When it comes to providing student feedback, in the past, I have created my own set of rubrics for various projects or have relied upon verbal feedback. My school does not provide a set of standards or tools that, so I have been left to develop them on my own. Honestly, because my students are so young and my typical role has been to teach students how to use computers, there hasn't been a great necessity for heavy grading. In fact, before I started at my school five years ago, computer classes did not give grades. Hence, the curriculum has been informative but a bit lacking in structure and goals, and so I have spent the last four years building a curriculum from scratch. Therefore, exploring the various online tools for student response has been fascinating. I'm sure many others in this course were already familiar with most of these sites, but I never realized the depth and wealth of tools some of these sites provide. Specifically, I explored Rubistar, iRubric, Quia and QuizStar, and although each provides numerous tools for the teachers, my recommendation is iRubric.
Both Rubistar and iRubric are free sites that allow teachers to create online rubrics. Both sites provide a gallery from which to choose, or allow the registered user to create one from scratch. In addition, both sites allow users to save, download, or print a rubric. Rubistar is perfect for teachers who don't have a lot of time to fuss over their rubric. Users may select from a variety of subject headings. Once a rubric is selected, the user simply chooses the category to be evaluated from a drop-down menu. Each criteria appears, according to the category selected. A nice feature of Rubistar is its editing feature that allows users to tweek and modify where necessary. Once finished, the rubric may be previewed and then saved or printed from there. iRubric does much of the same; however, iRubric is just a small part of RCampus - a free, online educational management system that gives teachers the ability to create classes, gradebooks, tutorials, and websites. Therefore, iRubric doesn't just create rubrics; it goes many steps farther and allows users to "test" a rubric and automatically compute scores. In addition, in terms of communication, RCampus is completely web-based so both teachers and students can access their information from anywhere and is an excellent source for providing feedback in all forms, not just rubrics. I can't wait to explore this site more and introduce it to my teachers in the fall as a way for them to post student work and communicate with both students and parents.
As their names suggest, both Quia and QuizStar give teachers a way to create quizzes online. Each provides a free trial, after which a paid subscription is required. Quia creates customized templates in a variety of forms, from traditional multiple-choice quizzes to interactive games, such as hangman or battleship. A nice feature of Quia is the teacher's ability to add audio, making it more suitable for students with varied learning capabilities. For teachers who don't have a lot of time, Quia also includes easy-to-use templates as well as a large gallery of shared quizzes from other teachers. Creating quizzes doesn't save time, however, if the teacher must then grade each one, so Quia also includes automatic grading and posting of results. A subscription to Quia is a bit hefty in my opinion, at $49 but might be worth it to the teacher whose student assessment requires this type of evaluation. QuizStar, powered by 4Teachers, the same creator of Rubistar, works much the same way but doesn't appear to have the flexibility and scope of Quia. Registered users may utilize the site for free for 60 days and then opt to subscribe for $39/year. Quizstar also automatically grades and posts student achievement but Quizstar's creative resources are very limited. Users are allowed to use other teacher quizzes but only with permission, provided by the creator in the form of a code. It sounds a bit too complicated. In addition, Quizstar's quizzes are basic, multiple-choice types of quizzes. There are no options for games or other activities that Quia provides. For my personal use, I found neither site very impressive and worth the annual subscription. The web offers many other choice polling-type tools, Survey Monkey being one, that accomplish the same goal. Although either site is an excellent way to provide student feedback, neither one justifies the expense.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Week One Reaction
Since I am the computer teacher at my school, and one who has had no formal education in technology, I always find articles about teaching technology extremely interesting. The articles we read this week help to give organization to what I'm trying to do with in my class.I enjoyed the easy-to-understand, straight-forward information in Principles of Teaching and Learning. Reading the articles on learning and teaching principles, I found myself applying the information to my 6th grade son who was diagnosed with ADHD in 3rd grade. This past year he struggled in several classes, and as I read many of the principles, I wondered if his teachers had any concept of these principles. The principles I found most relevant are 3, 4, and 5. My son has an extremely difficult time processing and organizing ideas. He's very bright but when it comes to completing steps, for example in math, his anxious mind doesn't slow down enough to complete sequential problems; therefore, he messes up. It was my observation that little was done to try to work through this issue, but in all fairness, the teachers at my school aren't trained to address this issue, which is not limited to my son alone. Likewise, 4 and 5 principles are extremely significant to learning. Even as adults, most of us learn best by doing and redoing and processing our mistakes and successes.
The second article on the study was a bit over my head, I have to say. I am not practiced in reading research articles. I couldn't figure out what the numbers meant, nor did I understand all the terminology. I did, however, grasp the article's contention that more concrete studies need to be done. I did find it perplexing that the study only found a small success in student learning outcome when including technology. I would have believed that it provides a much better learning outcome and not just a small one. The study does seem to address my conerns, however; how to best improve my tech program. I am constantly struggling with how to make tangible the concepts that are taught.
The second article on the study was a bit over my head, I have to say. I am not practiced in reading research articles. I couldn't figure out what the numbers meant, nor did I understand all the terminology. I did, however, grasp the article's contention that more concrete studies need to be done. I did find it perplexing that the study only found a small success in student learning outcome when including technology. I would have believed that it provides a much better learning outcome and not just a small one. The study does seem to address my conerns, however; how to best improve my tech program. I am constantly struggling with how to make tangible the concepts that are taught.
Technology that Works
This week's readings have me thinking a lot about what I teach and why. On the one hand, being the computer teacher is perfect; my lessons are all hands-on, so my curriculum naturally provides alternative assessments and caters to all types of students. In other words, I don't have to go out of my way to try to teach to various learning styles. In addition, the kids love coming to computers and are always eager to find out what the next lesson has in store for them. In many ways, I've got it made. The purpose and goals of my curriculum, however, are quickly changing as our readings are pointing out. It's no longer good enough just to install a bunch of software and let the kids go to town. Clearly, I need to have more direction and consider carefully why I'm doing what I'm doing. I'm not trying to imply that I just have the students play all day long; much of what I already do meets many of the standards. The problem is is that I've never really sat down and intentionally designed my curriculum around the standards. I've always referred to the standards and made sure mine were aligned, but with the new NETS standards, I need to really weigh my lessons and figure out how to teach more effectively. In addition, although I typically use a rubric for most lessons, I don't for all, and my feedback typically is a letter grade and a comment or two or a verbal comment in large group. I also rarely have students participate in what they want to learn. Instead, I tell THEM what we're going to do and don't necessarily make my goals and objectives real clear to them.
I think the most difficult challenge I feel has more to do with how to meet the objectives of my young students. All of this seems easier with the older students. Even much of our textbook is directed toward older students. I have 7 and 8 year olds up to 12 year olds. Designing my objectives for the older students doesn't seem quite as daunting; their written and verbal skills are obviously better developed. The younger ones, however, are barely reading. Figuring out how they can set their own objectives, for example, seems rather difficult. Perhaps I feel somewhat intimidated because my degree was for grades 7-12. I'm sure it would have helped to actually have had elementary ed classes. It has taken me these four years just to realize how literal little kids are. Thank goodness I have raised three of my own. That, alone, has provided more knowledge than any class I could have taken. So I can now see that one of my goals for this class is going to be figuring out how to make technology instruction work for me for the younger ages. I want to do more than just teach them the keyboard and how to boot up the computer.
I think the most difficult challenge I feel has more to do with how to meet the objectives of my young students. All of this seems easier with the older students. Even much of our textbook is directed toward older students. I have 7 and 8 year olds up to 12 year olds. Designing my objectives for the older students doesn't seem quite as daunting; their written and verbal skills are obviously better developed. The younger ones, however, are barely reading. Figuring out how they can set their own objectives, for example, seems rather difficult. Perhaps I feel somewhat intimidated because my degree was for grades 7-12. I'm sure it would have helped to actually have had elementary ed classes. It has taken me these four years just to realize how literal little kids are. Thank goodness I have raised three of my own. That, alone, has provided more knowledge than any class I could have taken. So I can now see that one of my goals for this class is going to be figuring out how to make technology instruction work for me for the younger ages. I want to do more than just teach them the keyboard and how to boot up the computer.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Internet Safety Net
For our recent assignment on creating a presentation on Internet Safety for Children, I decided to take a look at what resources are available for this important topic. I am absolutely thrilled at what is out there on this topic. Even though I know many of the common sense recommendations, trying to present those ideas to a group of parents isn't as easy as it would seem. First of all, just in my experience at my small, catholic school, it's amazing how many parents don't understand all the technologies that their kids have access to. Many of them don't know what chat rooms are and even though they might email regularly, they've never heard of "sexting." In addition, some assume that sites geared toward children automatically have filters in place to protect them but don't know the extent of that protection. And though they all have heard of the dangers of My Space, they don't know of the many other social networking sites that are available to their kids.
One of the best sites I discovered was NetSmartz.com, a site created by the Center for Exploited and Missing Children. The site is amazing - full of downloadable presentaions for both children and parents. There are also terrific videos and interactive activities for various age groups, from the very young to the teens. What I like in particular were the animated videos on topics like privacy and gamers as well as many others.
I can't wait to use this site with my students. I've always known that the teaching of Internet Safety was important, but until I actually read the Children's Internet Protection Act, I didn't realize what expectations the government had placed on our school and libraries. It has made me think twice about how I teach this topic and what plan my school has in place. Even though I teach at a private school and so do not necessarily have to abide by the same rules as public schools, I still want to do everything I can as an educator to instill important skills in my students' minds. When I return in the fall, I will be taking a look at my "plan" and making significant changes to meet the criteria of the Children's Internet Protection Act.
One of the best sites I discovered was NetSmartz.com, a site created by the Center for Exploited and Missing Children. The site is amazing - full of downloadable presentaions for both children and parents. There are also terrific videos and interactive activities for various age groups, from the very young to the teens. What I like in particular were the animated videos on topics like privacy and gamers as well as many others.
I can't wait to use this site with my students. I've always known that the teaching of Internet Safety was important, but until I actually read the Children's Internet Protection Act, I didn't realize what expectations the government had placed on our school and libraries. It has made me think twice about how I teach this topic and what plan my school has in place. Even though I teach at a private school and so do not necessarily have to abide by the same rules as public schools, I still want to do everything I can as an educator to instill important skills in my students' minds. When I return in the fall, I will be taking a look at my "plan" and making significant changes to meet the criteria of the Children's Internet Protection Act.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tools Part 2
When I traveled to Vegas for the first time many years ago, one of the most awesome sites for me wasn't the casinos, with their dinging machines and colorful lights, nor was it the mini-Eiffel Tower or New York rollercoaster. Nope, for me one of the truly grand sites was the M&M candy store. Walking into the M&M store, my eyes could not take enough in of the ginormous containers filled to the brim with exquisite colorful candies. I had never seen such a place that was so richly colorful and so tantalizing at the same time. I walked around that store for nearly a half hour, trying to decide where to even begin. Alas, in the end, I left the store with nothing, finding the decision of what to buy too overwhelming.
All the studying we've been doing on Internet tools has me feeling much like that first time in the M&M store. I can't get enough of all the variety of learning resources there are on the Web, but I'm finding the task of picking and choosing which to use a bit overwhelming. I've bookmarked just about every one of them, but now I'm a bit befuddled as to how to best use them in my classroom. I'm beginning to feel like I need to dump my current curriculum and move in an entirely different direction.
Part of my anxiousness also has to do with the fact that my school is trying to move toward a standard's-based report card this fall. I have already completed a list of objectives, based upon our Diocesan standards, but now I'm realizing that these standards are completely archaic and must have been created while the concept of cloud computing was in its infancy and the Internet was a place you visited for specific tasks. The current objectives focus on the student's ability to "do" things, such as cut and paste, create a document, boot and shut down the computer, etc. These are very easy tasks to complete and measure but clearly they don't begin to tap into the deeper levels and potential of the tools we've learned about in class.
In addition, I've started to take a closer look at the NETS and am realizing that they, too, have very little to do with what my are or the Diocesan standards are. I'm quickly realizing that my responsibility to my students is not so much teaching them how to cut, paste and insert images, but, more importantly, how to collaborate, problem-solve and be responsible, digital- and media-literate citizens. Yikes!!! Teaching them to cut and paste sounds soooo much easier.
So this is where my mind-set is, and I'm excited, yet struggling, with how to best approach the up-coming year. The Diocese hopes to create a standards team to help revise them, and I've asked to put on the list. But clearly revising the standards to coincide with NETS is a daunting task, and I'm sure there will be much debate. Should the standards be broken down by grade level? How specific do we want to be? How can the standards be created in such a way that schools with less access can still meet the criteria? Should we even take this into consideration or simply demand that schools meet the criteria for the sake of the students? And on a smaller scale, how can I convince my teachers to include the types of tools we've covered in class? As the tech teacher is it my sole responsibility to educate my students or should all the teachers be required to do so?
GRRRRRR... This has my head swimming, and I'm afraid that I may become too overwhelmed, thus leaving the candy store empty-handed.
All the studying we've been doing on Internet tools has me feeling much like that first time in the M&M store. I can't get enough of all the variety of learning resources there are on the Web, but I'm finding the task of picking and choosing which to use a bit overwhelming. I've bookmarked just about every one of them, but now I'm a bit befuddled as to how to best use them in my classroom. I'm beginning to feel like I need to dump my current curriculum and move in an entirely different direction.
Part of my anxiousness also has to do with the fact that my school is trying to move toward a standard's-based report card this fall. I have already completed a list of objectives, based upon our Diocesan standards, but now I'm realizing that these standards are completely archaic and must have been created while the concept of cloud computing was in its infancy and the Internet was a place you visited for specific tasks. The current objectives focus on the student's ability to "do" things, such as cut and paste, create a document, boot and shut down the computer, etc. These are very easy tasks to complete and measure but clearly they don't begin to tap into the deeper levels and potential of the tools we've learned about in class.
In addition, I've started to take a closer look at the NETS and am realizing that they, too, have very little to do with what my are or the Diocesan standards are. I'm quickly realizing that my responsibility to my students is not so much teaching them how to cut, paste and insert images, but, more importantly, how to collaborate, problem-solve and be responsible, digital- and media-literate citizens. Yikes!!! Teaching them to cut and paste sounds soooo much easier.
So this is where my mind-set is, and I'm excited, yet struggling, with how to best approach the up-coming year. The Diocese hopes to create a standards team to help revise them, and I've asked to put on the list. But clearly revising the standards to coincide with NETS is a daunting task, and I'm sure there will be much debate. Should the standards be broken down by grade level? How specific do we want to be? How can the standards be created in such a way that schools with less access can still meet the criteria? Should we even take this into consideration or simply demand that schools meet the criteria for the sake of the students? And on a smaller scale, how can I convince my teachers to include the types of tools we've covered in class? As the tech teacher is it my sole responsibility to educate my students or should all the teachers be required to do so?
GRRRRRR... This has my head swimming, and I'm afraid that I may become too overwhelmed, thus leaving the candy store empty-handed.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Quest for Truth
Several months ago I read an article that addressed the safety of our children. Ironically, the article claimed that our kids today were actually more in danger of reckless behavior because of being overprotected. The author claimed that kids learn safety skills by falling and scraping their knees. Hence, parents who insist that kids not do things like climb trees or ride bikes on gravel are, in the end, doing them more harm by not allowing their brains to develop these skills. I guess it's the ol' try and fail method of behavior learning.
I think this same lesson can be applied to our theme this week in class. There seems to be a common thread in this week's discussion and focus, and that is the search for what is truthful on the Internet and how we can make the Internet safe or relevant for our students . Much ado is being made about the fact that the Internet contains so much junk - that it has become overrun with wasted pages. No one can deny that this is true. I think this is the advantage of having a free Internet. Do we really want the alternative, allowing some governing body to decide what is and is not relevant and of value? It's true that the Internet is riddled with meaningless garbage, but if you visit any of these sites, you're bound to see at least one hit. So, if we are going to support the free speech platform that the Internet is, we as educators have to be willing to accept the challenge to find the best and quickest, most efficient ways to cipher through all the junk and discover the sites that will be most useful to our students. For our younger students, I think this is very important. They need to be able to take baby steps when developing their surfing techniques. We certainly don't want 8, 9, 10 year olds exposed to the kinds of malicious, dangerous, and inappropriate material that exists on the Net.
But when it comes to our older students, filtering what we consider irrelevant or uneducational is simply not giving our students the skills they need to function on the Web. I personally think we do our older students a disservice if we insist on "watering down" the Internet to make things easier for the students. How can we adequately prepare them and instill critical thinking skills if we don't allow them to fall and scrape their knees on their own? This doesn't mean we have to expose them to all the trash, but we should at least provide them with both the good and the bad and allow them to evaluate the nature of each. Eliminating sites such as Wikipedia because we don't see the value doesn't mean there isn't any. We need to be more open-minded and willing to climb beyond our comfort level and take the chance that we may fall and bump our heads.
I think this same lesson can be applied to our theme this week in class. There seems to be a common thread in this week's discussion and focus, and that is the search for what is truthful on the Internet and how we can make the Internet safe or relevant for our students . Much ado is being made about the fact that the Internet contains so much junk - that it has become overrun with wasted pages. No one can deny that this is true. I think this is the advantage of having a free Internet. Do we really want the alternative, allowing some governing body to decide what is and is not relevant and of value? It's true that the Internet is riddled with meaningless garbage, but if you visit any of these sites, you're bound to see at least one hit. So, if we are going to support the free speech platform that the Internet is, we as educators have to be willing to accept the challenge to find the best and quickest, most efficient ways to cipher through all the junk and discover the sites that will be most useful to our students. For our younger students, I think this is very important. They need to be able to take baby steps when developing their surfing techniques. We certainly don't want 8, 9, 10 year olds exposed to the kinds of malicious, dangerous, and inappropriate material that exists on the Net.
But when it comes to our older students, filtering what we consider irrelevant or uneducational is simply not giving our students the skills they need to function on the Web. I personally think we do our older students a disservice if we insist on "watering down" the Internet to make things easier for the students. How can we adequately prepare them and instill critical thinking skills if we don't allow them to fall and scrape their knees on their own? This doesn't mean we have to expose them to all the trash, but we should at least provide them with both the good and the bad and allow them to evaluate the nature of each. Eliminating sites such as Wikipedia because we don't see the value doesn't mean there isn't any. We need to be more open-minded and willing to climb beyond our comfort level and take the chance that we may fall and bump our heads.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Internet Learning Resources-Teaching Made Easier!
Like any teacher out there who loves using the Internet, I have been amazed at how much stuff there is that can be used in my classroom. This past week has been a great example of this.
For my 6th Grade computer class, we always end with a unit on Excel. Now, I never use Excel. Yah, yah, I get why it's great and useful, etc. but for my line of work I have not needed it. I tend to equate it with scrapbooking: it's a great thing to do, but who in the world has time for it? Anyway, so when it comes to teaching my 6th graders how to use Excel, I'm always very rusty, and since I don't take the time to dig deeply into it, I end up feeling very uneasy leading the class in creating spreadsheets. So as I got to thinking about our topic this week, I thought I would start surfing for tutorials. My challenge was finding one that was suitable for my young audience. Many of the tutorials I have discovered for Excel tend to lend themselves to those in the business world and thus are very technical and, worse, boring.
So, what Learning Resource tool did I find? As I have done for other topics, I'm finding that lately my best friend in Internet Learning Resources is Youtube. It seems if it's video I need for just about anything in my classroom, I can find it there. So I went to Youtube and searched, and by golly, I found an excellent 5 part series on the basics of Excel. The best part is that my school district is still stuck with MS Office 2000, and the series is conducted on 2000. Great! In addition, the narrator is a Brit, and as one of my students commented, has a "rather soothing voice." He's wonderful, and instead of listening to my droning jibberish, they are tuning in to his sessions and learning a ton. Hell, I'm learning a ton. And since he gives a wonderful example - a video rental spreadsheet - I am able to instruct my students on how to set it up and repeat his calculations. My students are, therefore, getting a double-dose of instruction; first, his up-close step-by-step process, followed by my reinforcement and extension. What a great combo! And now with the inclusion of RealPlayer download, I can download these wonderful videos and keep them in the folders for students to view year after year, not having to worry if the video will disappear.
I don't know what I would do if the Internet blew up tomorrow. Perhaps I depend too much on it, but the resources out there play a vital role in my keeping students up-to-date on the latest information. I would feel completely disconnected without it, and I really have no idea how teachers without access do it. In fact, I know several teachers who don't utilize the Internet very often, and I tend to feel that their students are not getting the full education they need to become savvy, problem-solving citizens. I spend a lot of time with my students teaching them how to surf and the dangers and benefits of doing so. I think we do our students a disservice if we don't carry this same message throughout the curriculum.
Preaching over...
For my 6th Grade computer class, we always end with a unit on Excel. Now, I never use Excel. Yah, yah, I get why it's great and useful, etc. but for my line of work I have not needed it. I tend to equate it with scrapbooking: it's a great thing to do, but who in the world has time for it? Anyway, so when it comes to teaching my 6th graders how to use Excel, I'm always very rusty, and since I don't take the time to dig deeply into it, I end up feeling very uneasy leading the class in creating spreadsheets. So as I got to thinking about our topic this week, I thought I would start surfing for tutorials. My challenge was finding one that was suitable for my young audience. Many of the tutorials I have discovered for Excel tend to lend themselves to those in the business world and thus are very technical and, worse, boring.
So, what Learning Resource tool did I find? As I have done for other topics, I'm finding that lately my best friend in Internet Learning Resources is Youtube. It seems if it's video I need for just about anything in my classroom, I can find it there. So I went to Youtube and searched, and by golly, I found an excellent 5 part series on the basics of Excel. The best part is that my school district is still stuck with MS Office 2000, and the series is conducted on 2000. Great! In addition, the narrator is a Brit, and as one of my students commented, has a "rather soothing voice." He's wonderful, and instead of listening to my droning jibberish, they are tuning in to his sessions and learning a ton. Hell, I'm learning a ton. And since he gives a wonderful example - a video rental spreadsheet - I am able to instruct my students on how to set it up and repeat his calculations. My students are, therefore, getting a double-dose of instruction; first, his up-close step-by-step process, followed by my reinforcement and extension. What a great combo! And now with the inclusion of RealPlayer download, I can download these wonderful videos and keep them in the folders for students to view year after year, not having to worry if the video will disappear.
I don't know what I would do if the Internet blew up tomorrow. Perhaps I depend too much on it, but the resources out there play a vital role in my keeping students up-to-date on the latest information. I would feel completely disconnected without it, and I really have no idea how teachers without access do it. In fact, I know several teachers who don't utilize the Internet very often, and I tend to feel that their students are not getting the full education they need to become savvy, problem-solving citizens. I spend a lot of time with my students teaching them how to surf and the dangers and benefits of doing so. I think we do our students a disservice if we don't carry this same message throughout the curriculum.
Preaching over...
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