I Made a Media Project!

When I studied abroad I wanted to keep my family up to date on where I was going and what I was doing, but it was a struggle sometimes. While there are certainly applications for tools such as Screenr that can be used in the classroom, I chose to do something different this time. I went back to one of my trips that I took while abroad and made a slide show, with audio, that I can easily share with my family and friends. I used Google Presentation and Screenr to make this presentation, and it was incredibly easy. I look forward to using this tool in the classroom as well!

My Spreadsheet Project

Above are the spreadsheets and chart I created for this project. The first spreadsheet shows the whole class date for Tests 6 through 10; average test score for each student, average score for each individual test, and the average overall score for the whole class on all tests.

Reflection:

Once I figured it out, I liked using Google Spreadsheets. There were some aspects that were easy for me, and others that challenged me. Eventually, everything made sense and I feel confident that I would be able to use Google Spreadsheets in the future for similar projects and have significantly fewer challenges. I was able to embed it in my blog without trouble though (as far as I can tell). This particular project seemed to have a very practical basis, and I might do something similar in the future.

Analysis of Data:

- With the exception of Katherine and Scott, all students test scores increased from Test 6 through Test 10

- Although some students individually did better on later tests than the class average, the students with averages below the over all class average never had a collective average on any one test that was equal to or higher than the overall class average.

- Some of Katherine's test scores appear to be flukes. Her score on Test 6 was significantly lower than any of her other scores. Her next score shot up, and then they fell again. After that, they leveled out some.

- As the test scores increased over time, we can assume that either something changed in the classroom, or that the design of the lesson allowed the students to build on what they had learned before to improve their scores. Chance are, with further testing, all students would continue to improve.

Here is the chart again, so you can analyze it for yourself . . .



What I Would Do In My Classroom:

If it were my classroom, I would hope that by using what students have already learned I would be able to continue to build on that so their test scores would continue to improve, which would in turn increase their their confidence levels allowing them to do better on future tests and be more receptive to new information. As the teacher I would analyze what students struggled with on earlier to test to determine what problems with understanding the whole class may be having that I need to review for everybody, and how students come to understand that information over time.

If you want to see my date in it's original home, you can go directly to my Google Spreadsheet by clicking here.

Yodio - OTEN Yodio by rmryan

We went to the OTEN conference in Forest Grove, heard a keynote speaker, and attended two workshops about using technology in the classroom. The first workshop I attended was Social Networking and Digital Citizenship in the Classroom, and the second was World of Warcraft - Scaffolding. These are my reflections.

My Favorite Web2.0 tools

What is Web2.0?

Web2.0 is the online platform that supports all our information, allowing us to create and store information online so it can be accessed anywhere that has an internet connection rather than on a single computer. It is user friendly and the seemingly endless tools available for users now make the internet a personal experience that you can use in numerous ways. As more and more varieties of computers are being developed in cell phones, blackberries, etc. it becomes more important that the internet is easily accessible from any location so users have constant access to their data. Below are descriptions of a couple of tools that are utilized by Web2.0 users.

Delicious-

Function: Delicious.com is a site that allows you to bookmark your favorite sites not just on one browser, but to save your favorites on the web so you can access them from any computer or cellphone you may have access to. You can also share your bookmarks with friends, colleagues, students, etc. they may have easy access to sites you want them to see as well without having to search them out. You can also "tag" your favorite websites with category descriptions, making it easier to remember what contains what information. With these tags, you can also find the sites through keyword searches as Delicious will remember what you tagged them as.

Increasing Productivity: First of all, it will cut down searching time, so both myself and students will need to spend less time working on finding information that we were looking at before, or want to use so every minute can be used productively. Secondly, I love that we are able to share our bookmarks with people. I see this coming in handing when using technology in my class so I can share something with my students that they will all be able to look at on their individual computers. I will also be able to share helpful things with other teachers, and students will be able to share things with me, so we will be opening up those lines of communication. I also appreciate the tagging feature as I have found things online many times before that when I close the browser or use a different computer I am trying to remember exactly what I searched for that led me to that exact place before - Delicious makes that considerably easier.

A second tool . . .

VoiceThread:

Function: VoiceThread allows you to record a speaker and then link this with a PowerPoint presentation so the speaker is able to annotate what is happening in the presentation. This can be a very powerful tool, for many reasons. You can have "experts" speaking about what is happening in the presentation which will lend strength to what the students are learning, or teachers can make these available to students, which may be especially helpful for trying to catch up after having been absent, just to name two. The presentations may be made available online for many people to have access to it.

Increasing Productivity: This is a tool that can be used by students are are nervous about public presentations or public speaking so they can record it beforehand, and still present at the same time as the rest of the class, lessening the anxiety for them. As mentioned before, it can help students catch up after being absent, and can also be narrated by speakers who are notable to a particular subject area, which at times will make the presentation more impactful for students rather than hearing the information from their teacher.

There are many tools that can be used in the classroom - these are just two. I look forward to using these in my classroom though, and think my students will appreciate having them at their disposal as well.

Google Presentation

The Google tool my group learned about was Google Presentation. The Google Presentation tool allows you to create a slideshow online that can be accessed by anybody you choose to share it with. One of my favorite features of this tool is that it allows easy group work as a number of people can work on creating and editing simultaneously and from various locations. This negates the need for everyone to find a time they can meet together, and then gather around one computer, and enhances learning opportunity for all participants. It equalizes the opportunity for everyone to have a voice, and work when they can. Within the presentation you can insert pictures, videos, text, web links and video, to name a few. Creating a presentation using Google ensures that you will be able to access your presentation from any computer that has internet, but also has a feature that allows you to save your presentation to your own computer in either PDF, text or PowerPoint format.

For me, Google Presentation was easy to use. Everything seemed very straightforward and easy to design and use. I, like the other group members, was able to create and edit slides to create a presentation for the rest of the class to view. Here is our Google Presentation.

Blogging in the Classroom

As teachers in the classroom today we will be teaching "digital natives." This means it is important that we can effectively utilize technology in our classrooms to keep up with our students learning and communication style. One of the many ways we can do this is by using blogging in our classrooms. There are several ways blogging can be used effectively in the classroom to help scaffold students.

First of all, blogs are great for letting everyone in the class participate. They give everyone equal opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. This way no students will be talking over the rest of the class and monopolizing sharing time, and those students who are not as loud in the classroom are still able to have their voice heard. It is also helpful for those students who like to have time to think things over before sharing. Writing something down can be an effective way of sorting through your feelings about a subject and reflecting on your ideas and beliefs.

Another reason blogs are effective is their impact on literacy. They give students the opportunity to read and write on a regular basis, as well as developing their typing skills which are going to be essential in the world outside of school, if not in school.

Blogs can be forums for discussion that might take place more easily in written form than in oral form, again, partly because it gives everybody equal opportunity to share. For students with social anxiety issues or speech impairments, blogs level the playing field and let them participate by showcasing their strengths rather than exceptionalities, or challenges.

Blogs also allow students to communicate with people from around the world, so they know they really do have a voice, and it is being heard. They know that people are taking an interest in what they are doing, and this gives them the confidence that will help them succeed in life.

There are many ways technology can be implemented into the classroom to help students learn, and using blogs is one of the easiest ways. A classroom blog could be a great tool for students and teachers alike, helping them grow academically, scaffolding their progress.

A Little Bit About Me . . .

My name, of course, is Rachel. I am from a small town on the Oregon Coast but came to Salem to attend Willamette University for my undergrad. I majored in Spanish and Latin American Studies, and thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in those classes. I am now at Willamette University's Graduate School of Education as an MAT candidate. The grade levels I am interested in are upper elementary and middle school. While I enjoy both, middle school is my passion and I would like to find a job as either a math teacher, language arts teacher, or ESL/ELD teacher at a middle school. While I have enjoyed my time in Salem, I am ready to see a different part of the world (or at least state) so while I am not opposed to staying in Salem if that is where I can find work in the coming years, I am hoping to find a job that will take me to one of these unseen places.

Growing up on the coast was in my opinion a privilege. I was exposed to many different landscapes as I had the ocean and beach, forests, and mountains all close at hand, and have developed a great love of all things nature. As you might be able to tell from my picture, one of the things I enjoy doing is tidepooling. In this particular picture, although it is difficult to see, I am pointing at a Gumboot Chiton (Cryptochiton stelleri). One of my favorite things to do is go camping and/or hiking. I love National Parks and hope to have visited all of them one day - Yellowstone has a special place in my heart though, and always will. In the span of about 18 years my family went about 15 times, and we never get tired of it.

As a child I loved reading and that has only grown over the years. My favorite books include The Secret Garden, My Sister's Keeper, En el tiempo de las mariposas, This Lullaby, High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed, and Anne of Green Gables. I love fiction and nonfiction, and enjoy reading about many different subjects.

I also love dogs! I have one dog, named Molly. She lives with my family at the coast and she enjoys it there. When I am home, we like going for long walks on the beach together, or long walks up the tsunami evacuation trail. We also like to go up Snob Hill sometimes because they views of the beach are incredible. Molly also likes to go camping and hiking, and like me, likes sleeping in tents.

That is a little bit about me. If I missed anything you still want to know about, just ask!