Wow. Just wow. Google is probably the most widely used and woefully under utilized web tool today. As a frequent Google user, I was amazed by the number of tools Google has developed.
Molly Schroeder and Sean Beaverson did a wonderful job of quickly yet effectively illustrating the number of useful tools available to educators, especially to districts that are moving to Google Apps like Mounds View Public Schools. I am excited about the potential for Google Apps and can't wait to integrate them into my classroom. Google Forms (and Flubaroo), Google Scholar and Custom Searches, Google Translate just to name a few.
Now, if I can just keep in mind my two thoughts from the previous blog, I will be good to go!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Organizing the Organizers
Organizing the Organizers
Ok...so the title of this blog is a little narrow for the topics I'd like to address, but it definitely reflects the feeling I had both during and EdCamp Institute at Hamline. While I generally consider myself to be fairly tech savvy, I was a little embarrassed how much I didn’t know. Even since the conference, I’ve struggled to manage the constant stream of new articles filled with, ideas, inspirational stories, useful tools, and current education news that I’ve begun to access through my growing Twitter PLN and own exploration that the conference helped inspire. Thus the title of the post. I’m still working through the seemingly endless list of bookmarked sites that I filed away to look at “later”.
This has led me to two general conclusions: (although I’m still coming to terms with actually living by them).
1. I will never catch up. I will always be surprised by what I don’t know. BUT, I cannot let it consume me or distract me from the other responsibilities of a teacher, husband, friend, son, etc. In the past few weeks I’ve already spent countless hours floating through the cyber space trying to take it all in. However, when I look at the investment of time I’ve made, I have NOT made a reasonable rate of return on actual lessons, concrete ideas and plans to implement all of my new found knowledge come September. In my mind this is dangerous and I have to be careful to some framework to guide my time on the web.
2. While there are many AMAZING tools and resources, I must determine which ones I will reasonably use. There are simply too many to keep track of and reasonably expect to use them effectively. This will take some reflective thought on my part to determine what tools fit my style, curriculum, needs and students. With that being said there are a couple tools that I am toying with to help manage this better AND to see if I want my students to use them.
Right now, LiveBinders is very intriguing to me for both my students and myself. It’s versatile, user friendly and can be organized by each user to suit their needs or style.
Another resource I am trying out to help me categorize the various bookmarks I have is Symbaloo (http://www.symbaloo.com/). While I like the format, there is also the simplicity of using Google Bookmarks and the traditional folder filing system that I’m already familiar with.
Bridging The Digital Divide & Addressing the Achievement Gap with Students and Staff
Initially I was very excited to attend this session because my school is experiencing a dramatic shift in demographics and there is a glaring achievement gap within our student body....which was also an introductory discussion starter in our session. (What three places in the U.S. have the worst achievement gaps? D.C., Louisiana, & Minnesota, http://www.cep-dc.org/)
While this was a thought-provoking and enlightening discussion about the incredible inequities students face throughout the state, the direction of the discussion quickly veered towards immigrant students and other cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic barriers that need to be addressed in order to facilitate constructive learning experiences. A couple highlights included how social media has given a voice to young women that may be bound by their cultural expectations of their backgrounds. Or, how Google translate can now be used (in Chrome) with a microphone to instantly translate spoken word into several languages. These are two powerful tools that can be utilized in virtually any setting.
Overall, my biggest take away from this session was not the tools, or even the ideas that came forth, but the incredible creativity and passion others had to solve the seemingly insurmountable circumstances.
Moving forward, I am hoping to keep some of these things in mind as I am working with students of more diverse backgrounds. I feel like I can bring the technology into the classroom, but my concern is still whether or not I can use it to reach students to create authentic student-centered learning opportunities.
Flipping the Classroom
The first session I attended at the EdCamp Conference at Hamline was about a vaguely familiar, yet very undefined concept for me. It turns out “Flipping the Classroom” is a rapidly growing practice among educators, especially those attempting to utilize the vast technological resources that are becoming more accessible to the classroom and students alike. In simple terms, Flipping the Classroom is utilizing technology resources to deliver content via video, podcasts, or other web based tools to make better utilization of actual face-to-face class time to tackle more complex problems, student led activities/discussions and other constructivist types of learning.
Flipping the Classroom Visualized
Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D., J.G. (2011, June 13). The flipped classroom model: a full picture [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/the-flipped-classroom-model-a-full-picture/
In itself, the session itself was a bit overwhelming because there were a slew of ideas and resources that were being shared and reflected upon. Luckily, some of my peers took some great notes on meetingwords.com, including the URLs of many of the resources discussed.
In particular, Jackie Gerstien’s blog, (http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com) provided a great resource to retreat back to after the conference and I had time to explore and filter some of the great new tools and ideas I had been exposed to.
Simple searches and links provided through my growing Twitter PLN have been a bit surprising how widely used the “Flipped Classroom” is. One commonly used resource, especially in math, Khan Academy, is a great example of what is possible in terms of quality content delivery through video resources. Another great source of teacher collaboration on the topic is the Flipped Classroom Network. (http://vodcasting.ning.com/)
As it turns out, in many ways I have already been using the idea of the Flipped Classroom through the use of directed Webquests, online Prezi presentations with embedded video and other activities that embodied some of the same principles of a flipped classroom, but not necessarily utilizing all the available tools to really maximize the student experience.
Moving forward, one area I am very excited to use more regularly is requiring my students to do more reflection and response through their own creation of content, whether that is a class wiki, or a personalized blog. Beyond that I have a renewed attention to the ISTE skills for 21st Century digital learners (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx).
Flipping the Classroom Visualized
Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D., J.G. (2011, June 13). The flipped classroom model: a full picture [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/the-flipped-classroom-model-a-full-picture/
In itself, the session itself was a bit overwhelming because there were a slew of ideas and resources that were being shared and reflected upon. Luckily, some of my peers took some great notes on meetingwords.com, including the URLs of many of the resources discussed.
In particular, Jackie Gerstien’s blog, (http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com) provided a great resource to retreat back to after the conference and I had time to explore and filter some of the great new tools and ideas I had been exposed to.
Simple searches and links provided through my growing Twitter PLN have been a bit surprising how widely used the “Flipped Classroom” is. One commonly used resource, especially in math, Khan Academy, is a great example of what is possible in terms of quality content delivery through video resources. Another great source of teacher collaboration on the topic is the Flipped Classroom Network. (http://vodcasting.ning.com/)
As it turns out, in many ways I have already been using the idea of the Flipped Classroom through the use of directed Webquests, online Prezi presentations with embedded video and other activities that embodied some of the same principles of a flipped classroom, but not necessarily utilizing all the available tools to really maximize the student experience.
Moving forward, one area I am very excited to use more regularly is requiring my students to do more reflection and response through their own creation of content, whether that is a class wiki, or a personalized blog. Beyond that I have a renewed attention to the ISTE skills for 21st Century digital learners (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx).
- Demonstrate creativity and innovation
- Communicate and collaborate
- Conduct research and use information
- Think critically, solve problems, and make decisions
- Use technology effectively and productively
Sunday, October 5, 2008
RSS Wonders
Once again, I am amazed of the technology tools that have been right under my nose, but I have been oblivious to their potential in both my personal and professional life. The focus of this blog is the use of RSS Readers. It's especially embarrassing because it took so long for me to actually have this "A-HA!" moment. Not only do I have TWO readers already installed in my Firefox web browser, but I even subscribed to a web-based reader through BLOGLINES for the Learning Technology course I am currently taking through the University of St. Thomas. While I understood the purpose and the basic function of these tools, I guess I have been only vaguely familiar with their actual potential.....at least until I went back to the text and read what Will Richardson had to say in his text, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tolls for Classrooms.
RSS (Real Simple Syndication) has incredible potential for a social studies classroom. I became especially excited about it when I was reading Richardson's ideas for using RSS for news searches (p. 78-79). Just last week I assigned a current events project where my students must find and follow an on-going issue in the Middle East. For many of my students, the Middle East is a VERY foreign place, one that they are very unfamiliar with (despite recent years). Furthermore, while my students are 'technology natives', they have very rudimentary skills in using research, especially the internet. If it isn't on the first page of a Google search, they are stuck. Now, using an RSS reader, once they invest some time in setting up a search (Google News is a good place to start), they can be assured of finding relevant articles that should produce better results than they traditionally have come up with.
Obviously, learning to effectively use RSS Readers will be more difficult for some students than others, and it will take some time on my part to introduce and demonstrate what a powerful tool it can be. Also, some may not have consistent internet access which is something I am always conscious about. But, I see this as a tool that can be used not only for their current events project, but other avenues of the course as well.
As far as RSS readers, I spent some time becoming more familiar with the Google reader and Wizz RSS 3.0.0 (mostly because it was one of the readers I had already installed, along with Sage). I actually found whe Wizz reader easy to use, especially in setting up initial feeds, but I can see the benefits of using a web-based reader such as Bloglines or Google reader. Being able to access these feeds from any computer with internet access is definitely a bonus. In Google's case, I also like the option of downloading the feeds if you know you won't have internet access.
All in all, with any new technology, I know I'm only scratching the surface as far as using RSS feeds effectively, but this is the perfect time to jump in and start learning as I go!
RSS (Real Simple Syndication) has incredible potential for a social studies classroom. I became especially excited about it when I was reading Richardson's ideas for using RSS for news searches (p. 78-79). Just last week I assigned a current events project where my students must find and follow an on-going issue in the Middle East. For many of my students, the Middle East is a VERY foreign place, one that they are very unfamiliar with (despite recent years). Furthermore, while my students are 'technology natives', they have very rudimentary skills in using research, especially the internet. If it isn't on the first page of a Google search, they are stuck. Now, using an RSS reader, once they invest some time in setting up a search (Google News is a good place to start), they can be assured of finding relevant articles that should produce better results than they traditionally have come up with.
Obviously, learning to effectively use RSS Readers will be more difficult for some students than others, and it will take some time on my part to introduce and demonstrate what a powerful tool it can be. Also, some may not have consistent internet access which is something I am always conscious about. But, I see this as a tool that can be used not only for their current events project, but other avenues of the course as well.
As far as RSS readers, I spent some time becoming more familiar with the Google reader and Wizz RSS 3.0.0 (mostly because it was one of the readers I had already installed, along with Sage). I actually found whe Wizz reader easy to use, especially in setting up initial feeds, but I can see the benefits of using a web-based reader such as Bloglines or Google reader. Being able to access these feeds from any computer with internet access is definitely a bonus. In Google's case, I also like the option of downloading the feeds if you know you won't have internet access.
All in all, with any new technology, I know I'm only scratching the surface as far as using RSS feeds effectively, but this is the perfect time to jump in and start learning as I go!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Plagiarism Timesaver!!! (among other great uses!)
The focus of this post is a hopeful response to a long-term of frustration of mine and a source of countless hours of what I've come to call 'Plagiarism Policing.' One of my biggest pet peeves is grading student papers is coming across brilliantly written work that doesn't reflect the students' persona in class whatsoever! More often than not, that usually means they had some help. That's usually about the time I start entering some of their most articulate phrases into Google and find myself on a plagiarism witch hunt.
Turnitin.com offers a suite of web-based educational tools (gradebook, peer review, grading, & originality) that can be purchased at a district, school, department or even an indivual level. Our district recently purchased a license for the Originality piece and the english department offered an in-service training that introduced this powerful tool for two reasons.
First, the Originality component of Turnitin.com prepares a report for both students and teachers that highlights potential plagairism issues and even gives links to sources that the information may have been taken from. For the teacher, each student paper is assigned a rating that essentially indicates how 'original' their work is. The second piece of this software is that once a student turns in an assignment through turnitin.com it becomes part of a permanent database that future papers will be compared to along with an web resources that an assignment might be compared to.
I am very excited to use turnitin.com this fall for the first time. I look forward finally being able to simply read and grade student work for its content and not have to worry about the originality of the work itself. This will literally save me HOURS of additional 'policing' that inevitably accompanies any major student project. More importantly, I think it will provide students with a tool to check their own work if they aren't sure if they have plagiarized or not.
While I think this will be a great tool, it's my understanding that it is quite expensive to purchase a license. Also, it isn't perfect. It will highlight potential problems, but it isn't absolute. Finally, using turnitin.com REQUIRES students to submit their work online...which for some disadvantaged students could be difficult....accomodations must always be considered.
I also found these other links that deal with plagiarism on the iste.org website:
EVE2 (Easy Verification Engine): http://www.canexus.com/eve
Glatt Plagiarism Services: http://www.plagiarism.com
SafeAssignment: http://www.mydropbox.com
Penn State Cyberplagiarism Page: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/cyberplag
Plagiarism.org (sponsored by Turnitin.com): http://www.plagiarism.org/
University of Alberta Guide to Plagiarism and Cyber-Plagiarism: http://library.ualberta.ca/guides/plagiarism/
University of Texas at Austin's Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/faculty/plagiarism/
(http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume_33_2006_2005_/March_No_6_/March_2006.htm)
Turnitin.com offers a suite of web-based educational tools (gradebook, peer review, grading, & originality) that can be purchased at a district, school, department or even an indivual level. Our district recently purchased a license for the Originality piece and the english department offered an in-service training that introduced this powerful tool for two reasons.
First, the Originality component of Turnitin.com prepares a report for both students and teachers that highlights potential plagairism issues and even gives links to sources that the information may have been taken from. For the teacher, each student paper is assigned a rating that essentially indicates how 'original' their work is. The second piece of this software is that once a student turns in an assignment through turnitin.com it becomes part of a permanent database that future papers will be compared to along with an web resources that an assignment might be compared to.
I am very excited to use turnitin.com this fall for the first time. I look forward finally being able to simply read and grade student work for its content and not have to worry about the originality of the work itself. This will literally save me HOURS of additional 'policing' that inevitably accompanies any major student project. More importantly, I think it will provide students with a tool to check their own work if they aren't sure if they have plagiarized or not.
While I think this will be a great tool, it's my understanding that it is quite expensive to purchase a license. Also, it isn't perfect. It will highlight potential problems, but it isn't absolute. Finally, using turnitin.com REQUIRES students to submit their work online...which for some disadvantaged students could be difficult....accomodations must always be considered.
I also found these other links that deal with plagiarism on the iste.org website:
EVE2 (Easy Verification Engine): http://www.canexus.com/eve
Glatt Plagiarism Services: http://www.plagiarism.com
SafeAssignment: http://www.mydropbox.com
Penn State Cyberplagiarism Page: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/cyberplag
Plagiarism.org (sponsored by Turnitin.com): http://www.plagiarism.org/
University of Alberta Guide to Plagiarism and Cyber-Plagiarism: http://library.ualberta.ca/guides/plagiarism/
University of Texas at Austin's Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/faculty/plagiarism/
(http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume_33_2006_2005_/March_No_6_/March_2006.htm)
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Google Earth
Google Earth is a tool that I have have been trying to incorporate into my World Areas-Middle East curriculum for the past three semesters with limited success. (Albeit, mostly because I haven't taken enough time to become effective with the tool.) Being that the Middle East is a rather unfamiliar place for my students; a place that very few have been, or even desire to go to, Google Earth is a wonderful tool to bring it to them in the classroom. In the past, I have used it in a very rudimentary way: visiting significant historical sights, illustrating the landscape of the region, or simply looking at localized pictures posted through Panoramio. But, there are several helpful resources that one can use to better tailor Google earth to your own needs.
Google even sponsors an educator tutorial page for dimwits like me to use Google Earth more effectively. There are testimonies, classroom ideas (by subject), tutorials, and even a discussion group that one can participate in to share or discuss potential classroom uses. There are seemingly an infinite number of websites dedicated to using Google Earth, however, the Google Earth Blog was of particular interest because the author is constantly adding new 'real world' applications for Google Earth, many of which would be excellent ideas for both the classroom and personal use. In short, the major pro of using Google Earth is that it can be used in seemingly infinite ways and there are an incredible number of resources to draw ideas and training from. However, it's been my experience that it requires a high-speed internet connection to operate smoothly. At school, it tends to lag and sometimes function very slowly. While this might be due to our low bandwidth, the bottom line is that one might shy away from using it if its functionality uncertain.
Check it out, go take a virtual around the world vacation ...you'll be amazed what Google Earth can do.
Google even sponsors an educator tutorial page for dimwits like me to use Google Earth more effectively. There are testimonies, classroom ideas (by subject), tutorials, and even a discussion group that one can participate in to share or discuss potential classroom uses. There are seemingly an infinite number of websites dedicated to using Google Earth, however, the Google Earth Blog was of particular interest because the author is constantly adding new 'real world' applications for Google Earth, many of which would be excellent ideas for both the classroom and personal use. In short, the major pro of using Google Earth is that it can be used in seemingly infinite ways and there are an incredible number of resources to draw ideas and training from. However, it's been my experience that it requires a high-speed internet connection to operate smoothly. At school, it tends to lag and sometimes function very slowly. While this might be due to our low bandwidth, the bottom line is that one might shy away from using it if its functionality uncertain.
Check it out, go take a virtual around the world vacation ...you'll be amazed what Google Earth can do.
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