Week 12

I choose to take a mulligan for Activity 12.3b - Create a Classroom Presentation.

Week 11

Activity 11.3 - B: Using IWBs

Two ways that I thought of incorporating IWB to the lesson provided were:

Have the word map saved to the IWB and it can be left up throughout the class so that any student can add to it at any time  by the end of the unit it’s still all there. This helps because you have one big collaborative map for the whole class. I have had teachers do it where each student does it themselves but by the end it is hard to collaborate with everyone because everyone’s is different, here you work together towards final piece of work. This supports group learning and gives the students a sense of control over their own learning as they are responsible for adding to the map. Depending on the class it could be disorganized looking, abstract or it could take on an organized or grouped form. This could give the teacher an idea on class dynamics and the way the class as a whole learns. Students can add words or pictures could even draw an illustration, it opens up possibilities, it doesn’t have to be just words.

You could also use the IWB with the scrapbooks. The students would have interactive scrapbooks so it would be easier to add things they have created to it with less hassle and mess, also they have more diversity in what they could add. They could add a video of their Readers Theatre presentation as well as connected myths, pictures, and anything else they wanted to add, it doesn’t have to be just paper pieces like a regular scrapbook would entail. You could also have all scrapbooks available so that students at any time can go up to the IWB and open a scrapbook for reference or continued learning or even feedback. Again this promotes collaborative learning; if each student is assigned a god/goddess they could teach the rest of the students about their particular god instead of each student having to learn each one by themselves. It also supports continual learning; it helps students to see their progress every day, not just project by project, they get to see the unit as a whole. Also the IWB allows to students to be creative, the scrapbooks could take on many forms like mind maps or presentations like Prezi’s or Powerpoint, they could be in list form or even collage form. 

Week 10

I choose to take a mulligan for Activity 10.3 - Vendor Reflection

Week 9

Activity 9.3 - Using an LMS

I think that text notifications are a good idea however I don’t think they are appropriate. I would veer on the safe side when it comes to communicating with students and stay away from text messaging and go for email through the school.

 I really like how you can create blogs right in the site but I was really interested in the journals. The journals have more settings and you can have it set where only the teacher and the student can view the journal. I thought of a student doing an essay or an assignment in the journal portion of the site and with only the teacher being able to see it, it would be great for marking. It cuts down on paper and there is no need to print it off so the students don’t have to spend money to do it and the teacher doesn't have to keep track of all the different papers, they are all online. Also the journals can be broken into groups so group projects are also possible online without too much hassle. Groups don’t need to physically get together which can be hard for students with no transportation or busy schedules. The teacher doesn't have to give too much class time for group work as it can be done online.

Early warning system is a great tool to keep track of late or missing assignments without having to search through each student or assignment individually. Also it helps to stay on top of things, letting a student know as soon as possible so that they can correct the situation. You don’t have to wait until you’re finished marking to find out someone forgot to hand it in; it is quicker and more efficient.

I cannot believe that safe assign was included here! It’s a good tool to use for anti-plagiarism. It also gives feedback to the teacher and student about citation; it is easier to pick out where citations are needed and if they are being done correctly.

Surveys are great to get feedback for the teacher about how the whole class is going or the online process. You could also use it to see what students think about a project idea or which book to read next. It gives students a bit more power in the classroom knowing that they get to give feedback and have a role in deciding on how to proceed with the material.

Tests are a no-brainer. I would definitely use it just for convenience sake as well as accessibility.

Self and peer assessment tool is great for the students to learn how the marking process works, when you know how you are being marked it is much easier to meet the criteria of the assignment. This also gives students a sense of empowerment.

I like how you can put things into folders and pages for organization this not only helps the teacher but the students as well.

Also you can put in an announcement which keeps everyone on track and organized knowing what is coming up and what is due. Communication is one of the best organizational tools you can use.

I think the YouTube function is great! You can search for and add YouTube videos into your content page without leaving the site, it’s all built in! This is, first off, way easier than trying to embed the videos and the students don’t have to link to the video or anything, its right there centralized and organized. This can help with focus, by keeping them on your site it is less likely they will deviate to other YouTube videos when they should be working on school work.

You can also add audio, images, and so much more content on the site as well allowing you to cater to every learning style with minimal effort. This helps each and every student to reach their full potential because they are getting their needs met.

As a closing statement I would like to point out how much work this would take to set up! Just playing with it had me stressed out. You would have to take the time to learn the system and how to best use it effectively. Once you have it set up though, it would be amazing! I can’t believe it’s free!

Week 8

Activity 8.3 Social Media in the Classroom Reflection.

Week 7

Activity 7.3 - Copyright Reflection

I chose secondary grades as my group to focus on since I will be teaching in that age group and used MLA citation because I am an English major.

Copyright terms and Citation on Prezi

Week 6

Activity 6.3 Digital Citizenship Reflection

1.    How should teachers promote and model digital citizenship responsibly?

It's definitely hard for teachers from my generation to think about digital citizenship because we are so immersed in the internet. We grew up with the internet and shaped it and now we have to limit what we do on it. Everything we put on-line has to be appropriate for everyone from our family to our students to the students’ parents all the way back to our boss. But in my opinion this isn't such a bad thing. We can't complain about privacy when we know that with the internet there is no privacy and we are trying to teach our students this as well. We as teachers cannot be hypocrites and must lead by example. We also need to be knowledgeable about the topic, you can't teach someone to be a good digital citizen when you don't know anything about it and don't strive to be one yourself. 

2. Describe how you will incorporate digital citizenship into your regular classroom instruction and activities? You may want to use your digital poster from activity 6.2 as an example of how you might incorporate this learning object into a lesson?

First thing to do is to get the students knowledgeable about digital citizenship and what it is. From there you can expand the knowledge through examples and explain consequences of bad on-line behaviour. Using the "Unknown Exposure" video would be a great tool; it's a little silly but it gets the message across. Afterwards you can talk to the students about how putting something on-line is like putting it on a bathroom stall or painting it on the side of building except you can’t paint over it or erase it. You could make up a list of how to be a good digital citizen with the class and have it displayed at all times somewhere in the classroom. This gives the students an opportunity to place the responsibility on themselves; they made the list after all.  You can also get the students to use their knowledge; there is no point in teaching digital citizenship if you are never going to have them demonstrate it. By having students use the knowledge it is more likely to become a habit, being a good digital citizen may become something they don't even need to think about, they just do it.

Any time technology is being used remind them of their on-line responsibilities; repetition. Another way to remind students about ethics and responsibility is to have them answer a question about it before they can sign out the laptop or tablet that day. The most important thing is making sure the students have the information and understand it, this is the foundation and you can build on it from there. 

Week 5

I choose to take a mulligan for Activity 5.3 Cyberbullying and Social Media Reflection. 

Week 4

Activity 4.3 Where Am I Now?

Philosophy of Teachnology

1.      What is one of the least effective ways I have seen teachers use technology in the classroom and why was it so ineffective?

I haven’t had too many experiences where technology use was completely ineffective; the worst part is usually when the teacher has no idea how to use it or set it up and it wastes time and loses our interest really quickly.

The least effective instance for me was always videos. A teacher would put up a movie or video and we as students would sit back and watch. Now the video wasn't the main issue, many of them were great to watch, it was how the teacher used them. “I am going to throw on this video and just assume that you will understand why it connects to what we are learning right now”. Put on the video – watch – class is over. Many of the teachers did not connect back to what we were learning, or talk about the video at all. So, to the students, the point of showing the video was mute and the only thing we got out of it was not having to do work that day.

2.      What is one of the most effective ways I have seen teachers use technology in the classroom and why was it so effective?

The most effective use for me was always using technology for games.  Two instances I remember very clearly and even remember some of the info!

First instance was the use of an iclicker type technology where you answered questions with a hand held remote. This was effective to me because you got to answer questions (anonymously) and it told you whether you were correct or not based on your remote number so you also got feedback. This created a stress free testing environment where there were no penalties just learning.

The second instance was the use of a Smartboard. It was set up sort of like a jeopardy board for review of the unit we working on. We were split into groups and each turn a group member would go up and throw a very squishy ball at the board, where ever this landed opened up a question. There were a few reasons why this was effective:

1. It was fun,

2. You used your body not just your head, MOVEMENT

3. You were in groups so that you could collaboratively learn if you didn't already know the answer

Way better than simply replacing a white board with a Smartboard, they aren't just for writing on!

TPACK

Week 3

Activity 3.3 Learning and Technology Theories Reflection

     It is hard to pick just one theory as some aspects work for me but not always the whole theory. Take constructivism for example: the idea that the teacher is a guide and that you are in control of your own learning is really great for me as I tend to do things a little bit differently. However the "hands on" doesn't work that well for me, when I had to do experiments in science, yes they were fun but that was it for me. I was unable to connect what I was doing with my hands to what I had read and learned in the textbook, the practical just did not match up to the theoretical for me. 

    So right now connectivism is what seems to match up for me. I also think it is the most practical for today's world, if you don't know something you go look for it, no one relies on memory any more  Knowing where to find information is key and if we can teach that then I believe everyone would become more efficient. Now obviously not everyone learns the same way but this is how my brain works. If I don't know something I automatically think about where I can get it. With technology this is so easy and I can reasonably do it any time and anywhere. I think we should be less interested in what a student 'remembers' or can 'recall' and focus on application. Can we give someone information and see them Apply it? The information itself isn't what's important but they way we use it. Also I think connectivism breaks down the idea that technology secludes us because you need connections to find information quickly. You aren't sitting at a computer and not interacting with someone, in fact you could be interacting with thousands! It makes the sharing of information ridiculously efficient when you throw in technology. 

Using technology to help me learn in this way >>> RIGHT NOW. I am taking information that I learned in class and am applying it on a blog, which can be seen by others. Sharing information. So I haven't memorized every theory but I do have a general idea of each and if I need to know more BAM all I have to do is click or ask a classmate or even look at their blog or portfolio. 

Another way connectivism helps me learn is that if I have a question I have to work to find the answer. I have to Google it or tweet a friend or read an article. This process helps me remember it rather than an answer being told to me by a teacher. A teacher should look at me and say "Look it up" and "find me some examples". LOOK FIND CONNECT LEARN. I might come out knowing more than what you would have taught me in the first place.

Week 2

Activity 2.2 PLN

I chose twitter as my social networking tool my username is : @TaboosOfReality. Found a lot of great companies and people to follow. Venturing into the unknown Wish me luck!

Activity 2.3 Multimedia Reflection



edit activity.pptx

Week 1- ePortfolios

Activity 1.4 Wallwisher Reflection