This the digital story I created for our Week 6 Project.
Wecome! I've created this blog as part of my Masters in Educational Technology through Missouri Baptist Universtiy. I look forward to sharing new technology and ideas that can improve 21st century classrooms.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
EDET 573 Week 5 Question Response & Reflection
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.
Monday, September 9, 2013
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
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
Thursday, September 5, 2013
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.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
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.
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.
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