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CEO 810 Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 23:46:00 +0000

In your entry, talk about how your professional practice will change because of the work you've done in this course. Also, address questions that remain for you. What do you still need to figure out? What new questions have you developed because of the work you have done?

Throughout this course, I have reflected a lot on my technology practices both for myself as a learner and for my students. I admit, I am not the typical student completing this course. For most, it is the launching point for their Masters in Educational Technology. For me, I completed my masters back in 2013, and have acted as an instructional technology facilitator for the past 5 years, only now, entering back into the classroom.

In week 3, we examined our Professional Learning Network (PLN), something that educators should do on a regular basis. It is essential to be sure that you are staying connected to others not only in your grade level, or school level, but around the country and around the world. Technology brings such a power to educators now that we do not have to teach in a silo and do as we have always done. The world is full of experts and eager learners, hoping to connect and share. Embrace it. It has been my professional development goal to participate in more edchats, with the plan to be affiliated with or aid in facilitating. In my new district, I would like to get these going. I'm curious, how do I begin? How are channels like this started? What steps are needed or taken to facilitate?

Many of the weeks involved tools I was already familiar with, or practices already in place in my classroom and profession. For example, my students have already begun Genius Hour, learning a skill or topic online through the expertise of others. We are using Google Classroom as our platform. In my Networked Learning Project, it caused me to reflect more on the process of learning and exploration. I will bring my struggles and findings to my classroom with my students to aid in this process.

Lastly, I think the final week, on Creative Commons, has proven most beneficial to me. Copyright and safe searching have been two items I have emphasized with staff in the past. As teachers, we are notorious for infringement for the "sake of the children." A common mantra, is not to ask permission, but rather to beg for forgiveness. These resources are great and I hope to use these with my team and my school to help inform them as to how we can utilize resources, but also the affordances that our students may have in their creativity or transformation of other material. My questions surround this and other content forums, as well as open source and the connection between. How can I protect projects and ideas I have and share to the public? When developing curriculum, where does the intellectual property lie? If creating it while working for the district is it their property? These questions and more involve my work in curriculum writing, with the hope to eventually produce a consulting business and curriculum development. How can I protect myself and ensure I am not infringing on others?

Moving forward I hope to increase the creative opportunities for my students while using Chromebooks. I strive to go further than the basics, and hit that sweet spot of TPACK to transform their learning. I want to go beyond the typical tasks and really have them apply their learning to create something new, something unique, something original. I want to empower students to make their digital footprint for the better.

Cooking with TPACK

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 02:21:00 +0000

This week in CEP 810, I revisited TPACK and the critical relationship that technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge should play in all lesson planning for the classroom. When designing student learning utilizing technology, teachers are often motivated by new shiny tools or apps. As an educator, we need to think critically about the way in which that tool will support the methods of learning and the content being covered. Although this was not a new concept to me, Dr. Kohler and Dr. Mishra recorded a video explaining TPACK in further detail.

In my activity, we had to apply TPACK to cooking, and having the right (or wrong) tools to complete a task. In this case, the technology was an ice cream scoop, a glass tea plate, and a wooden salad bowl. The content I was trying to learn or accomplish was making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Therefore the process was somewhat up to me how I achieved the task, different from how I typically would make a sandwich. The first challenge I faced was that we didn't have any jelly. So I attempted the task with just a peanut butter sandwich.

Here's my attempt:

In my experience, we can often adapt a tool or use something in a different way just to skate by and get the task done. However, when using the right tool, efficiency and accuracy are greatly increased. I think it is so easy to be eager to try a new technology just because it's new, however, we need to really ensure that the tool we are using is helping the learner through pedagogy to comprehend the content knowledge.

On their website, tpack.org, they have a plethora of resources about finding that sweet spot where TPACK truly occurs. They describe the difference between just TK, or CK, or PK, and having some overlap with TPK, TCK, or PCK.

As an instructional technology facilitator, it was my role to make sure that teachers were not distracted by technology, to lose sight of the curriculum goals or the best practices in pedagogy to get the students there. It is incredible the way that technology can motivate, engage, and truly transform the learning when done with purpose and intention.

Final Network Learning Project Update

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 00:06:00 +0000

This topic has been especially challenging to learn strictly from YouTube and help forums. With baking, I am instantly drawn to talking to those I aspire to be in the kitchen, and reading the comments and conversations on recipes. There is so much wisdom to glean from others, but I found those who posted in forums were not always very creditable sources.

this comment for example, this person has no experience with sourdough And as I mentioned in the last post, sometimes it is challenging to find videos from those you connect with.

My reflection and overview:

Given my progress over these 4 weeks, I decided it was more feasible for me to focus on getting a starter going for sourdough. Let me talk you through my journey. I watched several videos, as I mentioned in post number 2, but had a few failures.

Looking back, attempt one. The first attempt I expected success immediately, so when the water and flour separated, I threw it out and started over. How hard could it be? Water + flour = yeasty sourdough starter. Wrong. I had also used measuring cups for this, but I couldn’t leave anything else up to chance. I bought a kitchen scale.

Using measuring cups, I started small as many forums suggested.

So I tried again, this time was much better, right around our update post. I was eagerly awaiting. I was nervous as the water and flour separated, so I stirred and made another one.

Separation

The next couple days I noticed little bubbles. We have had a really cold, rainy week here in northern Michigan. I began looking at forums relating to temperature and sourdough starters. I saw a lot of posts about the temperature being too warm. If it is too cold, yeast slows and becomes more dormant, but many keep their starter in the fridge long-term. The bubbles didn’t look exactly like the videos I had seen, so I tried to find a warmer place to leave it. I also covered it with a tea towel at this point instead of a lid, which, as I read, allowed it to breathe a little more.

Look! It’s alive and bubbling! A little

More days passed and I was required to feed it. This was tricky so I started another starter just in case. To “feed” the starter, you have to discard part of it, and then replenish it with water and flour so that the yeast has fresh flour to feed on. At this point it really started to smell. That is one aspect that is hard to get from a video. Remove 1/2 the starter (which I put in another jar), and add 1 c flour, and 1/2 c warm water.

Apparently at this point, your starter should really be growing. It took mine a little longer and I had to wait to feed it again, but then it started to grow and it looked much better – or at least more like the videos.

It’s growing!

All in all this was a very beneficial learning process! I realized that some of my fears of yeast are certainly warranted, as it is a tricky critter to keep a live and keep growing. I may have needed a more introductory bread to get me started.

Moving forward, I would not learn baking in this way, but I see the benefits for other contexts. There were a lot of pros and cons:

21st Century Learning in the Math Classroom

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I have been very fortunate at my school to have 1:1 Chromebooks which allows me to take learning further, while increasing engagement. We utilize a lot of technology in our classroom to enhance their learning, but this week’s reading really pushed my thinking about the tools and how we are using them. Although we are lucky to have Chromebooks, I am unlucky to have to teach math with extremely outdated textbooks. In order to support student learning, I supplement a lot.

Here is a lesson plan I have created for perimeter, to utilize more technology to reach my students. This lesson is structured as an “investigation” in our textbook, but does not set the students up for success. This lesson is often very dry in a textbook, given arbitrary scenarios in farming and planting a garden. Students are often disengaged and unable to envision what that situation really looks like. Utilizing technology, I am to engage students at various points in the lesson, gain real-time input on their understanding, keep students accountable, and allow them to learn through play.

After direct instruction and formative assessments, using peardeck and google forms, students move on to practice with play using Spheros. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011) emphasize that “All systems of play are, at base, learning systems” (p.97). It is essential for us to build time into lessons for students to play. Furthermore, they state “(Play) are ways of engaging in complicated negotiations of meaning, interaction, and competition, not only for entertainment, but also for creating meaning” (p.97). Previously I worked with a kids museum to emphasize the power of play and learning, my county even developed a magnet theme surrounding the concept of play. When we allow the time, and provide the constructs, students make play an extremely memorable and helpful learning experience.

My goal is to provide students with various opportunities to demonstrate proficiency with the standard and objectives. In the beginning of the lesson, I gain a baseline of understanding, then scaffold the instruction to build on their background. After participating and practicing, they again have an opportunity to demonstrate proficiency, before moving on to the next level of the learning. Utilizing Sphero requires them to use more critical thinking skills and reasoning while working with a team. Not only do they need to be accurate in their measurements, but understand the level of coding to command the robot to move along the perimeter of the shape. All students in the group have a job to 1. measure, 2. command, 3. drive, 4. check and improve. The reiterative nature of using robotics in math, pushes students to strive for perfection while taking interest in the learning process. Another goal, as Hobbs emphasizes, is to promote curiosity. I hope that using these tools will spark curiosity and creativity in my students for the future.

You can view the lesson plan here.

Workshop Research Cliffnotes

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:10:00 +0000

(1) Your research question

What are the best practices and methodology for upper elementary students in Common Core State Standards to be successful in reading and writing?

(2) The intended population you wish to study (examples may include my 3rd grade students, my fellow teachers, my school's curricula/standards, etc.).

My population will be focused this fall on my 4th grade students, but will also look into the practices of other teachers within out school. We are just now switching to Common Core and I am curious to see how reading and writing instruction changes to reflect the changes in the standards. I will implement workshops in my classroom and use the results to show growth versus my instruction last year.

(3) What you plan on measuring in your study (student learning, teacher attitudes, history of an educational practice, usage of technology, etc.).

I will measure student learning in regards to their ability to read and write. The basis for the change in curriculum and practices is based upon the educational research and theories that have been published in the past.

(4) How you plan on acquiring the data for your study (a test, a survey, historical documents, etc.).

I will collect writing samples from the beginning of the year, as well as previous year's writing samples from their student portfolios. I will use research based measures for data improvement such as Reading 3D and rubrics to show the students' growth. I plan to survey teachers on their practices, while following my counting plan, to find out how much time is truly dedicated to literacy each day in every class.

(5) Which general form of design you intend to employ

This study will primarily be qualitative, although I feel that there should be some quantitative data used, for reading I would use data and I would survey teachers and students to get their take on the workshops. As for qualitative, this may involve a variety of data collection. For example, through interactive, I would observe the collective classroom as a social group and the conversations had through ethnographic research, but also may have a specific case study of students in my classroom and possibly others. Ideally, I would achieve a triangulation design for research, so that there is less subjectivity in the qualitative findings.

Counting Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:29:00 +0000

Two cups of coffee, two halves of plain bagel, two tablespoons of cream cheese, eight hours of sleep, and one happy morning. I often think of counting things on a regular basis, as strange as that seems. I tend to think quantitatively about the frequency of things, for example, yesterday I had the hiccups three times and sneeze seven today. There are so many numbers that rule our daily routines and affect our lives that we rarely think about. I think it is safe to say that the most commonly counted item for adults are calories, whether they are consumed or spent and for children how many songs are on their ipod or levels achieved on a video game. I think it says a lot about a person, if you asked them one quantity from their day or life, what would they say?

In the teacher world, my focus is completely different. How many of my students say please or thank you? How long does it take the average student to go to the bathroom and at what length of time should I be concerned? How many students are present today? How many copies do I make of this assignment? How many pages did they read for homework? My daily life is consumed by numbers at school, and I am only a reading teacher. The increasing amount of data driven instruction adds to those numbers, how many students mastered the concept? How many words did they read in a minute? What is their AR level and how many points is that book worth? It is truly shocking when you think about the countless numbers we encounter regularly.

I would like my counting plan to tie into my research topic. How many minutes are students given to write (or read) in one day? This count will be collected as a poll from all teachers anonymously. In that poll I would also ask the subject they teach. Moving to Common Core Standard Course of Study, literacy should be present in every classroom regardless of the subject. Students may read nonfiction texts and respond to them, they should read and write word problems in math, they should be able to explain and justify their answers, they should be able to explain the process they followed to reach that solution, etc.

I would like to count this because research states that students should spend at least 90 minutes a day in literacy. I am afraid that although they are getting a 90 minute literacy block (in some grades), that instructional time is being somewhat lost and the 90 minutes are not preserved. Another concern may be the honesty of the teachers completing the poll. Using the information, I would be able to support other teachers to incorporate reading and writing in their lessons, or encourage teachers to find other ways to allow students additional literacy time.

By including literacy in all classrooms, reading and writing become interdisciplinary and will make up for the instructional minutes lost in Language Arts class. These results may also support the need for additional time spent reading and writing or homework, to insure that 90 minutes are spent daily. The connection of literacy between the classroom and home is also supported by the research I found. Literacy cannot stop at the end of the school day, they need to see the continuation of reading and writing in all aspects of their life. To truly be proficient according to Common Core, students need to see the ties of literacy across all subjects and dedicate the time to practicing those skills. Through this counting plan, it would confirm or deny the need for additional efforts in all classes to allow for literacy to take place, and may even prove that this may be an immediate concern. If proven that very little time is dedicated daily, then it would further emphasize the need for writing workshop in all Language Arts classroom, and may change the way that my school looks at literacy and our curriculum. Additionally, this could lead to action research through which a team of teachers really evaluates and practices a variety of ways through which literacy can be used in other subjects (math, science, social studies, even the specials classes – art and music). This counting plan may lead a realization and confirmation that there is not enough time truly utilized for literacy in the day.

Literature Review

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:26:00 +0000

Writing Workshop and Common Core Standard Course of Study: Teaching students to be Writers

Introduction

Topic:

Writing is the format through which thoughts, understanding, and opinions are published and shared and for too long, writing has been pushed aside in the classroom to allow for more instructional time for math and reading. How can we deny the connection between writing and all subjects, do they not go hand in hand? As schools continue to evolve and adapt to the changing student, writing should be at the forefront of all communication. Adoption of the Common Core Standard Course of Study requires students to explain their thinking and justify their answers, which means, being able to express their ideas and understanding in words, through writing. The topic that has been so long ignored must reemerge into every subject and every classroom. Not only must teachers begin teaching student to write, but also this involves instruction on grammar, conventions, and spelling. It is necessary to make up for the years they have lacked in writing experience and make years of growth in just one year to ensure that students are competitive in their academics. Schools must adopt a writing program to encourage the writer in every child.

General Overview of the Literature:

Research supports that schools are in need of a Writer’s Workshop and the characteristics that should be involved. However, there are several quality programs to choose from, but what makes an excellent workshop? In reviewing literature by several researchers, Donald Graves, Nancie Atwell, Jane Hansen, Mark Dressman, and others who have great contributed to the study, there are certain characteristics that were interlaced and supported by nearly all of the experts. A workshop should involve student led discussions and allow for freedom of choice in their writing. According to Fletcher and Portalupi, “…Young writers work best when they feel a sense of ownership – personal investment – in their writing…” giving them a “this really matters to me feeling as they write,” (p. 23) if a teacher cannot invest the students the workshop may be a lost cause (2001). When teachers release control to the students, they are able to explore and learn on their own. It is also evident that one of the most important criteria for an effective workshop is allowing for time; students need the time to brainstorm, write, confer, and revise their writing. All researchers were in favor of choice for students in their writing, but also promoted worthy questions that also affect a writer’s voice and development.

Rationale:

Common Core Standard Course of Study requires students to effective explain their reasoning and thoughts across the curriculum, schools are in need of a writing program that is supported by data research. Teaching writing is hard; it is a collection of skills that require other subject knowledge and ability to put thoughts into words (Fletcher, 2001). As there is plenty of research around writing, the focus of this literature review will be in the overall environment in the classroom to foster excellent youth writers. Denise Leograndis identifies four primary goals for writing workshop: build a safe writing community, establish rituals and routines, generate lots of thinking, talk and writing, and develop the understanding that all good writing has meaning, detail, structure, and pacing (2008). Therefore, the majority of research fell into three major aspects that must be present for a successfully workshop: proper teacher modeling, students routinely given time to write, and opportunity for student choice.

Body

Kinds of Work Reviewed:

To form an educated opinion, one should consider scholarly research from a variety of studies, case studies, reviews, and articles. Many of these researchers are interrelated and often discuss the others’ research in their own. It seemed that many built their theories and studies based upon another’s. Lucy Calkins and Donald Graves studied and researched together, which led to many findings involving each other’s work. One such study by Graves and Calkins that related to the revision process of students (1991). This research also contained his case study featured in Research in the Teaching of English that looks specifically at the writing process of seven-year-old children. All the research pointed conclusively to the need for writing workshop in the classroom environment, but differed slightly as to what need to be emphasized in that workshop (1975). All agreed to the development of student choice to develop themselves as authors. Mark Dressman conducted his research by reviewing the procedures of reading initiatives in to states, Texas and California. Although not direct research upon the writing program, reading and writing should not be separated, which included the emphasis on explicit teaching to marry reading and writing in the classroom setting (1999). Primarily this research seemed to be qualitative research based on the observations of students and their interaction within the classroom. This type of subject is difficult to support with data analysis because students vary in countless ways. However, the results are conclusive; writing workshop is a necessary aspect for teaching student writers with specific characteristics involved, but primary emphasis upon student choice within their own writing development.

Description of selected important works:

Writing should be an opportunity for students to have a choice and a voice in the classroom and their writing. Nancie Atwell (1985), references to Lucy Calkin’s idea of an “underground curriculum” of the students’ ideas and knowledge, which the teacher too often ignores. It should not be the teacher’s role to assign mandatory writing topics, but rather demonstrate good writing habits for students to imitate and make their own. By modeling and participating, the teacher demonstrates that each student has their own story to tell. According to Donald Graves and Lucy Calkins research, students should develop as writers by having the opportunities of authors: “daily time for writing, conferences with teachers, and peers, and opportunities to draft, revise, and publish their writing; most significantly they took responsibility for deciding what and why and for whom they would write” (p. 35). This is a necessary freedom for children to find their own author’s voice. Furthermore, the recognition for the need of time, talk, and reading all play an important role in writing. This journal, really hit upon many aspects that I have found must be in a writing workshop for maximum success in the development of student writers. That being said, one of the most important aspects is creating the proper classroom environment where students feel able to write freely and bring out the author inside, whomever that may be (Atwell, 1985).

Gender and environment can affect the type of writer a student becomes. Through a case study of a seven-year-old child, Donald Graves (1975), finds after observing students’ writing, the classroom setting in which this occurred, analyzing writing samples, and looking at the interventions of the teachers in those classrooms, that “learning environments, sex differences in writing, developmental factors and the writing process” (p.234). Thus proving that students need a relaxed environment to be able to write freely and independently and recognizing the difference in the needs of students based on gender. These conclusions led him to the classification of two writers that students may become due to these factors: reactive or reflective. Understanding the ways in which students write and their writing styles, allows a teacher to better mold the workshop to fit those writing needs. For example, reflective writers do not usually need as much time before writing, and often revise frequently at a phrasal level. However, the needs of these two writers are very different and by recognizing their strengths and weaknesses, and providing support for both, the teacher would ensure that a proper environment, conducive to their writing is produced. It takes time for a student to truly develop who they are as a writer (Graves, 1975).

Students need ample time to routinely practice the writing process. After reviewing the practices in two highly regarded states for eduction, Dressman (1999), found the need for curriculums to proide “explicit, systematic instruction…” (p. 278). Not only must a writing program encourage writers, but also students need consistency and instruction when they write. It is through these lessons and teacher modeling that students observe proper skills for writing and truly learn and internalize the writing process. (Dressman, 1999).

Teachers are active learners and model the writing process for student learning in the classroom. As teachers, we should continually be learning and growing in our profession, as we do through professional development. Jane Hansen and Donald Graves (1986), emphasized the importance of the teacher actively portraying a learner in the classroom. Not only should teachers teach, but they should learn from their students as well, giving students ample time to be teachers in the classroom. Teachers should attend professional development, read educational literature, or even do research, and demonstrate this continual growth to their students as a model for students to imitate their learning habits. Similarly, the teacher needs to demonstrate the act of selecting topics and the writing process, especially revision, for students to truly grow in their writing (Hansen & Graves, 1986).

Students demonstrate sophistication of writing. As students develop as writers, their stories become more descriptive and detailed. Donald Graves (1991), found that character development is a primary characteristic to show development in a child’s writing. He goes on to address poetry, as another form of development. Lucy Calkins (1994), mentions poetry beginning with songs and chants, where students are able to the sounds of their writing, but Graves says students are developed when they are able to understand what information is necessary to the piece and what is superfluous. Students can fall into the trap of writing what they think the teacher wants, but advanced development shows when they truly act as a writer and find their own voice. Their growth as a writer leads to appreciation of author’s craft, in turn developing their overall literacy (Graves, 1991).

Literacy development through reading and writing is critical in students. For true literacy development, workshops must develop students as lifelong readers and writers. Referencing other great researchers, Nancie Atwell, Lucy Calkins, and Donald Graves, Mark Dressman (1993), creates the statement “students largely read silently and independently from books of their choice and dialogue with teachers and classmates through response journals, while promising to transform the reluctant readers…into lifelong loves of books and into critical, literate citizens, are also, by design, a socially reproductive practice” (p. 258). That is the true purpose of literacy development and the workshop program. However, as readers and writers, literacy cannot be confined to the classroom (Dressman, 1993).

Writing should bridge the connection between home and school. Connecting home and school can be a great challenge, but with a literacy program that embraces and enables parents to be an active participant in their student’s life is what every school needs. By having a program in which the teacher has more control over the content and subjects taught, they are able to incorporate lessons and texts that reinforce the lives of their students. Although this article discusses greatly, ways in which to involve parents, the relevance lies in the flexibility allowed through various reading workshops that is not allowed through textbook programs. As McCarthey emphasizes, understanding their students’ backgrounds is important so that the teacher may “alter curriculum and discourse patterns to include all children,” and strictly following a textbook of stories through which families cannot relate, will not bridge the gap from classroom to home. Through workshop style curriculum, the teacher would be able to reinforce those connections and allow parents to be a great part of their student’s literacy development (McCarthey, 2000).

Conclusion

How your work is informed by the work of others:

After extensive research, I have found the criteria upon which to base a writing workshop. The research has been very conclusive as to what the teacher should provide and what the students must bring to the workshop. Many of the articles and books I reviewed led to similar conclusions as to the emphasis of writing workshop. I now understand that workshops should be primarily student led in conferences and discussion of topics. Although the teacher must set an example and provide instructional mini-lessons, for the students to use, the teacher must allow student choice to play the primary role in their writing. The workshops purpose is for the students to find their voice in their writing. The element of choice for students was evident in nearly all the researchers’ works. Prior to this research, my understanding of a workshop was to provide plentiful writing prompts for students to choose from and that would allow them choice. It seemed more teacher led, the teacher choosing topics for the students to follow and practice a skill of writing daily. However, I have found that this is not the case; the best word for the teacher that I have found is “facilitator.” Lucy Calkins emphasizes that this is not the case, as teachers we should gradually release the responsibility, initially helping students to brainstorm, but in the end the students should choose a topic that is meaningful to them. Fletcher and Portalupi (2001), put it best in saying that students must have the “this really matters to me” (p. 23), feeling in their writing. If a student is not invested in telling their story, then they are unable to create the detailed piece with proper character development that is necessary for a proficient writer.

Without doubt, my vision of a writing workshop has drastically changed and as I had mentioned before, countless researchers reference Lucy Calkins and her writing workshop. Although I have heard of other programs, this research continuously peaked my interest in evaluating the aspects of Calkins program. That being said, this research confirms my need for writing workshop for students to be proficient according to Common Core Standard Course of Study and will lead to my proposal to our school for the adoption of Lucy Calkin’s writing program. This program ensures that students are given a choice, within a safe environment, and their writing is facilitated by the teacher model, but they encouraged to find their own voice. As Common Core primarily supports argumentative writing, as opposed to narrative, some adaptations will need to be made to the workshop to promote this writing. Naturally students write what is familiar and that involves stories that do not need factual support. Thus, more emphasis upon teacher modeling will be needed to teach students to find a topic that interests them and go through the writing process for a persuasive piece. How will students learn to write if they are not given the time, the choice, and the support to do it? Writing workshop will be in place in my classroom and hopefully within my school.

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Czerney.LitReview

Annotated Bibliography

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 16:12:00 +0000

Annotated Bibliography

Atwell, N., (1985). Everyone Sits at a Big Desk: Discovering Topics for Writing. The English Journal, 74 (5), 35-39. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/817698

Writing should be an opportunity for students to have a voice in the classroom. Atwell references to Lucy Calkin’s idea of an “underground curriculum” of the students’ ideas and knowledge, that the teacher too often ignores. It should not be the teacher’s role to assign mandatory writing topics, but rather demonstrate good writing habits for students to imitate and make their own. By modeling and participating, the teacher demonstrates that each student has their own story to tell. According to Donald Graves and Lucy Calkins research, students should develop as writers by having the opportunities of authors: “daily time for writing, conferences with teachers, and peers, and opportunities to draft, revise, and publish their writing; most significantly they took responsibility for deciding what and why and for whom they would write.” This is a necessary freedom for a child to find their own author’s voice. Furthermore, the recognition for the need of time, talk, and reading all play an important role in writing.

Dressman, M., (1993). Lionizing Lone Wolves: The Cultural Romantics of Literacy Workshops. Curriculum Inquiry, 23(3), 245-263. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1179992

Dressman directly addresses the ideal of Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop through this article that emphasizes the sense of community and individual choice to build life long readers and writers. Referencing other great researchers, Nancie Atwell, Lucy Calkins, and Donald Graves, he creates the statement “students largely read silently and independently from books of their choice and dialogue with teachers and classmates through response journals, while promising to transform the reluctant readers…into lifelong loves of books and into critical, literate citizens, are also, by design, a socially reproductive practice.” That is the true purpose of literacy development. Dressman continues by linking a strength in literacy to overall intelligence. Another important aspect, is the sense of community within that safe reading environment. Students are able to make connections between text and writing, between themselves and others, and between texts. These workshops allow for a “collective negotiation of meaning” and gives students a voice in the classroom where they are able to learn through their own exploration.

Dressman, M., (1999). On the Use and Misuse of Research Evidence: Decoding Two States’ Reading Initiatives. Reading Research Quarterly, 34(3), 258–285. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/748064

In reviewing the reading initiatives of two highly regarded states in the world of education, Mark Dressman reviews the practices of Texas and California. He begins by referencing education of the past and effects of various diversity aspects. Specifically Dressman addresses race in the school systems and the role it has played in these two states. This is not of primary concern for the article, after doing so, he begins to evaluate the development of literacy through these programs. After much research and refences to many studies of Phonemic/Phonological Awareness, he states that “the future of children as literate individuals in these states is jeopardized by current curriculums based principally on the reading and writing of meaningful texts…need to be replaced by explicit, systematic instruction…” It is then evident that students need a consistent program that marries reading and writing that is taught with consistency. He also emphasizes the importance of research based teaching and recognized that these states had not revisited their curriculum for the relevancy to today’s youth. This further supports my desire to implement a research based program that can be taught routinely beginning at a young age for Phonemic/Phonological Awareness.

Graves, D.H., (1975). An Examination of the Writing Process of Seven Year Old Children. Research in the Teaching of English, 9 (3), 227-241. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40170631

Through this case study, Graves looks closely at the development of the writing process of seven-year-old children. After observing students’ writing, the classroom setting in which this occurred, analyzing writing samples, and looking at the interventions of the teachers in those classrooms. This study came to conclusions about “learning environments, sex differences in writing, developmental factors and the writing process.” Thus proving that students need a relaxed environment to be able to write freely and independently and recognizing the difference in the needs of students based on gender. Reactive and reflective writers were identified, with rather opposite characteristics. Reflective writers have a strong sense of audience and provide reasoning for their feelings in writing. These are the characteristics in writers that we should be aware of and encourage. However, Graves goes on to ask further questions that apply to my research, and emphasizes the need for additional observation on this topic of writing development.

Graves, D. H., (1991). Trust the Shadows. The Reading Teacher, 45 (1), 18-24. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20200796

Specifically looking at the writing programs within American schools, Graves digs deeper to find out what kind of writing is taking place in the classroom. One surprising finding was from the school supply companies, noting that lined paper (which is used for writing) purchases were in steep decline. One topic studied with Lucy Calkins, was the process through which students revise their work. Graves also mentions the differences in topic choice between genders and the range of focus through which children write, but both genders place a large focus on the character and the “motion and action” of that individual. The level of character development in a child’s writing can also signify the level of their development as a writer. Finally, he relates it, through poetry, to adult writers and the importance of understanding what information is necessary to the piece and what is superfluous. Students often write what they think the teacher wants as an answer instead of truly acting as a writer and “trust (their) own thinking.”

Hansen, J., & Graves, D., (1986, April). Do You Know What Backstrung Means? The Reading Teacher, 39(8), 807-812. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20199226 .

In a study conducted by Jane Hanson and Donald Graves, in Lee, New Hampshire at the Mast Way School (K-5), they found the importance of the teacher actively portraying a learner in the classroom. Teachers always attend professional development, read teacher books, or even do research, but the importance of this study was to demonstrate that a teacher learner values student knowledge and models learning for his/her students is the most effective. The teacher must listen to his/her students and ask questions, the students will then imitate the actions and do the same. This can be related to reading and writing in the sense that the teacher must show students how to be both and actively participate in the practices of reading and writing. Teachers often hold back from allowing their students opportunities to teach and share, sometimes afraid to lose control over their classroom. Hansen and Graves emphasize teachers participate in similar practices as their students, e.g. reviewing others’ writing. They then dive deeper into the roles of both the teachers and students engaging in the writing process.

McCarthey, S. J., (2000). Home: School Connections: A Review of the Literature. The Journal of Educational Research, 93(3), 145-153. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27542260

Connecting home and school can be a great challenge, but with a literacy program that embraces and enables parents to be an active participant in their student’s life is what every school needs. By having a program in which the teach has more control over the content and subjects taught, they are able to incorporate lessons and texts that reinforce the lives of their students. Although this article discusses greatly, ways in which to involve parents, the relevance lies in the flexibility allowed through various reading workshops that is not allowed through textbook programs. As McCarthey emphasizes, understanding their students’ backgrounds is important so that the teacher may “alter curriculum and discourse patterns to include all children,” and strictly following a textbook of stories through which families cannot relate, will not bridge the gap from classroom to home. Through workshop style curriculum, the teacher would be able to reinforce those connections and allow parents to be a great part of their student’s literacy development.

Czerney_2_AnnotatedBibliography

Common Core Writing and Reading Programs: Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:30:00 +0000

As more states across the nation make the shift to Common Core standards, the rigor increases and the expectations of higher level thinking skills required for proficiency far surpasses what students have been required for proficiency. Being an upper elementary teacher, I am eager to see the effects on students having been held to these standards all along, but what does that mean for those students in upper elementary who have barely gained exposure to what we are now asking. Going through their elementary career, students have not been asked to write informational texts and their time of free writing has nearly vanished. How do we adopt a reading and writing program in upper elementary that will make up for the shortcomings of these students while allowing for them to move at their readiness level and be successful with the new standards? What would that reading and writing program look like? So to begin exploring these options, the real question is, what are the best practices and methodology for upper elementary students in Common Core State Standards to be successful in reading and writing?

During the 2011 – 2012 school year, I was hired as a Fourth Grade Reading teacher, and that was it. Our school had separated reading and writing for my group of students. I was handed the SRA Open Court curriculum and was informed that our Science and Social Studies teacher would also teach writing, but had not curriculum or standards to abide by. I was then given the option to veer away from Open Court and go where I saw fit as long as the standards were met for the North Carolina Standard Course of Study and that the students proved proficient on the End of Grade Test. This lack of curricular structure, led me to discuss the options with other teachers. Every teacher in our building was doing something different for their reading and writing instruction. The only consistency was that we all had the Open Court materials, some of them, and that we were aware of Reading A-Z as a program that was available. Continuing through the year, I saw the disconnect among grade levels as well as a lack of communication between all reading and writing teachers. In the past, writing had been tested, but was recently dropped and merely a writing sample is kept in each student’s portfolio. Through this research, I hope to find a program that will enable our teachers to have consistency and routine in their instruction to better prepare students for the level of writing required for reading comprehension through Common Core.

In doing so, I plan to present the data to our school Principal to review for the upcoming 2012 – 2013 school year. By piloting this program, there may be an opportunity for our district leaders to review our work with the program and potentially implement them across the district. However, for full district adoption, I will need to keep in mind the cost of the programs I review, as well as the training required for teachers to understand the materials and implementation of the program. Therefore, this will not only guide my instruction in the fall, but potentially also within my school and district to benefit all students to be successful.

Initially, I looked to leaders within my school and two individuals who presented at our professional development conference. After extensive discussions, I have decided to review work and research done by Lucy Caulkins, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser – The 2Sister of the Daily Five and Café, Dr. Robert Marzano, and Debbie Diller to name a few. There have been additional researchers whom have conducted research upon these programs, but through this study I hope to review their work as well as discussing with teachers who have implemented these programs and seen results to reach my final conclusion. It was the consensus, that students must comprehend more informational texts and use higher order thinking skills, being able to explain their thinking through writing to meet Common Core State Standards. This is an ongoing issue and debate within classrooms across the country. When reviewing the Six Shifts of the Common Core State Standards, there are now required standards for writing that have not been in place prior to adopting the standards. For example, one shift has gone from writing a persuasive text to an argumentative text, not just your opinion, but have the evidence to support that side of the argument (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2012). This is just one sample of increasing the rigor of the expectations on students and their writing abilities. As the document, English Language Arts Unpacking Standards, continues, it makes it more evident that our reading and writing programs cannot remain the same, especially when they were nonexistent to begin with. If students are raised to higher standards, we must be able to use the curriculum to help them meet and exceed those standards.

Works Cited

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2012). English Language Arts Unpacking Standards. Retrieved from http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/acre/standards/common-core-tools/unpacking/ela/4.pdf

CEP 800 Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 01:02:00 +0000

This course has really helped me to think about student learning, and what I need to do as a teacher to help as much as possible. It is not enough to use technology simply for the sake of using it, but rather we need to consider how it is helping the students and what benefits does it bring. In my lesson, I included technology to be able to reach a variety of learners in my classroom. I was still teaching, technology had not replaced me, but it aided my students in ways that I could not. Overall, the lesson was successful and my students really enjoyed the learning. Moving toward Common Core standards, students are required to write and distribute their writing. Technology allows for the best distribution imaginable. Please view my lesson reflection, and our class timetoast at the following links:

Lesson Plan Reflection

Timetoast African Americans throughout History

CEP 800: Lesson Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 03:33:00 +0000

During Module 5, we reviewed a lot about technology and the effect it has on our teaching and on our students as learners. This week we were asked to create a lesson plan adhering to the TPACK model and really think about evaluating the technology we were planning to use.

My lesson for 4th Grade Readers on

Notable African Americans through History

asks my students to read biographies, and identify facts and main ideas to summarize that individual. They are then expected to add an entry for that person on our class timeline at Timetoast. This entry should include the lifespan of the person, the summary of their life, and a picture if the student is able.

Digital Storytelling

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 23:32:00 +0000

When looking back on my first year of teaching, the most important story I wanted to tell was about traveling across the United States with my students. Without a great curriculum to use, I taught my 4th graders by linking readings within a state, and within a region. We read a novel to tie our travels in and put events into history. Through a variety of texts and internet resources, my students grew their understanding of the US.

Listen to our story through this video or go to Youtube

CEP 800 Audio Production

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 28 May 2012 00:31:00 +0000

My technology certificate is complete, and now I begin the journey toward my Masters. The first class I am taking this summer is CEP 800 and then I will have CEP 822.

On this blog, I will display assignments, projects, and reflections as I continue through this program. The first assignment we have is for an audio production. I completed this assignment by interviewing upper elementary students about locations and attractions within the United States. The student in this audio file was asked verbal questions as well as hoping that he could point to the location on a map of the US as well. The audio portion is included in this file, and I have given some description as to the success of their ability to locate the sites on a map.

The United States Mismappings

Wicked Project Final

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:19:00 +0000

Powerpoint Presentation

Wicked final

View more presentations from czernelt.

Part 1

Part 2

Script:

This is Linnea Czerney, speaking to you about my Wicked Project, I apologize for the difficulty you must be having understanding me, but I have lost my voice.

As a first year teacher, in a completely new environment, I found myself struggling to have effective communication with parents. In the past, the students’ agenda has been a very useful tool, but many of my students will remove a note from their agenda, lose it, or continuously “forget” to show the note to their parent.

After completing 50+ parent teacher conferences, the need has never been clearer for more effective parent communication. This has been an ongoing process with trial and error, but I hope that the inclusion of more technology availability will help to allow parents to be more involved and more informed about their child's class as well as their performance within that course. I have tried several methods to communicate, but not through technology. This is so important because so often parents are not involved because their student does not convey the message of homework or the material we are covering in class.

I had created a website for my classroom, but had been using it for educational resources geared toward my students, rather than using it as an informational tool to communicate with parents. When realizing the problem I was having, I immediately decided to use technology to help ease the communication between parents and teachers. Although I recognize that this is not a cure all, and is virtually useless to parents without internet access, I found technology and a website to offer many solutions to this problem.

To begin, I created a survey using Google Forms to give parents input and influence in the direction of my project. The resounding results told me that these parents wanted to have access to homework pages, school information, and access to grades. With that in mind, I made several changes to my website and sent mass emails to parents informing them about the website and what was going on in our classroom.

I then took their feedback and implemented a variety of technology tools in attempts to ease their concerns.

In the survey I had parents create a code name for their student. Some parents returned the survey in paper form, and some did not fully understand the purpose of the code name. I had one student’s parent choose the name of another student in the class, and one parent give their child’s name for the code name. I then had to email them to have this changed, and include further explanation of the code names. I then used these codes to begin using engrade, per feedback, I have been practicing with this before I make it public to parents. I also wanted to get the rest of my grade level on board and they have not, so although I set up engrade and hope to use it in the future, the rest of my team would not agree on this grade level decision.

Another aspect that has not been used at all, is the feedback option I posted on the site. Parents have not used this feature at all. I have kept our class google calendar up to date on the website, and parents have referenced this as helpful in emails. In addition to the calendar, I added an “announcement” feature on the site so that they are able to have up to date important announcements.

Lastly, parents wanted access to homework assignments after students have lost them. These are posted under the homework tab, when applicable. This last week, my students did not have homework, so there was nothing to post. Through emails, parents have also mentioned that this has been useful to them.

The amount of parent communication through email has greatly increased from the use of technology, which is much easier for a teacher, who cannot make phonecalls whenever necessary with students in the classroom. Many have utilized email and informed us of this through the survey.

I have seen the amazing effects of the increased parental communication, but have also seen the aspects in which technology could not solve the problem or features that were not as beneficial as I anticipated. I have proof through my website that there has been increased use. Since beginning this project, there have only been 3 days that my class website was not accessed, and this graph illustrates the unique users that have utilize the sites features.

There is still more that I would like to develop on my website and need to continue to remind myself that technology will not fix all the problems of communication, but is an excellent aid in this ongoing process. As teacher parent communication increases, I would like to increase the tools and information that is accessible through this site. As commented through feedback for this project, I need to ensure that this is not overwhelming and I take the process one step at a time. If I bombard my parents with tools they are expected to use, it may have a negative effect.

Overall, I am very happy and satisfied with the results of my project. I have asked parents for their input about the increased technology and availability of content and information to them, and it has been greatly appreciate. Is the problem completely solved? No, but I have taken several steps in the right direction, to bridge the gap between home and the classroom.

Group Leadership Project

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 04:19:00 +0000

After our brainstorming session, our group really felt as though showing professionals how to make a Prezi using Prezi would be the best method. Since Prezi does not have a voice feature (although I think they will in the future), we needed to use jing to do a screencast to make it more accessible. By coupling auditory and visual learning, we can appeal to more professionals. Not only did we create a Prezi as we progressed through the tutorial, but I made an additional Prezi describing the process to that they are able to access more of the written script. This seemed like the best medium to present the information through. If the audio does not make sense, then hopefully they will be able to follow the steps in the video, or they can access the Prezi for a good example. We had talked about including images of other Prezi's, but time was limited. It would have been nice to have additional time to show more features, as well as examples of how teachers can best use Prezi in their classroom.

During the development, I learned a lot! Jing is a challenge for me and something that I need more practice and experience using. I realized more flaws in Jing than I did using Prezi. I was suprised that my struggles were not as much with Prezi, but actually with Jing. I really enjoy using Prezi, but also found features that I wished it had, and some that I discovered. I realized that you can schedule viewing meetings with it to share the link with others. As I mentioned, I think a voice record feature or more of a timing option would be nice. There were features that I have used in Powerpoint that I could not access with Prezi. It is also a tool that you must play with and practice as far as setting the path. In my opinion the path is the most important part - making sure that you are only showing the text you want, that you don't have too many steps, that you would have something to say at each transition, and making sure that the movement will not be a problem for your audience. Students love the movement and change of direction, but adults may not be as receptive to many twists and turns.

As for Jing, the 5 minute time limit affected me, as I ended at exactly 5 minutes. I would love to use this to record information for my students when I have a sub, but would need the sub to access multiple Jings. Another feature I wish it had was being able to edit or cut parts. It would have been nice to cut out pauses. I did really like the pause feature and being able to switch screens or take a second to regroup. It seemed too that with Jing, there is room to grow. There is the settings option, but there isn't a lot offered there. It is definitely something that would become more natural with more practice, but for this project I re-recorded a lot. At one point, I tried to record just the audio using Audacity so that I could focus more on the clicking and changing screens/adding to the Prezi while it was playing, but my microphone quality then lacked. This could be very very difficult or choppy for someone not good at multitasking.

Another challenge was the requirement of images and sound effects. In my personal style, I thought we should keep it simple without distractions, but I understand the purpose of adding that element. However, the amount of sound effects is a little overwhelming. That seems like something someone might have a few go-to sounds that they use. I listened to countless ones on several sites, but none of them seemed right to include. If I were teaching a lesson, I would use them in Jing, but for a professional development, they did not seem very professional in my opinion. That is one aspect that our group struggled with and were only able to incorporate a couple. If I were to do it again, I would really consider better use of sound effects to cater to auditory learners. I think it is much easier to incorporate sounds in a lesson, for example with a vocabulary word so that they have a sound association with that word, or even having the word as a sound effect said in a unique way.

I would definitely do another project like this for staff members to have a stand alone professional development tool, this opened my ideas to creating these for several web tools that I use on a regular basis. If I were doing this project again, I would work more on the collaboration. Our group worked really well together and all did a great job together. My group members are excellent and I have really learned a lot from them in this course, and greatly appreciate their feedback and input. If we were to do it again, I may have suggested a weekly or bi-weekly group meeting, even if it is only for 10-15 minutes, just to make certain we are all on the same page. It also would have been nice to have a more cohesive final product all together, but putting that responsibility on one person was not fair. It also turned out to be helpful to be able to access specific parts that were recorded, for example, if professional has started but just needs to hear how to create a path they do not need to sit through the entire Screencast, but rather can jump straight to that section. We decided to all work together in that respect. I would have encouraged using a more developed Prezi to progress through in our Jing. The reason this could not happen, was because of the time limit, and it would be difficult for a viewer to all of a sudden see aspects in the Prezi that were not there before, and had been added without showing the addition. It would have been nice to include more features of Prezi. I think we did an excellent job with what we have, and as we discussed, it may have been a little overwhelming to show a viewer every feature all at once.

Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of our project and am eager to share this with staff at school who have expressed an interest in using Prezi, but need a tutorial that they can access at their own leisure. This was a great opportunity.

Group Leadership Project

Part 1 How to get started with Prezi by Lisa Napierala
http://screencast.com/t/STGZvwBV

Part 2 How to move, rotate, scale and zoom by Steve Veldman http://screencast.com/t/C8PFKglY3Svt

Part 3 How to use frames and create a path by Linnea Czerney http://screencast.com/t/GzKcHHAf

Part 4 How to invite others to view by Amanda Kain
http://screencast.com/t/8umJelEDrRr

Prezi:
http://prezi.com/hghw3c2dogey/copy-of-technology/

Professional Learning Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 04:14:00 +0000

I feel that I came into this program very knowlegeable and interested in using technology in my classroom, but I think that during these courses, I have really grown in my comfort using it and my exposure to a variety of tools. As we learned new technologies, I really tried to integrate a new one weekly for my students. This course pushed me to think harder and really reflect on the effectiveness of using a specific technology. As I realized, it is not just using as many tools as you can, but really making sure that you are using them effectively. Throughout the MAET, I have integrated a large amount of what I have learned. This has been recognized by my administration, my students, their parents, and staff. As part of the teacher evaluation, technology has allowed me to take on a leadership role, presenting to staff and my principal has commended me on the utilization of technology in my classroom.

Despite my comfort, there is still a great deal of tools for me to explore and gain experience using. I have not only found the tools I use best, but also the ones I want to use, but need more practice. This has been a situation of "the more you know, the more you know you don't know." That really sums it up. I have been exposed to so many opportunities for similar purposes, it is finding what works best for you and exploring those. I have challenged myself to continue working on a weekly basis to use a new tool in some form between my ActivBoard, Ipad, flipcamera, and the internet/mobile labs. There is still so much I'd like to use. I have recently been shown the flip your classroom videos and concept, and have been greatly intrigued by that. My favorite lab was the data visualization, which exposed me to so many tools I hadn't used or heard of. It also confirmed that I have been on the right path with how many I have used and integrated into my classroom.

Jing is a tool that I really need to practice and experiment with to use in my classroom. I would say that Jing is the most challenging of the web 2.0 tools that I have used. It is difficult for me to ensure that my screens are perfect and that my narration is smooth. I created a Jing to show some of what I have done through this program and my emphasis on taking tools and learning we have done into my classroom. Again, this skill still needs work and my perfection is not where I'd like it to be (despite repeated efforts). My next steps with Jing are to record instructional references for students on specific skills we have learned, as well as brief tutorials for parents.

As a last tool for me to explore, I really wanted to work with Glogster. I have created a poster for all the web 2.0 tools I have used in this course, specifically in my classroom. Each bubble is linked to the site or my product using that tool. I fully plan to continue my exploration independently as well as through other MAET courses. I do not feel I have other staff or professionals to go to, but am eager to share what I have learned with them.

Mobile Learning Lab

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

I love the idea of Mobile Learning! However, i cannot figure out the best way to utilize these educational tools in the most educational way possible. After going through the learn part of this lesson, I realized that cell phones would be an amazing tool if they were issued to students and could use the internet without calling, or that texting could be limited. I think that if cell phones were used in a whole class manner, that they could be used on a regular basis in the classroom. After polling my students, many have said that they have a smart phone, but there are still many that do not. Some have regular phones, but no internet. I wish that there were a more reasonably priced plans for education that could pay by the month for internet usage, and texting as you go. This would open up countless resources for students. Using polleverywhere is great! There are a lot of different polling programs and resources out there, and I do not feel that poll everywhere is the greatest. I have seen it used well with adults; when they have their cell phones readily available. There are many other online polls that I have used and feel that they are very useful. If I could solve the mobile phone complications, then poll everywhere could be an excellent tool.

One way I explored to use mobile technology is the polling. It would be a great way for teachers to do fun checks for understanding or polls to get to know their students. Teachers could set up a poll of the day to connect to content material or just to better understand their students as individuals. I definitely would like to bring this up to my principal to discuss the options for this. Our superintendent is very pro- mobile learning using cell phones, however, he has not found great ways to have teachers regulate this usage. When we are told to take away cell phones that are brought out during the school day, it is hard to then ask students to use theirs during class for instructional purposes. If we could tap into the potential of polling with texts, texting answers, using apps for learning, allowing them to use the camera feature on the phone, or the internet as a resource - it may greatly increase participation and peak students' internet. Strict expectations would need to be outlined in the beginning, and they would need to be enforced. Students would not be able to participate if this is abused. I also think that it is impertinent that a set of cell phones be given to students, not asking them to use their own. I think eventually, or based on the grade, each student may be expected to have a cell phone, but in elementary it is not fair to expect that. Another issue may be asking students to use their minutes, data, or texts to participate in school.

Through this lap, I explored quite a few of the topics. I was recently given an Ipad for TFA and finally got internet access. i explored several apps that would be useful in the classroom. This led me to organizing the apps on my Ipad and thinking deeper how I can better use my Ipad on a daily basis. I think that this would be great in small groups or as a reward for performance or good behavior. I also gave more consideration to the idea of e-books. We have a few internet accounts that I have used, such as tumble books and e-books our library has purchased, but there are countless more resources out there. We have mobile laptop carts and my Ipad to use these e-readers. I think this would be a good poll for my students to see how they feel about reading books on a screen versus in print. We have asked about the possibility of kindles for the students, but I think first we need to consider if they are more or less engaged in e-readers, and what effect this has on their comprehension. Maybe it is a generational thing, but I personally need to hold a book in my hand when reading novels, but informational texts I read better on a computer.

One big push this year was the purchase of a flip camera. We have talked a lot as a grade level about "flipping your classroom" This is an excellent video that fully explains the concept. I think that this will really help my Wicked project as I continue to include to communicate with parents lessons in my classroom. However, it has been challenging to get my hands on one of the cameras.

I also looked at the Ipod resources. I have used an old Ipod mini for audio books to aid my students who are auditory learners and as an auditory aid for reading a longer novel. Our kindergarten classes just got an Itouch listening station with headphones and a doc to use. Itouch would allow for very similar, if not better, opportunities than a cell phone. There would not be as great of concern for the misuse of texting and calling. The new itouch would be perfect for using video, photos, and skype. However, I would settle for old ipods that people aren't using for listening or podcasting. This crossed between the Ipod and mp3 players. There are countless mp3 players that are thrown aside as people upgrade, but where do they go? I am hoping to put out a plea to buy them cheaply or have them donated to my classroom for educational uses.

We have asked for USB's for all of our students to use, especially with the purchase of our mobile carts, it provides a great place for students to save their work. However, without a budget for USBs, we have had to look further into Dropbox, Google Docs, pbworks, and other means for them to upload and save their documents. One other issue with USB's that I have found, that was not discussed, is that many of my students lose pencils and I cannot imagine that they would be able to keep track of a USB drive for an extended period of time if they were able to take their USB home to work on material.

Lastly, I really was hoping to explore PDAs. We previously used palms for our Reading 3D program, which means there must be a lot of palms that are not in use. However, we have switched to touch screen laptops. I feel that palms were not as developed as they could have been. It would be nice to just have them for internet access or pdf's. I hope to continue to look into getting ahold of these resources and finding materials to use with the palms and programs available.

Part D - Findings and Implications

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 14:51:00 +0000

For my Wicked Project, I really strived to make information more available to parents and increase communication between the teacher and parent. I took on this project for not only my reading class, but also for our fourth grade team. I began by creating a survey for parents to give me feedback of what they want to change and how I can best communicate information to them. This far this year, we have been relying on their student to give them information and it has not worked. I had to take into account that technology is not a cure all for communication, this perspective was taken into consideration when giving the survey. I sent it home as a paper copy, but asked parents to submit it online. Some were unable to do it online because they do not have internet access. This also made me realize that no matter my efforts, all of my students' parents did not want increased communication because they were not as involved in their students' academics. Along with this, I needed to ask parents if they wanted to receive information/notes home via the agenda or email. Many chose email which supported my desire to increase the use of technology and provide resources this way, but still realizing that this was not the best way for ALL parents.

Due to a lack of some parents support and additional set backs, this was not implemented as flawlessly as I had hoped. However, this is an ongoing project and effort that will not end with this class. I had hoped that technology would greatly increase the convenience to parents, but many of the parents who responded were the ones that are involved in their students' lives. I do feel that this was a better change for a lot of parents. As I mentioned, after parent teacher conferences, many expressed concern that they weren't getting enough information about school and class material. Since then, I have been able to refer parents to my website where all the resources and additional tools have been used for communication. They have been able to use the google calendar, the additional sites for students, the announcements, and more information about homework/course work. Had my plan been implemented fully, I would have up to date grades on the webpage using an online tool. Parents emphasized their urge to be kept more up to date on grades. However, as advised, I considered the advice I was given from my feedback, not to do more than I could handle. It is not helpful to parents for me to include a plethora of technology without implementing it fully. I should not start the grades, if I cannot guarantee to keep up with them. I have committed to offering polls and surveys, google calendar, feedback post, and updating my website much more frequently.

As I continue with this effort beyond the class, I still would like to use jings or screencasts to help parents through material, or create references for them to use in helping their child with homework. I would also like to see grades posted using an online tool or google spreadsheet.

I know that this has been successful so far and this has been proven through statistics and conversations with parents. I have had several conversations with parents about utilizing our class webpage for information and to keep in touch. Email has also increased greatly as a communication tool with parents because of the survey and use of my webpage. Parents feel that they have access to homework and materials that they did not before I began this project. They can print reading contracts and homework if their student does not show it to them or if they lose it. I have also been able to refer parents who come with questions or concerns about sites and assignments to the webpage. It has provided further information about what the students are writing in their agenda and the materials we are researching. I have also seen evidence of success in the stats feature of weebly. I am able to track how many people are visiting my website on a daily basis. However, that data is skewed when I have students use the site in class, but it has even improved student research activity; which was a result that I did not anticipate. The students have made reference that they have gone on the website from home to use the resources, that has been a big positive :)

I think that many problems could be solved through this process. It would be helpful to introduce this as a professional development to encourage other teachers to consider the problems in their classroom and take action using technology and the TPACK model. This process has opened my eyes to other problems in my classroom, such as using technology to improve reading strategies; to take literature from books to technology and encourage students to use technology to spark their interest in books. It is important not to just throw technologies at a problem and hope that they solve the problem, it is necessary to really work through the problem and think about what is working, how the technology is aiding the content, and if the technology is truly solving the problem. That is the major lesson I have learned. Taking the feedback given, I have understood that technology is worthless if you do not implement with fidelity and fully understand the technology and its purposes before using it. I have been able to practice and play with a lot of technology and it is less important to utilize all of it, than it is to use just a few and use them well. That would be my greatest advice. Really focus on something that needs improvement in your classroom and that technology could help, then choose 1 technology at a time to explore and implement well. Just knowing about technologies is not as useful and really understanding how they are best used and what purposes they can serve. Technologies purpose is to make life easier; not more complicated.

I don't know that I would change a lot in doing the project again. I think the reflective part is very important, but I would use a podcast to solve my problem in some way, rather than as a reflection. It might be helpful to introduce different technologies, and have us think about how that technology might be used to help solve the problem we are having. For example, in looking at data visualization, I was thinking about my need to display goals, or how they could contribute to solving this problem. For the project of this class, the wicked project would be a good constant to apply the technologies that we learn about throughout the course. I think it would also be helpful to give sample topics for the project; there may be a problem that I have not considered in my classroom that could be assisted by technology. I did not think about content at all when brainstorming topics, but my group members all had different topics: teaching math, working on the writing process, and improving collaboration and accountability within groups. I would like to challenge myself to continue finding problems in my classroom to solve using technology. This is a process I could see my self doing annually to improve my classroom overall.

Part C - Wicked Project Implementation

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:42:00 +0000

As I strive to increase and improve the parent teacher communication in my classroom, I have utilized a variety of aspects to have a bigger presence of technology as an outlet for parent communication. In this, I have made better utilization of my class website and have seen the statistics of usage for this grow and grow as the weeks have passed. I also implemented a google forms survey to have parents give feedback on their student's homework and efforts in their classes.

I have been surprised at the immense support and resounding excitement I have gotten from parents about using my webpage to convey more information to them. Many have reassured me that having access to this information themselves, and not solely relying on their student has really helped. Also, I have been surprised at the few parents who have been resistant. I anticipated some parents not being able to access this information due to a lack of internet access, but some even with internet access have made mention that they would still prefer a note in the agenda to email communication. However, these parents also have tended to be those that are not as concerned about their parents performance either from a lack of interest or a lack of concern for their academics.

An unexpected bump has been the pushback from parents wanting more information and not being satisfied with what is given. They want access to all worksheets, additional materials, and their students' grades. This has caused me to look into more resources like scribd and engrade to be able to incorporate these for them. Other revisions include using a poll for parents to answer, just a one question survey to find out if features of the website are helpful to them at all. For example, I had posted a google calendar to my site and have not had any feedback about that at all.

Overall, this communication has been good, and can only improve as I am able to incorporate more resources and materials for my students parents. I have put websites up on there for students to practice skills, but have not found a way to track what links are clicked on most frequently. Also, more parents seem not to mention the use of these resources, but rather want direct worksheets for them to go through with their students.

Due to a lack of resources, I have not had the chance to tape any lessons or include tutorials on my website, but I do think that is one revision that I should definitely make. Many parents are often confused on material, or how to do something and would benefit from that resource.

Part B - Story Board and Script

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:50:00 +0000

After our brainstorming session, we created a google presentation to split up the assignment and then added our individual script pieces to the google doc we initially created at the beginning for our group communication. Each of our group members have chosen a part of the prezi that they feel comfortable with and have had a chance to thoroughly explore. We then plan to record our script pieces separately and put it all together. We also hope to have a prezi that explains how prezis work. Hopefully by viewing a successful prezi, it will help them to have a better understanding of how a prezi works and what they look like.

Through our recording, the viewers will see how to change the various elements of a prezi and navigate through the process with our verbal guidance. We will incorporate sound effects in hopes to break up the talking and add to the presentation. These will include clapping at the end of sections, a horn to present the prezi, and wooshing sounds as we zoom in and out during the path. The visual aspect of the prezi will build as we go so that we are all building on one presentation. By the time I present, the background and text will have been added and the viewer will know how to move, rotate, scale, and zoom their prezi.

Storyboard

Leadership Project Storyboard

Script

Our group decided to teach others about Prezi, a free cloud-based presentation application. Prezi is not like traditional PowerPoint or Google Presentation. What makes Prezi unique is that it uses a canvas. Information is placed on the canvas and grouped in frames. Information is zoomed in on to get a different perspective and look than traditional presentation applications. Framing on a Prezi will be discussed in more detail later in the presentation.

First, you need to sign up for this free presentation application. Once you sign up and get an account, you can create your own Prezi. To do so you first click New Prezi. You will now have to title your Prezi and you may write a description of your new presentation if you wish. Once you write your title and description click New Prezi. This will bring you to a template page. Choose the template that you wish to use. You can use a blank template or one that is already created. Now it is time to be creative! Click anywhere on the template to type information in. If you look to the left of your screen, you have a large circle with small circles surrounding it. The four categories are Insert, Frame, Path, and Colors. Click one of the smaller circles to get more specific functions related to that category. For instance, if you click Insert you can now insert a shapes, files, images, YouTube videos, and/or particular drawings.

Transition: Now that you learned the basics you are ready to move, rotate,scale, and zoom in on pictures and text.

2. How to move, rotate, scale, and zoom (Steve)

Movement of pictures and text in the Prezi program is a very intuitive action. Those of you who have used any touch screen devices will feel right at home. To move a picture or text box just click on the object you want moved and drag your mouse. The object will move with your cursor. When you reach the desired location for your object, let go of your cursor.

Now that you are able to move items let’s discuss how to change their appearance. First click on the picture that you desire to change. You will see a circular graphic pop up over the picture. This circular graphic contains the tools you will need to rotate, scale, and zoom your picture. First to rotate your picture click, and hold, on the border circumference of the circle. On the outside of the circle you will see an arrow indicating you now able to rotate the picture. To rotate the picture just drag your mouse the direction you would like to rotate the picture, release the mouse click and and your picture will be in its new rotational position.

To scale your picture, which will change what the viewer sees of your image, again click the picture bringing up the circular graphic. In the lower right corner of the circle is a pencil. If you click the pencil, a rectangular bracket will appear on your picture. To change the dimensions of the picture click and grab the corners of the brackets to the desire position. When you are satisfied with the dimensions of the picture let go of your click and the new looking picture will be saved.

The last editing tool we will discuss is the ability to zoom in and out on your pictures. Again, to begin, you will click on your picture. This will bring up the circular editing graphic. To zoom in on your picture click the plus button in the interior of the circle. To zoom in further on your picture continue to click the plus button until the picture is at your desired size. To zoom out on your picture, repeat the previous process using the minus button.

Now that you have learned how to edit your pictures and text boxes, you are ready to learn how to use frames and created paths in your presentations.

3. How to use frames and create a path

Linnea:

When putting words and pictures into your prezi, frames are an excellent way to group them according to a theme, topic, or purpose. To choose a frame, go to the guide and click the frame circle. (move mouse over the frame option while pausing in script). A frame can be a square, a bracket, or a circle frame. (hover mouse over each and insert each into the prezi) It does just that, “frames” your presentation. They can serve the purpose of framing, or to create an additional visual aspect. I would recommend either mixing up your frames or using the same shape for consistency. These then also make choosing your path much easier and add an element to choose as a stop on your path.

This is where your prezi really comes to life. The path is how your presentation will flow as you go from step to step. The most important part is to decide where you want emphasis and the importance to be during your presentation. (show the path option in guided) You can use the path to add emphasis as you zoom in and out. (zoom sound as you move in and out) The path decides how much is shown in each view which you click through, each click changes a step on the path. First, decide where your prezi will start, mostly likely at title and author or introduction. Using the path, you can show further out and zoom in to show more detail. For example, the first part of the path may be the whole view of the title and author, then zoom in on the second step of the path to just the author or a picture. (at this time, demonstrate labeling the path) Be creative! Using the path you can allow yourself more time transitioning by setting the path on arrows between, and you can also have the path continue to zoom in/out or rotate as you go to make it more visually stimulating. However, you have to be cautious that you do not get carried away, too many path turns may make your audience dizzy. You can set a step of the path on any object in your prezi, this may be a picture, a word, a frame, an arrow, etc. (show how to change the path or add a step) Then you can zoom in or out depending on emphasis. Be careful when you zoom out, that other pictures or words don’t come into the view and distract the audience.

Once you have set your path, you can always change it by dragging that number to another object. However, you can’t have more than one number per object; that’s how frames and separating text can help. Using the path view, shows each path step at the bottom of your screen. Make sure the flow makes sense. (preview the path) There’s no limit to how many steps you can have in your path. Your path is really what makes the prezi because no matter how great your text or images, if your audience is not following, then it does not help. After you finish, your audience will surely clap for you (insert clapping sound) and then ask you for the prezi link.

4. How to invite others to view (Amanda)

Once you have created your Prezi you are able to share it with others. First, you want to change the privacy settings. You can do this by clicking on my Prezi. Then, click on the arrow that says Allow Copy. Here you will have the option of making your Prezi public and allow copy, public, or private. If you choose public and allow copy, others will be able to save an editable copy of your Prezi. This is the easiest way to share templates, assets, animations, and sound effects you have used in your Prezi. The great thing about it is that your original Prezi will always remain untouched, only the copies are modified. The second option is to make your Prezi public. This allows your Prezi to be viewed by anyone who is searching for it. The last option is private, which can only be accessed by the owner, co-editors, and invited viewers.

To publish your Prezi all you have to do is go to prezi.com/my and check the box marked Publish. On the Share tab, you can invite others to view or edit your Prezi. This is also where you can obtain an embed code to add the Prezi to your blog or website. So, to invite someone to view your Prezi click on Share and then the Viewing tab. Then, you can choose to share through email, facebook, or twitter. All you have to do is click on the icon you want at the bottom of the window. If you would like to allow someone to edit your Prezi, click on Share and then click on the Editing tab. Then again you can choose to share through email, facebook, or twitter using the icons at the bottom of the window. If you would like the embed code to share your Prezi on your blog, click on Share again, and at the bottom you should click on Embed. This will give you the code you need.

Another option you have once you have created your Prezi is to download it as a portable Prezi. A portable Prezi is an exported or downloaded version of your Prezi presentation. These can be viewed without Internet access and without a Prezi account. If you want to do this, you click on your Prezi and select Download from the options bar, choose to Export to Portable Prezi and click download. You will be prompted to click to download your file. You will receive a zip file. Save this and then upzip it and start Prezi.exe (PC) or the Prezi file (Mac) to load your portable Prezi. Now you can present without an Internet connection, burn your Prezi on a CD or DVD, and distribute your Prezi.

Our group members have each contributed independently to the working google document and presentation. For our final prezi, we will discuss together before recording separately, then piece it all together. Each member has a piece of the prezi to create and record. I have been responsible for using frames and creating a path. I have focused on the connection between frames and how they help the path in order to smooth the presentation and aid the transition between topics. I then made sure to connect to the topic before and after me.

Part A - Brainstorm Session

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:44:00 +0000

Last week, our group met to discuss our stand alone professional development tutorial. We met Tuesday, February 7 at 8:00pm. Prior to this meeting, we had talked a little on the discussion board for class, and then moved onto a google doc for all of us to contribute in more of a continuous discussion than Angel discussion allows.

For this web conference, we decided to use Adobe Connect. Chuck had mentioned that this would be an option in our live session for class, and we decided this was the best option. This program worked really well. Initially, we had a little trouble with echoing microphones, but quickly got it fixed. I was also kicked out at one point, but got right back in. One major advantage was the ability for all of us to easily communicate verbally and possibly share documents via the screen share option. This does not have a time limit, and we were able to talk a little before recording the meeting as we were all getting set up. As mentioned, we only had a couple of problems, but that may have occurred with any web conferencing. One challenge, was having all of us speaking, it was a little difficult to know when someone else would speak or when longer silences would occur. It did not necessarily flow, like I would anticipate a face to face meeting would have. That is a disadvantage of technology, that body language and visual cues were not present. The only disadvantage to Adobe Connect, was not having unlimited access to the resource. It was great to use, but had to be set up prior to starting the conference. That would not be a disadvantage if one of us had this on our computers already.

There is a free trial for 30 days, but then we would need to pay for the access. I do not think that this is a resource I would use on a regular basis to justify purchasing it. We may have had more challenges with the program had it not been set up prior to our conference by our professor. Although Jing has a time limit, that would serve my purpose the majority of the time, but in this situation, Jing would have been frustrating having the time limit and potential sound problems.

Overall, it went very well, and was an excellent resource for our purpose. I am excited for our project! You can view our brainstorm discussion by following this link.

Part B - Application of TPACK

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:23:00 +0000

Using the TPACK model, I am integrating technology as an additional way to try and have effective communication with my students' parents or guardians. I have been using my class website for a long time, but not nearly as purposefully for communication. In the previous months, my website has simply provided a resource for parents and students, but did not allow for active communication between the three of us. Through this project, I will be using increased technology to make materials, information, and feedback more accessible on a daily basis. I will keep it more up-to-date on class information and more informative from both parties. This technology will continue to use the development of my webpage on weebly missczerney.weebly.com. Through that website, I will post a Google Forms survey for them to complete, use Google Calendar to convey important dates in my classroom and the school, use the comment forum to allow parents to give additional feedback or ask questions, scribd to upload homework and worksheets, and I will also give additional links for parents that may be helpful to aid their students in learning and homework. Using these technologies, it will make my website their first step in gaining information, this may also cut down on the miscommunication and continual emailing from parents.

As I mentioned, this will keep parents on track with my only my classroom, but our grade level as a whole. For those that are more involved in their student's life, they will be able to follow with our lessons in class and gain an understanding of the skills and strategies I am asking their children to practice and demonstrate. In the past, this resource has been primarily for introductory information and a resource for student research, but not I am using the technology to portray that content to make it accessible for parents. The website will be well organized and easy to navigate. I will try to keep it simplistic, and may need to include more information on the initial page to help parents navigate.

After hosting parent-teacher conferences, a lack of communication became a common complaint from parents. It was not necessarily geared toward me, but rather our new teacher. I took it upon myself to make any changes I could to improve our overall communication as a grade level. I will also be making assignments available for parents when their child loses something. We have struggle a lot with staying organized and getting our work completed outside of school, so I hope this will help. Some parents will have constant access to these resources via their telephone. My only problem is that the parents without internet will still need the paper copies of notes and information. Student will continue to use this site for informational resources, but that information will be extended to our parents as well so that they can learn the material as well.

So far, I have given the survey to parents, included a Google Calendar, and given a feedback post on the site. Since these changes, I have seen an increase in viewing on my website statistics. I hope to upload worksheets and additional practice for students soon. I would like to get to the place where I have tutorials available for parents on the strategies we are using in class, which would use some kind of vidcasting resources. Also, in the survey I had parents create a code name for their student so that grades can be communicated through the website as well.

Part A - Description of Need or Opportunity

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:55:00 +0000

After completing 50+ parent teacher conferences recently, the need has never been clearer for more effective parent communication. This has been an ongoing process with trial and error, but I hope that the inclusion of more technology availability will help to allow parents to be more involved and more informed about their child's classes as well as their performance within that course. I have tried several methods to communicate, but not through technology. This is so important because so often parents are not involved because their student does not convey the message of homework or the material we are covering in class. As we get closer to the End of Grade test in NC, I need to have flawless communication to provide parents resources and additional information to aid their students' learning at home.

This will be an ongoing process for the duration of the school year on a weekly basis. I will utilize free technologies to provide this communication and will access parents as more of a resource than I have in the past. The costs will be nothing but time, and the only situation in which this will not benefit a parent is if they are unable to access the internet at any time. These resources will primarily be used by parents, but students will be shown how to access and use this information as well to help them take responsibility for their learning.

Parents will be able to access these resources and information at all times through my class website and contact me via email. Going further than that, I will have information on my website or sent via email that utilizes more technology to improve the parent - teacher relationship. Countless resources have been reviewed on the importance of communication with parents and the results it can have for students. Although, I must keep in consideration the demographics and time constraints of some parents who are not able to be with their students after school, but as a whole, I hope that student achievement and homework participation is able to increase. This will also build a greater sense of collaboration and community within my classroom.

Resources supporting the importance of parent - teacher communication:
Scholastic "Building Strong Relationships with Parents"
Reading Rockets

Edwards, P.A. "Tapping the Potential of Parents." Scholastic: New York, 2009.

From the parent's perspective Parent-ing Ed.org

Using technology in communication

Resources to be considered for communication using technology:

(I am currently using Weebly and email)

Skype

Voicethread

Instant messaging system

Blog

Survey Monkey or Google Forms

PollCode

Scribd

Dropbox

Jing

Wikispace

Google Calendar

During this course: I plan to survey parents about technology and the best ways to communicate with them. My website will also offer resources and documents, such as homework, reading contracts, newletters, poll questions, question board, videos, etc. My website will be the main host for the technology that I will use to communicate with them. I will also be using e-mail to send notifications or information that will also be available online. This will require me to use new technologies, while utilizing email and website creation/editing.

First steps: survey parents and begin primary email contact to send digital copies of work and again inform them of our class website and the materials available there. Then provide tutorials for parents, information about the course, and poll questions to get to know them more. Make myself more accessible and available for communication using technology.

Continuing the project: After the end of the course, I will continue to adapt my resources and parent communication tools to best serve their needs. When talking to parents at conferences, they need more materials and resources to work on with their students besides homework. I hope to grow this communication into a successful way to digitalize their work creating portfolios and report their grades using technology. This will increase parents knowledge of our classroom.

Introducing... Miss Czerney!

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:52:00 +0000

My Video Introduction at Screencast

Unable to display content. Adobe Flash is required.

CEP 812 Reflect

noreply@blogger.com (Miss. Czerney) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Throughout this course, I have definitely improved and grown in my familiarity with technology. Becoming aware of UDL principles and implementing them in my lessons, has really helped my teaching. I have begun to see the daily practicality and have even brought it up in my PLC's at school. My skills with webquests have also grown, looking back at the first one I created years ago, the sophistication and understanding of the process has certainly improved. I would still like to work on incoporating these technologies on a daily basis in the classroom. I am able to create great resources, but do not do it on a regular basis. I would like to utilize my classroom blogs more and have students completing blogs on a weekly basis or even for homework. The biggest challenge is always finding the time to create resources and to allow students to spend the time necessary for a good blog post.

I think being a teacher in the classroom both helped and hurt this process. As I had anticipated, a first year teacher is extremely busy and ideally I would have liked to spend more time internalizing the material and making more resources to use with my students. However, also being the classroom it gave me great perspective and a purpose for instruction. I knew where my students were and their needs, as well as the instant application of material. I hope to continue to take the time and put together online resources for my students using the UDL principles and evaluating the online resources I find.

Technology seems as though it can play the role of another teacher in the classroom. In 4th grade, I have 52 students and no assistant. I would love to use more technology to be able to teach my students while I am working in small groups. This will allow for greater differentiation between my readiness levels and my classes. One example of this, is next Wednesday I will have a sub in my room, so I hope to create a voicethread to explain everything to my students and minimize theirs or the sub's confusion. Another effective strategy is to use it as the product of their learning. For example, my students are completing a project on holidays around the world and they are using research, a social bookmarking for acceptable sites, google maps, wallwisher, and blogs to express what they have learned. We also created a voicethread with our visualizations of The Night Before Christmas, and each student recorded their part. Technology can be so effective in allowing you to differentiate and to instruct, while giving students the practice of independent learning.

As I gain familiarity with web-based technologies, it becomes increasingly easier to implement them. For example, I remember the first website that I created, years ago and the time it took me to be able to format and embed various resources. Now, I have about 10 websites and 5 blogs that I maintain. In creating the StAIR, I saw the need for a Georges Melies website that was conducive to student learning, so I created one. The same has occurred with blog formats, voicethread, and prezi. I struggle with some other resources, but I know the more I use them, the more familiar I will become and will be able to effectively use them on a regular basis.

My personal goals were to be able to feel comfortable using more technology and using it more effectively in my lessons. Now that we have mobile labs at my school, I really do feel I have met my goal. I think that this class not only introduced me to a couple resources I was not aware of, such as MERLOT, and I have learned to use them in a practical way. Although I feel I had a large amount of background knowledge in technology, I was able to push myself further to be able to meet my goal and get a lot out of the class.

Now my goal is to continue to explore and proceed with my Masters. I hope to continue to explore web 2.0 and increase my familiarity and comfort in using a larger variety of tools. However, I have also realized through this course that it is not the amount of resources, but rather the quality within them. If my students are not using a tool well, or I am not using a tool well, then there is no reason to keep adding technologies on before others are completed. I have had a problem with just moving my students on through project with technology, and not allowing them to truly explore and make it their own. I have done a much better job with that during the most recent holiday project. My plan is to create more tools and familiarize myself with more resources to get to the comfort level of using and integrating them into my classroom more regularly. Long-term, I would love to provide professional development on technology or teach online courses about technology to help bring teachers into the 21st century. I have already presented on tools I am using in my classroom at a staff meeting, but would continue to explore. It would be nice to have a course on the ipad and app tool associated with that. Those apps could be a session in this online course, to help teachers better use and understand the prospects of the ipad.