Standard 6.2

LiveBinder

PowToon







6.2 Candidates select and use grade-level and content-specific technology resources, including assistive technology, to increase student participation in the total curriculum.

1. This particular standard, to me, means that I need to be aware of the level that different technologies are meant to work with. Just because a technology is developed for high school level doesn't mean that it is appropriate for a history class, or for an inclusion classroom. Likewise if something is developed specifically for history or for inclusion. I need to know what technologies are aiming to accomplish and find out how I can tailor that to fit into my classroom and what I'm trying to accomplish with my students. I need to be able to find enough different technologies to include every student in the class, but not so many that we can't keep track or get bogged down by dealing with all the minutiae of the technologies.

2. I enjoyed creating the LiveBinders. I found I liked being able to set up tabs and subtabs. It meant I was better able to keep track of the different things I was looking at and trying to understand. I feel that all the different technologies that we have looked at would be beneficial at all levels of education, as long as they are employed properly. I might actually use the PowToon I created for this class in an actual classroom one day. The PowToon is great for imparting snippets of information and trying to get the students heads into the mindset for what you want to achieve. Something quick and flashy to grab their attention and get their brains going. I feel that it is an excellent tool, especially since I know that sometimes students are not overly keen on history class and will enter the room without engaging their brains. I'm not entirely certain how I might utilize LiveBinders other than it would useful for keeping track of websites with information for certain interests. If I was trying to plan an extended field trip to visit Revolutionary War historical sites, for instance, I could set up a binder to keep track of various sites by state as well as possible accommodations for the class and other things for the trip.

3 My biggest concern is how will I know when something better comes along to, say replace PowToon or something? I'm hoping that there will be teachers I know who like to keep up with that. I'm guessing there would be someone or several someones in the school system who are responsible for trying out new technologies and passing that information on to the teachers, but how will I know if there is something out there that is better?

4. I know there are several educational technology blogs, and there is Twitter, as long as I'm following someone who is in the know. I'm hoping that I'll be able to stay on top of the new items that come my way so that my classroom always stays fresh and up to date as much as possible. I think what I will have to do is set aside some time each week, say an hour or two, to explore new technologies. They may not be brand new to the world, but if it's something I'm not yet familiar with, then it will be brand new to me. To that end, I will need to keep a running tab of some of the items mentioned in the bloggers and Twitter feeds I'm following so that I know what I want to explore each week. So let's say 15-30 minutes each day of reviewing Twitter feeds and/or blog posts and then 1-2 hours at the end of the week to look into what they've mentioned that I don't yet know about or am not familiar with.

Standard 6.3

Quiz Results Spreadsheet

PARCC/TCAP assessment


6.3    Candidates apply technology to analyze assessment data and to guide classroom decisions regarding student learning.



1.Teachers and those training to be teachers need to be able to utilize technology in order to help streamline their assessment of their students and the students needs in the classroom. This means that I need to strive that much harder to become familiar with the many different applications of technology out there in order to make myself the best possible teacher I can be. As an 8th grade history teacher, having these many methods available will be extremely useful in my classroom as my students will be of an age where having their homework and possibly class discussions online will be more appealing to them. They'll be able to work on their assignments wherever they are and can keep in touch with myself and their fellow students if they need assistance. With me being able to analyze how many of my students are performing better with different the different platforms available, I can determine the best one to use for my classroom experience.

2. I know I'm not the most tech savvy student in my class and to be truthful, sometimes the sheer volume of different applications out there makes my head swim. I did enjoy creating the infuse learning quiz. I thought it was much more streamlined than the flubaroo quiz. If that is still useful when I graduate, I want to continue to use it. I can easily create short daily quizzes for my class to take or weekly quizzes. It is also easier to analyze the results in my opinion. The Jing application was interesting. Much easier than using the Mac video editor for what we were trying to accomplish. I would like to see if I can use that in my classroom with my students by having them find images that answer questions from class and using Jing to upload them to our virtual classroom.

3. The biggest questions I have are primarily, how will I know that something will serve my purpose best when there are so many choices out there? I know that in part, I will only arrive at a conclusion by some trial and error and using recommendations of those who have gone before me or are more fearless with technology. I think that if I can become familiar enough to not get my students to roll their eyes at me too much (not at all is a bit much to hope for I think) for being behind the times, then between my students and myself, we can create a virtual classroom of sorts where we can exchange ideas and information about history and how is affects us today. I know I can easily get into a rut with things I'm familiar with so I think I will try to ask my students for suggestions and other input, both at the beginning and the end of the year.

4. I would love to have practice items to do in order to practice with the different applications more. Maybe an additional virtual classroom where I have to do a more thorough preparation of some of these things in order to actually drive a class forward. I suppose I can create one myself, but I would like to have someone to evaluate and gauge how I'm doing with the different technologies I'm using. It may be useful to create a small group of other students who want to continue practicing and see if it's possible to develop a system of practices with them. I need to devote some time at least once a week to review some of the new items I'm learning about in order to stay as up to date as possible.

Standard 6.6

Prezi


Jing

Google Presentation


6.6    Candidates use technology to effectively communicate with students, parents, and colleagues.

1. This particular standard tells me that I need to make sure that I feel comfortable enough around different types of technology to utilize them in sharing necessary information with my students, their parents and my fellow educators. This is especially important when so much can be communicated so quickly and there are often major decisions waiting on a single communication to be made. If I'm able to effectively utilize these various technologies then my students will feel more engaged, my students' parents will feel more involved and aware of what's going on and my colleagues will be able to offer me constructive criticism, advice or I'll be able to do the same for them. Especially with teaching high school age students, I will need to be able to communicate with them in a way they will be able to identify with. I also feel that as students are in that age bracket, their parents can become less aware of what's going on because the students tend to not inform them. Being able to let my students' parents know what we are doing and how their child is responding to the class will be of huge benefit to everyone.

2. I've been able to create a Google Presentation about the Revolutionary War, which I've also uploaded and tweaked for Prezi. I found it easier that way because I was able to create a sequence I liked with the power point application and then by putting it into Prezi, I was able to tweak it to be a bit more interesting looking. I also created Jing video about how to upload a Google presentation into Prezi. I noticed it was a bit different on my PC as opposed to using the Macs in class, but since most students are more likely to have a PC at home, this might be more beneficial to them.

3. I suppose the biggest thing I'm concerned with in implementing these things into my classroom would be can I manage to still make my Jing videos and Prezi shows interesting enough to maintain my
students interest. Will I be comfortable enough with what ever technological applications there are for communication by that time and will I be able to keep up with what ever the trending method of communication is with the students? I still remember when MySpace was all the rage and now it's been nearly forgotten about.

4. I think the best way to stay on top of new ideas and applications for teachers to communicate with students is to be part of one or more of the many online communities out there for teachers to share information. For instance, while I was looking for more information on educational technologies, I found a site called Edutopia, which I have joined. There are many discussions and articles and it's for educators and many of the things being discussed are new technologies and how teachers who are not overly comfortable with technology can become more so etc. There's articles about so many things for helping a teacher to stay on top of his/her game that I plan to start reading up on many of the these discussions and to start trying out some of the suggestions they have for becoming more familiar with technologies.

Standard 6.7

Gradebook
QUiz grades
Student responses
Quiz

6.7 Candidates use tools such as databases and spreadsheets for sorting, compiling, and analyzing data gathered from a variety of sources.

This particular standard really seems to be telling me that if I can utilize the technological tools out there for teachers, then I'll be able to streamline my job and focus more on the actual teaching and spend so much of my time with the busy work aspect of teaching. There's so much involved with determining how you are effective as a teacher that often I think it's easy to lose sight of the real reason any of use get into this field - to impart knowledge and mold young minds. If I can become familiar enough with the many tools available to help me do my job seamlessly, then I'll be a better teacher and able to actually focus on my students, not my paperwork.

I think I feel comfortable enough with Google in general to continue to utilize it for grading purposes in the future. With Google I'll be able to keep my information with me anywhere I go. I've never had a problem with looking information up online if I need to find out how to do something and I really like the Google spreadsheet for use as a gradebook. I think it's absolutely brilliant. The quizzes are wonderful as well because wouldn't it be fabulous to be able to send my students a quiz that they can take over a weekend or at home? Then if I had a student out ill or something, they wouldn't have to worry about scheduling a make up test or the like. I would also have the ability to send a quiz to any parents that want to know what we're working on. It would be a fabulous way to share with the parents what their children are learning about.

I feel that my biggest concern in regards to this is if new technology comes out to use instead of Google. I know I tend to stick with what I'm most comfortable with, even if something new might be a better option. I need to learn to come out of my comfort zone where technology is concerned and be willing to try new things. As much as I love what I'm discovering with Google, it is conceivable that there will be new applications that will come out to use. There's also the possibility that what ever school system I'm working for will have their own method of keeping track of data and will insist on me using their method. This worries because I tend to be reluctant to come out of my comfort zone if it involves something I don't know very well at all.

Standard 6.4

Pinterest - History/EDUC 3040



6.4    Candidates use technology in their own learning process and to change their current educational practice.

This can be a tricky standard in my mind. Technology can be a great thing for us to implement as a way to further the education process and to include and motivate our students, but it can be challenging to determine which are the best technologies to incorporate and which ones are more trouble than they are worth. This standard, to me at least, means that it is important for me to find the technologies that help me to learn better, the ones that help me to be a better educator and the ones that will assist my students the best in learning what it is that I'm offering them. No mean feat especially when you consider a 10th grader in a history class. First, trying to get a teenager interested in history can be a challenge in and of itself, much less if you have a student who is up to date on all the current technology trends and hides their eye rolls every time you mention a musket or a butter churn.

I think videos can be exceptionally useful in that they can be used to not only introduce yourself to your class, but potentially have your class use a camcorder to create their own lessons. For instance, I think it would be wonderful to utilize a camera in my classroom and perhaps stage a reenactment of the Battle of Bunker Hill on the football field of my school. My students would help plan out the battle and who would be in charge of directing, etc., and then we could shoot the whole sequence and it could be used to teach younger students or classes in latter years. All of which would give my students a hands of type of approach to their country's history and allow them to engage in using some of the fun gadgets that are out there for them.

Pinterest, well, I'm a huge fan of Pinterest. I find it similar to an online scrapbook of ideas for things I want to try. It's so much simpler than bookmarking hundreds of webpages and then trying to remember from the title of the bookmark (or the link) exactly what it was that you were trying to get out of that bookmark. Pinterest would make a great collaborative effort between classes. Students could create a Pinterest board out of things they would like to possibly learn about later in the year (as long as it pertains to history!) and as the teacher, I could then keep up to date on what they've found. This would also serve as a type of archive for subsequent school years. They would have the chance to create their own boards and to peruse the boards of previous classes so that they could see how things have changed in regards to the information available or what interests them as a class. It would also allow students the chance to see if there are students from previous years with similar interests. It's never too early to start networking.

Twitter, well, to be honest Twitter seems to me to be something that I don't think I will use very much. I can just as easily set up a facebook page, or schoology site, etc., that would allow me to post short messages to my students. The good thing I can see from Twitter is that it allows you to keep up with what is currently going on. In that regard, I would consider it a potential for maintaining awareness of the bare bones of current events (be they important or minute) in the interest of deciding what they want to find more information on.
Revolutionize Textbooks - this particular item was tweeted by NIcole Fordham (@nicolemarie0319) back in February, and I retweeted it because I felt it was pertinent to our class in particular. We don't use a textbook in this class, but just about every other class does and while many teachers are still hesitant to digitilize, most students are jumping on the wagon faster than the wagon can move.
Discover Tech for Teachers - I retweeted this one as well because I think part of the problem for most teachers is not having a clue about where to go to to find new technologies or to learn how to utilize them. This site helps with that.
I follow CoolCatTeacher currently on Twitter. I believe that she is a Language Arts teacher, however, she has tons of great ideas and her raw enthusiasm for education is infectious!!!
I also follow Education Week on Twitter. Right now the big thing they have is ideas to help combat summer slide!!!
My Twitter screen name is @Jessica44465011.

Truthfully, the biggest concern I have is that I just don't get Twitter. To me it is still confusing and pointless for the most part. On a certain level, I understand that it can be useful which means that the best way for me to combat this problem would be to just make myself use it a little bit everyday until I'm comfortable enough with it to understand it. My other concern would be how to keep my students from doing stuff they shouldn't be doing on some of these sites. Pinterest and Twitter are really easy to get caught up in and be doing several different things all at the same time. Should I consider grading my students based on how much time they seem to commit to these or should it be more of a quality not quantity aspect? That being said, how would I be able to determine if the quality is sufficient if they are more familiar with these than myself? I really think the only way to combat these concerns is to continue practice using these technologies.

Standard 6.8

Scoop.It

SmartBoard Lesson Example 1

SmartBoard Lesson Example 2

SmartBoard Lesson Example 3
6.8 Candidates effectively use and manage all technology available to them and explore uses of emerging resources.

To me, this particular standard means that, as a teacher, I should make an extra effort to be aware of new technologies that could benefit my classroom and myself as well as be knowledgeable enough about different technologies to be able to utilize them in my classroom without having to constantly ask my students for help.
Being able to manage different types of technology is imperative in this day and age for a teacher because it will help students to stay engaged in the learning and to create a more desirable classroom atmosphere. I like Scoop.It in some ways because I think it would be an enjoyable thing to work on as a class. Creating a Scoop.It page for each classroom and as we find items, either individually, or as a group (or small groups), we can add it to that page. It would be a sort of yearbook for what we discovered and what captured our attention throughout the year. It would also give students coming into the class for the first time a chance to see what previous classes have focused on and see if they can be inspired by such. In addition, I would encourage my students to possibly continue to use it as a reference page for latter projects they may have in any additional classes where it may benefit them.
In using the SmartBoard technology, I would be able to create a very interactive classroom. If I could have a classroom where my students are able to work on the SmartBoard from their seats, we could all participate in the lesson, allowing them to discover their history themselves, not just have me lecture at them. Discovering something for yourself allows you to remember better as well as making something have more meaning to you. This is important for a student so that they can create a cohesive whole of themselves and their learning to put them on the path to further discovery.

I suppose the biggest thing I'm concerned with is how I'm going to be able to stay on top of it all. Because I know I'm not overly tech savvy, I'm concerned that I won't be as up to date as I want to be no matter how hard I try. I need to find a way to make sure that I can continue to stay on top of these things. My biggest question is how do I make sure that I'm able to bring this technology into my classroom in a way that will benefit everyone, without shorting others. I hope that there will continue to be classes and seminars for teachers on new and evolving technology that I will be able to attend. I also want to try and find someone where ever I end up teaching at who is more well versed in technology than I am, so that I have someone I can go to with questions, without needing to ask the students.

Introduction

Well, here we are, summer semester. Hey everyone. Sorry if it seems as if I'm being anti-social today, but I haven't been feeling very good since last night and I'm trying to avoid getting too close to any of you right now. Let's hope that I'm feeling better by tomorrow! Anyhow, my name is Jessica Davis. It still states Johnson in my school records, but it's actually Davis. (I swear I keep telling myself I'm going to fix it but always forget when I'm here on campus.) I'm 35 years old and I've been married for nearly 3 years. I have two children, a 13 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. I consider myself a typical old school nerd, loving sci-fi and fantasy and a certain amount of tech, (although I am not very tech savvy, I think gadgets are awesome). I love to do many things, but my primary hobbies are reading, crochet, sewing, other general crafts, and, when I have the time available, I love being involved with the S.C.A., or Society of Creative Anachronism. I haven't been able to be active since I started back to school because I work weekends now so I can be off during the week for class, but as soon as I graduate, I plan to become active again. For those unfamiliar with SCA, it is a medieval reenactment society. I LOVE IT!! Which brings us to my subject area, history. I, obviously, adore history. For the longest time in grade school, I said I was going to be a history teacher when I grew up because I loved it so much. I lost my path for a while after high school, and when I originally started back to school, I started out as a business major and finally realized that I still wanted to be a history teacher, so here I am!!! My grandfather was a geography professor at a college. My grandmother worked at the same college in upstate New York and truthfully, I would eventually like to teach at that level, however, for the purpose of this class, I am going to say tenth grade history. I want to be able to show students that there is some purpose in learning more than the generally accepted knowledge about their past and others' pasts. Our past is our future and that is what I want my students to understand. The more we learn from our mistakes, the better we will do tomorrow.