Voicethread is Awesome

I would like for everyone to know that voicethread is a fantastic concept. Let me begin by stating that voicethread is a form of podcasting, but it is more than that. It is an instructional tool. When I use voicethread in my Environmental Science Class, I was able to instantly view student progress on each part of the assignment. I decided to use one username and password. I know that in the future this may cause problems, but for now its working. By using one account, I am able to view each group assignments instantly. Voicethread also allows each person to comment. So if a group is not keeping up, I can make a quick comment and move on.

Getting Away from Traditional Testing

Testing online has been my life for the past two weeks. There were some positives and negatives to this. On the plus side, testing online is more efficient, uses less paper and tools to give students, and is an easier process than the traditional paper and pencil tests. The online tests went by quicker than some of the paper and pencil tests and uses a venue that students are highly familiar with. The negatives were that I missed teaching my morning classes for two weeks, some computers did not have the links properly installed or loaded, and some computers had glitches that had not been taken care of before testing.

It would be great if all state and county high stakes testing could be completed online. I do feel that the option for pencil and paper should still be in place for the few students who actually do better with that option. The other issues would be extending the testing window (or starting earlier) in order to accommodate all students, making sure that every single computer is working properly to eliminate additional time used to troubleshoot during testing, and making sure that every school has the necessary numbers of computers to accommodate all the students for testing. Will the county move in this direction? Probably, but not anytime soon. With the budget cuts and restraints I know this is probably nonexistent on the list of needs and priorities. However, it needs to be addressed soon. As I see it, technology is moving forward, not backwards. So, it is imperative that our county administration keeps up.

I had the experience of being the test administrator for tests involving special needs students, general education students, and AP students. Behaviors varied, as expected, but I can say that the testing process was more efficient and used less time to pass out multiple tools students would need for testing. The Algebra test had the calculator online and their formulas sheet online as well. With time, I feel that this is the new direction for education. Yet, balance is always key. No matter how much technology advances, there is nothing that can replace that human interaction and need for human contact which makes teaching so magical.

Podcasting Quiz

I created a quiz using podcasting. As I was in the podcasting training, I pondered on ways to using the Voicethread to enhance mathematics. I thought about using them to create BCR’s and ECR’s where students could respond on the Voicethread. I thought about using them to create quizzes. I also thought warm-ups could be created, or it could be one of the rotations in the classroom if the teacher used centers. I created an HSA Algebra review quiz because my partner teaches two classes using HSA materials. My goal is to have students complete the Voicethread a few students at a time. This quiz could take the place of a paper/pencil quiz.

Digital Camera too

The second digital camera project I want to introduce one of my strongest lessons about self-portraiture. In the digital story I will clearly identifies the objective and explain the background and knowledge needed for students to understand the basics of self-portraiture. I will also include pictures of famous self-portraits and conclude the lesson by showing finished student self-portraits, before and after images.

Technological Implications

Today, I took my students through an advanced search lesson using google.com. It was part one of a two part lesson in which students will create annotated bibliographies tomorrow in class. I have a class of LD students who range anywhere from a 4th to 6th grade reading and writing level. Keep in mind I am teaching 10th grade students. What I have found is that not all of my students have access to computers at home, and many do not see the importance of learning appropriate research skills. I believe in the use of technology because I see the transformation in our world with its uses, its connectivity around the globe, the advancement and variety in career choices, and the need for it in our daily lives. This lesson showed students how to specifically narrow down ideas and searches in order to lesson the number of hits on a page and to find specific information for research purposes. The lesson also required students to assert reasons as to why certain searches based on keywords receive higher or lower numbers of hits. It was difficult for most of my students to follow the directions at first. One, they may have never had to conduct such a type of search; two, they may have limited exposure and knowledge as to what research is and its uses. What I should have done is to survey students on their level of skills and what they are familiar with technologically. This would have given me a better perspective as to where to start.

I know that the HSA will cover research and locating appropriate sources, and that is one reason why I decided to conduct this lesson; However, what has discouraged me the most is that in this day and age of technological advancement, some students are being left behind the technologically. Unfortunately, many of those students are those who are in special education. I find it vital to teach and use the skills necessary for employment in today's society. I still get parent emails full of grammatical mistakes, students who have electronic devices that are not used to their full capacity to encourage learning daily, and a huge gap between those who are well informed and knowledgeable of technological applications and those who are not. This applies to my students as well as the parents of those students. Using technology and teaching its uses and applications are an imperative.

I have made the decision to make technology a huge part of my teaching for next year. I am armed with information and training that I will use to create a 21st century classroom.

Technology Blues

Currently, I am working through my technology blues with trying to get my whiteboard in my classroom up and running. I have put I the request to order the part needed to connect my whiteboard to my Mac Book Pro. Unfortunately, because of other pressing deadlines my request has been put on hold. So, I began to concentrate on other areas of technology in my classroom that need my attention.

Recently, I received an upgrade on the software used in my iMac Lab, with the upgrade I did not receive the monitoring tool needed to monitor my students work from my workstation. At the MICCA conference I found a vender who was promoting a classroom-monitoring program called InVision and she gave me a free 30-day trail. I have not tested the program out yet however, I have been researching the program to see how I could use it with my classes. The next step is to take it to my Art Supervisor and see what she thinks. So far the program look promising.