Good luck and as always, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
You may also see, last semester's participants' comments on the Deliverable #3 assignment that you skipped. Those are below.
DF
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
922-Session 12--The Beginning of the End
Well--Our semester is coming to a close. The Final Projects will need to be completed by midnight on Friday, July 24th, so please spend some time adding images, links, and multimedia to your chapter, then post them under your name on our class wiki page here. Abbe's has some good examples of videos and Nicole's has some great examples of visuals.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
I made my D3 a wiki. I decided that it was best if the administration actually saw what it could do! Here is the link:
http://techwiki6.wikispaces.com/
It's also on our class wiki.
Chris Safford
Deliverable #3
“Proposal for Implementation”
As educators, we are obligated to prepare our students for the future by providing them with educational opportunities to excel in a competitive world. Technology has revolutionized the way we work, exercise, and communicate. Teaching and learning is no exception. The interactive web holds an abundance of opportunities for students, teachers, and parents to express their collective intelligence. Imagine a classroom that is accessible 24 hours a day providing students the opportunity to ask questions outside the classroom to be answered by a teacher or peer. A classroom providing unlimited access to: examples of student work, classroom notes, and upcoming assignments and due dates, rubrics and practice assessments. Students are engaged in the technology and I propose the educators should be to. I envision an interactive educational environment allowing students unlimited access to health information and guidance through a health education Blog and Wiki. This Web 2.0 technology will allow students to utilize technology in an informative and productive way enhancing their educational experience.
Administrators, educators, parents and students agree that effective communication is critical to a successful high school education. A health education classroom Blog and Wiki will facilitate this communication. A Blog is a forum, which fosters communication by posting comments, or questions and having other people respond to those comments or questions. A Wiki allows individuals to collaboratively develop web page content with limited computer knowledge. Members can create and edit existing work improving the content of the Wiki each time. Teachers can post assignments, rubrics, and updates on classroom topics being discussed in class. Parents and students posting comments, suggestions, and questions in regards to health topics will achieve community education.
The implementation of this technology within health education will facilitate the school districts focus on improving communication and enhancing the development of common teaching practices and assessments progressing toward higher student achievement.
The interactive web will enable health educators to develop a professional learning community, which maximizes the potential for teachers and students. More and more teachers and students are accessing the Internet to supplement their educational experience utilizing online resources like: interactive tutorials, videos, edu-games, and podcasts, all complementing instruction. The technology I propose will assist in this practice enhancing the educational environment for educators and students. The development of online chapters (flexbooks), designed by educators, will decrease the demand for traditional textbooks, which tend to become out-of-date quickly in our information world.
The increased use of technology especially when it comes to straying away from traditional educational practice will not be implemented without its growing pains. It is understood that using these educational tools will pull teachers out of their comfort zones but the product will out weigh the required effort because students are already using this technology. Cyber bullying and vandalism is also a concern when accessing the Internet. Limited access to computers and the Internet at home could lead to students only having opportunities within the school day to access information provided on the proposed technology. This also poses a concern for parental computer access. These are all legitimate concerns but with effective communication, knowledge and collective intelligence can be addressed appropriately and effectively to enhance students educational experience.
Training health educators during common planning time would provide teachers opportunities to learn about Blogs and Wikis. This will present the necessary time to become comfortable using this technology out of the classroom prior to implementing it and presenting it to the students. Student safety is a concern but can be addressed within the Internet user agreement contract already established by the school district. To avoid cyber vandalism and inappropriate content, teachers can view all information prior to it being posted onto the Blog. Students will have to be given alternatives to where they can access the Internet if access is not accessible at home. Internet access can be achieved after school in the library, at the public library, and other businesses such as cyber cafes. The availability of Internet access is continuously growing in our society, just take a look at the cellular phones the students are using.
There are a number of different blogging services available. Blogger, which is provided by Google, is a free service with easy access for all users. This software is recommended due to its popularity, its video tutorials to aid in its integration, and due to its cost...it’s free. Like blogging software, there are a number of services providing Wiki software. Pbwiki.com and wikispaces.com are built for educational Wikis. It is quick, easy to access and use and is recommended for this proposal.
The health education department proposes to pilot the utilization of Web 2.0 technologies with the eleventh grade physical fitness unit. This allows time and practice for teachers to get accustomed and proficient at using this technology within the classroom. It is envisioned that all health education units will be accessed through the interactive web. This opens the door for successful common teaching strategies and assessments, which enhances the educational experience for teachers, students, and parents.
Sorry, but I had posted this in Session 11 by accident earlier today.
Nicole and I have completed our D3. We had to trim it down since it was extremely long and carried a lot of information. Part of this is because we are going through some major technology issues in our school. Some are related to the school construction project, some due to lack of time with NEASC coming up and some are just issues. We hope that it makes sense to everyone, but please let us know if you have any questions about it. Lastly, we did include a sample acceptable use policy. In the case of our school we really do not have one that is viable. We will need to start from scratch with ours and we will start benchmarking other schools.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/922D3Gongoleski%2C+Greg
Greg and Nicole
Thank you to those hwo e-mailed some ideas to me about D2. I am almost completely up an running using Wetpaint, which seems to be graphically stronger for my needs. I did come up with one thought though, or a question. What software do some of you use to track your screen movements when recording a tutorial? I would like to try this and place it into my wiki. This would give a how to approach for some students in regards to computer design.
Greg
Here is the link to my D3, I put it on a wiki so that I could have the links avaliable.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Kris%27s+Deliverable+3
However if you would like to read it here, then here it is.
A Proposal for RITEA
I propose that RITEA (Rhode Island Technology Educators Association) begin to create a online resources and textbooks through a wiki based system.
As teachers of technology education, it is all too clear to us that technology is constantly changing and at an increasing rate of speed. It makes it impossible for anyone to keep up to date, and for any textbook provider to keep accurate textbooks. Textbooks that were made just a few short years ago are already showing their age in the technology that they present. In my classroom alone I only have one set of textbooks. These textbooks were copyrighted in 1989. Obviously more than a few things that are printed in the books are no longer current technologies. With the budget crisis that the entire country is currently facing, there is little chance of getting funding to update textbooks.
As technology educators we have to stay current with all forms of technology. We do this in different ways including: reading articles on the internet and in magazines, attending the RITEA meetings were we are giving information on how to keep up with technology, taking classes at the college level, and participating in and attending conferences about technology. We are all continuously learning about technologies in our own specialty areas, to make this process easier for everyone we should develop a large knowledge base between the participants of RITEA to share our expertise.
If we could share the knowledge base of RITEA participants this would allow us to expand the technology curriculum, and enrich it. With the ability to create our own online textbooks that we can all use and amend with our knowledge this would allow us to collaborate with each other, as well as the possibility to have cross curricular continuity, and finally to share proven lesson plans from our own classrooms. There are already some colleges that are offering entire classes online.What if we could offer parts of our classes online?
Most of us have already heard of Wikipedia. This can be a fantastic tool for collecting & sharing information. Students already are very aware of this new technology, and now we as educators need to harness it. Now, we as educators, have to teach the students to become critical evaluators of the information. If educators can control the content of the wiki, we would be able to make a textbook that teachers could edit however, the students could only access and read.
The next logical step in this process is to put everyone’s collective curriculum to create a variety of open source textbooks for a variety of courses online that could be accessed by students not only at school, but also from home. A wiki would be a fantastic way of allowing all of us to come together with our knowledge and share it with each other, and our students. Here is an article that discusses using wiki’s to create online textbooks. Are Textbooks Becoming Extinct?
At the current time, I suggest we model our wiki off of the CK-12 chapters however, since there currently is no technology education section on this resource, I am thinking that we could use wikispaces because it is free, relatively easy to use, and can have different information, pictures, and videos easily embedded into our own work. It would also allow RITEA participants to include chapter information, as well as lesson plans that others could use.
Road Blocks and ways to overcome them:
Teachers will need to be trained in using this new technology. This should not be too difficult since it is very similar to using a word processor. Sessions could be made available at the end of our monthly meetings to train and get fellow teachers involved in the project.
Hopefully together RITEA can get all of the schools on board. Some of the schools might be apprehensive about allowing wiki’s on their internets because others might be able to add inappropriate information to the wiki. This is why I propose that we make the wiki able to edited only by invite. We could start by inviting only those teachers that come to our training sessions, and then as we grow more confident in our ability to use the technology, we could then invite other school department faculty to join in.
We would also need to teach the teachers to use critical evaluation techniques of information found on the internet. However, this could also be done at RITEA meetings.
Examples:
CK-12 does a nice job of showing how eventually textbooks could be done totally online and be made available to the entire internet. Flexbooks is another example of an area to make actual text books that could be printed out.
Kim’s Webpage shows how students could interact with the web pages. However, for right now it would work better if we focused on teacher generated content.
Kris’s Wiki Entry shows how we could make a basic chapter to work for our content area.
With all of this information I am hoping that eventually we will be able to create online texts, and other resources that educators in the field of technology education can use to teach their classes. By creating an ever evolving textbook we will be able to keep up with technology from all around the world. When can then take that information and make unique lessons to use with the students and share with other technology educators.
I made a technology proposal for use of a wiki in health class. I feel like there was so much I could have added. The students only meet one quarter and I think this format allows the students time to develop a digital text book that keeps pace with updated resources and media.
Here is my link to deliverable #3.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/922D3Andrade%2C+Mary
I decided to make a video and a screen recording for my D3 due to the fact that I wrote the same assignment for EDC921. Boy did I make a mistake. My kids kept making fun of me and I had a horrible time trying to find a program that saved the file in the correct format for youtube. Just when I thought I understood computers I tried this. I used a program called JING to record the screen recording but it saved the video as a SWF file. Youtube says it accepts SWF files but not this one. Every conversion program I tried said it was an unknown format. I feel it looks and sounds so unprofessional. I now realize what talent some of those people whose videos we watched. The same to you as well Dave. I especially liked the guy with the bird screeching in the background. I needed it perfectly quiet. Well, here's my videos. Don't be too critical until you've tried yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqIcTFgNNw8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NpBJLhHhRE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L9_iYUb3k0
This one should work. I don't know why it says I removed the video.
Greg and Nicole-I'm not sure if you did your screencast yet, but if not- I did a screencast for 921 using Jing. It was easy to set up. I just put a link from my wiki to the jing address of my screencast. I agree that it is much harder to record yourself than it seems!
Here is my D3 proposal
During the past semester, I have been taking a class, through the University of RI, on how new technology canbe implemented into th eclassroom. the amount of information that is online is unimaginable and most of it is free if you know where to look. One piece of technology is a wiki. A wiki is an internet site where individual classes can post information, text, pictures, videos, definitions or files to the site. students would be able to edit, respond, and answer questions on their class wiki.
With textbooks being so expensive and usually outdated in a few years, wikis are inexpensiveand the information can be continuously updated by the teacher or other certified personel. Students will be excited to go to class and work on their wiki, instead of the old standard of sitting at your desk and opening your textbook. Teachers can assign homework, classwork, essays, or peer editing to their class. Students will receive feedback from peers on their work.
With any use of the internet their are some concerns about security and safety. Each wiki must have an individual or teacher monitoringthe site constantly. This will insure that the wiki is being used only for its intended use and not for inappropriate behavior. The students will be provided their own class password and only students in that one particular class will be able to access that site. Any student not adhering to these policies will be subject to disciplinary actions such as suspension from the site or teacher detention. It is very important that we keep the parents informed for the good of us all so, there will be a contract sent home that will state the security and safety requirements of the student which needs to be signed by both the parent and student. Any student notobtaining parentalpermission will not be able to access the site.
I truly believe that using a wiki in my classroom will help students of different learning abilities. It is the future of classroom education and will cost nothing to our school district. As always, Woonsocket will be on the cutting edge of technology and provide its students with the best education possible. We will be moving into a brand new middle school next year and what better way to put to good use all of the new computers than to implement wikis into the everyday education of the Woonsocket Middle School.
Jay Szaro
EDC 922 Spring 2009
Deliverable #3
Proposal for Implementation
Intro: To Patricia Aull ~ Principal @ Tiverton Middle School
I am submitting a proposal for discussion with you regarding the creation of a pilot program involving the use of a Wiki, in conjunction with one 8th grade Computers and History class. In light of the introduction of the RI 8th grade Computer Literacy Test this year, as well as the recent implementation of the Rhode Island (GSEs) for Civics & Government and Historical Perspectives/ R. I. History, the use of this Wiki would help our students meet the standards set in these two important academic areas. In addition, the introduction of a Wiki in the Computers and History curriculum would be a step towards developing a pathway towards implementation of the pending Tiverton Middle School, 8th Grade Final Project/Digital Portfolio Requirement. Also, the introduction of a Wiki would be an additional way to provide students with the types of research, writing, time management, and computer skills needed for the 8th Grade Final Project/Digital Portfolio; as well as improve technology alignment between TMS and THS in order to achieve the standards set for the THS Senior Graduation Project & Digital Portfolios.
How Will This Plan Fill a Need At TMS:
The use of a Wiki would be implemented initially with just one 8th grade Computers and History class.
A Wiki is an online tool that would allow our teachers and students to interact and work together on a class project, either in school or at home. The Wiki would be important in that it would allow students to access a centralized site created by both the Computer and History teachers for use with their students. The students would be able to not only view the teacher created materials, such as lessons, assignments, instructions, and resources, but they would also be able to post their own projects and interact with their fellow classmates regarding their own insight, findings and questions encountered throughout the project. In addition, because our students only have Computers twice in the six day cycle during the course of two terms, they only meet 30 times on average. Therefore, a student who is absent more than 2 to 3 times during the term falls behind quickly in Computer class, not only in the technical content material presented, but also in time on task as well. It becomes much harder then for a student to catch up in Computer class on the technical steps involved in a computer program, whereas in History class a student meets every day and can catch up quicker on the academic material missed. The use of a Wiki would help minimize this problem because students could access the Wiki either at home, at the library or in History Class and interact with the teachers and their fellow classmates to review areas missed and ask questions on aspects of the project they may still be struggling with, in order to catch up on missed assignments.
Evidence That It Would Work:
Currently there are no teachers at TMS that are using any type of teacher created websites, Wikis or on-line text books; however there are many examples of Wikis that are in use that would be useful to help explain the concept to our students and staff at TMS. Those examples would include:
• What are Wikis and How to Use Them in the Classroom:
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-i-use-wikis-what-do-you-do.html
http://connectedlibraries.pbwiki.com/Wikis
http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/
http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Wiki_in_a_K-12_classroom
http://room2-wiki6.wikispaces.com/
http://wiki.woodward.edu/hannalee/doku.php?id=hannalee
• History Project Based Wikis
http://timelineofpresidents.wikispaces.com/
http://collaborationnation.wikispaces.com/
http://kmsamistad8.wikispaces.com/
http://delmarhistory8.wikispaces.com/
• How to Create PowerPoint Presentations Wikis and Websites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_PowerPoint
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-PowerPoint-Presentation
http://www.actden.com/PP/
http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/ed596/ppoint/pphome.htm
http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/pptrubric.html
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tutorials/ew_ppt.htm
http://www.iupui.edu/~webtrain/tutorials/powerpoint2000_basics.html
Problems to Address at TMS:
In looking at the introduction and use of Wikis at TMS, there are some road blocks that need to be addressed in the following areas:
• Lack of technical training and knowledge regarding Wikis by those teachers involved.
• Computer class time available to the 8th grade students to learn about Wikis.
• History class time available to introduce Wikis into the current curriculum.
• Lack of understanding and objections by parents on the nature and use of Wikis.
• Technical issues regarding the TMS computer network and filtering software restriction that limit access to necessary websites.
• Finding the time in the schedule to incorporate this plan and to develop ongoing meetings between those teachers who would implement and maintain the pilot program during the year.
Solutions to These Problems:
In light of the above mentioned road blocks to the use of Wikis, there are some solutions that would help pave the way to the introduction of this pilot program, that include:
• Have those teachers who want to participate in the pilot program take either computer classes or some type of professional development that would provide them with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to implement the use of Wikis at TMS. Locally, Bristol Community College, UMASS-Dartmouth and URI offer classes in this area, as well as other types of on-line programs that would provide the necessary training needed. These teachers would also be able to incorporate the classes and professional development into their ¬I-Plan and later on serve as staff trainers in the future as the program moved forward.
• In light of the introduction of the RI 8th grade Computer Literacy Test this year, it has become evident that currently there are gaps in the TMS Computer Curriculum due to the structure and nature of half year courses, the six day meeting cycle, and the inability to accommodate all 8th grade students due to other scheduling conflicts. If curriculum changes are made to address those content areas students are not exposed to, then the introduction of Wikis into the Computer Curriculum is a step forward in the right direction, in light of the skills and knowledge students would develop by using Wikis, to the types of skills and knowledge they would be tested on. It is also possible to move some of the current 8th grade curriculum material covered back into 7th grade, and some of the current 7th grade curriculum material covered back into 6th grade, in order to free up the necessary class time to introduce Wikis to the 8th grade. Since this would be a pilot program, any other issues or changes needed in the 8th grade curriculum that impact the 8th grade Computer Literacy Test could then be worked out in the pilot class before it is introduced to the remaining 8th grade classes.
• In light of the recent implementation of the Rhode Island (GSEs) for Civics & Government and Historical Perspectives/ R. I. History, it has become evident from numerous TMS Social Studies Curriculum Alignment meetings that currently there are gaps in the TMS Social Studies Curriculum due to the structure and nature of the repetition of subject matter throughout the grade levels. Since some type of realignment is due to happen in order to incorporate the above mentioned GSE’s and to conform to the Tiverton Strategic Plan Goal that Technology be integrated into 35% of the curriculum, then the introduction of Wikis is also a good first step towards achieving this goal. As mentioned above, since the pilot program would involve only one 8th grade Social Studies class, any other issues or changes needed in the 8th grade Social Studies curriculum that effect the GSE’s could then be worked out in the pilot class before it is introduced to the remaining 8th grade classes.
• In regards to the lack of understanding and objections by parents on the nature and usage of Wikis, because this pilot program would only initially involve 25 students, the necessary outreach and education of those parents would be more manageable. These parents could attend an informational meeting at which type a demonstration and explanation of the benefits of Wikis in the classroom could be held and at such time parental permission could be obtained. Later on these parents could form the base of a wider outreach program to TMS parents as the program expanded, which could also include the TMS Parent-Teacher Committee, the School Improvement Team, the TMS Newspaper and the TMS Webpage.
• As for the TMS computer network and other technical issues, in light of the recent addition of a District Technology Coordinator and the pending update of the District Technology Plan, now would be the time to address those issues and find solutions that take into account the issues involving network filtering software and additional equipment needed to introduce Wikis at TMS. One possible solution could be to provide the TMS Computer Lab with an isolated network that could be used by the Computer and History teachers involved, which would limit the types of security problems from impacting the main network.
• As for the scheduling issues involving those teachers who would implement the Wiki program, there are quite a few teachers on staff that would be willing to meet during after school hours in order to make this program successful. Also there are some teachers who have tried to incorporate the new laptop carts into their classroom and have shown an interest in introducing Wikis to their students.
Software and Equipment Needed at TMS:
There are a couple of free and inexpensive Wiki software programs that could be used, such as Wikispaces and PBwiki, which would help move the initial program forward. There would also have to be some equipment upgrades to the current Computer Lab that could include the addition of a new network server, wireless routers, switches and hubs, and other items necessary to alleviate any problems or effect to the primary network server at TMS. It’s possible that there may be some grant or stimulus funding available to help off set this cost that the new Technology Coordinator could obtain.
Long Term Goals at TMS:
In the event the pilot Wiki program is successful, then plans could be developed to expand the program. The program could move to include all the 8th Social Studies classes, while other academic and grade levels begin their own programs. Those staff members who managed the pilot program could be used as staff trainers for other teachers who want to get involved. As the program expanded then additional parental outreach and education could take place, as well as any increases in funding and equipment upgrades needed. Also any of the other schools in the district would then have a model they could use if they decided to implement Wikis in their school. Inclosing, the recent changes involving Computer Testing, GSE’s, and curriculum realignment make this an opportune time to look at the use of Wikis at TMS. Holding certifications in both Computers and Social Studies, as well as having taught classes in both areas over the past nine years, would lend itself in moving this pilot program forward. I look forward to discussing this proposal with you in the future and obtaining your approval and support of the goals laid out in this plan.
NMarcone
Here's the link to my D3. I wrote a proposal for using a wiki in my classroom and eventually throughout the school.
D3 Proposal-
To KC Perry,
Due to the fact that Providence will soon be working on a new ELA curriculum I thought that this would be a great time to begin to implement more technology into our program of study. There is a movement for educators and students to use Open Educational Resources, which is a means of accessing a rapidly growing number of FREE, OPEN educational resources. I would like FHS to only focus on one aspect of this movement- the use of wikis in the classroom.
First and foremost you need to understand what a wiki is. A wiki is a collaborative Webspace where users can create content for instant publication or add, edit, and embellish content that has already been published. The potential for both instructive and creative uses of wikis in the classroom, school-wide or even within individual departments is vast. If you can use a word processor, you can use a wiki! Visitors can see a history of changes and revert to earlier versions. Visitors can discuss the page in a threaded forum. Wikis can be extremely useful in the classroom setting by acting as a medium to have:
Collaboratively Authored Class Texts
Writing Projects
Group Projects
Sharing Resources
Grade Level Teams
Subject Area Teams
Professional Development
Wikis also allow a teacher to :
· Post tasks online, linked directly to relevant websites.
· Provide lesson information, resources, and syllabus for long-term absentees.
· Provide an ordered list of course requirements; gave structure to students work (and helped organize the teacher).
· Post exemplar work/model answers for pupils online.
· Create a medium that allows the students and the teacher(s) to communicate not only with each other, but also with anyone else that may be working on a similar assignment.
· Allow students the ability to publish their work and receive feedback on it from people other than just the teacher.
· Regularly update links/materials.
· Edit/add new links in lessons, immediately they are suggested by students.
· Post a skills ‘toolbox’ to assist in essay planning etc.
· Post revision materials online – for pupils with identified problems.
· Post general paperwork, syllabuses, trip letters, health and safety forms posted online to save administration time and paper.
· Post homework online – no excuse for forgetting/misinterpreting tasks
Wikis have the added advantage of being multi-dimensional, so images and links can be added, and features such as vocabulary definitions can be embedded in the text. In this regard, wikis help to differentiate instruction and teach to multiple intelligences. Because most of the work is student generated and monitored, wikis are an excellent way for schools and districts to showcase student work. Furthermore, giving students control of the editorial content on a wiki affords them a sense of responsibility and ownership while cultivating social skills such as negotiating and collaborating. To get a better example of how wikis work well and how tech-savvy teachers and students can create a media rich, differentiated classroom, you can access the following websites: Sharon Peters’ wiki that includes projects, assignments, management tips, etc. at https://k12onlinespeters.wikispaces.com, and Mark Wagner’s website that includes both basic information for understanding and more in depth discussions/tutorials http://www.trussvillecityschools.com/favicon.ico and Wagner’s video here http://k12online.wm.edu/WikiWhileYouWork.mov.
There are of course some justifiable concerns about the use of wikis in our classrooms. First and foremost is the concern of students’ safety on a very public Internet. Wikispaces, which is the wiki provider that I feel, is best suited to our needs, offers options for restricted and/ or open access. For instance, if I had a classroom wiki I could set it up so that only people that had a username and password could access and edit information. If at any point it is decided that it would be beneficial for the students to share their knowledge and their work, collaborate with others beyond the district or community who share interest in particular topics, and enhance their understanding of any given topic, then the wiki can be made more open and accessible with a simple click of the mouse.
Another concern is vandalism and inappropriate use of the wiki. Any wiki used in a classroom must have a site manager (I volunteer for my class and/or department) whose job it is to maintain the appropriateness and accuracy of the content. Also, I would review and reinforce with my students the appropriate and inappropriate uses of the wiki before allowing any of them to access it. Students who violate the protocol will be temporarily banned from accessing and adding content to the wiki until they show they can follow rules, and I would make the creation of content on the wiki a part of each quarterly grade, so those who get temporarily banned would see their grades suffer. Furthermore, I would send letters home to my students’ parents explaining exactly what a wiki is, how their students would be using it in the classroom and at home, and the appropriate wiki protocol and penalties for violating it. The letter would also request parental and/ or guardian permission in the form of a signature. Any student who does not return a signed permission form will not be allowed to access a wiki. I will create traditional methods for the creation, evaluation and assessment of student work in those cases.
As I mentioned before I am proposing that we use Wikispaces as our wiki provider. They offer free wikis for educators with varying levels of privacy and security to suit your liking. Also using this tool is fairly simple and therefore would not require extensive PD and training for teachers and students.
In the future I foresee each classroom with its own wiki. Rather than teachers having to make copies of handouts etc. everything would be right on the wiki for anyone-teachers, students, parents and administrators to access at any time. More importantly than efficiency and environmental factors, is the wonderful possibility of the endless possibilities for students to have more ownership of not only their own work, but also of what the whole classroom, or even the whole school creates. A wiki allows students to publish their work in ways that have not been possible before. Teachers and students can collaborate with the peers in others districts, states and even countries. Students can learn from each other and at the same time can work towards becoming technologically savvy and literate. Our society is changing faster than many of us even imagine and our students must keep up in order to be successful in life. Although having a classroom wiki is only the first step to this process, it is vitally important to provide our students with this opportunity. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Nicole Marcone
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Marcone%2C+Nicole-chapter
Nmarcone
I am posting a link to my final project here just to cover my bases! I've learned alot here and i learned that I still have a lot to learn! http://missmarcone.wikispaces.com/
Here is my link to the final project. I have to say out of everything that I teach I picked out the most boring unit that I have. Sectional Drawings do lend itself to the use of videos and materials that are interactive. I teach everthing from the physics of car crashes to the rocket physics to boat hull design. All of which have thousands of interactive and free videos and games. I am still having issues with trying to get self made tutorials made, but I hope I can tackle that over the summer.
I also hope I can get some feedback as I would love to know what everyone thinks of the layout.
http://cadd2phs.wetpaint.com
Here is the link to my final project.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Robinson%2C+Kristopher-chapter
Wow. This is one fantastic tool. I am hoping to continue this project by starting my own wikispaces area. Actually my wife, who also teaches Tech Ed has started the wiki, and is just waiting for me to transfer my first chapter over. I am hoping that I can continue doing this for a variety of units, as well as actually having the students add to each one of them. But, I am really hoping to get other teacher to add content as well.
Well, I'm sure I will talk more as I see everyones final projects.
Mary Andrade
Here is the link to my final project.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Andrade%2C%C2%A0Mary-chapter
I can see this project continually changing and I have learned a great deal this semester.
Thank You Dave!!
I have enjoyed going through other wiki chapters, Incredible Ideas!
Thank you
Mary
I actually had the chance to have my students use the wiki today and they loved it. I wanted to use it earlier with them, but we have some issues with technology right now. I even got a bunch of good feedback and what they want as students. We actually started to add some for other units today and I am really looking forward to using everything I learned in the future.
Thanks for showing everything to us Dave. It was overwelming at first, but it gets much easier as we go forward.
Greg
Chris Safford
Final Project
Here is the link to the final project:
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/safford%2c+chris-chapter
Thanks for all the great information Dave. I feel I've learned a ton and I know I'm just scratching the surface.
Stay Active
Chris
Here is the link to final project.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Murphy%2C+Paul-chapter
Thank you Dave,it has been a pleasure. We are moving into a brand new school next year and hopefully there will be enough computers and the technology will be in place to implement next year. I have learned alot and can not even comprehend how much I've learned this semester
Here is my Chapter link http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Waldron%2C+Abigail-Chapter
My chapter is on Research and I'm looking forward to using it with students and continually updating it. It seems like this class came just in time- our school is moving toward more Web 2.0 resources and I feel like I can really help. Our Supt. is impressed with the resources that I've shared with him. I'm so excited to keep learning. Thank you Dave and thanks to everyone in class for sharing your ideas!
Here is the link for my chapter.
http://wikidave.wikispaces.com/Fayne%2C+Jon-chapter
Thanks to everyone for helping me learn all these new technologies. I feel I know all about the tech but seeing how many of you have put it into use amazes me.
Jon Fayne
I should have gotten a job at a newspaper. I love a deadline and work best under pressure. As I submit my course work I am amazed at each technological feature I was able to add to my presentations to enrich my student's learning. At the fourth grade level it is all about graphics, music and video. I am now able to instruct my students on methods to enhance their classwork through technology-appropriately! I have been impressed with the knowledge my students have come to me with as well as their desire to try anything technoligically new and exciting. I still have not been able to activate the Answers.com vocabluary look up feature but that is my continuing education goal for this class. Thanks for the information and resources presented thorughout each session and the blog format for sharing concerns and questions- but most importantly inforamtion/sites classmates found that was most helpful to a specific task.
All links to my deliverables can be found on dave's wiki.
Here is the link to my final project.
http://montour.wikispaces.com/
The only thing that I wish I could have included is the powerpoint file that I created as a benchmark for the final project. I'm really proud of it! It is too big. I tried everything including removing all sound and the video and reducing the size of all of the photos to an acceptable level. Because I need to be able to upload a file (to keep my sound files attached) I have created quite a problem for myslef. So, in conclusion, the digital text can't be the ONLY resource for my students. They will still need to access some text on pages and a presentation in class, but the chapter has added a great deal of differentiation and I think will grab the kid's attention and help engage them.
This has been a great class. I wish I could have spent 40 hours a week on it because I feel like to do it right, I would have to. There are so many great resources to pour through!! I look forward to using one of my classes (at least) as my test class this year. :)
Have a great summer and 09-10 year.
Kim
Here's the link to my final project (it's also posted on Dave's wiki):
http://apenglishizzo.wikispaces.com/Women+of+The+Bible
Kim, I love your Wiki, both from a stylistic and a content standpoint. I just had too much other content on my site to organize by page the way you did, but yours is excellent. I found myself wishing I taught Fables so I could use your work. Finally, yes it does feel like one needs 40 hours a week to do this right. But then, if we can get the kids involved in adding content, that could be interesting. I even wondered how effective it might be to have kids write wikis about how to write. Maybe then they'd actually remember to use topic sentences ;).
Thanks to everyone - this class was extremely valuable and I enjoyed reading your comments on the reading. Enjoy the rest of the summer and have a great school year.
Hello everyone,
It is Tuesday afternoon, a full 5 days after this course was posted. I downloaded the course material on Friday afternoon before heading to camp for the long weekend. My camp is rather secluded and for the most part we are disconnected. We have no Internet and thus the late response.
My name is Mary Gotham. I am a high school librarian in a large, suburban school district with over 1,750 students in Upstate NY. I've been in Education for 15 years, 10 of them as a librarian, 1st at the elem level and for the past seven years at high school.
I am interested in this course for a couple of reasons. This has been a “Nook” pilot year for my library. I have a dozen Nooks with probably 20 or 30 eBooks and for the most part, I’ve loaned them as a set to English teachers to use with Literature Circles. I would like to expand circulation but am leery because of the size of my school and the costs involved. I’ve started with Nooks, but I am wondering what other reader options might work for us.
The other interest I have is in digital content for classroom/textbook use. NY State just changed our budget criteria for textbooks to include eContent adn eReaders. Our district would like to move away from physical textbooks. Many of our teachers do not have the experience, knowledge or even the time necessary to make this transition. I want to investigate some of the options available so that I can report back and maybe guide or ease teachers in this direction. I feel fortunate that I am taking this class with one of the English teachers in my building. We plan on collaborating and kibitzing to determine how to proceed as a department and as a school.
I can be reached at megotham@gmail.com. I don't always check it daily, but try to a couple times each week.
Best,
Mary
Post a Comment