CEDO 550 Week 6

1.	My students are gaining 21st century skills by . . .
	Using technology to create as well as research, collaborating in small and large groups, using higher order thinking skills.

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	2.	I understand the Virtual Schools Legislation in Wisconsin and am concerned/excited about . . .
		I am excited about the potential for students who do not excel in the traditional classroom, or who do not have the resources within their district, to be able to have the option and opportunity to have their needs met through an online program. I am also happy to hear the outcomes of the audit because it supports the idea that online/virtual classrooms are effective and an valuable resource to our students.

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	3.	My district involvement in online learning includes . . .
		From what I could see, it is somewhat limited although I would venture to guess that there is more blended learning going on in today's classrooms without them being identified as "online learning programs."

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	4.	During the module I was excited to learn about . . .
		the Learning to Change video. I found it quite eye-opening and enjoyed getting the perspectives of the panel of highly regarded professionals in the field of education. I think the potential benefits of online learning go beyond what we know up to this point and I look forward to staying informed and learning more about virtual learning as more ideas are revealed.

Week 5: CEDO 550 Reflection

	1. My experience with online communities has been …
	Overall, positive. For example, my experience with the cohort I've been participating in for the past year and a half has been very positive. I've met some interesting people and have had an opportunity to gain some new perspectives from the participants in the program. Because we are able to interact outside of the set class time through the use of discussion boards and small group meetings, I feel like I have gotten to know everyone in my class a lot better than I have ever gotten to know (an entire group of people) in my undergrad traditional setting.

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	2.	I believe the biggest benefit of collaborative groups is …
		Gaining new perspectives and coming up with something better than one can do alone. My experience has been that I come in with an idea based on what I have done and what I've learned over the years, but after talking things through with the group I come out with a much richer result due to everyone contributing to the process.

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	3.	I believe the greatest challenge is/would be …
		If the participants could not come to a consensus. Part of working in a collaborative group means being flexible and open to others' opinions. Consensus does not always mean 100% agreement, but if you agree to consent to the final product then you need to support the decision to go that route. I think that is more difficult for participants not used to working in a collaborative setting.

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	4.	My thoughts regarding the social development and socialization issues are …
		Just like most everything, the way we address social development and socialization needs to reflect today's world. Traditional schools need to actually teach socialization, rather than simply look at it as a by-product of students sharing a physical space. We can't expect kids to just know how to get along and act appropriately without those skills being taught to them. The online setting, because it is so new, does spend time addressing appropriate interaction and teaching students how to "get along" in that format. The fact that many biases or prejudices that can develop in a traditional setting are taken out of the equation of an online classroom (because students can't see each other), relationships are developed around what each student can contribute to the group. I don't think either setting is perfect, but it seems that more learning can happen in an online setting because of the emphasis on learning, developing and applying effective communication skills.

Week 4: CEDO 550 Reflection

Week 4 prompts:

In reflecting on my teaching experiences to date, I would say that the proportion of teacher centered versus student centered lessons has been …

I would say that until recently, my proportion of teacher centered vs student centered lessons was about 70/30. I have done much since beginning this cohort to make my trainings and lessons more student centered and find that my staff enjoys and retains more from that approach.

 

The rubric I created for my lesson clearly defined expectations and scoring for the lesson so that my students could …

 

...know the expectations in advance and understand that lack of participation in the synchronous as well as asynchronous activities would result in monitoring and support in their classrooms.

 

While working on this module I had success/difficulty while doing something new involving …

 

I think I had the most difficulty creating a rubric that was appropriate for my audience. Since I am in a training position with staff at my workplace, using rubrics to assess their participation and understanding is not a common practice. I am not sure how the use of a rubric would go over, but it would take some of the "subjectiveness" of evaluations out of the process.

CEDO 550 Week 3

Week 3 Reflection:

1.

What is the greatest challenge that I have encountered as an online teacher/facilitator and how did I manage it? (If you have not yet taught online what do you think would be the greatest challenge for online teachers/facilitators?)

I think one of my greatest challenges will be managing the synchronous discussions while getting to know the tool I am using (such as Elluminate). Right now I'm struggling with making notes on the whiteboard while keeping the conversation moving.

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	2.	Some things that I feel are really important to consider about synchronous and asynchronous facilitation as I prepare to facilitate my threaded and web conference discussions are. . .
		I think it is really important to consider having my prompts and participation expectations clearly stated in my asynchronous discussion thread because if they are not clear, the conversation could get off track very quickly. Preparation for the synchronous facilitation is also really important. I think just having a plan on paper that will get the conversation rolling, as well as how to transition from one part of the discussion to the next, will allow me more freedom to work through unforseen challenges without losing focus on the overall objective.

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	3.	I chose my particular discussion topic because . . .
		This topic is a pretty natural fit for me in my line of work. Providing professional development for my staff of teachers is an ongoing process and I am always looking for ideas on how to improve in this area. I think in facilitation a discussion about effective vs. ineffective ongoing training and support, I can learn more about how people view training and what works best for them--I hope to gain a new perspective.

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	4.	One thing that I thought about when developing rubrics for the 2 different discussions was. . .
		I thought about how the rubric will help participants know the expectations ahead of time and how that will hopefully motivate them to bring their "A" game!

Week 2: CEDO 550 Reflection

Here is this week's reflection:

1.	Identify at least two synchronous and two asynchronous online learning tools that would be appropriate for your targeted online learners.
	I work with adults in more of a professional development setting. Some synchronous learning tools my targeted group of online learners could use include the Learn Central Elluminate rooms, and web conferencing tools such as skype, oovoo, or Live Minutes. As far as asynchronous tools go, my learners could use wikis, discussion boards, and email to name a few.

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	2.	List four different types of activities that you might use with your targeted online learners and identify an appropriate online tool to use in implementing that activity.
		1. Plan a project using a wiki. This could be done asynchronously, allowing for participants to add and edit on their own time. 2. Share ideas / effective lesson plans with the team using a shared Google Doc. Each month we select a HOTS Level and a 21st Century Learning Skill to integrate into the lesson plans. I've set up a Google Doc with a table for the teachers to share any lesson ideas using the skills of the month that they feel were especially effective or innovative. 3. Collaborate in developing an online presentation during training. I've done this with my staff at the beginning of the year when reviewing test administration. I share a Google Presentation Doc with the slides set up to include headings. The staff worked in teams to complete the assigned slides and then each team shared their contribution to the presentation. It was an engaging way to review somewhat dry subject matter. 4. Brainstorming. Use Wallwisher.com, provide a prompt and give participants a set amount of time to post their note/contribution. As a group the responses can be categorized and used as a way to facilitate the discussion.

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	3.	Is my initial contact warm and inviting? Are there things I did particularly well or could do better in the future?
		Yes, I think my initial contact is warm and inviting, as well as appropriate for my audience. I think I did a good job of providing information to describe our first steps in the training. I tried to be reassuring by extending myself for assistance both regarding the online session and in general as a resource within the organization. I hope that by asking participants to share a little about themselves, and by giving some insight to the objectives of the session, they will have less anxiety about starting a new job. I am sure it could be better, and I tend to edit and revise as I get feedback from those who are on the receiving end of the information.

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	4.	Is my initial contact clear and concise and yet user friendly? What are some strategies that help to format your contacts to make them as clear and concise as possible?
		Overall, I believe it is clear, concise and user friendly. I used bulleted lists to help break out the information visually for the reader and that helped take out some of the "wordiness." I shared objectives and gave the participants an opportunity to ask questions via email or phone. I provided a link to the online meeting space, made them aware of the headset / audio setup, and let them know I would be online early should they need any assistance.

CED550 week 1

This is my first week of Taming the world of online learning and so far I have been happily surprised by how much new we've been introduced to in a short time. We are using a lot of the same types of tools, but we are now learning about them from a teacher perspective, rather than the learner perspective.


Our first synchronous class allowed us to explore the Elluminate room with moderator permissions, which was pretty eye-opening. Features such as application and file sharing are a lot easier to use than I thought and just having the time to try it out in a supportive setting helped me to get over any hesitation I had about using those tools. I can see using Elluminate to communicate with my staff who are at multiple remote locations across the city. I could use it for training sessions, or simply to conduct a virtual meeting online. I would also like to try using some of the moderator features when meeting in future study groups in order to continue to feel more comfortable with the tool.

As far as our course management system goes, it is new and it takes some getting used to, but I am almost always up for a challenge and I like the opportunity to try new applications. I am curious if this is a free or paid application...

I am looking forward to gaining more experience and exposure to resources that will help me become an effective online teacher.

CEdO535 Week 6: course wrap up

What item do you believe you can incorporate form this class into your professional or personal life and how will you ensure that you achieve the goal of incorporating it. If you can discuss it in terms of being a SMART goal for incorporating.

S	Specific - what exactly will you do: I will incorporate Google Sites into the work I do as a Title I Director in a business setting. I will incorporate a Google Site to help close the communication gap that occurs between monthly staff meetings. The site will be a place to post announcements, maintain a calendar of events, facilitate discussions and provide resources related to HR as well as our program.
M	Measurable - how will you be able to prove it was done? I will be able to prove it was done by having the link available to my staff and monitoring their use of the site as well as collecting their feedback.
A	Attainable - Will you have the resources and time, what might you have to do to make it occur So far I have had the resources and the time, although it is sometimes difficult to maintain during our busiest times of the year. I need to be sure to set aside time each week to review resources and make sure the information is relevant (out with the old, in with the new). I have also set up notifications in my gmail in order to have real time notice when people have questions or needs regarding the site.
R	Realistic - Make sure it is doable, you certainly can add something to a lesson plan or work item, you cannot get to the moon It is most definitely doable and I'm determined to make it work. It is actually a tall task to fill, but one I think has already benefited our company and will continue to do so as it evolves.
T	Timely - Assign a timeline - when will this be done by? It is already a live site, but I don't know that it will ever be done. I see it as a tool that will continue to evolve as the needs of my company change.

CEdO535 Week 5: Web 2.0 apps, social networks in education

This week we took another look into social networking in the classroom environment and the difference between friend based and interest based social networking. As discussed in previous lessons, there is a struggle between the potential benefits and acceptable use within the classroom setting. Hopefully as educators become more aware of the benefits and the innovative ways social networks can be used in education, the more available these tools will be to students during school hours. I think the key to moving forward is keeping in communication with key stakeholders (parents, administrators, other classroom teachers) about objectives and outcomes when using online technology in a collaborative format. Knowledge regarding these areas could help demystify the use of social networking and assist in it becoming a more acceptable format for collaboration.

We were also charged with investigating web 2.0 applications/tools that we have not yet talked about in our cohort. There are a number of metasites that provide lists of the latest web tools out there including Web2go20, All Things Web 2.0, and listio to name a few. While checking out these sites I came across a web 2.0 web conferencing tool called Live Minutes. This application facilitates web conferencing with a simple click of a button that does not require users to sign up with a credit card or extensive information provided. The interface is easy to navigate and the features are excellent in terms of quality. Live Minutes also automatically records the content of a meeting and puts it into an HTML 5 document that can be saved and shared with participants or those who couldn't attend. This is an application I would highly recommend looking into for future study group meetings as an alternative to elluminate or skype.

I continue to learn new and exciting ways to integrate technology into my personal and professional worlds--this week was no exception! I look forward to learning more about the web 2.0 tools available and thinking of ways to leverage them to increase productivity and communication.

CEdO535 Week 4: Social Networking, Screen Casts

We investigated the uses and benefits of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as revisited social bookmarking sites (Diigo.com, Delicious, etc.). While I've used Facebook for some time now, I have only recently realized the potential benefits of using it outside of pure socializing. Businesses use social networking sites to promote their goods and services, people with common interests and activities are linked together and a simple search could lead to information about something new. I am more often seeing links to articles being posted by my Facebook friends that lead me to learning about things I might not have thought about otherwise. Yes, it is still highly social and not necessarily the best fit for everyone, but it certainly does allow for users to practice communication in an online venue where people have differing opinions and somehow learn to get along. I think that even though most schools don't allow for tools like Facebook or Twitter to be used within their networks, most students do participate in these forums outside of school. My question then is how do we teach our students to behave responsibly online if we aren't able to access the tools when we are with them during the day?
Social Bookmarking is something I've used since we first visited the topic in our first class of this cohort. I've been using Diigo and have found it to be extremely valuable for me on many levels. I like that I am able to access my bookmarks on any computer with an Internet connection--this is huge when traveling or having to switch over to a new computer. Gone are the days of loosing all of my favorites that I've saved when my computer crashes! I've attempted to set up some groups within Diigo for my team at work, but it has not taken off. Just like anything new, you need to have buy-in from those you want to participate and if they aren't ready to give it a shot it probably won't succeed. I will continue to revisit and re-introduce the ideas because I believe these tools are a better alternative to communicating by email alone.
Screen casts are something I've had some experience with through trial and error. We use Mimio at our company and within the mimio studio software there is a recorder tool that allows for screen casting. I've used this tool to create several training videos for my staff, but it took me some time to figure out how to post them effectively. The files were huge and since I was working it through on my own, it took some time to learn how to post the videos. I did eventually work it out, but I am excited about some of the other online tools available. I'd like to learn more about privacy using these tools and whether or not there are ways to create private screen casts. I imagine there are those options, but those may come with a pricetag. Some of the tools we looked at include Screenr, Screen Jelly, JiingProject and ScreenToaster.
All of these tools are relevant to the work I do at my level within my company and I want to continue to learn how to use them effectively to improve communication and productivity. As far as using them within the school environment, I think they could be extremely powerful tools, but I'm not sure when they will be readily accessible.

CEdO535 Week 3: RSS feeds

This week we took a look at online photosharing, such as flikr and Snapfish; continued our Twitter accounts and thought more about blogs and wikis. But, the predominant topic of this weeks' work had to do with RSS feeds.

RSS or Really Simple Syndication is an online tool used to streamline the process of collecting articles and resources online. As I learned about RSS, I set up my own Google Reader account to begin playing around with the tool in order to get a better sense of how it works. Right off the bat I could see how powerful this application could be for anyone who needs to eliminate time spent searching for information online. URL's can be entered into Reader as a way to subscribe to specific sites' feed. Also, keywords can be entered into Reader which then generates a list of related sites from which to choose.

Aside from the obvious perks of using RSS, I learned that educators can use it to monitor blogs used by their students which I think could convince more in the field to have their students create and maintain blogs in the classroom setting. I imagine that the idea of trying to monitor blogs for an entire class, or for 6 classes of individual students, could be a daunting task. Using RSS in this environment cuts down the amount of time necessary to go into each individual blog--the updates are sent directly to the subscriber.

Finally, I learned what a fantastic application RSS is for students to use in school. Not only does it provide students with the most up to date information on any topics they may be researching, but it also helps students develop the skills of being able to select the most relevant and credible information out of all that is sent through the RSS feed.

I can see using RSS both personallly and professionally. I think it is something the leadership of my company can use to stay on top of trends in education and educational technology. I also believe it is something we could introduce to our students; particularly at the middle and high school levels. The more we can expose our students to in terms of tools to help with productivity, the greater the edge they will have in their regular classrooms and beyond.

CEdO535 Week 2: Blogs vs wikis

This week we compared blogs to wikis and discovered each has its own purpose both socially and in the world of education.
Part of our assignment was to watch a TED Talk that featured Mena Trott, who is one of the first to blog in the way we see blogging done today. In the video, Mena talks about how blogging is an outlet for people to share their thoughts with the world (or with 5 other people who may read what you have to say) and then to hear what the world has to say about your thoughts--both good and bad. She talks about how this form of communication has connected individuals who might not otherwise have a chance to "meet." I found Mena Trott's discussion quite interesting and it helped me develop a better understanding about the spirit of blogging.

Wikis are places online where groups of people work collaboratively on a product that is constantly evolving. Each participant in a wiki has the potential to contribute to the work at hand. In this week's lesson we watched Wikis in Plain English which used the process of planning a camping trip as an example of how a wiki could be used. I like the idea of wikis from an organizational standpoint, as well as for the fact that it allows all participants to collaborate.

Classroom teachers are also using wikis and blogs as a way to keep classwork and assignments organized and to create an automatic archive of students' work. I think both of these tools have their place in the classroom and can serve as powerful tools in preparing students for life beyond school.

In my work I am working toward starting a wiki with a pilot group of students at one of my sites. I chose a wiki over a blog because I think it will serve as an organizational tool as well as a place for students to provide responses and reflections all in one place, rather than having each student keep an individual blog. I am looking forward to learning about what works/doesn't work so I can make any necessary adaptations and begin using the online tools in some of my other sites.

CEdO535 Week 1

This week we turned an investigative eye toward blog hosting services, which is something that is extremely relevant to my work at this time. Since beginning my coursework in the MEIT program last fall, I have been integrating what I have learned into the work I do as the supervisor of a Title I program. This year, we have been given the opportunity to work with 3 area high schools within the Milwaukee Choice Program. As a result, we decided to revamp our Strategic Reading / Study Skills program to integrate additional technology. My goal for this year has been to include a wiki or blog component where the students could contribute in an online format. We have started by using PBWorks and are piloting this format at one of the schools this year, but I am a firm believer in learning about other options available and trying new things if there are better tools available.

I am very excited to learn more about the variety of blog hosting services that are available and to gain more perspective on how they could be used in our Title I environment!

CEdO540 Week 5

This week we looked at Google Trends, which I found to be very interesting. I like the fact that you can search for comparable topics and get a graphical display of search trends since January 2004. The tool also suggests articles related to the items in the trend comparison, which I found to be quite useful. During my investigation of Google Trends I checked out the Hot Topics, which is a list of the top 20 topics searched most recently. At first I wasn't sure the relevance of the topics listed; why people would be searching the topics listed? I found by digging a little deeper, I became more informed of events occurring that have captured the interest of a large population. I could see both Trends and Hot Topics used (with supervision) in the classroom to discuss current events and to look at trends in many different subject areas.

CEdO540 Week 4

We've had a couple of weeks off and I'm feeling a little lost as far as computing z-scores and what all of the statistical data actually means. Hopefully class on Tuesday will help me regroup and get back on track!

We read articles and watched a youtube video of dataminer Bill Tancer. I found his innovative approach to market research interesting and disconcerting at the same time. I think it is pretty amazing what one can learn by analyzing online traffic patterns--what concerns me is the ability of a person or entity being able to tag certain users and follow their habits indefinitely. While I believe people like Bill Tancer are using this information for the right reasons, it is a little frightening to know that someone out there is possibly tracking my online shopping and social networking habits!

CEdO540 Week 3

This week involved some practice calculating and describing data from a statistical standpoint. The Group worksheet illustrated the importance of looking at sets of data from multiple perspectives in order to obtain the whole story. While two sets of data may have the same Mean, a look at other statistical viewpoints such as Mode, Standard Deviation and Range could provide more details to make a better informed comparison.

My group worked on developing a survey and decided to take a lighter approach in terms of subject-matter. We hope that by selecting a topic that a larger audience can relate to will increase participation, make it less of a task and more fun for thosse who do take the time to fill it out. We decided to use Google Forms to create the survey because it is easy to share and work collaboratively.

CEdO540 Week 2

This week we learned some new statistics terms, checked out http://www.capterra.com/ to help identify survey software solutions, and compared several survey tools.

I like the Capterra website--I think it is a great tool to assist in the search for the right software solutions for an organization. There are tons of features by which you can filter to narrow down exactly what it is you are looking for and how much you are willing and able to spend. I can see going back to this site for future software solution needs.

As far as the statistics go, I am continuing to feel a little foggy. I understand the basic concepts of mean, median and mode, but get confused as I look at standard deviation, variances, etc. I hope we get a little more information and practice with these terms in ways I can relate to in order to gain more of an understanding of what they are all about and how I can apply it in my work. I really want to get this, and during class I think I'm almost there, but by the time I get back to it I am once again confused! :-/

CEdO540 Getting started with Statistics

This week we began with an intro to statistics. We looked at the different ways to produce an "average" and the types of representations of data in a statistical study. The whole idea of statistics is somewhat intimidating to me. I've never considered myself a mathematical wizard, but I do appreciate the ability to use data to drive instruction and to provide concrete support for progress in an instructional program. I am looking forward to gaining a better understanding of statistics that will hopefully help me speak with more authority about the educational outcomes within the program I support.

CEdO530 Week 5: Digital Storytelling

This week we put the finishing touches on our Pecha Kuchas, created rubrics to evaluate multimedia projects and evaluated multimedia hardware and software in our small groups.

I enjoyed the Pecha Kucha project and developed a new appreciation for storyboarding as part of the preparation process. Of all of the digital stories we submitted in this class, I found this one to be the easiest to put together in the final stages because of the storyboard. The system of putting to paper the images I had in mind and the words I would use to describe my story helped me to stay focused when I actually sat in front of the computer to compile my presentation. It was great and I plan to use the storyboard as a regular part of my preparation when it comes to multimedia presentations.

I like the idea of using a rubric, and while I am not a classroom teacher I think it would be useful in evaluating my own presentations as well as a tool for my staff to evaluate multimedia projects they put together for their own lessons. I am still thinking this through, so I have not put it together as of yet...

This has been a great class with a lot of new tools and techniques that I look forward to using in the work I do.

CEdO530 Week 4

This week's work really focused on pulling it all together.

One of our tasks this week was to create a Prezi of our top six pictures. I enjoyed using Prezi--I think it is a great alternative to using Power Point and the novelty of how the images and words move in and out of view is a useful way to hook the audience. I found Prezi to be pretty user-friendly and I liked how everything is all laid out on one screen, which makes it easier to get the big picture and see how it all connects.

Presentation Zen wrapped up with the "Delivery" phase of presenting, which I found interesting and reassured me that what I am doing now is on the right track; I have a lot of fine-tuning to do though. It is evident to me how important preparation is in the delivery process and it is an area I want to spend more time investing in. I really enjoyed Garr Reynold's book and plan to revisit it often as I re-evaluate training and meeting presentations I've used in the past and plan to recycle in the new school year.

The Pecha Kucha is another project that is currently looming over my head. It is one of those things I know I will enjoy once I get into it, but I'm having a bit of a block with it at the moment. I think one of my issues is the prospect of having to do voice overs, which has been a challenge for me in the previous assignments. I know I will take so much away from the experience that I can apply to what I do both professionally and personally, so I just need to jump in and do it!

CEdO530 Week 3

This week's lessons included an introduction to Animoto, another tool that can be used to create digital stories. I am excited to work with this application because I think it could add a lot to the work I do, especially as I work toward digitizing parts of the company training process.

Presentation Zen addressed Design Principles and Techniques, which I found to be extremely valuable. I like the way the book shows examples of original slides alongside final products with recommendations of how to apply the principles introduced. While I think I've used some of the principles throughout my presentations, I realize I have applied them inconsistently and without a strong understanding of how to fine tune my final products. I come from the old school presentation framework of bulleted lists, which I have known for sometime haven't been as effective as I would like; but I wasn't sure what I could do to change things up and still provide the information. I look forward to learning how to get away from those bullet points and provide a thought provoking "sticky" presentation that is as enjoyable as it is informational.

Overall, I enjoy the content of what we are learning--I am extremely overwhelmed by the amount of work and the amount of time I am having to spend getting it done. I know it is time well spent, but for the first time in my master's program I feel like I might not be able to keep up. Anyone else out there finding themselves in the same boat? I will continue to hang in there...

CEdO530 Week 2

This week of Digital Storytelling introduced us to VoiceThread , which is an online tool to facilitate commentary on presentations, including the ability to record voice commentary that could be used to narrate the information on the slides. I am interested in getting a lot of practice with this tool, as I see it having a lot of potential for the work I do with new staff members. Much of the beginning training process is covering the basics: About the company, roles and responsibilities, HR information, etc. The ability to create an introductory module to the training process in order to share this information through something like VoiceThread could not only improve the consistency of the message people are receiving, but would also cut down on the time I am taken out of daily work tasks to deliver this as people are hired throughout the year. Using VoiceThread would not eliminate the need for me or one of the supervisors to meet with new employees for orientation, as I believe that face time is important to making new hires feel welcome and to get them off to a good start; but consistency can be a challenge, and can be impacted by multiple factors (tight schedules, environment, person delivering the training, etc.)...a tool like this would serve well to eliminate the variables and ensure all receive the same message.

If I were teaching in a classroom, I could see using VoiceThread as a way to share samples of student work with families and a vehicle for students to receive feedback from a broader audience. This would certainly take some careful monitoring, and would depend on school/district policies about the use of this type of technology, but it has great potential. Students could also use a tool like VoiceThread to present culminating projects for their coursework: they could even start in a more familiar application such as Power Point and then upload and use VoiceThread to add the finishing touches.

Once again, I am looking forward to learning more about this new tool and I can't wait to try it out as I continue to update and improve training materials and techniques at work!

CEdO530 Week 1

This week marks the beginning of Digital Storytelling, which I anticipate is going to be a lot of fun to learn about. We were introduced to some examples of digital stories, which I enjoyed very much and can't wait to learn how to create one of my own.

One of our ongoing assignments is to take a picture a day and post it to posterous.com, which I thought would be easy but now I'm not so sure! I find myself over thinking this and need to just do it. I like the idea and am curious how the photos will be used down the line.

We also had to tell a story of our lives as we see it in the future. I found this exercise to be difficult in the sense that I was originally going to make it humorous and fantasy-like (a happily ever after story) but ended up keeping it more realistic. I anticipate we will be using this story for the basis of a digital story project...

As I said, I am looking forward to gaining new skills in the area of digital storytelling that I can use at work to enhance training and marketing materials, as well as in my personal life to prepare something special to share with my family.

Week 6: CEDO 525 Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology

Final Reflection

Last night we presented our final projects where we took existing lessons and enhanced them using technology. In my case, I evaluated processes and procedures within my workplace and determined ways to use technology to enhance our professional learning community.

While my workplaced has evolved quite a bit over the years, our organization has continued to fall back on old habits of communication, including over-use of email and print resources. Through my coursework I've been introduced to a variety of online tools that could be introduced to my staff to improve lines of communication and cut down on the amount of paper used to support new processes & procedures. One of the most valuable tools I learned about was Google Sites because it provided me with a location to store documentation, as well as facilitate communication (via an annoncement page and calendar, and collaboration through discussion boards).

The site has been live for about one month now, and the feedback I have received has been really positive. Overall, my staff members are finding it to be a valuable resource where they can obtain documents in one central location. People are beginning to participate in the discussion boards: Educational Resources and Mimio Lessons. For the most part, several have posted lessons and links to sites / articles they think might be of interest--the next step is to get others to reply to the posts in order to get more of a conversation going in regards to those initial posts. I talked to the staff about it yesterday during our staff meeting--we looked at the site and I had some teachers come up to share their posts. We talked about what we liked about the sites, what might not be as useful, etc. and I then demonstrated how that discussion could continue outside of our monthly meeting times by replying on the discussion boards. It's new, and it's only been up for a few weeks, so I realize it will take some time to reach it's full potential; but I'm very pleased with the results thus far and feel that I am well on my way of meeting my objectives.

This course helped me to consider learning strategies through the process of creating the company Intranet in Google Sites. I was able to see that although I am not teaching in a classroom, many of the learning strategies used by classroom teachers apply to the professional development I conduct for my staff. I took the learning strategies into consideration as I evaluated the site I created, and proceeded to add or tweak what was already there to meet my objectives of improving communication and fostering a professional learning community.

Week 5: CEDO 525 Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology

Reflection:  Identifying Similarities and Differences, Homework and Practice, and Generating and Testing Hypothesess

Q: What kinds of technology can I use to help students identify similarity and differences? 

Identification of similarities and differences can be accomplished a variety of different ways, and the use of nonlinguistic representation  and graphic organizers can help reinforce understanding that helps students apply the strategy to other contexts.  There is a wealth of technology resources that can help organize details as students make comparisons. Word processing programs come standard with tables, as well as drawing tools. There are auto shapes in Microsoft Word  & Powerpoint that allow users to draw arrows, circles, etc. and you are able to type in the autoshape without having to draw an extra text box. Using word processors, you are not limited by templates; it's a blank canvas. Powerpoint also has organization charts that can be used to illustrate relationships between concepts. Spreadsheet programs are also useful in making comparisons; especially when there is data that can be calculated to demonstrate a point. The data can be converted to graphs/charts that are valuable way to support the comparison via the use of non-linguistic representation. Other applications that help facilitate comparisons and classifications include Webspiration, Kidspiration, Mindmeister, and Wallwisher to name a few.

Q: What is the purpose of having students do homework and practice outside of the classroom?

One of the common complaints I've heard from students when working with them in supplemental services has to do with the purpose of homework. Many see it as busy work that is an extension of what they were doing in the classroom--and upon reflection, I think that is how I also so homework (for the most part) as a student. While it is important for students to dedicate time to extending their learning of concepts introduced in school to truly gain ownership of the skills, it is equally as important for us as teachers to clearly communicate the purpose and what they can expect to get out of the exercise.

If I were a classroom teacher today, I might try to assign homework that requires taking the concept learned in class and apply it to something relevant to life outside of school. A few examples, depending on the subject: Apply operations of "parts of numbers" (fractions, decimals & percents) to your favorite recipe. Use excel to demonstrate how changing the number of servings impact amounts of ingredients. Elapsed time: Create a 30 second ringtone of your favorite song--what is the beginning and end time? email your file to share in class. Classifying living vs non-living things: look in your backyard and classify living vs non-living things. Organize your comparison in a table or spreadsheet. I would like to think that by taking the skill learned and practiced in the classroom and applying it to tasks that students can relate to will lessen the question of "why do I have to do this?" Of course, there are limitations based on the resources available to the students outside of school so the creating part of these tasks may have to be modified or completed in school.

Q: What technology can be used for Generating and Testing Hypotheses?

The process of generating and testing hypotheses is most definitely on the high end of Bloom's Taxonomy: students develop a hypothesis based on information they are provided, then investigate, analyze, question, and draw conclusions. Because this can be a complex process, the use of technology to gather, organize and present results can be extremely helpful for students. Students can use technology to research topics and gather information--Internet resources or electronic encyclopedias are just a couple of options. Spreadsheet software can be especially useful to organize and present the information: Data tables can be created to organize information as it is gathered, and the data can then be converted into a graph or chart to help provide a visual representation of the findings.

Week 4: CEDO 525 Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology

Review: Clay Shirky on institutions vs. collaboration  and Clay Shirky: How cognitive surplus will change the world

This week our class reviewed the two Clay Shirky videos listed above that both spoke to the changing paradigm of collaboration.
In the video Institutions vs. Collaboration, Shirky compares traditional collaboration (setup, intention, costs, etc.) that requires an institution to be constructed in order to facilitate the sharing of information, to the current and future of online collaboration (open source, little to no overhead, non-exclusionary). In this video, Shirky pointed out the fact that in the new platform for collaboration the amount contributed is not equal, but value can be found in every piece of information shared. In the traditional institutional collaborative setting, value is placed on the number of contributions made, and those who do not pull their weight are taken out of the equation. I was struck by this insight, particularly when Shirky applied the concept to open source applications--even though someone might only have one idea to contribute, that idea could be the key to the success of the project as a whole.
Shriky's talk about How cognitive surplus will change the world was an insightful look at what can happen consumers of information take it to the next level of creating and sharing their contributions with the online community. We are a society making the transition from consumers to people who not only consume but also create and want to share our creations with others. With that desire as well as the tools to facilitate creation and sharing, comes the need to define the value of information out there. Shirky's approach to this topic does not discount the entertainment value of many of the products out there; he simply categorizes it has having more of a communal value in which certain groups of people will be drawn to the work that has been shared. Shirky categorized products that have more of a global impact as having "civic value" and it is this type of product that will contribute to changing the world. Regardless of the category in which a contribution falls, it is a step in the right direction of participating in the new world of collaboration.

Reflections: Cooperative Learning & Reinforcing Effort

In the past, I have attempted to facilitate cooperative learning in a meeting environment where the participants were interacting face to face. My organization meets once a month and during that short amount of time we have a lot of ground to cover, so the cooperative learning often gets the short end of the stick. In response to that need for a professional learning community where my staff can contribute without the time constraints of a physical meeting, I've created a company Intranet. I've included discussion boards on the Intranet site where staff members can share lessons and resources they've found to be effective in their Title I classrooms. We use the mimio interactive whiteboards, so this forum allows staff members to share interactive websites as well as mimio lessons they've created to support lessons that are unique to our diagnostic-prescriptive program. The company Intranet is a relatively new tool, and some staff members are more active on the site than others, but I hope to continue to drive participation and get everyone to see the value in this tool, as well as the opportunity for collaboration outside of our monthly meeting times.

Reinforcing effort is something that comes naturally with school-aged students, but can be a bit more challenging when working with a group of adults. In the past, I've attempted to recognize staff members who were able to meet organizational goals at each of our monthly meetings, but I found that not everyone appreciated being in the limelight. Currently, I make a point to email specific staff members to recognize their efforts: For example, I run reports and follow up with areas that need attention. If I see improvements upon the next report run, I am sure to let the individual know their efforts are noticed. With the implementation of the new Intranet site, I can use the announcements page to recognize staff members for their contributions to the organization; or to simply share good news on a personal note (birthdays, babies, etc.) to help connect our staff, which happens to be spread across 10 different locations. I believe that for the most part, people respond positively to being recognized for their efforts; and whether it is in a classroom or in a business, positive working environments will lead to more success and higher productivity.

Week 3 : CEDO 525 Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology

This week as part of our assignment we were given the task of comparing and contrasting three web based advanced organizer applications. I chose to look at bubbl.us, Webspiration and Mindmeister. All three applications are online tools that are capable of creating concept maps.

I found bubbl.us extremely easy to use: I was able to jump right in and start an organizer with very little effort or time invested in learning how to use the tool. I can see bubbl.us being leveraged in a classroom situation where a teacher might want to start mapping a concept out "on the fly." Bubbl.us did not have much to help someone looking for ideas to get started--you essentially begin with a blank slate containing one button that says "click here to start."  It's pretty basic in terms of the graphics from what I could tell, but it certainly gets the job done in a quick and easy fashion.

Webspiration is an online application that has a lot to offer. There are a wide variety of tools, templates, and graphics available in the free version; which was surprising to me. I found this application to be a little less user-friendly than bubbl.us in the sense that I would definitely have to invest some time to learn how to create my own graphic organizers. I really like the fact that Webspiration has an extensive library of templates and see that as a true value-add when it comes to using this application.

Mindmeister.com was the third application I checked out and while it essentially offers what the other two applications offer, the look and feel is completely different. It has more of a "tree" look and contains buttons that can expand or collapse a list, much like a directory in Windows Explorer. The webs created in Mindmeister can become quite intricate, yet by using the expand/collapse buttons the presenter can direct an audience's focus to a particular detail. Of all three online applications, this seemed to be the most cutting-edge and interactive. I look forward to investigating Mindmeister further.

Reflections:
Cues, Questions and Advanced Organizers:

I believe the use of an advanced organizer can help guide an instructor through the process of effective questioning and prompting through the use of cues. Using something as simple as a KWL chart can effectively set the course for learning a new concept in most any subject area: The teacher will be able to identify through the use of this advanced organizer what the students know, which will help guide the process of providing cues that trigger students’ memories; as well as learn what the students want to learn in order to pose questions that keep them interested and engaged in the lesson.

Nonlinguistic Representation:
Nonlinguistic representations are mental images and physical sensations that can attach meaning to new ideas or concepts. I think the evolution of technology has helped to facilitate more nonlinguistic representation of new content into the classroom. Today it is relatively easy, provided the tools and accessibility, to conduct a google search on any given topic and come up with an image or sound to help reinforce learning. Teachers can attach clip art to vocabulary lists, or pull up a Discovery Ed video to demonstrate what life is like in another part of the world. Bringing nonlinguistic representation into lessons provides a rich experience from which students will be able to attach some meaning of their own.

Summarizing and Note taking:

In my experience, summarizing and note taking is something that hasn’t been explicitly taught, yet expected to happen with success as students move on to middle and high school level. Summarizing reminds me of the dreaded story problems in math: you need to delete some information to really get to the heart of the question. Summarizing also requires you to analyze a selection and determine what stays, what goes and how to put it in your own words. Note taking is also the ability to filter out what is important and what is secondary in the material / information presented. Both require time invested in learning the strategy in order to become successful. I believe that through teacher modeling, frameworks and examples, and opportunities for practice with feedback can lay the foundation for effective summarizing and note taking skills.

Week 2: CEDO 525 Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology

This week we read Susan M. Brookhart's article, Feedback that fits. I thought this was an excellent resource that provided specific examples to help begin the process of providing formative feedback to students. I agree that feedback provided in a constructive, yet positive way, can motivate students to strive for improvement. As I reflect on this article, I go back to my experience as a supervisor in a Title I program where my teachers have such limited amount of time with their students. Providing feedback is a fantastic way to motivate these kids to love learning, yet the teachers don't seem to have enough time to provide the formative feedback--or it isn't a natural thing to do for many, so the "good job" and "way to go" are often what I hear when going out to site visits. I plan to share Brookhart's article with my staff to get people thinking about the way they provide feedback to their students.

Reflections: Setting Objectives, Providing Feedback, Providing Recognition

I learned that helping students set objectives for themselves in the learning process helps to give them more ownership. While I have always viewed it as the teacher's role and hadn't really thought of students in the role of setting objectives, I have always believed in collecting data from the students to help drive instruction; which is, essentially, a way of having the students involved in this process. I learned that it is as simple as using a survey or a KWHL chart to facilitate students setting objectives for lessons.

The types of technology I can use to provide feedback include student responders, email, voice messages, eyejot videos, and more.  What I have learned is the importance of the feedback being as immediate as possible in order to make a connection with the student(s). The feedback will be most effective when it is specific to the task being evaluated and suggestions for growth are included.

I can think of a time we used an award ceremony to provide recognition for our Title I students. Students were recognized for exceptional progress, stellar attendance and positive attitudes. This event was extremely successful and had a lasting impact on our students’ attitudes toward learning in the Title I room. Recognition does not always have to be presented in such a grand scale, but in order to motivate the group as a whole, this mid-year event helped students and teachers to hit the home stretch of the school year feeling a sense of renewal.

Week 1: CEDO 525 Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology

This week we kicked things off by discussing and reflecting on what constitutes effective learning and effective teaching. As part of this exercise, I reviewed two articles: Principles of Teaching and Learning and A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of teaching and learning.

I first took a look at Principles of Teaching and Learning from the Carnegie Mellon Enhancing Education website. The principles discussed for both Teaching and Learning were familiar and supported much of what we do in the program I supervise for Title I students. The company I work for has developed a program that is goal oriented, with the objective that students will gain mastery of skills they missed along the way.

I found the Teaching Principles truly aligned with the approach taken in our Title I skill development program. It is critical to the success of our program, and the success of our students, to take the time on the front end to gather information and put together a targeted plan with a reasonable number of goals to be met within a term of instruction. I liked principle #4 where it states "Coverage is the enemy." So many classroom teachers who come to work in our program have a difficult time adapting to the focus of our program--we only see our students 120 minutes per week, so in order to see progress it's important to prepare lessons that focus only on the goals. Attempting to cover too many different topics or concepts can lead to confusion and/or students not able to reach goals within the set time period. I also liked the final principle that spoke to self assessment as an educator and using the data to help make decisions regarding effectiveness of curriculum and whether or not it is time for change.

The Learning Principles were also very helpful. While I think the teachers I supervise are in tune with their students and have a good sense of what motivates them, I believe there is a need to slow things down and take the time to have meaningful conversations with the students about what they are learning. I also think time constraints in our program, and the nature of the students we are working with, often translate in teachers making many decisions for their students rather than coaching the students in making appropriate decisions. This is a skill I have seen missing in our classrooms and one I've been encouraging my teachers to integrate into their teaching styles. Easier for some than others.

The second article, A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of teaching and learning , was more of a case study done by Hersh C. Waxman, Meng-Fen Lin and Georgette M. Michko out of the University of Houston. I found this to be a challenging read due to the technical nature of the information presented. I also found that most of it focused on documentation of sources and what constituted a valid vs invalid case study. The overall conclusion that technology had a positive impact on student outcomes back in 2003 reflects what I believe to be true in 2011. The integration of interactive whiteboard technology in our Title I program has greatly improved student engagement, motivation to attend and participate in class. I strongly believe when students are engaged in learning it can only have a positive effect on student outcomes.

Internet Resources: Week 4

This week we took a look at copyright law and fair use, as well as Creative Commons; which are both important issues when considering use of technology in the classroom. There are many tools and techniques that make the process of "lifting" another person's creative work quite easy to do. The sharing and collaborative nature of the internet makes claiming ownership of one's creative and intellectual property difficult to control. One of the resources we tapped into is a YouTube video: Copyright 101 for Teachers which looked at copyright law and fair use from a more traditional perspective. We also refered to http://creativecommons.org which is a vast resource that helps consumers of information found on the internet know our limitations when it comes to how specific products can be used or adapted, and steps that need to be taken in doing so.

We also addressed Internet safety for children, which is a critical topic in an educational setting. Some of the resources we investigated include:

• Children’s Internet Protection Act: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html .
• Internet Safety for Kids:  http://www.komputers4rkids.com/Protection.html is a huge clearinghouse of resources for teachers and parents related to keeping children safe on the Internet.
• Government Publications:  http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm
• The Wise Kids website:  http://www.webwisekids.org/index.asp?page=parents

All of these websites were found to be quite valuable. I am especially interested in going back to look at the Wise Kids site in further detail.

Internet Resources: Week 3

Week 3 of Internet Learning Resources provided me with the opportunity to evaluate several educational resources for creating products and facilitating learning online. We looked at the presentation tool 280 Slides; polling tools on Google Forms and Poll Everywhere; cartooning tools of pikikids.com, toondoo.com and xtranormal.com; and Adobe Buzzword as another online collaborative word processing / office suite option. These online applications have a lot of potential uses in the classroom as well as in business application, so I look forward to having the chance to spend additional time learning more about the features they offer.

We also started an annotative bibliography of Internet resources of interest to us. I see this as something that will be helpful in keeping track of the various sites we have been introduced to throughout our coursework and I believe it will be valuable to maintain beyond this particular course.

Internet Resources: Week 2

This week's theme for me had to do with helping students think critically about the internet resources available. We took a look at Noodle Tools, which serves as a great starting point for students preparing to do research using Internet Resources. Noodle Tools helps students think about purpose, and the types of media they want to access when conducting the research. I think it is a wonderful resource that would be especially valuable to students new to the research process.

We also looked at Google Alerts and discusssed how this particular tool could be used both personally and professionally. I had never used the Alerts feature before, but I can see it being a great way to improve productivity and spend less time on the search process, and more time on the analysis of the information.

CEdO520 Week 1

This week we were introduced to wikis--we are using a wiki as the main mode of communication for this class, and while I was getting used to Angel, I am finding the PB works pretty easy to use. I am looking forward to getting more comfortable with it and learning how it works; I think it could be useful to have a wiki for communications with my staff. Once I learn a little more about it, I may decide to give it a try.

The question about the usefulness of our weekly blogs came up in our first class meeting, which left us with the task of coming up with more effective ways to chronicle our work in this cohort. As I stated in class, I think the blogs serve a purpose: It is going to be a great reference when we get to the end of our coursework and have to try to recall what we did back in these earlier classes. For that purpose, I think the somewhat repetitive question of "what we did and how we see it can apply to what we do," makes sense. In the moment it feels like it is getting a little old and there are going to be things we learn in class that doesn't always apply to what we do or currently have available to us in our workplace; but recording what we did in my own words and connecting it to how I could see it being used in education (if ideally resources were available to me) is going to help me pull it all together in the end.

I think the more difficult part in my mind is commenting on other people's entries. There are times I have felt compelled to leave a comment because I had an idea I thought would be helpful or had a reaction to what I read, which is how it should be. I also like reading other people's blogs because it gives me new perspectives on what we are learning. I had more of a problem in the weeks where I enjoyed reading other people's thoughts, but didn't have much to add; yet I had to comment in order to complete the assignment. I also would like to have some kind of notification when comments are made, which I have since learned can be changed in the settings of my account.

So, overall, I find the blogging useful as a journal of the work I am completing in this course. Because this is a fast-paced program, I find that I'm very into "the moment" and then I have to move on. I like that I can go back to read my previous entries and it jogs my memory of what I've done, what I liked, what I though was useful and want to go back to later on. It's also a record that belongs only to me, so if something should ever happen where I need to stop taking classes for a time and then resume, I know I can pick up where I left off regardless of the cohort I'm in.