Monday, July 23, 2018

EEND678Z2-Effective Technology Integration-ARTIFACT 1

July 23rd, 2018

    As part of my class, we are asked to share on our blog two artifacts we learned about. Artifact 1 is my PBL unit.   PBL is problem based learning. In this course, we learned what PBL was and what it looked like. In problem based learning, students are given a problem that they need to solve as a group. These are problems  happening in our lives today or will happen in the future. There can be more than one solution to the problem. Students learn higher order critical thinking skills , communication skills, and research skills. In our class, we had to come up with three problem based learning topics. Since this is called effective technology integration, we also had to incorporate at least five technology tools into our problem based learning units. We typed our problem based learning topics and our tech integration ideas into an outline. We then were asked to pick one problem based topic to focus on. We shared our problem based learning topics with our discussion groups online and explained why we picked that particular one. We also asked questions and concerns about  our topic from our colleagues. This discussion was so helpful because it helped me to hone my unit better and feel confident about implementing this unit. My topic was Library Design. My question : how would you redesign the library to help students learn? The following technology would be integrated effectively in my attached problem based learning unit:

1.google docs or google keep to keep track of research, interview, videos( use google doc comments as feedback)

2. google drawing to draw map and label your library

3.voice recorder: interview other librarians, teachers, students

4.google expeditions(visit other libraries)
5.you tube videos

My unit is ARTIFACT 1. Attached is my unit: keaneubd
My unit is based on the Understanding by Design Template and has students solve the problem of designing the library to enhance learning. I hope to expand on my other two problem based learning topics and create units for them this summer.




EEND-678Z2 -ARTIFACT 2

July 24th, 2018   

  As I reflect back on this course, I liked how we did the Tech Tool Hunt. Our teacher asked us to come up with three tools and not only tell what they are but how they would be implemented in the classroom. We also had to explain where on the SAMR model of teaching did that technology integration fall. SAMR means Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition.   We all typed our recommendations on a google doc. An example of substitution in the classroom would be having students type instead of write. Augmentation is anything that adds to what you are teaching. Perhaps, adding videos and links to supplement students reading. Students using google docs to not only type their work but to collaborate with one another by sharing their docs and commenting with feedback would fall on the modification aspect. Redefinition has students transforming their learning. For example, they might use flipgrid to showcase their videos of what they learned to the class and to the teacher. Students can also give each other feedback as well. 
      The tech tools I picked for this assignment was Kahoot, Google Expeditions and Code Studio. I have attached below my snapshot of how these tools I use in my classroom fall on the SAMR model. I liked this assignment because it made me rethink about my lessons and the tools I use. I want my students to be learning on the modification and redefinition stages in my classroom. It will be very helpful to refer to this google doc called Tech Tool Hunt because the other tools my colleagues recommended are on there and I can see where those tools fall on the SAMR model. I am so excited about exploring the other tools and planning lessons that will benefit my students' learning. 

Tech Tool Hunt


Sunday, July 22, 2018

EEND-678Z2-REFLECTION

July 22nd, 2018

I feel like this course went by so fast! I cannot believe it is time to reflect on it. I have learned so much. One of the things I loved and made sure to save was the Tech Tool Hunt Assignment. We all had to write about three technology tools and state what they are and how they would be utilized in the classroom! In addition, we all had to type our responses on the same google doc. This is something that I can have my students do so that I do not receive thirty copies in my email. The Tech Tool Hunt was great because it is hard to remember all the great tools out there and now I have something I can refer to in the school year. It is nice when fellow colleagues recommend a tool and then tell you how they use it and how it has been beneficial in their classroom. I have learned about Snap and Read, Insert Learning, Quizalize and WebCreaza to name a few. One of the others things I liked was when our teacher would post Weekly Websites. She would post an interesting website for us to look at. I have bookmarked all of them. One of them was called Wizer and it was a tool to digitize your worksheets! I am definitely looking into this. The other thing I liked was our our teacher would also recommend people to follow on Twitter. I have followed them on twitter and this is one of the ways that helps me to continue my learning journey. I learn about the teaching tools others are using from Twitter. It is great to learn from fellow educators. I love learning about new things. I have definitely grown because I knew little of problem based learning and now I have a whole problem based learning unit to implement this year! I have learned so much from talking in discussions with my colleagues because it makes you feel like it is okay to make mistakes and we are all learning from each other. We learned about from each other on how we use assistive technology to managing tech devices. You learn best from each other. The fake news articles got me thinking about modifying and updating my media literacy units and am excited to teach students more about fake news this year. I wonder what I will learn in my next course: EEND-679: Assessing and Improving Student Achievement with Technology.


Tuesday, March 6, 2018

2nd artifact of my EEND-677Z2 Multimedia Tools in Education Journey

I would like to share another one of my favorite assignments we did in class! It was hard for me at first because I never used this tool but after learning it and practicing with it, I ended up liking it a lot! I cannot wait to have students use this tool! We had to create a book trailer using Animoto! If you have not used Animoto, I highly recommend it. So many of my classmates in this class love it too! Do you know what a book trailer is? It is like watching a movie trailer except one of a book. I created an Animoto of a children's book I created and hope to get it published someday. I cannot wait to teach students how to use Animoto. I would like them to create Animotos of books they read in the library! This way other students can view their Animotos and be encouraged to check out the book from the library! I had fun watching my classmates' videos and I am sure my students would love watching each others videos as well. I found Animoto was easy to use once you understood how all the pictures flow together! Check out my Animoto!

<iframe id="vp1N65O0" title="Video Player" width="360" height="360" frameborder="0" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/embed.animoto.com/play.html?w=swf/production/vp1&e=1520390973&f=N65O0Zb5WkGS8q9jd407oA&d=0&m=p&r=360x360+480x480+720x720&volume=100&start_res=720x720&i=m&asset_domain=s3-p.animoto.com&animoto_domain=animoto.com&options=" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Artifact 1 of my EEND-677Z2 Multimedia Tools in Education Journey

     I have learned so many technological platforms from my Multimedia Tools in Education class! One of them I wanted to share with you is Screencasting. Many times students forget how to do certain technological skills and just need reminding. Screen casting  helps me solve this problem!! I always teach my students how to log into the SOAR online catalog in the beginning of the year so they know what books they have checked out from the library. This class taught me how to screen cast that skill. I am able to show my students on the internet how to access their library account using my voice. I posted the video to my library website so it is there for them to access all the time. I couldn't believe how clear my voice was as I was directing the steps for students to take to look up their library accounts. Now that I know how to screencast, I am so excited to make some more videos of important technological skills students need to know. If you would like to see the video I created, please see below. I used to to wonder how teachers made videos like these and now I know how to !!! It is an amazing feeling when you have learned how to do something!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aoWV-NNoBBKbJE477y8PX_tl7KiNhP5M/view?usp=sharing




Monday, February 12, 2018

677- Module 4: Graphic Design"

February 12, 2017

  • Why might incorporating graphic design into your classroom be valuable?
  • Thinking about how our students absorb information, how might we better support the learners in our classrooms? 
  • Envision an activity, unit or event that is approaching how might you incorporate some of the design principles?

I think it would be valuable to incorporate graphic design since the the article, " The Power of Visual Communication Infographic" states that "people remember 80% of what they see." That is a big number! So it makes sense to create visual graphics in the classroom because students will remember them better. The same article goes on to say that" 93% of communication is nonverbal. " Think about that. That means we are using our eyes to read the other person's facial expressions and hand movement. Knowing all these statistics, it is no wonder that in 2016, 195 billion was spent on advertising according to the same article! Look at televisions! Billboards bombard us as we drive along the expressway! It is hard not to notice them! I mean I remember a billboard that had a picture of a car and there were three of them with the same car but different statements about the car! How many do you remember? So if we want students to remember information for tests and quizzes, we might ask them to create their own infographics to help them better remember information. Even creating infographics on rules would help students remember classroom rules better. I actually used funny memes in the library to remember classroom rules in the beginning of the year and it was a big hit! Like the one below:
I think when thinking about our students especially our middle schoolers we need to remind ourselves  how to present information. We already know that they have short attention spans and we need to present a lot of information in a short amount of time. We also need to consider that most of them love technology. The article : "8 examples of  Incorporating Infographics in Middle School Classrooms" states that:" middle schoolers preferred learning outside of school and preferred using technology for 8 hours outside of school." I think we as teachers need to use more infographics and more videos in our lessons. Having students create or look at book trailers like we did in the last assignment would help them remember information. Exposing students to google drawings, canva and piktochart would help them organize and remember information better. Remember there was a reason why they loved PAINT so much when they were kids!
I actually have already used a Google Drawing activity with the middle schoolers. It was a big hit! Many of them did not know how to utilize the shapes and colors and text in google drawing. We had been working on coding lessons for the past semester. So I wanted students to create their own digital badge reflecting the coding lesson they learned or creating a digital badge for a primary grade students. We would then turn those badges into stickers for primary grade students to wear or having upper grade students add the badges to their email signature line. I created a digital badge myself to demonstrate for them what I wanted. I was amazed at their creativity and it was great because  we can look at the badges and know what we learned in each coding lesson!