Web Quest

This week I created a Webquest.  Questgarden is a wonderful resource for teachers who are interested in incorporating webquests in their classrooms.  It was very easy to navigate and create a webquest using questgarden. 
In a fifth grade class I co-teach, We used a wequest to guide students on a journey of world explorers.  It is a wonderful way to encourage self direction and teamwork.  Everyone can play a role in the finished product.

A web quest is time consuming and should not be taken lightly.  The idea is to allow students to navigate the web quest on their time without needing to ask too many questions.  Be careful not to have too much information.  the task will get lost.

http://questgarden.com/115/16/4/101126133155/

This is a Web quest to introduce students and families to the exciting events taking place in our very own state. Hosting the Equestrian Games is an honor and we are excited to share our state with others around the world. The goal is for students to learn about the Equestrian Games and invite others to attend. Students will have the opportunity to create displays, brochures, PowerPoint's or advertisements for others to see.
Their task is to research information on The 2010 World Equestrian Games. Use the links provided to do the researching.
Once you have researched thoroughly you may complete one of the following:
1.  Create a brochure using Microsoft Publisher.
2.  Create a presentation using Microsoft Power Point.
3.  Create an advertisement display.
The finished product must entice and persuade the viewers to attend the Equestrian Games. Use pictures and the information that you have attained from the links to the websites.
Students will get in groups of 4-5.  Each group will decide what type of product they are going to create.  Groups will navigate through the Alltech website.  Students will   create their final product by finding the most important data that will encourage others to attend the games. http://www.alltechfeigames.com/

Online Communication

This week we reviewed the number of tools that are available for communicating online.  Of course the blog is a popular way to communicate timely information.  Blogs are websites where the information is updated regularly.  For example; I am using the blog as a way to summarize my week in this class and it is used by the professor as an assessment tool.  Based on the information I post, my instructor can evaluate my understanding of the topic for each week. 
Chat is a tool that can provide the unique opportunity to discuss a topic in real time.  I say real time but it takes a special person to chat.  When you chat with another person it is important to take your time.  It takes some time for your thought to be read and for the recipient to respond so you have to be patient and allow for process time.  E-mails are available to all students and teacers.  E-mails allow communication to take place anywhere at and respond at any time.  That is the downfall of e-mail.  You never know when the person is going to e-mail.  I have three e-mail addresses and I only check one everyday.  That can cause a delay in response to what might be important information.  It is important to make sure that the e-mail address we give to our students and teachers is one that we read frequently.  Forums are when studens are posed with a question they are able to post their response and reply to other students.  As we have seen this is a great way to assess what the student understands about the topic.  As a teacher now, I have access to Moodle.  Moodle allows me to interact with my students in this way.  This communication tool allows me ot pose a question or an extension to some students to apply what they have learned and use the discussion forum as an opportunity to elaborate.  Students who need more processing time and even need the opportunity to review homework or talk to another teacher or parent, they can use the discussion forum as a way to hear their peers perspective and understand it in their words.  They can reply in their words.  Video chat is super cool!  Kids love to be able to use something like Skype to talk to somone else, anywhere in the world in real time.  This is great when we worked with vetereans and there are many students who have family members overseas.  
Although there are many options to use communication on line I find that I do not have a venue to teach my small groups all of the time.  With very little space I use a mobile little class that moves from hall space to hall space in whatever nook or cranny I can find to work with my students.  I also work in other classrooms with lead teachers and I am not always able to plan the lessono that I would find interesting.  Special Education teachers do not always have the luxury of technology in their lesson especially when it comes to online access.  Many of our students do not have access to internet for a consistent amount of time.  This is difficult to use the online communication as an option for graded projects. 

Homework log

Classroom Brochure Project

Presentation Software

Presentation software can be a valuable daily tool in the classroom.  As a teacher it can be used to guide individual lessons, share ideas with colleagues and present information to parents.  Students can use the software to deliver reports, create class projects and use as a reference or study tool to remember the keypoints. 

I have recently used presentation software to prepare entire lessons.  This is not very different from my approach in trainings both in the education and private sector.  Powerpoint presentations are the number one tool in my training tool box.  That is why I find it so important in the classroom to organize lessons. 

During a recent lesson on adjectives I created an entire powerpoint to guide me.  The first slide opens the lesson with the anticipatory set and instructions for the initial assessment activity.  The powerpoint is pre-enabled with a feature to guide my time in order to allow for processing.  This feature is helpful for me as a new teature to assure that I do not rush through the content and I allow the students time to think.  Once we begin the lesson the presentation software leads me to a hyperlink to an instructional video.  The cartoon video appeals to different learners.  Again it is set on a specific time to allow for time management.  The next slide introduces hyper links to an e-book that supports the lesson.  As the slides continue I am guided through different activities that ensure I address each learner in my room.  The final two slides include the assement and closure.

I am most proud of the time management aspect of the lesson.  I am able to stay on task and encourage myself to allow for processing.  This is due to the prompting of each slide and activity.  There is room for flexibility by the touch of a forward or back button.  As I continue to  create lessons I will create powerpoints for themes that will be cumilative and provide the students printout of slides to use as notes.  This is a great way to be prepared for a substitute teacher. 

The students enjoyed my presentation and I happened to be observed by a district representative.  They were pleased with the the use of technology and the response of the students.

21st Century Skills encouraged by the implementation of presentation software includes the use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate and communicate information.  Presentations are key in all fields.  I do not go one week without someone sharing a powerpoint with me for one work, school or otherwise.

Homework Logs - WP

As a teacher and a parent I understand the importance and sometimes confusion of homework.  Working with third and fourth grade students, I see an influx in homework.  It is also important to instill accountability to the student with regard to homework.  In this grade there are agenda books that are available to the students.  This is a transition from the weekly calander that went home from the teacher in second grade.  The agenda book is large and a daily task.  The students I work with are having difficult keeping track of the agenda book.  I think it is overwhelming to them.  The transition from the calendar to the big agenda book has been a big jump.  I am uploading a Homework log that can go home with the student.  This log will be a quick easy to view sheet the parents can check and the students can keep up with. 

Word Processing and Desktop Publishing

This week in school the sixth grade was charged with creating a brochure for a Province in Canada.  A rubric was provided to each student that defined the value of each aspect of the brochure and what was expected.  That was all. The students were not confined to the use of a desktop publishing software and they were able to present the brochure using crayons and markers if that was what was available.  This was not a classroom project.  In fact, the teacher did not allow the students any time on the computer.  This project was self directed and given on a four day break. 
The product would be based on many factors.  Will the students have the information available to them?  Will the student who does not have access to the library or media at home be able to provide information or present it in a way the will allow the student to receive a good grade?  Many children go home to an environment that is not conducive to complete a project of this magnitude.  The project is a great idea and is an activity children would enjoy but the base of knowledge was not provided.  The teacher made assumptions and we can't do that.  The assumption that each student is literate enough to create a brochure on a computer without any review.  The assumption that students who would benefit from learning the information  in this way will have access to the tools they need.  Many students presented brochures made with colored pencils and markers while many of their peers presented brochures created using a publishing software. 
The activity would have been more beneficial if the students could have had an opportunity to work in the classrooms and received a lesson on the ways brochures can be created and the reality that a brochure should not be presented in the real world in our own handwriting.
The videos this week provided good examples of lessons on how the students can implement DTP in the classroom.  Creating the brochures, newsletters and other information using the software allows the children to apply the content and make it relevant. 
One of the most important things I learned this week was to make sure to keep the students on task.  Time can get lost when you are creating brochures and other documents.  Spending too much time on searching graphics can lose a student.  I know.  I have fallen victim to the time drain when searching the Internet for information and graphics. 
Providing an alternative assessment tool that engages the students is exciting.  The activities encourage thinking and creating using their knowledge instead of providing me an answer on a test that I create.

Week 2 "Excel" in the classroom.

Databases in the classroom is something I am using but I did not realize how much.  Creating a schedule with my colleagues to serve the students, creating a chart that keeps track of accommodations, running queries to disseminate testing results, rubric information and much more.  When I reviewed the website http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/excel/ I spent time reviewing getworksheets.com.  There are so many templates available that can assist the management of my caseload.  Calendars, lesson plan templates, worksheets, PowerPoint's, behavior incentives etc.  It is an affordable option.  The availability of these items online is manageable in comparison to the many hundreds of workbooks that are available to me at school.  The workbooks in my arsenal at school are overwhelming.  I spend so much time trying to decipher what I can use and getting them copied. 
The difficulty with adhering to pre-made templates is compatibility with my computer and alignment with the standards.  There are many lesson plans that will work in the classroom but I need to be sure to align the activities to the core content.

There are many opportunities accross the curriculum to implement databases and excel.  The projects are easy and appealing. Sorting information and presenting it in a way that is exciting and seems relevant.  When "leading" projects it will be important to allow the students to think through it on their own or in their groups.  The readings this week discussed how answers can be found in different ways and the process of storing the information and presenting it may vary. 

I look forward to implementing excel in a math group.  The children continue to struggle with multiplication.  They are able to use multiplication charts that we have printed up.  I am going to have the students create their own charts in order to use them.  I found that even when the children are handed a multiplication chart to use they struggle to understand them.  The process of creating the chart them selves should help.