EDUC 573 Week 7 Infographic Project

 

EDET 573 Week 6 Digital Story

 

This the digital story I created for our Week 6 Project.

EDET 573 Week 5 Question Response & Reflection

Reflect on the Digital Storytelling Process thus far and how it relates to the Writing Process.  Discuss your highlights and struggles, if any.
Many students inadvertently plagiarize because they lack the skills they need to properly cite and reference sources. In what ways can lessons on citations be tied to those on plagiarism? How can you model and think aloud throughout the year to reinforce these skills?

I am excited about the Digital Storytelling Process and truly appreciate taking it through the entire Writing Process. I formerly taught Communication Arts and almost always required my 6th graders to complete the process. We even completed an experiment and compared writing with and without the process. Choosing a topic was difficult for many students, and I totally found myself in their shoes this week. I agree that most writing flourishes when the topic is relevant and significant to the writer. For this assignment, I felt unsure about selecting a topic due to it being my first attempt at digital storytelling. Even though I viewed examples and read through the suggested topics, I'm still somewhat unsure if my topic is appropriate.

Most of the instances of plagiarism that I have dealt with occurred due to a lack of experience with citing.  While it wasn't intentional plagiarism, but it was still clearly wrong.  In Chapter 3 of the Pearson book, Nancy shares a list of four categories or reasons for plagiarism.  I couldn't agree more with the list and would have to say all of my "cases" would also fall into one or more of the categories.  I see a bigger and bigger push for lessons on citations occurring at earlier grade levels.  If students don't know when or how to cite, plagiarism will continue to occur.  The building I work in offers several lessons on citing and plagiarism at the 6th grade level.  Both our librarian and English Language Arts teachers teach the proper technique for citing sources and how to properly write when paraphrasing or using direct quotes.  These lessons are reinforced in all areas, including my class. 

Since my class allows students to utilize technology daily, I also discuss how the copying and pasting of information is not acceptable.  In one lesson, I model at extreme example of copying a student's exact (to the best of my ability) actions, voice, mannerisms, answers, projects, etc.  Every student in class usually recognizes what I'm doing very quickly.  I ask the student I copied to share how he or she felt.  I can then relate it to copying a person's work.  While this model is not a perfect model of plagiarism, students seem to "get it" and remember it.  I also teach them how to use EasyBib in my class to check for source reliability and create correct bibliography entries.  If students learn that citing properly can be made easier with the use of tools, they are usually more apt to try it. 


Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Gonzalez, A. (2010). Literacy 2.0: reading and writing in 21st century
     classrooms. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

EDET 573 Week 4 Question Response

Many teachers have a classroom website with varying levels of success. How have you made your classroom website more useful to students, families, and other educators? What gaps still remain?

This is the first year I've had a classroom website.  The first way I tried to make my website useful is to provide a link from my building and district website.  Having the link makes it convenient and easy for students and parents to find the website.  I've also tried to include just the essential information on the home page.  A side bar navigation panel makes it easy for all users to reach the appropriate page. On the Assignment Page, I post homework and attach any additional documents each day.  This assists students that forget their assignments at school or were absent.  I also have a page with helpful resources and links that can provide useful information for parents, students and even teachers.  I have tried to include links that are truly beneficial for others.  A Calendar Page tracks important dates and upcoming events for all viewers.  Each page has a simple format to make finding and viewing information as convenient as possible.  Finally, I use bullets and even text boxes when possible to break up information for the reader. 

Regarding gaps.... I find it challenging when students and parents don't take the time to access the website.  I'm sure it is difficult for middle school level for parents and students to keep up with multiple teachers and their class information.  I still get emails with questions that could easily be answered through the classroom website.  I always respond to the email with the answer but try to include the link to the website to encourage its use.  Putting myself in their shoes, I think if all teachers had websites, it would be an automatic response to check there for answers. 

Deb Daniel's Classroom Website

EDET 573 Week 3 Graphic Organizer

Here is my Digital Storytelling graphic organizer.  I'm still working on adding additional details, but I think I have the basics here.

 

EDET 573 Week 2 Reflection & Blog Response

"The Internet has been a revolution to education." This quote from the Pearson text explains one of the main reasons I am pursuing an MET. There is an incredible amount of resources available to students and teachers alike. I want to not just become aware of the techno-tools but understand them well enough to use them in my room and share with others. In order to select the proper technology for a lesson, a teacher must know and understand the learning objective to be met and the needs and abilities of the students.

A techno-tool I could not live without in my Computer Literacy classroom is Edmodo. Edmodo is a secure social learning environment that is set up much like Facebook and provides opportunities for blogging. (The fact it resembles Facebook automatically makes it cool to 6th graders.) I use Edmodo to allow students to blog, post reflections to lessons, and demonstrate netiquette. Polls, quizzes, and assignments are also available to students through Edmodo. Edmodo is one means for distributing information and assignments to students and allows teachers to check for understanding quickly. Students can respond to questions, and I can see there responses immediately. Students can also post a question and send it to just the teacher. This gives students that might be confused a chance to ask a question without having to do it in front of the class. Edmodo can also provide enrichment opportunities through extension activities, additional post ideas, and applications. Edmodo is a very effective techno-tool. I witness its effectiveness first-hand through student use. It is reliable and offers features that can enhance lessons.

EDET 573 Week 2 Wiki Project

I found two wikis that were both established for 2nd grade classes.  Each features multiple areas for enhanced literacy instruction.  The wikis have social aspects and provide opportunities for knowledge communities and collaboration.  I referred to the lecture notes and Vicki Davis's recommended components for effective wikis as I evaluated both wikis.

http://hop2wilson.wikispaces.com/
This wiki greets student contributors and visitors with a simple layout, colorful graphics, and an organized navigation side bar.  Students have opportunities for collaboration throughout the wiki, with each subject area having its own page.  Project-based learning and communities allow students to share, comment, and learn together.  My favorite part of this wiki is the area for Student Pages.  What an amazing chance for students to select projects, drawings, original stories, poems, etc. for others to view and enjoy.  A few students even created their own wikis.

http://wikiwonderful.wikispaces.com/
Like the first wiki, this one also had bold colors and graphics on the home page along with a convenient side bar.  I thought it lacked some depth in the area of school subjects.  Unlike the first wiki, it had just four categories, Write a story, Book chat, Math story problems, and Science Rocks.  Another difference is in the presentation of student work.  Rather than individual student pages, student work is posted together based on the project and assignment.  An advantage to this organization is the convenience of seeing all the same assignment in one location.  Once again, students could even link their own wikis to the class wiki.

After viewing several other wikis, I think these two teachers did an amazing job of keeping their wikis student friendly while making them intriguing to viewers.  Based on the number of student interactions, posts, and original works, the wikis are effective in promoting literacy.  Students are able to be an intricate part of a learning team when using the wiki.  Students are not just writers.  They become authors, researchers, editors, publishers, and evaluators.  All I am excited to try Wikispaces Classroom and all its features to promote student engagement and collaboration in my class.

EDET 573 Week 1 Reflection

This week's reading assignment was Chapter 1 in Technology to Teach Literacy and Literacy 2.0: Reading and Writing in 21st Century Classrooms. Both chapters introduce and address the change or shift that literacy is making in education. No longer should students passively read textbooks with regurgitation as a goal or complete comprehension checks at the completion of their readings. Today's students should experience much more in their 21st century classrooms.

I found the information on moving to a social-constructivism learning paradigm in Technology to Teach Literacy intriguing. It seems to align perfectly with the Common Core Standards. The idea to allow students to apply "tools" they have learned to aid in learning new concepts will naturally promote student responsibility. Focusing on students' abilities to problem solve and encouraging collaboration will keep students active in their education. Technology is constantly changing and it is necessary for educators to continue to learn and share innovative ways to incorporate it, so literacy can be promoted both in and out of the classroom.

Techno-Constructivist link: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech005.shtml
Link to Common Core State Standards site: http://www.corestandards.org/

"Think of mistakes as experiments rather than failures" is my favorite quote from the first chapter in Literacy 2.0: Reading and Writing in 21st Century Classrooms. As responsibility shifts to students, this might be a quote to share! I had a fast flashback to Madeline Hunter and my beginning years of lesson planning as I read the suggested lesson framework. I was relieved to find modeling included as a part of the Focus Lessons. While my 6th graders are eager to engage with technology, I often try to show proper technique or procedure with potential problems and solutions prior to their independent attempts. I also was interested in the perception of homework in the Independent Learning step of the framework. I believe homework needs to be individualized to meet the needs of the learner. As a parent of a gifted child, nothing is more frustrating than watching your child complete assignments that are mere rote memory activities for mastered concepts. I do confess that in the past I was guilty of making absent work homework without providing many of the notes or examples completed in class. Technology is now allowing me to provide information, notes, and even modeling examples to students both in and out of the classroom. :)

Link to Updated Bloom's Taxonomy document: http://www.utar.edu.my/fegt/file/Revised_Blooms_Info.pdf

Anderson, R. S., Grant, M. M., & Speck, B. W. (2008). Technology to teach literacy: a resource for
     K-8 teachers (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Gonzalez, A. (2010). Literacy 2.0: reading and writing in 21st century 
     classrooms. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Introduction Post

It's finally Friday!  I've officially survived the first full week of school. :)  I have opened nearly a hundred lockers and answered even more questions from our new 6th graders.  After explaining emergency procedures to 207 students, flight attendants have nothing on me..."exit out the main doors to our left" or "move to the floor under your table and take cover" all accompanied by arm and hand movements.  Sign me up Southwest!  I am actually excited because the last two days I've actually been able to start into my curriculum.  I love my position as a Computer Literacy teacher and feel blessed to be able to witness students interacting with technology daily.

That brings me to my pursuit of an MET through Missouri Baptist.  I am currently enrolled in EDET573, Technology to Enhance Literacy.  My expectations for this particular course are to learn about additional resources and strategies to encourage literacy through computer use.  Students focus on their keyboarding and word processing skills in my class, but I hoping to incorporate additional lessons to reinforce other curricular areas and overall literacy.