MACUL Post

Here is a link to my MACUL posting.  I'm a huge Twitter fan :)

http://maculspace.ning.com/group/msuedutech/forum/topics/twitter-in-the-classroom-1

Wiki Lab

Wikispaces:
The link below is to my Wikispace page for my computer lab.  I have started to list grade level goals and objectives for our curriculum this year.  I would like the rest of the staff to contribute to this wiki to develop a better plan for tech skills at our school.
http://creeksidetech.wikispaces.com/


Wikipedia:
I work at Creekside Elementary School in Danville, California.  Our school did not have a page on Wikipedia, so I created a brief description page.  I emailed the staff to ask them to edit the page if they wanted to try using the resource.  I'm hoping the page will get more edits!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creekside_Elementary_School

UDL Evaluation of Word Processing Lesson Plan

Below is a checklist to see how my word processing lesson fit UDL Guidelines.  I did realize my goals, student objectives, and project evaluation needed to be incorporated into the lesson better so that students could use then to assist in multiple UDL aspects of the lesson.  I love working off of checklists and very clear rubrics, I should be better about adding this into my own lessons!!

UDL Guidelines - Educator Checklist
I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation	Your notes
1. Provide options for perception
1.1 Customize the display of information	Feature: The teacher demonstrates the assignment using an overhead projector allowing students to hear the instructions and watch the instructions.
1.2 Provide alternatives for auditory information	Feature:  Demonstrating the assignment to the class allows them to follow visually the steps then need to take.  The students also have their ‘elbow partners’ and the teacher if they need to see the information again.
1.3 Provide alternatives for visual information	Feature:  By demonstrating the assignment to the group, the teacher can verbally walk the students through the process.  Group instruction also allows for questions and comments that some kids my think of before others can.  Having access to an ‘elbow partner’ also gives students an alternate auditory resource if they are struggling with the visual information.
2. Provide options for language and symbols
2.1 Define vocabulary and symbols	Feature: The pages program allows students to ‘mouse over’ an icon in the program for more text information.
2.2 Clarify syntax and structure	Barrier: The demonstrated lesson should be left up on the front board so that students have access to the correct and expected word processing lesson objectives.  Highlighting of these expectations will make it more clear to the students.  Leaving the learning goals on the front board also will help.
2.3 Decode text or mathematical notation	N/A
2.4 Promote cross-linguistic understanding	Feature:  The computers have a system feature that can convert language preferences if needed.  Students can read and write the material in multiple languages.
2.5 Illustrate key concepts non-linguistically	Feature 1: The teacher will be demonstrating the assignment for visual comprehension.
3. Provide options for comprehension
3.1 Provide or activate background knowledge	Feature: Students will be building on the writing skills they already know.  Sentence structure, capitalization and punctuation skills will have already been taught.
3.2 Highlight critical features, big ideas, and relationships	Feature:  The lesson focus is on specific mechanics of word processing, not the actually content of the writing.  Students are only graded on what they must proof. Barrier: No clear grading guidelines were defined.  This would highlight expectations.
3.3 Guide information processing	Feature: The teacher’s demonstration allows a guided introduction of the lesson.  ‘Elbow partners’ also provide support and feedback when students need that.
3.4 Support memory and transfer	Feature: Requiring the students to proof their work and have their ‘elbow partner’ proof their work will give the students opportunities to revisit the required expectation of the assignment.

II. Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression	Your notes
4. Provide options for physical action
4.1 Provide varied ways to respond	Feature:  Students are given the option of story length for an alternative to time and speed. Barrier: The lesson is designed to introduce students to keyboarding and keyboarding functions.  However to remove this barrier a teacher could use Dragon Dictate software as an alternative to keyboarding all the text.  Students can edit the text once it is on the page.
4.2 Provide varied ways to interact with materials	Feature: Students are introduced to a teacher presentation, can work with a partner, can work independently, and can orally present their project.
4.3 Integrate assistive technologies	Feature: Assistive technologies are easy to turn on using the system preferences of the student’s computer.
5. Provide options for expressive skills and fluency
5.1 Allow choices of media for communication	Feature:  Students can choose fonts styles, sizes, and colors.  Students can randomly choose their story starter.  Students also can choose to present their final project.
5.2 Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving	Feature:  StoryStarter.com gives the students a choice and assistance in getting the writing assignment started.
5.3 Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance	Feature: Both the teacher and the elbow partner will help provide feedback and support.
6. Provide options for executive functions
6.1 Guide effective goal setting	Feature: The teacher demonstration will help students understand the goals. Barrier:  The objectives and assignment requirements should be clearly listed on the board for the students to follow after the demonstration.
6.2 Support planning and strategy development	Barrier: The assignment steps should be listed with the goals.
6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources	Barrier: Students should be given a check list for proof reading individual and partner work.  This could also include the final evaluation goals/points.
6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress

III. Provide Multiple Means of Engagement	Your notes
7. Provide options for recruiting interest
7.1 Increase individual choice and autonomy	Feature: Students have design, story length, and story topic choices.
7.2 Enhance relevance, value and authenticity	Feature: The lesson follows a learning standard that all students will find invaluable.
7.3 Reduce threats and distractions	Feature:  Students will be supporting each other in the proofreading.  Students have the option to share or not in the end, which limits social demands.
8. Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives	Feature:  The teacher demonstration gives the students an idea of time and final project expectations.
8.2 Vary levels of challenge and support	Feature:  There is a range in assignment length and a degree of freedom in the story content.
8.3 Foster collaboration and communication	Feature: Group discussions, partner work and group presentation allows for cooperative learning.
8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback	Feature: Students get feedback from their peers and then will get feedback from the teacher.   Using the tools of the word processing program, students can also get feedback from spell check and grammar features.
9. Provide options for self-regulation
9.1 Guide personal goal-setting and expectations	Barrier:  Rubric and checklist is needed to help students set goals and understand expectations.
9.2 Scaffold coping skills and strategies	Feature: The teacher floating around the room can help students who can not self-regulate.  Elbow partners can assist with this as well.
9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection	Barrier: A rubric, checklist will allow students to self-assess their work.

Teacher Web Page

Here is the link to my teacher web page.  http://ceciliabrear.weebly.com/

I also manage our school website and have a technology page that lists technology skill goals by grade level.

http://creeksidecomets.org/
http://creeksidecomets.org/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1296917751502

Twitter

Evaluation of a MERLOT learning resource:

Twitter

This MERLOT learning resource description was very limited in the details and use of the social learning tool, however, I think Twitter is a wonderful classroom tool and so I added a Learning Exercise to this MERLOT post.  I have used Twitter two different ways this past year, in my classroom and for school wide communication.  I hope more schools and teachers learn to use this resource to promote social learning.

Quality of Content:

1. Does the software present valid (correct) concepts, models, and skills?  Valid concept just no detail or explanation on MERLOT material detail post.  Twitter is more than "What are you doing?", it is also a resource of news and information.
2. Does the software present educationally significant concepts, models, and skills for the discipline? It can if adapted to the subject and if the teacher is trained on using it correctly while protecting the privacy of the students (especially under 13 years of age).  It is a very adaptable tool.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Tool:

1. What stage(s) in the learning process/cycle could the materials be used?
   1. Explanation or description of the topic/stating the problem yes
   2. Demonstration of the curriculum/exploration of the problem yes
   3. Practice using the curriculum/analysis of the outcomes from solving the problem yes
   4. Applying the curriculum to "new" problems/application of the outcomes to other problems yes
2. What is(are) the learning objective(s)? What should students be able to do after successfully learning with the materials? Students should be able to better understand "social learning", how they can easily and quickly learn from others.  Students can also learn effective digital communication skills if a teacher presents the tool correctly.
3. What are the characteristics of the target learner(s) Social
4. Does the interactive/media-rich presentation of material improve faculty and students' abilities to teach and learn the materials? Yes, the Twitter site is very user friendly and engaging.
5. Can the use of the software be readily integrated into current curriculum and pedagogy within the discipline? As long as the instructor has access to the Internet and an overhead projector to work with the Twitter site as a group.
6. Can the software be used in a variety of ways to achieve teaching and learning goals? Yes
7. Are the teaching-learning goals easy to identify? No. I tried to add a little more information in the learning exercise I posted.
8. Can good learning assignments for using the software application be written easily? yes

Ease of Use:

1. Are the labels, buttons, menus, text, and general layout of the computer interface consistent and visually distinct? yes
2. Does the user get trapped in the material? Potentially, instructors can give guidance and set goals and objectives to alleviate this.
3. Can the user get lost easily in the material? Potentially, there are millions of Twitter users, however, if students/teachers use following suggestions from the site, this can help.
4. Does the module provide feedback about the system status and the user's responses? No (I added a learning resource though)
5. Does the module provide appropriate flexibility in its use? No (I added a learning resource though)
6. Does the learning material require a lot of documentation, technical support, and/or instruction for most students to successfully use the software? No, however the instructor should know how to use it before they present it and when working with younger students it should be a teacher directed tool.
7. Does the material present information in ways that are familiar for students? Depending on the students technical background.  
8. Does the material present information in ways that would be attractive to students? Yes, kids love using technology and this is a tool to promote communication and research.

Intro to Word Processing

MERLOT lesson contribution:

Intro to Word Processing

Above is my first contribution to MERLOT.  I have learned so much teaching computers this last year to elementary students.  Technology is changing so fast and what we are teaching students at each age level needs to be adjusted to meet the skill set required of students to succeed in the world they are growing up in.  Below is an article I found today, which I find very interesting and a sign of the times.  Do you think students need to learn typing/digital communication skills more than they need to learn cursive?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2011/07/07/indiana-schools-to-stop-teaching-cursive.html

Blogging to Learn

Welcome to my learning blog.  I will be posting educational highlights of my journey through MSU's Instructional Technology Program.  For the summer of 2011, I am enrolled in my second course in the EdTech program.  It has been a perfect program for me...  challenging and relevant to the skills and topics I am interested in and wanting to master.

Enjoy!