Random Facts About Me

As a matter of introduction for my  ED 722 Distance Learning Trends, Issues and Practices class, I’ve been asked to share a few random facts about myself. Here goes,

1. What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

The scariest thing I’ve ever done was go parasailing in Cancun.  An experience I will never repeat but am glad I tried.

2. What is the best vacation you’ve ever taken?

The best vacation I ever took was the one where I went parasailing. I spent 7 unforgettable days with my sister in paradise, prior to hurricane Wilma. 

3. What is your favourite movie?

Titanic, The Lake House, The Notebook, Tyler Perry's: Peeples (because my daugther and I were in it...)

4. Can you name all 50 US State Capitals?

Yes, I taught US History for 5 years.

5. If you could make one thing in your life go away, what would it be?

The squirrels that scurry on our roof every morning.

6. Describe a time when you were the happiest.

When my daughter was born!

7. Can you play a musical instrument?

No. But I admire all people that can.

8. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is one thing you could not be without?

Cell phone with signal so I can call for help.

9. How long did it take you to get to work today?

It usually takes about 7 minutes to get to work.

10. Who should teachers be paying attention to on Twitter or in the blogosphere?

In the blogosphere, I think Ian O’Byrne is a good person to follow. He’s very informative.

1. When did you know what you wanted to do for a Career? How did you discover that?

I discovered I wanted to teach when I volunteered as a Junior Achievement business consultant in a middle school in Hartford, Ct..  It was a very refreshing and rewarding experience. 

2. What are your top three favourite books of all time?

The Five Chinese Brothers, Milkweed, and Once Upon a Marigold.

3. What is on your bucket list?

To visit Spain with my family.

4. What is the best advice you can give to your children?

Be honest, be kind, and be true to yourself.

5. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

I would travel to Spain.

6. What are 3 things that matter to you?

Family, friends, and community.

Technology Integration Unit - Country Exchange

During the past few weeks, I have been working on a technology enriched learning unit. This unit combines the study of geography and 21st century learning skills. Students are asked to determine how geography affects culture, and they are participating in an email exchange with students from the countries they are studying.

Follow this link to view the Unit Plan.

The Unit Plan can also be found on My Website.

Final Reflective Report

Unit - Geography Exchange - A Technology Enhanced Unit

In this unit,  I collaborated with Ms. Stolfi, a seventh grade social studies teacher. The student learning objective for our unit was 1) students will perform research to produce a multimedia presentation on a country and 2) students will participate in an email exchange with a student from the country they are researching.  Our learning objectives centered on student use of technology. They were to 1) introduce and have students use Google Docs/Drive, 2)have students collaborate and write online, and 3) have students practice proper online etiquette during email exchanges. Thus far, I am pleased with the outcome of this unit.  Students have been receptive to the project. They are using the technology tools we have introduced them to. They have learned to use Google Docs, and have learned how to share Google documents for commenting. They are using Google Docs to collaborate on documents related to their research, and are currently in the process of researching information and applying thoughtful evaluation to their online sources.  They are also participating in an email exchange with students from the countries they are researching, and  have sent out their first email.

Our initial plan to use iEarn for this project did not work out.  Instead,  I was able to find another solution for students to use for their email exchange.  Students are using epals.com to communicate with students from the countries they are researching. Epals is a robust global classroom collaboration network. It contains numerous resources to engage students. These include an email exchange system, learning games,  and discussion boards on books, movies, and other topics that are of interest to young students.  Epals’ secure internal email system allows the classroom teacher to monitor all student email exchanges.  This monitoring system assures safe and appropriate email exchanges.  Through epals.com, I was able to establish a working collaboration for this project with teachers from France, Italy, and England. The French and Italian students are learning English. Within the email system, there is also a built-in translator that can be used by our French and Italian epal students.  The epals enhancement to the unit has motivated students to eagerly participate in the project. They are excited about having a friend abroad.  As we read our students’ initial emails, we see they are being thoughtful about their writing. They are being very creative about  what they want to share and what they want to learn from their epals. They are being courteous and are asking questions of their epals thus creating opportunities for discussion and conversation.  I am very happy for them, and I am pleased to see their desire to participate in the email exchange.

In addition to the email exchange, students have the task of developing a multimedia presentation from their research. Students have been taught how to evaluate websites using the 5Ws.  I stress the need of their thoughtful evaluation of online sources at the onset of every class.  As I move through the classroom checking on the work and progress of groups,  I check the online sources that student groups are using. At times, I have had to specifically point out sources that are questionable and have asked to see their website evaluation checklist. The checklist is a tool that guides them in determining the validity and credibility of a website. It helps students take a critical look at websites. I believe the use of the website evaluation checklist needs to be reinforced until students can intuitively evaluate a website for credibility. As students turn more and more to the Internet for their information needs, evaluating the credibility and validity of online information is critical for them.

My students were amused with the shared editing features of Google docs. They were excited to see the different colors assigned to each collaborator working on a shared  document. I encourage students to use standard group roles (researcher/navigator, recorder, reader) to work, and suggest they rotate the roles at each new class. I explained that this would give them the opportunity to share ideas and perform different jobs that are essential for their group.  Collaboration and the ability for students to work together is important.  I believe there is an opportunity in this project to improve how students work in groups.

Recently, a student expressed her dislike of working in groups and expressed her preference of working independently.  This reminded of the need to provide students with a choice of how they want to work either in a group or independently.  I explained to Hannah that we wanted students to work in groups to share ideas and discuss research findings.  I have observed Hannah in her group. She is quiet and listens to others, and completes tasks she is asked to work on by others in her group. I have reviewed group roles and expectations with Hannah’s group.  I have been encouraging her participation by prompting her to share her thoughts. I have made a note to modify this project in the future  to allow for students to either work in groups or independently.

My collaboration efforts with Ms. Stolfi has been a positive experience. The ability to share documents with her using Google Drive has been a great asset for our collaboration.  Much of the technology integration of this unit is new for our students. The students of this project are the first, at my school, to use Meriden’s Gmail account system. It was a learning experience for me and my collaborator as we used the gmail system with our students.  I have learned a great deal from this experience and plan to share with other teachers who are interested in using this technology with their students.  We have received positive feedback from administration and teachers who have inquired about the project.  The use of epals has been of special interest to other teachers who would like to explore the possibility of using this resource with their classes.

At this time, students are in the final steps of their project. All presentations must be completed by December 13th.  Students have received email responses from England. We are waiting for email responses from Italy and France.  The technology enhancements made to this unit have resulted in improved student learning. Students are using tools and resources that are relevant. They are developing and practicing 21st century learning skills. They are using the Internet to locate information and collaborate with others. They are evaluating online sources and collaborating with their group members to synthesize the information they have found.They are aware of the importance of using proper online etiquette in communicating with others online. These are skills that will help my students succeed in and out of the classroom.

The 5Ws of Website Evaluation

Assignment 720 - Discussion Director Response/Classroom Integration

E-Journal - Week on November 18, 2013

Evaluating the Accuracy of Materials - Evaluating websites.

Today’s lesson focussed on evaluating websites for credibility and accuracy.  Not everything we read is the truth, especially when we are reading online.  

Objective

The objective is to make students aware of the need to look at online information critically, and to have them apply a set of guidelines to determine the usability and credibility of a website.

The method for website evaluation my students will use is the 5Ws (Who, What, When, Where, and Why).

Classroom discussion and student participation is encouraged to make the evaluation of websites meaningful and relevant for the students.  After introducing the lesson, I prompted students to share experiences of situations in which they found online information to be questionable.   The responses I received pointed sharply at their frustration in finding information they could use.  Most students never considered that websites could be wrong and misleading.   Many relied on websites their teachers had given them for information.

Materials

In the classroom, a poster of the 5Ws of Website Evaluation is prominently displayed. I began by sharing a video, and The 5Ws of Website Evaluation checklist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFEwwG7rq0E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2DIIBzrqkA

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s2M-QRaQAD5Ycku5Vc7psyMehb4mXPBQmfWqHUlhzHY/edit?usp=sharing

Procedure

After the video, we began to review each step of the 5Ws.  During the “What step”, the concept of bias surfaced.  Students were unsure of what bias meant. Bias is an important concept for students to grasp as they venture through various online sources, especially when determining the credibility and usefulness of websites produced by organizations.  As a class, we looked at nayre.org. This organization promotes year round schooling. Students were drawn and interested in learning about what educators and parents have to say about going to school year round. We looked for information on the website that showed why year round school may not be good.  We concluded that the website only presented information that supported year round schooling.  The website was a good way of showing how “.org” websites may only present information that supports their organization’s views, and therefore may be considered biased. I plan to revisit the topic of “bias” with my students. It is an important concept for students to understand and is valuable in helping them become discerning users of online information.

We proceeded to review the 5Ws of Website Evaluation checklist.  Students were asked to use the checklist in their evaluation of three websites:

The Tree octopus  

http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

The Edge of Extinction  http://www.edgeofexistence.org/amphibians/species_info.php?id=547

Google Search Technology

http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html

During this activity, it was interesting to see students comb through the websites and apply the 5 Ws. Students discussed the ability of octopi to live in trees and the speed of which Google's trained pigeons returned search results.  

As part of their larger learning unit, students will be asked to apply the skills they’ve learned in this lesson to their online research task.

In Colin Harrison’s, Thirteen Ways at looking at a Blackboard Chapter 38a of the New Literacies Handbook, Harrison analyzes a study conducted by Rachel A. Karchmer, The Journey Ahead, Chapter 38 of New Literacies Handbook (page 1241). Harrison reflects on how technology has changed literacy and teaching practices.  Harrison notes  that today’s Internet availability, and the ease of connecting to the Internet for both students and teachers creates an increasing need to confirm and check the information we find on the Internet. I agree with Harrison. Evaluating the veracity of websites is an essential New Literacy skill that are students need to practice in order for them to become Internet literate.

Reflection of Critical Friends Review of Instructional Unit

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to enhance my Geography unit and incorporate some of the methods and strategies that I have been learning about in my Instructional Technology & Digital Media Literacy classes.

In particular, the opportunity to provide students the choice of how they want to present their research, and adding the iEarn collaboration piece. Providing students with the choice of how they want to present their research will be a motivator for students.  They will be able to use online tools and incorporate multimedia formats.  I think this will improve their product.

Additionally, by expanding the project to include the iEarn collaboration, I feel my students will want to research their countries and learn as much about them in preparation for their collaboration with peers from the countries they are researching. iEarn will be very engaging for them.

My Critical Friends were very supportive of the unit, especially the iEarn component.  I feel this is a very powerful and engaging enhancement to the unit. It is also the component I have the most concern with.   In order for students to successfully collaborate with their peers from other countries, there has to be timely  communication. Monitoring communication between students and specifying guidelines for communications is a must. My Critical Friends suggested a B-Plan as an alternative in the event the collaboration with the iEarn Project - A Day in the Life doesn’t work out. I think this is a good idea.  I will evaluate and consider alternative sites to use with my students. I am currently exploring Students of the World. There are pen pal opportunities for Argentina, Morocco, Yemen, and Thailand. It’s always a good idea to have a B-Plan!

Presenting my unit of student to my Critical Friends was a great way to gain feedback.

Using Google Sites to Build my Website

Using Google Sites I started building my website to share information and resources with my students and staff. After reviewing the various themes and templates, I decided to experiment building my website using a Google Site template. https://sites.google.com/site/classtemplate_en/ Building a website using a template was a learning experience.  At first I struggled with understanding the template and the relationship between the predefined pages.   Once I began playing and experimenting, I began to understand how the template was organizing pages and the process of creating and modifying pages became easier.

In case you're thinking of using a Google Site template, I used the Classroom template. Using this template, I used the "More" button at the top of main home page a lot. The more button offers a drop down  menu with the options "Edit Site Layout" and "Manage Site". Edit Site Layout was important in modifying the side navigation panel.

One particular area I found troublesome was removing the "template text" within template pages. There is instructional text provided by Google within template pages that must be deleted prior to publishing.  Once I realized that the "template text" had to be removed in template pages, I began to remove it as I modified and added text to a page.

Creating new pages was easy. These are blanks pages that you position within the organization of the template. Once I understood the organization of the template, building new page and placing them where I wanted was not difficult.

My website needs pictures! I will add pictures as I continue to refine it. It wasn't difficult to include the one picture I have.  I don't expect adding pictures to be a problem.   I've started building and including tutorials that I've created.  I plan to add more tutorials and more website resources.

My website is only available with this link.  It's a work in progress!  Take a look and let me know what you think.

https://sites.google.com/site/wmslibrarymedia/

Discussion Director

How I used Google Hangouts on Air

This week I had the opportunity to be the Discussion Director for my ED 720 Central Issues and Research in New Literacies class. The required reading for the week was, The Handbook on New Literacies Chapters 9 and 10. In this reading, our class took a close look at the implications of using the Web in the classroom and how students navigate through the Web. As discussion director, I developed 2 prompts for my classmates to discuss. My focus was to learn how others are using the Web and what challenges/workarounds they’re finding.  I also wanted to gain insight in what they see their students doing when they search the web.  My prompts:

Prompt #1

The Web is increasingly being used as text for the classroom. What challenges exist when using the Web in the classroom? What practices can you use to overcome these challenges?

Prompt #2

A student’s Web navigation ability has an impact on learning from the Web. How do your students navigate the Web? What characteristics are you observing? How can you help students navigate the Web to gain knowledge?

As Discussion Director, I gave a choice on how they could respond to the prompts. They could write their response and post it within  Google Groups or they could participate in a video chat using Google Hangouts.  I was excited about using Google Hangouts for discussion as it would offer those in attendance a chance for real time discussion. I was hoping for an active discussion.  My challenge was how to record the hangout. I turned  to Google to research recording hangouts. I found several options and chose to use Screencast-O-Matic, free screen recording software.   The result was poor audio and the upload to Youtube was extremely slow. Here is the of the hangout recording using Screencast-O-Matic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRGupEiaba0

The video was good the audio was not good. I was disappointed after listening because we had a good discussion.

My instructor, Ian O’Byrne suggested I try Hangout on Air and change the privacy rights on the recording. The following day I used Hangout on Air and it resulted in recording a great discussion.  The audio was perfect. The recording went straight to Youtube, no need to upload. There is no time limit. It was very easy to use. Click on the link to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X11Wyu9S6U

Being Discussion Director was a very good experience. I thought the discussions went well.  Everyone showed knowledge of the topic. It was evident they did their reading and made reference to the reading. My classmates seemed ready and eager to discuss.  

I’ve received good feedback on using the hangouts on air as the means for discussion. Things I might have changed include specifically asking hangout participants to write a comment on the discussion. I would have also have been more specific about the assignment. There was some confusion over which prompts to respond to and where to post responses.

Thank you for the opportunity.

My Learning Hub

In an effort to help my students easily locate information resources, I will develop a digital learning hub.  In this space I hope to provide them with information about working online, links to online resources, and a place to showcase their work. I plan to use Google sites to create my learning hub. I have been using other Google applications (docs, forms, and presenter) and hope that by staying within the Google umbrella an opportunity to easily integrate these other Google applications exist.

My learning hub will include:

• Information and reminders about being good online citizens. Policies on Bring Your Own Device. I plan to use text, pictures, and videos.

• Links to reference sites such as atlases, encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries and thesauruses, and Khan Academy.

• Video tutorials on how to perform research tasks such as using Google image search and other power searching options of Google.  Other tutorials on new technologies such as Google docs. My school is beginning to use Google docs.

• Promote reading - Creating  1) “Wildcat Reads”, a student generated list of must reads. 2) links to sites that contain free digital reading resources.  3) Incorporating a space for students to leave recommendations on books that should be purchased for the school library 4) Video of student book talks.

• Showcase student work - video book talks, and student generated Public Service Announcements such as BYOD and Positive Behavior Support

This is my initial plan. I expect adjustments will be needed as I develop and implement my learning hub. I am excited about the opportunity. I feel it will be a source of information for my students and also a way to showcase their work and ideas. I will be sharing my progress with you.