2 ILP "Design" - Piktochart

For my second Independent Learning Project, I chose to create an educational infographic. I tried to use a different website, Canva, but I could not get the hang of it. I went back and did some research and found Piktochart, which offers great tools and templates for first-time infographic creators. While using a template probably would have been easier to use and more aesthetically pleasing, I did not find the template I was looking for so I created my own.

I started with a blank block, which is like a slide in Powerpoint, and added a background before "cloning" it to make enough room for all my information. I then uploaded photos and inserted text.

Overall, making this infographic was a lot of fun! I do wish I had more experience with this website, however, because I think a little practice would have improved the quality and design of my infographic.

The information provided is simplified to make it understandable for 5th graders. Check it out!

Click here to zoom!

ILP 1: Design - Edmodo

For my first Independent Learning Project, I chose to create an online community/learning environment I could/would actually use in a classroom. I know we all set up Edmodo accounts during the course of the semester but I wanted to really check out all the features it has to offer.

I set up an English quiz where I got to make several decisions like how many questions, the form of the questions (multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc.), the point value of the questions, the questions themselves, and more. I thought it was neat that I got to preview the quiz and take it like a student would during said preview. There was also the option to send the grade from the quiz directly to an online Gradebook through Edmodo, which could be a great tool in the future if I'm struggling to enter all my grades on time.

I created an assignment in the form of an extra credit quiz. The assignment tab exists as almost a reminder to the students of the assignment. There is the option to name it and describe it but in order to actually have an assignment there, I had to link one online or attach a file containing the assignment.

I also added a poll asking where my students would rather take a field trip to learn about animals that live in or near water. The options were a beach, a river and a spring. The answers to that poll could be used to actually decide where to take a field trip, based on the majority vote.

I liked that there is always the option to schedule the post to go up on another date in the future. A teacher could plan out quizzes for the entire year and go ahead and have them set to post as the information quizzed on was covered.

I tried to embed a Slideshare about the parts of a plant but as I tried to view it, it appeared strange once, normal once, and not at all once. I found that frustrating because I really like Slideshare since we discussed it in class.

Overall, after using Edmodo for a while, I think it would be a great tool. It may have been more complicated for me to use because I didn't have actual students or parents in my group so everything seemed a little plain and unused. I do really like the program though. It's a great resource and community-building tool.

Click here to check out my Edmodo Classroom.

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Use Group Code: rhmr6a to join and see what's happening in my online classroom!

10

Working on an interactive powerpoint sounded really fun from the beginning. Then I really delved into it and confused myself. I wanted to be able to build an entire powerpoint in the form of a game show on my own. If I had more time on my hands, outside of school, I may have been able to do that. Since I didn't have the extra time to focus on it like I would have liked to, I ended up finding a template online and all I had to do was tweak a few components and add my questions and answers. I think I'd definitely use this kind of template again. I made a review game for 5th graders leaving the classroom for summer. The creator of this template definitely had a lot of time on his/her hands.
Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?

I might use data collection tools to survey my students and let them tell me how comfortable they are with a certain subject. It could be as short as one question rating the familiarity of the kids with a certain chapter in math before the test. I feel like my students would appreciate the anonymity of an online survey since there are many worries of judgment in a situation like that. I could use different types of data collection tools, such as a simple notebook and pen to monitor the progress of my students.

My favorite blog posts were the Slideshare Powerpoint tips we all posted. Those are much easier to pay attention to than reading a long, boring, drawn out list of ways to spice up a presentation. I had never used or heard of Slideshare until that day in class and now I feel like I see it everywhere. They're a great tool for keeping mundane information interesting.

In addition to everything I've learned this semester, I'd like to learn how to set up a video conference and what tools and tricks to use in order to maximize effectiveness. It would be nice to be able to use that to contact people in situations I could use for my classroom. In high school, my Marine Biology teacher set up a video conference with some of NOAA's affiliates who were researching in another country. That was really great because we got to ask some questions to people directly involved in marine biology. That was a great experience and I could see doing that with my students- having them video chat with authors or scientists to have different concepts explained in a way that my lack of hands-on experience wouldn't allow me to explain them. It could also make it easier to set up a quick parent-teacher conference.

As I grow older, I don't want to become like some of the technologically impaired teachers that I've had over the years. I think the most important part of achieving any tech goals would be to keep up. I'm aiming to become at least acquainted with all the new technology as it comes out. The easiest way to fall behind is to be uninvolved and uninterested in what's up-and-coming. I plan to use seminars, classes and resources like the Tech Sandbox to stay in the loop and make sure I never become a disconnected teacher.

9 [Flipping] Out for Powerpoint

     I think the concept of the flipped classroom is a wonderful concept but it really isn't the most efficient idea for an elementary classroom. While I like the idea of having most of the time in class to answer questions that lead to frustration at home, I don't think the lectures would be watched. Not only would they be avoided by people without access to technology or wifi to watch the lectures online, but also by the students who would rather learn from doing the work instead of sitting on their own time and watching a lecture. If it were more feasible and trackable, I would definitely be more open to the idea of a flipped classroom. Here's a great website to explain what a Flipped Classroom is and how it works and here is a website with some sample videos for a flipped classroom!

     Edutopia has some great features for teachers. At first glance, I thought it was a news outlet for teachers but after a closer look, I noticed it's actually an online community geared toward educators. There are several options for exploring the field of education including videos, discussion boards, and blog-like posts about different ways to be an effective teacher and different methods of professional development. 
     The web page's "About Me" tab reads, "We share evidence- and practitioner-based learning strategies that empower you to improve K-12 education." which I believe puts in perspective exactly what Edutopia has to offer. The goal of the site is to really help teachers "focus on schools' untapped potential to truly engage students and inspire them" by giving them the opportunity to join together as a community and talks about what works --and what doesn't-- in the classroom.

     This week's assignment has been tougher than I expected. I started out struggling to find a way to incorporate all the necessary elements into my lesson and after three days of trying, I changed my standard. Through the assignment, I learned how to download a template from the internet and use SmartArt, as well as how to add buttons and add timing to my Powerpoint so it could run itself. In the future, I would probably have to write out the lesson's point and all the main topics I'd want to cover before delving into the world of technology. I confused myself more than I should have since I tried to just go for it and not write anything down. I think when used as an aid instead of a crutch, Powerpoint is a great tool. This assignment has helped show me how to use the program without putting too much information on it and just reading from the slides.

Here's how I introduced important body parts in riddle form to my hypothetical second grade class:

8 Tech Talk

I think gamification, though common and often simple, has a lot of promise for education. Kids love games no matter what form they may take; why not make them educational? I remember being in school and loving when our teachers set up a "History Jeopardy" game or used Powerpoint to engage us in a guessing game for extra credit points. There are so many simple ways to incorporate gamification into teaching, and it's effective because when students have fun learning, they absorb the most information.

I think technology like the Oculus Rift we were introduced to at the Tech Sandbox would be a great addition to any classroom. The tech tool could be used for virtual field trips in order to delve deeper into geography lessons or even for the sole purpose of using cool technology.

The digital divide is a term coined to explain the gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not.When I was in elementary school, I didn't have much access to technology but now that I'm in college, I'm on the more advantaged side of the digital divide. I can always assume that there is some kind of program or technology available for my use. In my classroom, I expect to have some students with little or no access to Internet and other technological tools. I'll do my best to make sure any research needed for assignments is done at school in a computer lab and that access to technology isn't required for completing assignments at home.

Font Infographic

Here's a pretty cool font infographic to keep in mind as we all choose the fonts for our Powerpoints due next week.

7 Powerpoint and Website Creation

As a second grade teacher, I would love be able to incorporate Powerpoint into my lessons. Bloom's Taxonomy is a model showing the process of learning, beginning with remembering a topic, understanding it & applying it to other situations and resulting in the ability to analyze, evaluate & create new ideas and plans based on that information. Here's how I'd use Powerpoint to hit all those learning levels in a history lesson:

 In order to help my students reach each level of this model and achieve actual learning, I'd begin by introducing the topic on a Powerpoint and using short points to help the students remember what we're talking about.
Next, I could have my class create their own Powerpoint slides summarizing the history lesson we had just gone over (I'd have them tell me the really important parts and we'd decide together what was important enough to include in the summary). That would help secure the students' understanding of the subject.
The students could then use the information we had just gone over to create a timeline using Powerpoint or I would provide them with easily understood charts or diagrams of information relevant to that time period to help show them how to apply their new knowledge in other settings.
In order to help the students analyze the new information, I could have them use a Smart Board and Powerpoint to arrange ideas into a Venn diagram comparing life then and life now.
Evaluating the information would be the fun part but also a difficult way to incorporate a Powerpoint. Toward the end of my Powerpoint, I would have questions related to the historical time period we were learning about that have only opinionated answers, which would lead to a discussion of the evaulations and judgments of each student.
In order to help my students create new ideas or plans based on the new information, I would have them create a Powerpoint in order to "sell" a product that would have been most useful in the time period of the lesson, based on the events we talked about. That would allow for plenty of creativity while reinforcing all the other components in Bloom's Taxonomy.

Adaptive technologies are a great resource where they can be afforded. Adaptive technology helps people with learning disabilities as well as people with physical disabilities. Adaptive/assistive technology for physical disabilities can include voice recognition software or a trackball or joystick instead of a mouse if they have no ability to use a standard keyboard or mouse. I've never known anyone to use these specific types of adaptive technology and the only downside to the technology I see is that sometimes it is expensive and unattainable for some students in some communities, unfortunately.

Working on the website assignment has been a blast for me. I changed the entire theme of my site several times because I'm incredibly indecisive. There were a few things that irked me about Weebly but overall I think it's a great way to get information out there without having to pay to do so. Click here to view my website!