The Final Project!

Check it out (:

Final PhotoStory!

My video!!

My five line teaching philosophy. I want to inspire students to be the best that can be, by always believing in them and pushing them. I want to strike their creativity by integrating technology in a way that will help to think outside the box while keeping them up to date on recent technologies. In my classroom I want children to think of technology as a tool and guide to help them succeed. Because I think technology to children is seen more as a “fun” tool due to social networking, if I can get students interested in how students can use it properly this can expand their world!  

Check out my webquest! (:

https://sites.google.com/site/weblessons2/home

Driving question

What all do you know about West Virginia? Can you find it on the map? What are the state symbols and natural resources?


I am doing my Wiki on history for second grade!

Evaluation

Questions

1. Which two of example WebQuests listed below are the best ones? Why? We chose to pick the best Webquests are the Ancient Egypt and the Underground railroad. Both were packed full of information that subject, they also did a good job at getting everyone involved. 
2. Which two are the worst? Why? We chose the Ice Cream and Where is my hero. Reasons for that is the "We scream for Ice Cream" tells you how to make ice cream, we didn't see how it could be helpful in the classroom. The same goes for the Hero one,while it was great to get motivation it didn't really give students information. 
3. What do best and worst mean to you? The best ones mean to me that it contains the most educational value to inform you, but not to bore you.  It would also get us involved. The worst would have no educational value and almost a waste of time. 

Blogging Questions..

1. I think that keeping a blog for this class is very appropriate because it is a technology class. Blogging is also a creative way to get the class involved and interact without being face-to-face. There wasn't too many dislikes about keeping a blog for this class, they weren't hard and I thought we were given enough time to do them in. 

2. I think that posting a blog helps you become a more effective  teacher because in a technology based world it integrates simple technology into the classroom. Using something simple like blogging keeps the students interests longer rather than just book work.  With such a technology based time and age it should be very important to have that in a lesson and use it. It will not only keep you up-to-date (and be a cool teacher) it is also safe and easy for everyone to use. 

3. As far as posting after this class I'm not so sure. I personally never really understood the point of blogging, but I can see where it can be helpful and exciting in the classroom. I never had the urge to blog. But I might post something once in a while if I wanted to vent. 

4. Collective Intelligence - The ability to share and pool knowledge and compare notes with each other toward a common goal. From blogging with the class I was able to share ideas and get feedback > At the same time  I was able to give feedback to others and  see what others thought. 

Wikipedia Reliability

Wikipedia Reliability Worksheet

Article title:
Answer the following questions to see how reliable a Wikipedia article is.

1. Start with the main page. Does it have any cleanup banners that have been placed there to indicate problems with the article? (A complete list is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_messages/
   Cleanup.)

Any one of the following cleanup banners means the article is anunreliable source:

This article or section has multiple issues.
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
The neutrality of this article is disputed.
The factual accuracy of this article is disputed.
This needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling.
This may contain material not appropriate for an encyclopedia.
This article only describes one highly specialized aspect of its associated subject.
This article requires authentication or verification by an expert.
This article or section needs to be updated.
This article may not provide balanced geographical coverage on a region.
This is missing citations or needs footnotes.
This article does not cite any references or sources.

2. Read through the article and see if it meets the following requirements:

Is it written in a clear and organized way?
Is the tone neutral (not taking sides)?
Are all important facts referenced (you're told where they come from)?
Does the information provided seem complete or does it look like there are gaps (or just one side of the story)?

3. Scroll down to the article's References and open them in new windows or tabs. Do they seem like reliable sources? (For help in determining the general reliability of a source, check out the Knowing What's What and What's Note: The 5 Ws (and 1 "H") of Cyberspace handout.)
   
   Reliable references:
   
   
   Possibly unreliable references:
   
   
   Definitely unreliable references:
   
   
    
4. Click on the Discussion tab. How is the article rated on the Rating Scale(Stub, Start, C, B, GA, A, FA)? What issues around the article are being discussed? Do any of them make you doubt the article's reliability?

---

---

---

---

5. Based on the above questions, give the article an overall ranking ofReliable, Partially Reliable or Unreliable.

• You may use a Reliable article as a source (but remember that even if a Wikipedia article is reliable, it should never be your only source on a topic!)
  
• You may use a Partially Reliable article as a starting point for your research, and may use some
  of its references as sources, but do not us it as a source.
  
• You should not use an Unreliable article as a source or a starting point. Research the same topic in a different encyclopedia.

How did you rank this article (Reliable, Partially Reliable or Unreliable)? Give at least three reasons to support
your answer.

---

---

EducChat

Wikipedia Questions?

a. What is Wikipedia? is a web-based encyclopedia. Ran by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organisation. 

b. How would you answer the question posed in this piece “How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it? Well, according to Wikipedia it only works in practice not in theory. We are suppose to know what is valid and what isn't.

c. Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation? Whoever is on the website watching it.

d. Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia? He said he wanted to give his authority to the "experts"

e. What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page? At first you wouldn't be able to tell. It would look like the rest of the page however if the information was so outrageous than it would stand out.

f. What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal? That the website it growing rapidly.

g. Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful? I think that it is successful because it is the first site that appears when searching for information. Because Wikipedia is an "encyclopedia" people trust it to be a reliable site. The site also contains hundreds of easy to read, easy to get information on whatever subject searched.  

h. Why might Wikipedia’s creators not want to accept advertising? With making 3 million and only having to pay $5,000 they see no reason in trying to advertise. Whatever they are doing is obviously working for them so why should they risk it with advertising?

i. How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries? The authors  can remain anonymous. 

Website Evaluation

Website Evaluation

 1. Who is the source of the information?
The website doesn't say. It tells the people who "work" at the island but doesn't say who is the source of the information.


2. What are you getting?
I think that this island is a scam. It tries to make you seem like they are all for the happiness of your dog. But if you look at the pictures one is a dog being shipped to the island; they are put in a closed wooden box! Thrown to survive by themselves on an island?..and another picture where dogs are "greeting" each other I'm pretty sure when dogs greet one another and are happy to see another dog they don't show their teeth.


3. When was the site created?
The website never said when it was published, but I'm guessing it was in 2003, because that is when the copyright was.


4. Where?
The only address is .com anyone could have created the site from anywhere, they never tell you where they are from or where the island is located.


5. Why are you here?
To give my evaluation on this website. 


6. How can you tell what's what?
It shows labels and links but I think very poor information.


I don't think that is a very valid website. There is so much information not given, it seems a little fishy to  me. From what I saw/read I wouldn't want to send my dog to this island. If they had more information given and who created and where it might pass for a valid website.

Statistical Activity

Questions 4 & 5:

This graph shows all reading levels for grade 11. The scores are pretty low and around the same averages, but the Special Education actually has the highest scores when it comes to their reading. Whereas, most the students range from 25-35%. 

Excel Data..

1.What type of skewness? The skewness of this graph is either positive or negative.

2.Where is the distribution of most concentrated?The way the graph looks it is concentrating on math and the lowest/highest scores received.  

3.How is the data dispersed?  The data is dispersed by the lines continue to increase in the center average  score. The lines can also decrease if the score are lower than average or the previous grade. 

My Voki (:

It wouldn't let me put all of my teaching philosophy so I just added my main points.

Education is the key to life! It can open doors to so many opportunities and help you become a successful person. It is important to teach children the skills they will need for the job force. Due to the fact that we live in a technology based world, we need to teach children how to use technology.  Integrating technology in the classroom will help better prepare students for jobs that lay ahead in the future.  This will allow students to obtain the knowledge and skills they need they need in life. Technology needs to be integrated into the classroom so that students will be equipped for the future jobs that are not even around yet. It is up to us as educators to teach children the things they need to be successful, and it goes beyond the books now, we need to introduce them to a whole new way of learning using technology.

Journal Posting #7

Quote: " Schools in the United States generally have lagged behind (Hobbs & Frost, 2003). U.S. students may learn something about evaluating sources in research paper assignments and learn to recognize propaganda in social studies, but that's often the extent of their media literacy instruction. Even though students are spending more and more time on the Internet and teachers increasingly expect their students to do assignments online, digital media literacy skills are vastly underrepresented in the curriculum for all but the most advanced students (as, indeed, are offline critical-thinking and reading-comprehension skills)."

Reaction:
I know that our education system is lagging behind other countries, especially in technology and knowing that scares me. What were to happen if another country became so advanced and we’re still stuck back in the “old” technology times?  I really believe that teachers need to understand how much of an impact it plays on our society now and how important it is. Sure, children use internet and all the cool gadgets that are available now but teacher shouldn't assume that students know what they are doing. They need to be taught the right way to use technology and all the amazing things that can be done! We shouldn’t be scared of it, we should embrace it because technology has brought us so far, we don’t want to be left behind. 

This picture shows how technology can be used in the classroom.

Resources:

David, Jane L. "Educational Leadership:Literacy 2.0:Teaching Media Literacy." Membership, Policy, and Professional Development for Educators – ASCD. 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2011.http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx.
Picture of students on the computer:
http://tinyurl.com/3un7f36

Magazine cover..

Media Literacy..

Quote:
 "Teaching must capitalize on students' preferred literacy behaviors online. For example, since we know that they are speed-reading and skimming online, that they prefer clicks to scrolling and that they will rarely read below the "fold" (Nielsen, 2002), we can teach quick ways to assess and credibility."


Reaction:


Reference:

I think that teachers need to focus on teaching students how to “read” media literacy. Because I know that as a college student I fast skim a lot of what I read, in elementary school I was taught to skim through reading and pick out the main points which was before the intense of internet.  Now that we have so much information and different ways to interoperate the information it is important for students to be taught to really “read into” the information given.  While there is nothing wrong with quick reading, the students must know what they grasped from what they saw/read and actually understand it. If teachers teach the Seven Lens ways students would have a much clearer way of understanding media literacy.  

Abilock, D. (2002 April 21) Seven Power Lenses.https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6DFAmexYq7vMTFmZjZhNWItZWY5Ni00NzdhLWIxYzItMmE4NmI0MGI5NzJl&hl=en

This video talks about how teachers and parents should inform students about media literacy.

Related Resource: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZzRomtKj88

Photo Post..

What questions do the caption and article title raise in your mind?
The questions that enter my mind when looking at this picture is "Why are they all dressed very casually?" To me when a president and other officials have something important to do, like the oil leak, they shouldn't be dressed in "church" clothes, but rather business attire. This incident was HUGE when it happened and all over people were concerned with the effects it would. By dressing less-casual and more determined I think would make everyone feel better about what they were doing to fix the problem. The second question that "Where are all the officials at?" because this was such a disaster I thought that there would be a lot more men/women there. Like environmental officials, mayors to the other states effects, more people from Obama's office, and to my surprise there wasn't a whole of of body guards. 

People	Objects	Activities
President Obama	obviously the president.	The mannerism that he is carrying out.He's even smiling but questionable face whether he can do the claim.
A National Guard	The Sea/ Boat tower	While the one the left is watching the sea, the one on the right is more concerned with Obama and the surrounding people.
Guy in the Green shirt on the left	Mayor I believe.	He has a look of relief on his face. Isn't how I pictured a mayor, pretty laid back.
The guys on the right	All just kind of walking.	They are all casual dressed, smiling and looking like they're on a mission but just enjoying the walk. But they are all there for support for Obama.

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-06-15/news/27067245_1_hostage-crisis-oil-spill-obama-risks

What questions do the caption and article title raise in your mind?
Makes me wonder if our president is confident enough to fix the problem. 

Which picture gives you more confidence in the presidents leadership abilities? Why?
The first picture gives me more confident about Obama's leadership. Between the two pictures the one of just him looks like Obama is at a lose, and he had no idea how to react to this situation. If he can't handle this situation then what else won't he be able to handle. Whereas the first one you can see the confidence is higher than the one whose looking worried and in the first picture he is not just thinking but he is doing.  

People	Objects	Activities
Obama	facial expression	worried
Obama	facial expression	confused

Why Digital Stories are a great tool..

Digital Story telling is a great tool to use in the classroom because it expands the child's creativity. The technology is somewhat simple, most of the teacher's now are familiar with PowerPoint and Digital Storytelling is an updated version really. Students start with a story they want to tell, it could be about a history or for writing/reading or reports to present to the class. This is a great way to allow students to think chronic logically and organize their thoughts while being creative in their story. Digital Stories will help promote schools because it'll advance their knowledge of technology and improve their thinking skills with a new fun way! It engages students be creative and inspire them to think outside-the-box. 


A few ideas for lesson plans

Copyright Questions..

 1. Yes, Students can upload their videos to YouTube as long as there are a credit page that gives recognition to the original author, artist, etc..and students should have a separate page for copyright information. 


2. The Limitations on the copyrighted music there should be no alterations, the music should only last 30 seconds. But illustrations may be used entirely.  BUT no more than 5 images of a certain artist work or photography. 

The Music- 10% of copyrighted music and body of sound recording, but only 30 seconds for both.
and any alternations can't change the basic melody or character of the work.


3. Do you need to request permission from the original creator in order to use copyrighted material in multimedia project for school related assignment? If the project follow and meet all the guide lines and used for educational 
purposes only than there is no need to ask for permission. However, if it were to be used beyond education than you do need permission. 

The video is a sing-a-long about copyright and what it is. 






http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.html

VIDEO! (:

 I had so much fun creating one and I will definitely use this in my classroom. I hope you guys enjoyed watching my story, thanks for watching it!

The World of Digital Storytelling..

Quote: "Creating a digital story taps skills and talents- in art, media production, storytelling, project development, and so on- that might otherwise lie dormant within many students but will serve them well in school, at work, and in expressing themselves personally..." 
(Ohler, December, 2005). 


Reaction:  

I wish I all this technology was around when I was in elementary school. The only thing we had were those thick white computers we rarely used. When we did use the only “cool” technology thing was PowerPoint nothing like what the students have now to mess around with. I think that Digital storytelling sound like so much fun! It gives the students more ways to be creative and lets them become familiar with technology. Just like Ohler stated “it will tap skills and talents- in arts, media production, storytelling, project development and so on”. This will really give the students a chance to be creative and make their own story. I also think students will enjoy creating their story rather than PowerPoint or orally reading it because it gives them the chance to really make the connection between the story and how to incorporate technology.  

Relative Resource:
I chose this video because students at Oak Hill School "LOVE DIGITAL STORYTELLING!!" it also gives a students perspective on it and it shares their process in making one. Here's the link go check it out! (: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUZXBc6yRhU&feature=related


Reference:

Ohler, Jason (2005, December). The World of Digital Storytelling.  Retrieved from

     http://www.jasonohler.com/pdfs/digitalStorytellingArticle1-2006.pdf

Oh, the phases of language

Quote:
"Whether texting conventions are supported by organized spelling reformists or not, can they possibly solve the difficulty of spelling our troublesome language? David Crystal, the author of “Txtng: The Gr8 Db8,” told me in an e-mail message that “there’s nothing in texting to suggest spelling reform,” noting that texting relies heavily on abbreviations, which he sees as creative stylings, not systematic improvements. He added that there is very little that is new about most of the abbreviations and lexical shortenings that make texting so maddening to so many. In fact, he said, with the exception of a few recent coinages like LOL, “virtually all the commonly used ones can be found in English a century ago.” For example, bn (been), btwn (between) and wd (would) can all be found in a 1942 dictionary of abbreviations" (Ammon Shea).


Reaction:
My opinion about the “new” way of language is just a phase. There had always been abbreviations and there will continue to be abbreviations. I agree with what David Crystal “there’s nothing in texting to suggest spelling reform,” meaning that texting will not hurt the way a child spells; it is only a way of being creative. Due to the fact that texting is so popular now will increase the ROFL’s, OMG’s etc…but with technology advancing texting might become something of the past or the craze for it will die down. If there were abbreviations dating back to 1942 it didn’t hurt the literacy rates then so I doubt it will hurt it now. Laziness will hurt the language not texting.







I found this picture (comic) and thought it fit. And who knows this just might be how the Spelling Bees are in future (:

 Resources:
Ammon Shea, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/magazine/24FOB-onlanguage-t.html.
http://www.cartoonshock.com/

The new spoken language..

My partner, James and I worked on creating this little comic to show that even older generations are catching onto the younger generations of communication. They might find it confusing but it's a littler eaiser to say.

I learned how I learn..

My scores for theVARK questionnaire are:
Visual: 6
Aural: 6
Read/Write: 12
Kinesthetic: 7

According to the test I learn best by reading/writing. Which surprised me, because I thought I was a visual learner, pictures or demonstrations always made the learning easier for me. In order for me to learn and  actually understand it I have to be shown examples or being told step by step problems. I can't glance at something and automatically know it, so maybe reading/writing was the best way I learn. After reading about read/write and how the best way to learn are the following: Intake, SWOT (study w/o tears) and Output. I read that and that is exactly how I do learn, I just never knew that. 

Poll Everywhere and Wordle..

Wordle and Poll Everywhere are some really great tools to use in a classroom. Wordle is  a tool that turns text/words into a graph. Poll Everywhere lets students/teacher set up polls for their peers or answer question about homework. Technology needs to be brought into the classroom and what better way to then to use fun, interactive way. Both sites get the students involved using simple technology that anyone can use, even cell phones can be used and what does a student like better than to use their phone in class. Little things such as Wordle and Poll Everywhere will make learing more enjoyable for students.

In the classroom Worrdle could be used mulitple ways in a classroom, spellng tests, speeches, a get-to-know-eachother activity. It is a fun way to have students be creative about their writing and spelling. It helps promote spelling and freedom of expression. They can design it how they want and make it fun which might be a good study tool for words they need help with. Poll Everywhere could be along with math. The students could use their phone or computer to answer the question they think is right. This could be done with any subject, and it helps the students who don't like answering questions outloud.

The ISTE NETS-T  is a big promotor to using technology in the classroom. Using both tools are a way for students to develop, educate and create using simple and neat technology. Makes learning fun!

Txt lang

Quote: "Before we despair that language is going to hell in a handcart, we should remember two lessons. First, normativeness in language goes through cycles, much like taste in music and politics. All is not lost. And second, regardless of the swings that language goes through, there is room for individual schools or teachers to set their own standards. Most schools have abandoned teaching handwriting, but a few have held their ground, to the good fortune of their students. Just so, if you choose to insist on written precision, students generally will follow your lead (Lenhart, Smith, & Macgill, 2008)."

Reaction:

I do not think that our language has gone to pot. Like the quote said “language goes through cycles, much like taste in music and politics” this is just a phase/craze that is happening now due to all the advantages in technology. I do believe that there is a certain time and place to be putting LOLs and BTWs; paper assignments probably not the best spot for those. This text language won’t affect students writing, they know when to speak and write informally and formally.  Yes, abbreviations are the way younger generations communicate but if they are taught when the appropriate time to use it this will not be something to worry about.

Reference:

Baron, Naomi. (2009, March). are digital media changing language. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-Digital-Media-Changing-Language%C2%A2.aspx

Related Resource: This video interviews students and teachers about their opinions on abbreviations affecting learning. It also talks about how students relies too much on technology when it comes to writing papers.

Oh and here's a website I found that has a bunch of acronyms that I didn't even know existed! CTO (check this out)

The Polls are IN!

The type of teacher I want to be..

My Poll (:

Click here to view my poll about music.

Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade!

Quote: "The new classroom should teach the huge array of complex skills that come under the heading of digital literacy. And it should make students accountable on the Web, where they should regularly be aiming, from grade-school on, to contribute to a wide range of wiki projects." (Heffernan, August 7, 2011)

My Reaction:
I agree with this statement, I think that our education system is behind on technology and that we need to expand the classroom to prep the students for technology based world. We shouldn’t be scared to teach them about it; it will be able to expand what we know and help the students for the future. Teachers shouldn’t be worried about the usage of technology in the classroom because children now are being raised with an array of devices so it won’t be like they couldn’t understand it and the students will only benefit from it. They will be able to learn just as well using different cites and devices just as well as reading a book or writing a paper AND they might actually have fun doing it. Making learning fun? No that can’t happen..but with a little technology that just might happen.

Reference :

Heffernan, V. (2011, August 7). Education needs a digital upgrade. Retrieved from http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/education-needs-a-digital-age-upgrade/?hp

 

Related Resource: In this video it mentions how technology can be used in the classroom and how it will help not hurt their learning, which I totally agree with. Also it tells how the students are growing up with technology everywhere else but in school.

Hello (:

 Hello peoples my name is Carrie Slaughter, I'm from Morgantown. I'm a Junior at FSU majoring in Elementary Education, obviously, I have two grades that I would like to teach, 3rd or 1st grade. Because those were two of my favorite grades. I think that children learn the best by hand-on activities, so therefore I will try to engage my students with activities that go along with the lesson. But I am aware of the other learner types so I will try my best to incorporate each one in each lesson to make learning fun. Hope you enjoy my page!