educate user in my district (if I choose to "publish" it). This worries a lot of the staff in my building, but I see it as a very powerful tool and idea generator. Just like anything I find in a book or online, I'm probably going to tweak it to fit me and my learners' needs, but think of all the potential (and access to un-copyrighted material!)
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Chapter 6: Searching the Web
Marcovitz writes in the conclusion, "This involves helping our students learn how to formulate good questions, sort through the overabundance of results that are given, and find tools beyond Google that night yield better results." I think this quote is what Marcovitz wants us o take away from this chapter. It is good to keep in mind when finding answers and doing research with students.
I think I have mentioned before that the library at my school is being revamped for 21st century learning. It is now called the Learning Commons and will have more of a focus on researching skills and projects. Books are still an essential part of the library, but we are integrating more technology and other resources as well. The role of the librarian is changing, but only because they will need to understand and be willing to learn new technology. I agree with the text when it states' " Librarians are information specialists. They help connect people to the information they need." Librarians are needed. I think I am going to share this exert with my school, I think it will go right along with the changes we have been making.
Like other chapters, I really enjoyed all the information and suggestions Marcovitz offers about searching the web. Some websites and tricks I have heard of, but some I have not. I want to play around with Yippy. I have used KidsClick! and I really enjoyed they fact that I didn't need to worry about what my students were searching for. I also liked it because it offers different reading levels. One downside is the fact that it doesn't have information on everything.
What I take away from this chapter is helping our students how to find the information they need, whether it would be best to find in a book or on the web.
I think I have mentioned before that the library at my school is being revamped for 21st century learning. It is now called the Learning Commons and will have more of a focus on researching skills and projects. Books are still an essential part of the library, but we are integrating more technology and other resources as well. The role of the librarian is changing, but only because they will need to understand and be willing to learn new technology. I agree with the text when it states' " Librarians are information specialists. They help connect people to the information they need." Librarians are needed. I think I am going to share this exert with my school, I think it will go right along with the changes we have been making.
Like other chapters, I really enjoyed all the information and suggestions Marcovitz offers about searching the web. Some websites and tricks I have heard of, but some I have not. I want to play around with Yippy. I have used KidsClick! and I really enjoyed they fact that I didn't need to worry about what my students were searching for. I also liked it because it offers different reading levels. One downside is the fact that it doesn't have information on everything.
What I take away from this chapter is helping our students how to find the information they need, whether it would be best to find in a book or on the web.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Chapter 5: Web 2.0
Digital Connections in the Classroom (Marcovitz, ISTE, 2012)
I think this quote from the end of the chapter is pretty important: "You want to get wedded to your learning outcomes and goals, not the tools. If a tool makes it easier for your students to learn, use it. If it doesn't use something else...In other words, think about your goals, not your tools. Then look for tools that help you achieve your goals" (p. 108). Throughout the chapter, there were lots of great tools introduced and explained. However, you can't just use a tool for the sake of saying you used it. It has to fit in with the curriculum, it has to fit in with the objectives.
Once again, it was said to start small, even create small things on your own, before diving in deep with your class. This year I plan to work on blogging in my classroom, starting small of course. I plan to do some journaling, using kidblog (I was introduced to this during an afternoon session of STI) and blogger for my classroom blog to post about our learning each day (my transparency). There are ways to use blogging to access higher order thinking skills, but for now I will start with this platform and let it grow from there. Both of these things, journaling and keeping a timeline of events, are things I already do in my classroom, now I'm just finding technology to expand/enhance these aspects.
As I was reading, I remembered some of the tools from STI. There were also tons more listed that I'm eager to check out. It's "scary" just how fast Web 2.0 is expanding, but it's exciting because of all the cool tools that are right at our fingertips as well.
I think this quote from the end of the chapter is pretty important: "You want to get wedded to your learning outcomes and goals, not the tools. If a tool makes it easier for your students to learn, use it. If it doesn't use something else...In other words, think about your goals, not your tools. Then look for tools that help you achieve your goals" (p. 108). Throughout the chapter, there were lots of great tools introduced and explained. However, you can't just use a tool for the sake of saying you used it. It has to fit in with the curriculum, it has to fit in with the objectives.
Once again, it was said to start small, even create small things on your own, before diving in deep with your class. This year I plan to work on blogging in my classroom, starting small of course. I plan to do some journaling, using kidblog (I was introduced to this during an afternoon session of STI) and blogger for my classroom blog to post about our learning each day (my transparency). There are ways to use blogging to access higher order thinking skills, but for now I will start with this platform and let it grow from there. Both of these things, journaling and keeping a timeline of events, are things I already do in my classroom, now I'm just finding technology to expand/enhance these aspects.
As I was reading, I remembered some of the tools from STI. There were also tons more listed that I'm eager to check out. It's "scary" just how fast Web 2.0 is expanding, but it's exciting because of all the cool tools that are right at our fingertips as well.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Chapter 4: Telecollaborative Projects
Digital Connections in the Classroom (Marcovitz, ISTE, 2012)
Some of our students know nothing more about life than what they experience in their small community - they don't get out of Maine sometimes. They can hear us tell them how things (weather, opinions, culture) are in other places of the country/work, but seeing it is different than hearing it. Luckily for us, we have the world at our fingertips. Telecollabortive projects, as the quote at the top states, allows us to "travel" outside of our classroom walls to have more authentic learning experiences. This can be an extremely powerful tool.
As I was reading about the types of projects (interpersonal, information, work and experiences, audience for writers, and strategies), I found myself thinking about how I could try to fit these into the fifth grade curriculum. Almost once a year someone in our school receives a letter as part of "the great mail race". It might be interesting to do this online, using email rather than snail-mail. There is a teacher in Brewer whose class Skypes with a 3rd grade class in every state. It's a great experience for these students in Brewer to talk to students their age in other parts of the country! I think of my students who sometimes have never been to the Bangor Mall because their family doesn't have a car! And when asked to name another state, they don't know the difference between Canada, Brewer, and New York.
I also appreciated the "Pitfalls" section of this chapter. Often ideas are discussed and I'm cautiously eager to jump right into something. The pitfalls gave me some reassurance that these projects don't work all the time and they aren't appropriate for everyone. I'd like to try them out at some point, but right now I think I have enough on my plate. Perhaps down the road I'll get my feet wet and give it a try.
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