Evaluate Reflection

I enjoyed working through this quest because it supported my belief of the importance of assessment for learning.  I believe that formative assessment happens constantly, and though my one example may not have shown it, I constantly assess the learning of my students.  I use Socrative quite a bit for quick class quizzes, (and the students love any excuse to whip out those phones).  I like to verbally assess, small group assess, look over shoulder assess, watch them play games, in fact just about everything I do is assess the kids as they learn.  I am working toward more problem based learning situations so they can actually learn through assessment.  I have a ways to go on this but am enjoying the trials.  I need to work on my feedback strategies.  I have some good ideas and have sent cute Vokis with good or bad news for verbal feedback, audio recorded messages and sent via email, and written right on the feedback section and returned to students, however I need to be more consistent and make sure the students know where to look for the feedback.  I use data to plan my lessons and like the way the LMS provides different ways of interpreting the data.  I love using rubrics and often use the tasks with rubrics included on the Mars site.  I do not like making rubrics, but try to keep them simple and to the language of the standard.  I differentiate for children for many reasons and always make sure that my class is respectful of diversity in all situations.

Evaluate 3.1.2 Self-Reflection on Teaching Abilities Quest

INDIVIDUAL TEACHING REFLECTION/GROWTH PLAN

     In reflecting on my teaching abilities, I will state that I am Certified to teach middle grades math, language arts, and social studies.  I have earned my Ed.S in Education Technology and have an online teaching and reading endorsement from RESA. I feel that I have the prerequisite technology skills to teach online because of my endorsement, experience gathered during my 4 years teaching online classes through our district virtual program, and exposure to many different strategies and tools discovered through the quests. My classes are engaging and flexible and I do work with individuals to make sure that they master the material prior to moving forward in the course.  I often post several recovery assignments that appeal to different type learners for students to relearn material and recover from exams.  I will use online games, interactive quizzes with feedback, Safari videos, and Softchalk activities.I  post weekly announcements, hold weekly Safari Live Class Meetings, send regular emails and keep constant communication with the students online.

I  post a copy of the Forsyth County AUP policy, constantly refer to technology etiquette and post my netiquette policy on the announcement page, in my resource folder, and in the class orientation folder.

I have had experience as a student online, including these quests, so I can see my course as a student would. Secondly, every time I create or use a lesson for students, I view it as a student so I can see it or take the quiz from their perspective.All of my tests are based on the required Georgia Performance Standards and include a variety of Bloom levels, mostly 2 and 3.  I use A2K data base to find great questions, I use the exam view bank, CRCT practice questions, and other resources to create questions – most of my tests are exported into the LMS via ExamView, but I also load my own.I  create interactive games and assessments, projects, learning activities, videos, recordings, virtual examples, and exams all based on the pacing guide and the Georgia Performance Standards.I use the LOR, Promethean Planet, sites obtained through the online endorsement class, fellow teachers, online searches, packaged parts of lessons, and self-created activities to engage the students in learning.I use pre-tests via Wordle and Crossword Puzzles to introduce the language of math, then pre-assess the knowledge – allowing students to open the pre-assessments after a period of learning to see how much growth has been evident.

ARTIFACTS

Project - Dissolving the Digital Divide

Socrative Workshop Project

Problem Based Learning Unit

SELF-REFLECTIONS

    One area in which I would like to show improvement deals with academic honesty in my course, I agree with Dr. Siemens that we must “redefine cheating and plagiarism” (Siemens, Plagarism and Academic Honesty, 2009) due to the instant and easy access to so many resources and information at our fingertips.  It would take every minute of the educator’s time to search through the web for any sign of copying and my course will make it very difficult to find infringements because many times, there is only one way to solve a specific math problem so it would be nearly impossible to find any type of issues dealing with plagiarism.  Having knowledge of this fact should encourage me to develop a course that can be engaging, shows connections to real life situations, and gives the students opportunities to bring in personal strategies and methods as they discuss and collaborate about problems involving mathematics.
Another big area in which I will need to show improvement will be in the area of assessment.  Siemens states that we must move toward “authentic assessments that deal with approaches that are reflective of real life” (Siemens, Plagarism and Academic Honesty, 2009).  This is true in f2f and online courses in this age of twenty-first century learners.  Students are much more personally involved and engaged when they can glimpse a link to actual life experiences.
As for copyright issues, I feel that the first level of the Creative Commons License would be sufficient for my course.  In this license, the only request is that any work used is attributed to the original author.  Many of the math problems that I create are built upon those that I have seen or used in the past from books or resources online, and I try to give the credit to the source.  The schools system where I teach has a closed LMS so many of us do not worry about our copyrights since we are only posting courses and resources within our own database.  However, we do have more strict and specific copyright statements that require anyone who uses the collaborative material from our district to gain permission prior to use outside of our district.  This will not be the case for my course because I would like to see what others can do with some of the resources I have packaged. I am not an extremely creative person and I certainly am enthusiastic about seeing what creative people can do with my basic efforts.
     I must be sure to design a class that focuses on thinking and problem-solving, identify the goals for the lesson and provide students with effective learning strategies to process the information.  Use of learning communities is an important strategy in the cognitive learning theory and should be used with teacher guidance instead of teacher control, giving the learner more involvement in the learning process by linking new knowledge to existing knowledge. In cognitive learning, analogies, concept mapping, organizers are good strategies for the teacher to bring into the classroom.  Also, it is important that I stay current on new technologies that support students in this theory and most importantly, mix up the different learning theories to create the best learning environment for the students. 

Evaluate 3.1.1 Differentiation Quest

I gave a pre-test prior to starting a unit on integers and rational numbers.  Once the data was compiled, I did an analysis of the types of questions missed by students.  At this point, I was able to form working groups that would give us the best use of class time.

Group 1 - Needs review of fraction operations
Group 2 - Needs review of long division
Group 3 - Needs review of fraction, decimal, percent conversion
Group 4 - Really struggling with all of these concepts - need basic review and practice
Group 5 - Ready to start with integer operations

As for individuals and the LMS, it would be simple to have the student participate in an online assessment and upon analysis, the LMS could assign lessons and activities and drop them in the student planner. Most of the LMS programs allow instructors to give permissions to assignments, where you can go in and check names of students who will see it and those who will not. So, in a way, this really can personalize the assignments and lessons for individual students.

Evaluate 2.1.2 Rubrics and Competencies Quest

I use the standard itself to structure the competency.  For example, if I am teaching a unit on ratio and proportions, I would use the standard as my starting point:

MCC7.RP.2b Identify the constant of proportionality (unit
rate) in tables, graphs, equations, diagrams, and verbal
descriptions of proportional relationships

Student competency would be based on the following

Identify the constant of proportionality (unit rate) in tables, graphs, equations, diagrams, and verbal  descriptions of proportional relationships

Table

Graph

Equation

Diagram

Verbal Description

Student identifies only one constant of Proportionality:     Needs to go back and look at more lessons - low
Student identifies only two constants of Proportionality    Emerging - Should look over examples of missed
Student identifies three constants of Proportionality          Meets - Minimum requirement to move forward
Student identifies four constants of Proportionality           Very Good - Student understands constants
Student identifies all five constants of Proportionality        Exceeds - Student has mastered this standard

Evaluate 2.1.1 Data Driven Instruction, Analytics, Reporting Tools Quest

This software system does a great job of tracking student data and analysis.  It begins with the class ID, term, and course(s) for the teacher, along with the number of students enrolled in the class. The second chart gives the teacher an overall look at the type of student, if the student is ready to begin the class(completion of orientation) and the test they expect to take at the end of the course.  

The communication log is something I have not seen before and I can see how useful it would be to have it on the system, instead of on a different file or notebook. One could easily be created by the teacher as a personal inactive file to help instructors remember to contact parents often for good things as well as issues.

The lesson tracking system is good because you can see when the student accessed a lesson and how much of the lesson was viewed.  This is extremely important, especially for younger children who tend to go straight to the end of the lesson and try to take the quiz.  Sometimes, students log on so their parents think they are working, but just leave the site up and many of the systems show that no files have been opened so this gets nipped pretty quickly.  It is helpful to see the dates because you can see if a student might be waiting until the last minute to do the work and you could use this data to conference with the student to help them get back on track.  The student activity explains quite a bit about the grade.

Most systems allow students to view their grades and it would be a shame for a teacher just to give a grade with no feedback.  The comments should provide the student with advice or suggestions on how to better understand the concept. Then, the dropbox allows the student to submit more open-ended work and gives the teacher opportunities to comment on those assignments, with plenty of feedback.  

Evaluate 1.1.3 The Summative Assessment Quest

I created a summative assessment over expressions and used the common core standard to review the questions.  I wanted to make sure that the students were given the opportunity to show me at what level they could solve expressions problems, so I included mostly level 2 questions, put on level 1 question in to give everyone a chance to show they had some knowledge of expressions, and I included a 2-part level 3 question where students had to show application of the concept.

Evaluate 1.1.2 Quality Feedback Quest

This was a student who had some multiple choice and a couple of short response. It appeared that he did not even look at the lesson, so I responded to him on his work with a really interactive and engaging web site that I felt would help him.  I deleted his formative quiz, reset the questions, and he did very well after trying another way of learning.  The first quiz was over text based material.

Evaluate 1.1.1 Formative Assessment Quest

I like to use tic-tac-toe for formative assessments because it gives me the opportunity to see how well the students do with different types of questions and it gives the students some choice as to how they want to respond and to which questions.  If the game is carefully developed, a tic-tac-toe will give you a good variety of responses and let you know where the weaknesses lie or in what area there are weaknesses.  The one I made for this quest involves exponential functions.

Exponential Functions Formative Assessment Tic-Tac-Toe.

CREATE QUEST REFLECTION

    Working on this segment brought back to me some important rules and skills that I had forgotten about.  I was able to focus on my time management skills, and in this quest, found my weakness of not setting goals, so I was able to focus on goal setting in my teaching and learning.  Creating the mindmap was a challenge for me because I had not used the software in quite a while, but it was fun and I intend to implement this in more of my own lessons.  The appearance quest was engaging and I found lots of new ideas about how to engage and organize and the web tools quest gave me some great new ideas and allowed me to go back and look at some older tools that I have not used lately.  Using the Web 2.0 to differentiate instruction and assessment were interesting quests and reinforced some of what I have been doing with my students, in addition to giving me some new insights into how they can be used.  Of course the open resources and creative commons were beneficial because I really did not know about the quality of the resources before this quest.  I had not used the checklists for the Fair Use and Teach Act and plan to print these out and use them often to protect myself.  I completely enjoyed the last three activities, especially building the learning objects - that is a challenge that I enjoy and really get involved in.  This was a great quest with much of the online frameworks built into it.

Create 4.1.3 Aggregating Lesson Material Quest

Coursesites by Blackboard - This allows you to build a course, upload documents and videos, grade quizzes, set up discussion boards, and pretty much do anything that a high-priced LMS might do.  It is free and very structured and easy to use.

Edmodo - This is a bit like Facebook for school and looks like a social site.  Instructors can post links, lessons, videos, and assignments.  They can also have discussions with students and there are these apps that can be uploaded (many are free) that students can use for great interactive practice.Some of the apps are costly but there are plenty of free apps from which to choose.  

WikiSpaces - I love to use this to put together a content wiki where I can upload lessons, videos, games, interactive practice, and allow a place for comments and input from students.(free)

Create 4.1.2 Principles of Building Portable Learning Objects

I created the following learning objects using Softchalk and several resources that allowed me to package a learning object that would appeal to any type of learner.  The first one gives examples and images of cross sections and ends with a small quiz.  The second one is a combination of lessons and could be used for students who need more examples and information about integers and where they fall in the number system and how to relate them to absolute value.  I tried to use cartoons, images, text, videos, and text poppers.



Cross Sections Lesson and Practice


Introduction to Integers and Absolute Value

Create 4.1.1 Define and Explain Learning Object Authoring Tools Quest

SLIDESHARE - This is actually a Web 2.0 based slide hosting service. Users can upload files through Powerpoint, PDF, Keynote or OpenDoc formats and have the ability to video or record voice on the slides. Great way to put together a lesson or presentation and lots of choices for creativity are included. Users can make this private or public. Quizlet - This is a completely free site with educators working on creating a tool that helps with studying and practice. Users can create flashcards, create games, multiple choice quizzes, and even daily worksheets for classroom practice. There are options for uploading videos and audio recordings. What2Learn - Make a wide range of interactive learning games for free using the What2Learn game machine. You put your questions and answers in one end and your finished game will pop out the other end. Your completed game can be played online or embedded into a range of your own electronic resources. SmartBuilder - This authoring tool has lots of capabilities and is free up to a point. Some of the functions are available free for anyone, and these functions include object library, action authoring, template library, create your own template, lesson hosting, and tutorials. Then, for a fee(per user) you can add more functions like powerpoint import, content download, scorm tracking, translation tool, review tool, and collaborate tool. Glogster - This authoring tool does have a price, but has a really unique platform that comes with an interface for mixing text, audio, video, images, graphics, and data - these are called Glogs.

Create 3.1.3 Locating Resources Quest

The Goal Setting Image was located through a Google Chrome Image search and comes from  © 2014 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and can be used for education and non-profit.

http://studentsuccess.unc.edu/setting-goals/

Goal Setting Lesson Plan

NYNYSTROM, P. (n.d.). Learn NC. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from OpenTapestry: http://www.learnnc.org/lessons/patnystrom2112003784

Goal Setting Teacher Tube Video

Create 3.1.2 Fair Use and the TEACH Act Quest

 Under U.S. law, faculty and students have rights to use copyrighted intellectual property for educational (non-profit) activities called "fair use" rights. The University of St. Francis in Illinois has collected information on various topics related to fair use.  Its selection includes some issues which may be of particular interest to Technology Source readers, such as the rules governing use of audiovisual aids and materials for distance education.  The State University of New York at Albany has compiled guidelines for fair use of copyrighted works by educators and students. Specific topics addressed on the site include: the four factors involved in determining fair use, how to get permission to make copies of copyrighted material, guidelines for electronic lists and discussions, and citations for readings on current copyright law.  Stanford University Libraries have established a Web reference about copyright and intellectual property norms and legal issues. The site provides links to judicial and legislative law and standards, and offers information about the current status of pending copyright actions (Morrison, 2006).
In conclusion, these issues are not going anywhere because the use of online resources and online education is increasing exponentially.  Educators can avoid copyright violations and legally use copyrighted materials if they understand and comply with the fair use guidelines (Morrison, 2006).  If educators, institutions, third-party sources take the time prior to releasing works, or hiring employees to write those works, then many of these issues could be eliminated or lessened.  In many cases, time is a factor and the ease with which the material can be copied and pasted into lessons is causing many issues.  Copyright is economically motivational, intellectual property rights are security motivational, and solutions are there if all parties would simply take care to read and abide by the guidelines.

The Senate Report (107-31) accompanying the TEACH Act specifically states: 

"Nothing in this Act is intended to limit or otherwise to alter the scope of the fair use doctrine. As the Register's Report explains: "Fair use is a critical part of the distance education landscape. Not only instructional performance and displays, but also other education uses of works, such as the 

provision of supplementary materials or student downloading of course materials, will continue to be subject to the fair use doctrine. Fair use could apply as well to instructional transmissions not covered by the changes to section 110(2) recommended above. Thus, for example, the performance of more than a limited portion of a dramatic work in a distance education program might qualify as fair use in appropriate circumstances." 

Specifically, this legislation is enacted in recognition of the following: 

a. the fair use doctrine is technologically neutral and applies to activities in the digital environment; and 

b. the lack of established guidelines for any particular type of use does not mean that fair use is inapplicable. 

In the TeachAct checklist, if you are able to check all of the boxes as yes, then you are covered under the legal protection of the TeachAct.  The Fair Use checklist is much more abstract and you will need to measure your favors vs opposing and use your judgement.  

Create 3.1.1. Open Educational Resources and Creative Commons Quest

Open source is a program where the source code, or programming language, is available to the general public for use and/or modification from its original design at no charge.  The significance of this technology is that the production of  peer-reviewed, collaborative programs will be much more useful and efficient than programs that are concerned with making money or marketing.  One major benefit of open source is that it is accessible to everyone and improvements or changes are always made available to the user community and this also allows the user to set the security in a personalized manner. This type of software can be adjusted to meet specific user requirements. The changes that open source has manifested on the K-12 educational system because the open source software is free(or almost free) and has allowed schools to access much more educational software.  A few familiar examples of open-source operating systems are Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers, Audacity, an audio editor and mixer, and Linux, an operating system used by our Department of Defense, and in many university research centers.

I feel that the first level of the Creative Commons License would be sufficient for my course.  In this license, the only request is that any work used is attributed to the original author.  Many of the math problems that I create are built upon those that I have seen or used in the past from books or resources online, and I try to give the credit to the source.


Reference
Creative Commons. (2010). K-12 Open Technologies. Retrieved November 16, 1012, from Consortium for School Networking (CoSN): http://www.cosn.org/initiatives/k12opentechnologies/opentechnologieshome/tabid/5446/default.aspx

Free Online Lessons

·         MIT's OpenCourseWare now offers 2000 full, free courses online.

·         Khan Academy is a growing library of user-paced math videos.

·         Shmoop  provides study guides that asks and answers the question, "Why Should I Care?"

·         Connexions are bite-size "modules" that can be mix, match, and assemble them into a course of their own design. The site currently holds more than 17192  modules.

·         Next Vista for Learning is a library of short, instructional  videos.

·         The JASON Project connects fifth- to eighth-grade students with great explorers and events to inspire and motivate them to learn  Science.

·         Journey North engages students in a global study of wildlife Migration  and seasonal Change.

·         GoNorth! is a free adventure-learning program for the K-12 classroom where students can follow the team of educators, scientists, and K-12 teacher-explorers as they dogsled live to five circumpolar arctic  locations.

·          The Flat Classroom™ Project is a global collaborative project that joins together middle and senior high school students to stud topics inspired by”The World Is Flat” by Thomas Friedman. 

Create 2.1.3 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Student Assessment Quest

I love the GoAnimate site and would use it to have students present responses to questions in a variety of formats.  For example, a great culminating activity for a unit on rational numbers would be to divide students into groups and each group would have to respond to problems on a specific part of the activity based on a summer camp.

Group 1 - Recipes (this group would be in charge of working with fractions to figure out how many ingredients would be needed to feed all of the campers.  They would then use go animate to discuss these responses.

Group 2 - Hiking (this group would have to work on distances based on map scales and proportions.  They would need to present their information through a goanimate video

Group 3 - Weather (this group would be working on averages and predictions and would create a GoAnimate to share and explain responses.

Group 4 - Golf (this group would be working on integers and could make a really cute presentation to share their answers on GoAnimate.

Example of goanimate assessment presentation by Hiking group

Example of goanimate Assessment for the Cooking Group

Create 2.1.2 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Teacher Instruction Quest

The Web 2.0 tools allow instructors and students to post text, images, videos, and other types of media, which others can then comment on or add to.  Information can be bookmarked on the web and sites can easily be shared with others.  Of course, the famous Wikipedia, the online user-created encyclopedia, is the most famous Wiki of them all.  YouTube and TeacherTube video repositories, Flickr, for sharing photos, blogs, and other great tools can be used to effectively support student learning.

I chose to create a class wiki for students of all learning types to review for end of unit assessment and to prepare for the standardized test.  There are text-based sites, videos organized by specific topic, games, and interactive practice.  Students can make comments or ask questions on the comment section.  



Probability Review Wiki

Create 2.1.1 Web Tools Quest

     Web 2.0 offers a wealth of tools and resources that are capable of enhancing the educational environment, making its implementation simple by motivating the students and stimulating learning in and outside of the classroom. At times the quantity of resources can be a bit overwhelming, however many educational technology sites, including ISTE, offer tutorials and informational listings that help with organization and proper use. A few examples of some Web 2.0 tools that could be used for online learning or assignments outside of the classroom include the discussion board, which can be used in place of a class discussion.  In fact, in the “fish bowl” method, you would only allow certain students to post and reply while other students only read – that would be similar to a panel discussion in a face-to-face classroom. Another that is gaining popularity is the blog, or online journal that can be used instead of a handwritten journal.  The Wikis can be used to document individual or group projects and can be made public or kept private for authoring purposes.  The most famous wiki is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia where articles are written by anyone who wants to contribute.
The tools are easily implemented because access has few barriers, including the fact that there is no cost and that most are simple to use or have great tutorials available.  Edmodo is an example of a social network that can be used by educators for professional development and in the classroom and is like “a safe and secure Facebook for schools” (Erin, 2012).  Teachers can post assignments, lessons, videos, and any class activity or comment into Edmodo for students to view or download.  There are apps that can be downloaded to Edmodo and students can access this technology with computers or smart phones.

Create 1.1.3 Appearance Quest

As I explored these modules and found these sites from different units, I was surprised at how good many of them actually were, and even those sites that do not adhere to the standards served a specific purpose. I simply tried to see if the sites were engaging, challenging, and offered the elements suggested.  


Sites which exemplify sound design ideals

LEARN ZILLION   (free, interactive, self-paced, options, practice)
Problem Based Learning Units (templates, essential questions, handouts, suggestions, examples, rubrics, lots of math content)
SUMDOG Math Games  (engaging math games that allow students to play alone, compete with each other or compete with other schools! Well laid out, with images that appeal to students.  The games match the images and there are about 100 different topics to explore.  The site will send feedback to teachers as to what the students need to work on and where they are strong.
BRAINPOP   Very short 2-3 minute cartoon videos with quizzes and activities that are extremely focused on one specific topic. Great examples and engaging.
Kahn Academy  Used by several online organizations - great focused videos, examples, practice - Free

Sites which do not completely exemplify sound design ideals

Kuta Software   Generates worksheets for practice - nothing else

Tenmarks   Another behavorist type practice site that simply allows student to work problems and see if they are wrong or right - no feedback.

Moby Max  This site is like Tenmarks, but it is not free.  Teachers can assign specific standards, but all this does is score the problems- no feedback for student improvement.
CoolMathGames  This is a great site, but the link was too vague and when you go to the site, you have ads, too many visuals, lots of choices.  I think this should have linked to a specific game, preventing so many different distractions.  

Virtual Nerd   These are a huge collection of videos that would be great if they had something else to go along with them - but they are just short clips showing a person in front of a board working and explaining problems - no text based - no practice.

Create 1.1.2. Creating a Content Map Quest

Create 1.1.1 Time Management Quest

I found this graphic earlier in my research for online school and loved it, because it really does a great job of showing a person trying to stay focused and on task in the midst of distractions, and this is really how we manage our time.  Using different tools and strategies, we simply learn to focus on one thing at a time and prioritize and complete tasks in the order of priority.  I found that in my quiz, I scored lowest on goal setting so I am trying to focus on finding tools that help with goal setting.


SMART Goals

A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. While there are plenty of variants (some of which we've included in parenthesis), SMART usually stands for:

S – Specific (or Significant).
M – Measurable (or Meaningful).
A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented).
R – Relevant (or Rewarding).
T – Time-bound (or Trackable).

Set Specific Goals

Your goal must be clear and well defined. Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don't provide sufficient direction. Remember, you need goals to show you the way. Make it as easy as you can to get where you want to go by defining precisely where you want to end up.

Set Measurable Goals

Include precise amounts, dates, and so on in your goals so you can measure your degree of success. If your goal is simply defined as "To reduce expenses" how will you know when you have been successful? In one month's time if you have a 1 percent reduction or in two years' time when you have a 10 percent reduction? Without a way to measure your success you miss out on the celebration that comes with knowing you have actually achieved something.

Set Attainable Goals

Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and erode your confidence.

However, resist the urge to set goals that are too easy. Accomplishing a goal that you didn't have to work hard for can be anticlimactic at best, and can also make you fear setting future goals that carry a risk of non-achievement. By setting realistic yet challenging goals, you hit the balance you need. These are the types of goals that require you to "raise the bar" and they bring the greatest personal satisfaction.

Set Relevant Goals

Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. By keeping goals aligned with this, you'll develop the focus you need to get ahead and do what you want. Set widely scattered and inconsistent goals, and you'll fritter your time – and your life – away.

Set Time-Bound Goals

You goals must have a deadline. Again, this means that you know when you can celebrate success. When you are working on a deadline, your sense of urgency increases and achievement will come that much quicker.I have seen these before and this tool would be applicable to both the instructor and the students.

Writing down the goal is extremely important because just that physical act of doing it makes it completely real and concrete.

Create to do lists on Listl y or One Note or notes section of the phone - just write down and prioritize the goals in the form of a to do list then you can see yourself marking these things off as you complete them.

COMMUNICATE - REFLECTION

     In my reflection of this part of the course, I really feel it is possible that communication is the most important factor in an online classroom, in some form or other.  First of all, communicating with the students allows them to understand their progress and make adjustments.  Communication with parents and community greater understandings are built for student needs.           There are many forms of online communication in this type of learning environment and I am aware that netiquette is extremely important in the online classroom.  I have developed a respect for the different roles of stakeholders in the online learning environment and understand the importance of maintaining consistent contact with all stakeholders, including students, parents, administrators, and other teachers. 
     Creating a good homepage or newsletter for the class and others is a great way for all to see what is happening, what is important, helps them prioritize dates and allows them to plan ahead for the learning.   It is important to remember to differentiate at this point so that students are engaged and able to understand and master the information.
     Another aspect of communication lies in the evaluation and assessment of instruction.  It is imperative that evaluation is accompanied by some type of feedback and is completely beneficial to students to provide a rubric when possible so the students know what is key to the assignment.  Of course, the feedback can be presented in so many ways and it is important that they get the point across and help the student reflect on what needs to happen next.  
     Finally, the importance of giving feedback or allowing students to interact together in a synchronous atmosphere is also important to keep students from becoming isolated and to help strengthen their interactive and collaborative skills.

Communicate 4.3.1 The Synchronous Session Quest

     It is easy for students to become quite isolated in an online classroom environment and bringing the class together for synchronous sessions helps to lesson this issue because it gives the students the opportunity to voice opinions, talk to each other, talk to the teacher, ask impulsive questions or questions that may be initiated during a synchronous lesson.  Students who do not have the audio can still chat online with their teacher and fellow students and it feels like they have actually come together and been part of something.  Many students are on an online class because they like the flexibility of the work as long as structure is there and they can depend on this structure.  Synchronous sessions help students come together to sort out problems and engage in deeper discussions, class debates, fishbowls...(something the online student would not get without this application), and brainstorming sessions.  
     The interaction between student-to-student and student-to-teacher is increased and we now have discussions that are spontaneous and engaging.  It offers students the opportunity to collaborate on projects, no matter where they are located.

Reference
 http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/interactive-web-conferencing-brings-big-benefits-to-the-online-classroom/#sthash.nRXOh0J6.dpuf

Communicate 4.2.3 Discussions Quest

DISCUSSIONS

There are many shy students who might really have something to add to a discussion, and the fact that they are on an online forum gives them a bit of confidence so they are prone to participate in the discussion.  Also, sometimes, some students might need more time than others and the online factor gives them that opportunity to respond at a more convenient pace suited to them.  

Using a blog or class wiki with some open-ended questions or prompts allow students to digest the readings more fully.  These tools, along with the digital portfolios also give the students opportunities to reflect on their thoughts, reflecting, sharing, and discussion.  

Discussion forums that are open-ended and have multiple responses are great ways to get the students working and thinking.  Sometimes, the discussion could simply be a prompt for students to explain something, submit a link that may have found that answers the question I have asked.  

Communicate 4.2.2 Digital Feedback Quest

I feel that using Voki embedded videos to have a funny cartoon character or a super hero congratulate the student is a great way to give feedback.  The kids love the Vokis and they are easy to embed in an email, or on a class page.  Below is an example of one that I might email a student who did well on a concept that maybe he or she had been struggling with:

On the other hand, it is possible that a student might not have done so well and I would send them these links in a video, along with a new practice quiz to see if they are ready to try the concept again and recover from the bad grade:

Sample email and links:  (I could also include this on a class page with the topic: Test Recovery and allow any student who did poorly to access these links.

Susie,

You did a good job on some of the new concepts, but I want you to look at the links below to get a better understanding of expressions.  Look at the videos and examples, then practice with the interactive quizzes that will give you some feedback.  When you feel you have mastered the concept, contact me and we will set up a new evaluation for you.

Videos and Interactive Practice for Expressions

Finally, I do like using animated images or even Animoto to say "job well done" to a student and this can also be embedded into an email.



Way to Go!

Communicate 4.2.1 Feedback Quest

The assignment is  a 1-week collaborative project called "Celebrate! Holidays and Festivals Around the World", where students will work on a collaborative email-based project that allows them to explore and share different celebrations and traditions related to holidays from their own countries and those across the globe. We are using the following website as our guide because it can be adapted for many different grade levels.

Celebrate! Holidays and Festivals Around the World

How will you improve learner performance by engaging learners in authentic experiences?
Students will have the opportunity to engage in discussions with learners from other countries. Each student will be able to be an expert in their culture and traditions and can bring this information to the project while receiving information from others. This is an authentic experience that will engage the learners and make them want to explore and discover new information, even as they are motivated to learn more about their own cultures and traditions so they can collaboratively share this with others.

How will you facilitate learning through constructivist, collaborative learning experiences?
The classroom teachers will facilitate learning through constructivist, collaborative learning experiences by insuring the students bring prior knowledge of their own customs and traditions for the holidays to the table as they learn from their epals about different holidays and traditions. They will have activities to complete, questions to answer, and research to complete. With these particular activities, students will pull in outside sources form their community as well as the information from class. Students will also work collaboratively and cooperatively to find information needed to get their wikis done within their communities. While working on wikis, students will have the opportunity to communicate while working on their Google Docs activity. With the use of Google Docs, students can work together from their perspective locations to make sure that everything is getting done correctly. With this collaboration, students are learning about other areas of the world, how other classrooms do things differently, and how to communicate and socialize with other learners while developing skills to effectively communicate thoughts and ideas.

How will you create sound instructional materials and learning environments that are based on solid research and learning theory?
With the use of the Internet, students have access to resources that will provide information for all of the different celebrations around the world. They will use prior knowledge and what they have discovered from the resources have built upon over the year. There will be several class discussions and the resources will be selected collaboratively by the learning community teachers facilitating the activity to make sure the standards are similar for particular grade levels involved. 

How will you facilitate the use of innovations through the diffusion and integration of new technologies and technological experiences for your learners? Students will work in collaborative groups to find the answers to the essential questions of the project. 
Essential Questions
Why do people celebrate?
What special traditions and rituals surround holidays and festivals?
What holidays and festivals are important parts of your culture?
What holidays and festivals are important in other cultures?
What do celebrations around the world have in common?
What is a symbol? How are symbols used in celebrations and holidays?

Students will have the opportunity to find their research using various websites, their ePals, and resources available in the school or community library. The teachers will be available to facilitate and guide the student learning. If groups are having difficulty the teacher will assist them as needed. Groups will be able to share new technologies or research they find that may benefit others in the classroom.

How will you most effectively manage this process?
The best way to manage this process is to have a group check in when working on the project. Each group will have a check list to keep them on track, but the teacher will also check in with groups. By asking groups where they are at in the process and monitoring their progress the groups should not fall behind. This will also allow the teacher to know what groups might be having trouble researching or producing the final project early on. 
What ethical considerations will you make to ensure sound decisions are made? 
Students at this age level often do not realize the cultural differences around the world. Having discussions about possible cultural differences before beginning the project will remind students to be aware that there will be things other children do differently. Some of the differences may include: religious beliefs, family traditions, holiday traditions, language responses, and the way someone acts socially.
What processes and resources will you include?
The following are website resources that students will be able to view to learn more about other cultures around the worlds:

General Holiday Websites

World Almanac for Kids: Birthdays and Holidays (short articles on many holidays)

Kid’s Turn Central: Holidays Around the World (short definition of each holiday with links to

outside information sources for each holiday)

Fact Monster: Festivals Around the World

Academic Kids Encyclopedia: Holidays (definition of holiday and links to many holidays)

National Geographic Kids Winter Celebrations article

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/peopleplaces/winter-celebrations/


Describe the learning environment and population that will be engaged in your project:
Audience - Various grade levels taught by the learning community 
Learner characteristics: 
grade level, number of students - 3rd grade - 6th grade age range, 45 students; 3 7th grade classes with 30 per class
Anticipated entry-level skills of audience 
Students should demonstrates appropriate ability to use the internet and its resources, ability to use email, basic keyboard skills, and knowledge the school's acceptable use policy. 

School environment
The school environment will consist of Middle school level students/classes

 Support for project by community, parents, or administrators -
Parents can help students with pictures or descriptions of their culture and holiday traditions. The administrators will be aware of the classroom project and work with other schools/countries. If available in the community the district media person can feature the student projects for local news.and make the assignment and method for assessing student work available in a post in your blog.

Standards for Middle School Classrooms - Common Core

Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

A couple of Rubrics for feedback and guidance

Oral Presentation Rubric

Project ERubric

Communicate 4.1.2 Rubrics Quest

7TH GRADE MATH EXPRESSIONS RUBRIC