I do believe, even after 8 years of teaching experience, I am still a work in progress. I will always learn and work hard to maintain the areas of strength I have. Because of the never ending changing of curriculum (standards), the ever growing number of tools and application becoming available, the growing expectations, any teacher, in my opinion, is a work in progress.
Among many, my greatest strength is the ability of adjusting the strategy of teaching in the middle of instruction if I feel like my students are not aboard. I can quickly think and come up with easy to understand strategy or illustration.
Again, among many, one of my weaknesses is that I am not that great in creating - on my own without depending on the district's curriculum portal - a very exhaustive and comprehensive unit projects. I do create projects, but it seems that the projects on the district's curriculum portal to be more comprehensive. The objects found in the textbooks also are very comprehensive.
Area of growth? I always want to grow in differentiating instruction for every student.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Evaluate 3.1.1 Differentiation Quest
The following data was taken from the Fulton County Schools website, but it has been modified for this quest purposes.
Let’s assume that I was the teacher of the class above. The class just completed the first unit and I am now reviewing the unit assessment data. It is disappointing because the class average on the final unit assessment fell below 80% mastery, which is the goal set for the course. Looking at the data, John Cobb and Shemika Holland improved the most on standard 1 between the benchmark quiz and the final unit. Tamara Johnson and Anderson Cooper grew the least on standard 2 between the benchmark quiz and final unit assessment.
Based on the data, the class and I fell short of the goal because there were two students whose scores are very low. If we remove those scores of John Cobb and Anderson Cooper, the class average would be above 80%.
To meet my goals, what I could have done differently prior to the final unit assessment is the following. Anderson had been deteriorating ever since Aug 1 assessment. I shouldn’t have waited until the final test to intervene. After the Aug 15 benchmark, I should have provided extra help before moving on to Standard 2. After Aug 30, I should clearly know that there was a problem and I should have differentiated the instruction and come up with unique learning pathways for the student. I would have done the same for John Cobb as well. John seems to have more problems with Standard 2 than with Standard 1.
There were other students who didn’t necessarily do great on the two standards, so I would arrange more tutorial time, taking more time in tailoring lessons (differentiating) according to the needs of the students and make sure instruction is adjusted before moving on to the next material.
Let’s assume that I was the teacher of the class above. The class just completed the first unit and I am now reviewing the unit assessment data. It is disappointing because the class average on the final unit assessment fell below 80% mastery, which is the goal set for the course. Looking at the data, John Cobb and Shemika Holland improved the most on standard 1 between the benchmark quiz and the final unit. Tamara Johnson and Anderson Cooper grew the least on standard 2 between the benchmark quiz and final unit assessment.
Based on the data, the class and I fell short of the goal because there were two students whose scores are very low. If we remove those scores of John Cobb and Anderson Cooper, the class average would be above 80%.
To meet my goals, what I could have done differently prior to the final unit assessment is the following. Anderson had been deteriorating ever since Aug 1 assessment. I shouldn’t have waited until the final test to intervene. After the Aug 15 benchmark, I should have provided extra help before moving on to Standard 2. After Aug 30, I should clearly know that there was a problem and I should have differentiated the instruction and come up with unique learning pathways for the student. I would have done the same for John Cobb as well. John seems to have more problems with Standard 2 than with Standard 1.
There were other students who didn’t necessarily do great on the two standards, so I would arrange more tutorial time, taking more time in tailoring lessons (differentiating) according to the needs of the students and make sure instruction is adjusted before moving on to the next material.
Evaluate 2.1.2 Rubrics and Competencies Quest
The heart of this quest can be represented by the following statement,
"...competency...focuses on what students should be able to do after successfully completing a course instead of listing things they should have learned."
I believe that listing things the students have learned is legitimate during delivering the instruction as form of formative assessment. But it should not be the end goal of the standard, chapter, unit, or the course. The goal; the objective must be the competency and competency is what the students will be able to do after successfully completing the standard, chapter, unit or the course. As an example I will give two competency oriented assessments: standard specific and unit specific assessment.
The Standards are:
M8A1. Students will use algebra to represent, analyze and solve problems.
a. Represent a given situation using algebraic expressions or equations in one variable
c. Solve algebraic equations in one variable, including equations involving absolute values
To teach to the standards, students will learn how to solve equations: Two-Step Equations, Multi-Step Equations and Solving equations with variables on both sides. Students must demonstrate their knowledge of these standards (competency) by solving the following three problems.
"...competency...focuses on what students should be able to do after successfully completing a course instead of listing things they should have learned."
I believe that listing things the students have learned is legitimate during delivering the instruction as form of formative assessment. But it should not be the end goal of the standard, chapter, unit, or the course. The goal; the objective must be the competency and competency is what the students will be able to do after successfully completing the standard, chapter, unit or the course. As an example I will give two competency oriented assessments: standard specific and unit specific assessment.
The Standards are:
M8A1. Students will use algebra to represent, analyze and solve problems.
a. Represent a given situation using algebraic expressions or equations in one variable
c. Solve algebraic equations in one variable, including equations involving absolute values
To teach to the standards, students will learn how to solve equations: Two-Step Equations, Multi-Step Equations and Solving equations with variables on both sides. Students must demonstrate their knowledge of these standards (competency) by solving the following three problems.
After completing the entire chapter on Equations and Inequalities, students will complete a project shown below.
Taken from holt online learning: http://my.hrw.com/hrw
Monday, May 19, 2014
Evaluate 2.1.1 Data Driven Instruction, Analytics, Reporting Tools Quest
Enrollments and Attendance
The enrollments information is important for an online teacher to have some kind of knowledge about the class he/she is going to teach. It is a good information to start with. The teacher could use this information as the semester progresses. It might be important in some cases to keep in mind the number of students you have in that class when the teacher prepares quizzes, tests, and projects.
Having data of students' attendance is a valuable information for a teacher. If a student attendance is poor, we will probably do not expect the student to do well in class. That's where we start our intervention. Research has shown student and teacher attendance is directly correlated with student achievement. Having data of student's attendance definitely helps a teacher to help the student succeed.
To have data of the communication log is important not only for accountability purposes, but also helps to come up with a strategy in collaboration with all concerned stakeholders (parents) to help the student improve if he/she is failing. So keeping parents posted about students' progress is vitally important. If you record what information you have already shared with the parent, you can continue from there. In your next communication log, you can praise the student for improving or you can update parents that the students is not improving or you can warn the parents that the students may not pass the class unless he/she show improvement as soon as possible. The point is the teacher can build on information he/she had already shared about the student.
Monitoring Course Progress With Observational Data & Analytics
This is what is going to drive your instruction. If you have the above analyzed data, you will be able to differentiate your instruction accordingly. It helps the teacher to know who is working hard, spending time accessing the course content, and actually doing the work by just observing their activity data.
Students Monitoring Their Own Learning
This information is also important in its own right. Students can see how they are doing in the course and know what it takes to get what they want to get in that course. Students can read feedback from their teachers, monitor their grade, get due dates reminders etc.
The enrollments information is important for an online teacher to have some kind of knowledge about the class he/she is going to teach. It is a good information to start with. The teacher could use this information as the semester progresses. It might be important in some cases to keep in mind the number of students you have in that class when the teacher prepares quizzes, tests, and projects.
Having data of students' attendance is a valuable information for a teacher. If a student attendance is poor, we will probably do not expect the student to do well in class. That's where we start our intervention. Research has shown student and teacher attendance is directly correlated with student achievement. Having data of student's attendance definitely helps a teacher to help the student succeed.
To have data of the communication log is important not only for accountability purposes, but also helps to come up with a strategy in collaboration with all concerned stakeholders (parents) to help the student improve if he/she is failing. So keeping parents posted about students' progress is vitally important. If you record what information you have already shared with the parent, you can continue from there. In your next communication log, you can praise the student for improving or you can update parents that the students is not improving or you can warn the parents that the students may not pass the class unless he/she show improvement as soon as possible. The point is the teacher can build on information he/she had already shared about the student.
Monitoring Course Progress With Observational Data & Analytics
This is what is going to drive your instruction. If you have the above analyzed data, you will be able to differentiate your instruction accordingly. It helps the teacher to know who is working hard, spending time accessing the course content, and actually doing the work by just observing their activity data.
Students Monitoring Their Own Learning
This information is also important in its own right. Students can see how they are doing in the course and know what it takes to get what they want to get in that course. Students can read feedback from their teachers, monitor their grade, get due dates reminders etc.
Evaluate 1.1.3 The Summative Assessment Quest
Here is an example of a summative assessment. It is a test on government. It was created using edmodo.com
Validity
It was multiple choice test and all necessary action was taken to make sure the choices have detractors to differentiate students who really learned the material and those who didn't learn. There were choices that seem like reasonable answers.
Reliability
It is expected that the item analysis to show the scores of the assessment and the overall average in the course to have high correlation.
Security
For security purposes, edmodo asks the teacher and the students to login.
Validity
It was multiple choice test and all necessary action was taken to make sure the choices have detractors to differentiate students who really learned the material and those who didn't learn. There were choices that seem like reasonable answers.
Reliability
It is expected that the item analysis to show the scores of the assessment and the overall average in the course to have high correlation.
Security
For security purposes, edmodo asks the teacher and the students to login.
Evaluate 1.1.2 Quality Feedback Quest
KEY STANDARDS:
M6N1. Students will understand the meaning of the four arithmetic operations as
related to positive rational numbers and will use these concepts to solve problems.
d. Add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators.
e. Multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers.
f. Use fractions, decimals, and percents interchangeably.
g. Solve problems involving fractions, decimals, and percents.
Rubric
Feedback
Hi Zack,
As always you did a good job in organization, following all directions and your explanation of the steps. Your work is super. You could have done better when you divide numerator by the denominator. You should have kept dividing until you get no remainder. You stopped before no remainder was left.
Also remember to turn your work in by the due date. I deducted 1 point for the late submission.Overall, good work!
M6N1. Students will understand the meaning of the four arithmetic operations as
related to positive rational numbers and will use these concepts to solve problems.
d. Add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators.
e. Multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers.
f. Use fractions, decimals, and percents interchangeably.
g. Solve problems involving fractions, decimals, and percents.
Rubric
Feedback
Hi Zack,
As always you did a good job in organization, following all directions and your explanation of the steps. Your work is super. You could have done better when you divide numerator by the denominator. You should have kept dividing until you get no remainder. You stopped before no remainder was left.
Also remember to turn your work in by the due date. I deducted 1 point for the late submission.Overall, good work!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Evaluate 1.1.1 Formative Assessment Quest
One of the reasons why we use formative assessment is to know where the students are and to check if the students are getting the material during the instruction. It is also an indicator of students' engagement. I always use question-answer technique as the instruction progresses to check on students how they are doing. As of last year and especially this year, however, I have been using www.ixl.com for formative assessment purposes. Questions/problems well organized and you can go directly to the lesson you're teaching in no time.
This is how the pages of the www.ixl.com look like.
This is how the pages of the www.ixl.com look like.
- Searching your lesson...
- the problem/question...
- The most useful feature of the website is its feedback if the student do not solve the problem correctly
Create 4.1.3 Aggregating Lesson Material Quest
Among the many LMS and CMS, I chose the following three:
Moodle. A free, open source, learning platform for producing web-based courses. Easy to use, with many features to customize your content.
(Moodle=an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented DynamicLearning Environment)
Edmodo. I have been using edmodo for two years now. It provides ways to connect, collaborate, share content with students, access homework and grades. Edmodo is free for all teachers, students, schools and districts.
Desire2Learn. It is pretty much an alternative to Blackboard Learn. It is better suited for higher education. It includes synchronous tools and asynchronous tools. Some of the tools are live chat, videos and an interactive whiteboard. E-mail, a blog tool, ePortfolios, and instant messaging are also included
Moodle. A free, open source, learning platform for producing web-based courses. Easy to use, with many features to customize your content.
(Moodle=an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented DynamicLearning Environment)
Edmodo. I have been using edmodo for two years now. It provides ways to connect, collaborate, share content with students, access homework and grades. Edmodo is free for all teachers, students, schools and districts.
Desire2Learn. It is pretty much an alternative to Blackboard Learn. It is better suited for higher education. It includes synchronous tools and asynchronous tools. Some of the tools are live chat, videos and an interactive whiteboard. E-mail, a blog tool, ePortfolios, and instant messaging are also included
Create 4.1.2 Principles of Building Portable Learning Objects Quest
1. I created a mind map using examtime. Very very useful app.
by shishay
2. I created flashcards and quiz using studyblue.
Click here to see the flashcards and quiz. I don't think they have the "embed" service with the free version.
by shishay
2. I created flashcards and quiz using studyblue.
Click here to see the flashcards and quiz. I don't think they have the "embed" service with the free version.
Create 4.1.1 Define and Explain Learning Object Authoring Tools Quest
Learning objects are one way to engage students. Several the environments for creating these learning objects are:
what2learn. This learning object creating tool is good for (mathematical) games. You can build your own games. It is also good for creating quizes and tests. It has automatic recording feature that makes easy for teachers and parents to follow a student's progress. It has free version as well.
articulate storyline. This a software that can be used to develop courses, quizes, and tests. This is part of the articulate package that also have the studio package. They have a 30 day trial period.
BCCampus.CA. I checked this website and it has cool features. The authoring tools enables to easily combine video, audio, images and texts into one synchronized learning object. I tried to start authoring and I didn't see anything related to cost. I believe it is free.
glomaker. It is an authoring tool for creating rich and interactive learning resources. It is an open source and it is free for educational purposes.
pearltrees. This one is amazing! You can create and upload anything you want using this authoring tool. It is very easy to use and it has a free version. I tried it myself for completing this quest. Please see below and click on any of the circles to see the content.
what2learn. This learning object creating tool is good for (mathematical) games. You can build your own games. It is also good for creating quizes and tests. It has automatic recording feature that makes easy for teachers and parents to follow a student's progress. It has free version as well.
articulate storyline. This a software that can be used to develop courses, quizes, and tests. This is part of the articulate package that also have the studio package. They have a 30 day trial period.
BCCampus.CA. I checked this website and it has cool features. The authoring tools enables to easily combine video, audio, images and texts into one synchronized learning object. I tried to start authoring and I didn't see anything related to cost. I believe it is free.
glomaker. It is an authoring tool for creating rich and interactive learning resources. It is an open source and it is free for educational purposes.
pearltrees. This one is amazing! You can create and upload anything you want using this authoring tool. It is very easy to use and it has a free version. I tried it myself for completing this quest. Please see below and click on any of the circles to see the content.
Create 3.1.3 Locating Resources Quest
Multi-Media
By C. Barret under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Image
Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Algebraic_equation_notation.svg
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Text
By C. Barret under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Image
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Text
Name:
________________________________ Date:
__________________
M8-U1:
Notes #1 – Translate & Solve Class:
__________________
Warm-Up: Solve and check the following equations.
1. 4x +16=14 Check:
2. -p +7 = -13 Check:
Contributions to http://mrallens.wikispaces.com/ are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 License. Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 License
Create 3.1.2 Fair Use and the TEACH Act Quest
Copyright laws apply to both digital and non-digital materials. Fair Use applies to both of these categories of materials. The quests in the TOOL that deals with copyright laws and fair use are eye-opening to me. I never had a complete peace of mind when I make a copy of a worksheet for my students. I have never been clear with the copyright laws and what is permissible under the law. The Fair Use information in these quests gave me some peace of mind and now the TEACH Act gives us another layer of legal protection. It mainly deals with copyright exemptions for online distance education when certain conditions are met by the educational institution. For more information, please visit http://www.copyright.com/media/pdfs/CR-Teach-Act.pdf.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Create 3.1.1. Open Educational Resources and Creative Commons Quest
Open Educational Resources (OER) are digital educational resources that can be accessed freely; used and re-used for purposes of teaching, learning, research and more.
The Types of Creative Commons licenses
The Types of Creative Commons licenses
Attribution
CC BY
Attribution-NoDerivs
CC BY-ND
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA
Attribution-ShareAlike
CC BY-SA
Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND
For their
brief descriptions, please visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Create 2.1.3 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Student Assessment Quest
Students will be given a project in Solving Multi-Step Equations. Students are required to
- Define what an equation is and describe the difference between an equation and algebraic expression
- Solve one problem on One-Step Equation and one problem on Two-Step Equation
- Come up with their own problem of Solving Multi-Step Equation
- Describe the difference between Two-Step Equation and Multi-Step Equation
- Solve the the Multi-Step Equation they created and describe and justify each step
Students can complete this project using text, audio, or video presentation methods. The suggested web 2.0 tools are:
Padlet
Storybird
GoAnimate
Smore
Create 2.1.2 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Teacher Instruction Quest
Create 2.1.1 Web Tools Quest
Presentation
www.prezi.com. Very good web-based tool for presentation. Very engaging and it is way better than using Microsoft PowerPoint.
http://edu.glogster.com. It incorporates text, images, video, audio etc. Easy to use; user-friendly. It is common-core aligned. They have free to use version.
Storyboard
http://www.toondoo.com/ Good tool for creating cartoons and comic strips. Easy to use. It has a library of clip arts. It has free to use version.
http://www.storyboardthat.com/ It has versions for education and for businesses. You can put your thoughts and ideas to storyboard with good flow of the story. You get a free trial period for 14 days. It is very well designed website; easy to navigate, user-friendly.
Discussion Board
Most LMS applications have discussion boards. For example, Desire2Learn has a very good discussion board. I think Padlet.com and piazza.com are worth mentioning for this part of the quest.
www.prezi.com. Very good web-based tool for presentation. Very engaging and it is way better than using Microsoft PowerPoint.
http://edu.glogster.com. It incorporates text, images, video, audio etc. Easy to use; user-friendly. It is common-core aligned. They have free to use version.
Storyboard
http://www.toondoo.com/ Good tool for creating cartoons and comic strips. Easy to use. It has a library of clip arts. It has free to use version.
http://www.storyboardthat.com/ It has versions for education and for businesses. You can put your thoughts and ideas to storyboard with good flow of the story. You get a free trial period for 14 days. It is very well designed website; easy to navigate, user-friendly.
Discussion Board
Most LMS applications have discussion boards. For example, Desire2Learn has a very good discussion board. I think Padlet.com and piazza.com are worth mentioning for this part of the quest.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Create 1.1.3 Appearance Quest
The best five websites I have seen/used with good appearance are:
1. www.ixl.com its appearance of the content is beautiful; guides students through the course easily. The choice of colors, fonts etc are perfect.
2. www.funbrain.com Easy to navigate, but I am not sure about the choice of colors.
3. www.freeprintableonline.com Well organized; contents are well categorized and you can access them with great ease.
4. www.cliffsnotes.com/math Contents well categorized for easy access. Colors and layout is just right.
The following five websites needs some work in their appearance:
1. www.artofproblemsolving.com. It is probably the best website regarding content, but the appearance of the homepage is not eye-catching.
2. www.coolmath.com It has plenty of math games, but the pages are so crowded with too much color and too many commercials.
1. www.ixl.com its appearance of the content is beautiful; guides students through the course easily. The choice of colors, fonts etc are perfect.
2. www.funbrain.com Easy to navigate, but I am not sure about the choice of colors.
3. www.freeprintableonline.com Well organized; contents are well categorized and you can access them with great ease.
4. www.cliffsnotes.com/math Contents well categorized for easy access. Colors and layout is just right.
5. www.algebrahelp.com The organization, details, choice of colors and fonts are very good.
The following five websites needs some work in their appearance:
1. www.artofproblemsolving.com. It is probably the best website regarding content, but the appearance of the homepage is not eye-catching.
2. www.coolmath.com It has plenty of math games, but the pages are so crowded with too much color and too many commercials.
3. www.mathpickle.com/K-12/Videos.html It is a good website ; they just need to work on their color choice.
4. www.aaamath.com The website needs to work on many aspects in its appearance. It is just not attractive
5. http:/tutorial.math.lamar.edu/ The notes in this website are written by Paul-Paul's Notes. The notes / tutorials are on Algebra, Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III, and Differential Equations. The notes are simple, but the appearance is not appealing to high school students. When I was taking Calculus II and Calculus III in college few years ago, this website was literally my textbook.
Create 1.1.1 Time Management Quest
On the time management quiz, I scored 57 which is in the effective range. It is a good feeling, but I always feel that I have to do better with time management. There are many apps that helps with time management. I still keep changing apps in search of getting the best app I can get.
1. Calendar. I use outlook calendar for work and Google calendar my personal daily life. The outlook calendar is in sync with my phone, so I get reminders on my phone. Calenders are important because you can schedule for months ahead.
2. wunderlist This is a To-Do-List app. It is probably the app I used the longest for this purpose until I replace it with another app. The one thing I look for in these apps is how fast I can go in, put my reminder, and get out. I don't want to spend time to fill out a lengthy form. It has folders to organize your task.
3. Do It Tomorrow. I don't know why they named it like that, but this app is a very user friendly time management app.
4. Evernote. It is a note-taking app; just not a to-do-list app. You can incorporate text, photo, video and audio files. You can also do sharing.
5. Rescuetime. It is a web-based time management app. After you install it, you don't have to do anything, it just gives you analysis of how you spent your time on the computer.
1. Calendar. I use outlook calendar for work and Google calendar my personal daily life. The outlook calendar is in sync with my phone, so I get reminders on my phone. Calenders are important because you can schedule for months ahead.
2. wunderlist This is a To-Do-List app. It is probably the app I used the longest for this purpose until I replace it with another app. The one thing I look for in these apps is how fast I can go in, put my reminder, and get out. I don't want to spend time to fill out a lengthy form. It has folders to organize your task.
3. Do It Tomorrow. I don't know why they named it like that, but this app is a very user friendly time management app.
4. Evernote. It is a note-taking app; just not a to-do-list app. You can incorporate text, photo, video and audio files. You can also do sharing.
5. Rescuetime. It is a web-based time management app. After you install it, you don't have to do anything, it just gives you analysis of how you spent your time on the computer.
Communicate 4.3.1 The Synchronous Session Quest
Synchronous Sessions create a true classroom culture because
- encourages student-teacher and student-student interaction
- encourages active learning because the students won't sit idle while the instructor is continuously encouraging them to actively participate
- Students will be able to get a feedback immediately
- students will learn how to respect other peoples opinion and ways of learning
Communicate 4.2.3 Discussions Quest
What role or purpose do discussion forums serve in the online classroom and are they effective?
Discussion forms gives students to communicate each other and communicate with the instructor. The instructor can learn where his/her students stand in understanding the lesson. The instructor can use it as a data to adjust his/her instruction
How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool?
As said above, the instructor can use the discussion form as a data to guide his/instruction. The instructor will be able to differentiate his/her lessons to reach out each student by observing how they are participating in the discussion board.
How could they be used effectively and ineffectively? Furthermore, what are some best practices for facilitating forums online?
If an instructor does not give the students enough time to talk to each other; if the instructor responds to every post before the students try to figure it out, then the discussion board is not a discussion board anymore; it becomes a lecture session instead of a discussion session.
Best Practices
Discussion forms gives students to communicate each other and communicate with the instructor. The instructor can learn where his/her students stand in understanding the lesson. The instructor can use it as a data to adjust his/her instruction
How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool?
As said above, the instructor can use the discussion form as a data to guide his/instruction. The instructor will be able to differentiate his/her lessons to reach out each student by observing how they are participating in the discussion board.
How could they be used effectively and ineffectively? Furthermore, what are some best practices for facilitating forums online?
If an instructor does not give the students enough time to talk to each other; if the instructor responds to every post before the students try to figure it out, then the discussion board is not a discussion board anymore; it becomes a lecture session instead of a discussion session.
Best Practices
- students should exercises digital citizenship at all times
- use correct grammar ans correct word spellings
- avoid slang or any sarcasm
- bold fonts/all caps should be avoided
Communicate 4.2.2 Digital Feedback Quest
Three digital feedback methods
Visual. This is a good method to give digital feedback. Some students are just visual. As I explained in my previous blog, some students can be reached better with visual materials. The following website can help us to create some impressive visual feedback.
1, Smore
2.Toondoo.com
3. Photofunia.com
Example
Audio feedback. This method could be effective since you can convey a lot of information within limitted time. But will the students really tune-in? I have that doubt.
Peer Feedback. This method sometimes could be effective through the discussion board. The instructor must monitor the discussion, but should let students exchange information, speak their minds up, and help each other. From their discussion, the instructor will clearly see how much the students has understood the material.
Visual. This is a good method to give digital feedback. Some students are just visual. As I explained in my previous blog, some students can be reached better with visual materials. The following website can help us to create some impressive visual feedback.
1, Smore
2.Toondoo.com
3. Photofunia.com
Example
Peer Feedback. This method sometimes could be effective through the discussion board. The instructor must monitor the discussion, but should let students exchange information, speak their minds up, and help each other. From their discussion, the instructor will clearly see how much the students has understood the material.
Communicate 4.2.1 Feedback Quest
KEY STANDARDS:
M6N1. Students will understand the meaning of the four arithmetic operations as
related to positive rational numbers and will use these concepts to solve problems.
d. Add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators.
e. Multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers.
f. Use fractions, decimals, and percents interchangeably.
g. Solve problems involving fractions, decimals, and percents.
Rubric
Feedback
Hi Zack,
As always you did a good job in organization, following all directions and your explanation of the steps. Your work is super. You could have done better when you divide numerator by the denominator. You should have kept dividing until you get no remainder. You stopped before no remainder is left.
Also remember to turn your work in by the due date. I deducted 1 point for the late submission.Overall, good work!
M6N1. Students will understand the meaning of the four arithmetic operations as
related to positive rational numbers and will use these concepts to solve problems.
d. Add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers with unlike denominators.
e. Multiply and divide fractions and mixed numbers.
f. Use fractions, decimals, and percents interchangeably.
g. Solve problems involving fractions, decimals, and percents.
Rubric
Feedback
Hi Zack,
As always you did a good job in organization, following all directions and your explanation of the steps. Your work is super. You could have done better when you divide numerator by the denominator. You should have kept dividing until you get no remainder. You stopped before no remainder is left.
Also remember to turn your work in by the due date. I deducted 1 point for the late submission.Overall, good work!
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Communicate 4.1.2 Rubrics Quest
Communicate 4.1.1 Evaluation Methods and Communication Practices Quest
How do communication practices in the online environment correlate to effective feedback?
Communication practices is directly related (Pearson correlation coefficient = 99%?). If the instructor uses variety methods communication such as email, phone call, bulletin boards, news letters, discussion boards etc depending on the need of the feedback, he/she is providing effective feedback.
Why is authentic feedback important for online learners?
An online instructor does not have the luxury of meeting the student in person everyday, like as in regular classroom setting. Unless your feedback is authentic, you don't have the flexibility to address misunderstanding of the student later. Authentic feedback on timely manner is key for an online learner's success.
In what ways might an instructor enrich a student’s online experience through feedback?
An online instructor can enrich a student's online experience by using different methods to provide feedback to the student. The feedback should be in variety of forms: written (email), phone, video or audio can be used to maximize online learner's experience.
Communication practices is directly related (Pearson correlation coefficient = 99%?). If the instructor uses variety methods communication such as email, phone call, bulletin boards, news letters, discussion boards etc depending on the need of the feedback, he/she is providing effective feedback.
Why is authentic feedback important for online learners?
An online instructor does not have the luxury of meeting the student in person everyday, like as in regular classroom setting. Unless your feedback is authentic, you don't have the flexibility to address misunderstanding of the student later. Authentic feedback on timely manner is key for an online learner's success.
In what ways might an instructor enrich a student’s online experience through feedback?
An online instructor can enrich a student's online experience by using different methods to provide feedback to the student. The feedback should be in variety of forms: written (email), phone, video or audio can be used to maximize online learner's experience.
Communicate 3.2.2 Differentiation Quest
Differentiated instruction is essentially the teacher's effort to address any differences in learning that could exist among learners in the classroom. It the effort of adjusting instruction to reach out an individual or group of students to learn their maximum potential. In classrooms, there could be students with special needs, below level, advanced learners and students that are English Language Learners (ELL). Online teachers can differentiate instruction in three ways:
1. Content. How the student gets access to the information
2. Process. How the lesson is taught
3. Product. Outcome of what the student learned
An Example of Differentiated Instruction (Tiered Activity)
Below Level
Grade Level
Advanced Level
(adapted from holt online learning)
1. Content. How the student gets access to the information
2. Process. How the lesson is taught
3. Product. Outcome of what the student learned
An Example of Differentiated Instruction (Tiered Activity)
Below Level
(adapted from holt online learning)
Communicate 3.2.1 The Newsletter Quest
Three highly effective methods of communicating with stakeholders:
1. E-mail. This method is probably the most effective to communicate with all stakeholders. It is convenient to update students and parents about the student's progress; communicate with administrators if you have any concerns or anything you want to let them know. It is always advised to use the LMS's email system.
2. BulletinBoard
3. News letters. I created this using Smore.
1. E-mail. This method is probably the most effective to communicate with all stakeholders. It is convenient to update students and parents about the student's progress; communicate with administrators if you have any concerns or anything you want to let them know. It is always advised to use the LMS's email system.
2. BulletinBoard
3. News letters. I created this using Smore.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Participate 1.1.3 Ideal Digital Learning Community Quest
The characteristics, features and best practices of an ideal Digital Learning Community (DLC) are:
The DLC's Objectives. The learning objectives of the DLC must be clear and meaningful. People will become members of the DLC for a reason, i.e., people will join the community to gain or to contribute something to the community. The members have a purpose and the community will always thrive.
Relevance of the Technology. The DLC should use appropriate technology. Not everyone is technologically savoy. So selecting appropriate technology is key. Once they are on, they must be able to successfully navigate. When selecting the technology, you must consider the learning objectives, level of education of members and how comfortable they are with technology. Some technology could be frustrating to some and if students are the target audience, they could lose interest in learning if the technology is too complicated.
Interactive and Engaging. The content and the layout of the LMS used by DLC must be interactive and engaging. It should discourage passively receiving information.
Collaborative Learning. The DLC members participate in discussion actively, share information and just not receivers.
Accessibility. The LMS used by DLC should be easy to use and must have features enabled to help people with disability to participate equally.
Safety. The DLC should have safety rules for participating that everyone should adhere to. Members should practice digital citizenship. Be respectful people and their ideas.
The DLC's Objectives. The learning objectives of the DLC must be clear and meaningful. People will become members of the DLC for a reason, i.e., people will join the community to gain or to contribute something to the community. The members have a purpose and the community will always thrive.
Relevance of the Technology. The DLC should use appropriate technology. Not everyone is technologically savoy. So selecting appropriate technology is key. Once they are on, they must be able to successfully navigate. When selecting the technology, you must consider the learning objectives, level of education of members and how comfortable they are with technology. Some technology could be frustrating to some and if students are the target audience, they could lose interest in learning if the technology is too complicated.
Interactive and Engaging. The content and the layout of the LMS used by DLC must be interactive and engaging. It should discourage passively receiving information.
Collaborative Learning. The DLC members participate in discussion actively, share information and just not receivers.
Accessibility. The LMS used by DLC should be easy to use and must have features enabled to help people with disability to participate equally.
Safety. The DLC should have safety rules for participating that everyone should adhere to. Members should practice digital citizenship. Be respectful people and their ideas.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Communicate 2.1.3 Ongoing Communication Quest
I am posting an example from my class this semester of an ongoing communication without violating any kind of law or policy.
Sent Items Monday, March 31, 2014 1:30 PM
Good afternoon,
I am trying to reach xxx parent. Is this the right email. Thanks.
Shishay Habte
Note: Before I say anything, I was double checking if the email holder is indeed my student's parent.
To:
Monday, March 31, 2014 3:31 PM
I am his mother, how can I help you.
To:
Wednesday, April 02, 2014 12:28 PM
Good afternoon,
xxxx has been doing just fine in my class in the beginning , but lately he seems to have xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Please talk to xxx to do better in my class as the CRCT test is approaching fast. Thank you.
To:
Wednesday, April 02, 2014 3:18 PM
thanks for contacting me and I will address this matter.
To:
GOOD AFTERNOON,
JUST CHECKING TO SEE HOW xxxxxxx IS DOING IN YOUR CLASS NOW?
Habte, Shishay G.
Actions
To:
Good morning,
xxxxx is doing better and he is passing my class. Thanks.
Note: No actual grade or score is mentioned here.
Communicate 2.1. 2 Communication Guidelines Quest
In online learning, communication is key. Since you don't have the luxury to speak to the student in person everyday as in the traditional classrooms, the only way to keep the learning process smooth is through communication.
Welcome email. This email will be a generic one. First introduce yourself and let them know how happy you're to teach the students that semester. Introduce the name of the course and remind them that it web-based course. Speak about the course schedule and how important it is for the students to review the course schedule so that they don't miss any deadlines. Explain clearly regarding your policy when it comes to due dates of quizzes, tests, projects, etc. Include your contact information and your most preferred way of communication. Have a policy that students to use the LMS email system and not outside email address. This is good for accountability purposes. Indicate the textbook and other resources they can use to successfully complete the course. Make sure to include your grading policy.
Personal Notes versus Mass Communication. You have to send personal notes when the issue is only with specific student/s. Contact them personally if they are not doing good in the course and email a compliment note for those who are doing good as well. Mass communication should be used only when you want to remind the class about, say, due dates and other issues pertaining to the entire class.
School Policy. For accountability purposes, the instructor should remind the class that any email communication should be done using the LMS email feature.
Tools available for effective communication. Email and phone services are basic and should be available to the instructor and students. Other forms of communication that are available could be discussion boards, virtual classrooms, skype and so on.
Welcome email. This email will be a generic one. First introduce yourself and let them know how happy you're to teach the students that semester. Introduce the name of the course and remind them that it web-based course. Speak about the course schedule and how important it is for the students to review the course schedule so that they don't miss any deadlines. Explain clearly regarding your policy when it comes to due dates of quizzes, tests, projects, etc. Include your contact information and your most preferred way of communication. Have a policy that students to use the LMS email system and not outside email address. This is good for accountability purposes. Indicate the textbook and other resources they can use to successfully complete the course. Make sure to include your grading policy.
Personal Notes versus Mass Communication. You have to send personal notes when the issue is only with specific student/s. Contact them personally if they are not doing good in the course and email a compliment note for those who are doing good as well. Mass communication should be used only when you want to remind the class about, say, due dates and other issues pertaining to the entire class.
School Policy. For accountability purposes, the instructor should remind the class that any email communication should be done using the LMS email feature.
Tools available for effective communication. Email and phone services are basic and should be available to the instructor and students. Other forms of communication that are available could be discussion boards, virtual classrooms, skype and so on.
Communicate 2.1.1 Identify Stakeholders Quest
The description of the stakeholders: instructors, students, parents and local school administrators is correct. The description of the local school administrators was beyond my perception how much helpful they could be in online student success.
I believe the members of the Parent-Teacher-Student- Association (PTSA) must be 'kept on the loop' as well. These parents are among the most concerned citizens in the community and making them aware of how the online learning is going is very helpful for overall success of the program. They could be the voice of the program.
I believe the members of the Parent-Teacher-Student- Association (PTSA) must be 'kept on the loop' as well. These parents are among the most concerned citizens in the community and making them aware of how the online learning is going is very helpful for overall success of the program. They could be the voice of the program.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Communicate 1.1.2 Laws of Communication Quest
The purpose the Federal Law, FERPA, is to protect the educational record of students. A parent/guardian has the right to know the student's record. No other third party has the right to know any educational record of a student. Avoid emailing personal information of a student; it could be easily scanned by the bad guys. Phone is the preferred way of communication when it comes to a student's educational records. When I call a parent, I double check the relationship of the person with the student. I check that information against what I have in file. So we need to be careful who we communicate with when it comes to students records.
According to the video, we can avoid violating copyright by making sure that we are not using it for financial gain or business profit, by not using a substantial amount of the work, and by making sure that our use of the material doesn't result in financial lose of the copyright holder.
According to the video, we can avoid violating copyright by making sure that we are not using it for financial gain or business profit, by not using a substantial amount of the work, and by making sure that our use of the material doesn't result in financial lose of the copyright holder.
Communicate 1.1.1. Definitions of Communication Quest
"...not only change what we do, they change who we are"
Sherry Turkle "Connected: But alone?"
The above quote from the video had me think deep about myself. I asked myself if I have changed what I do or who I am due to technology. Is the change for the better or worse?
My individual communication mode is now "texting", thanks to technology. I text a lot. I rarely call; I rarely talk on the phone. I encourage people to text me than to call me. I try very hard to convince them how texting is better than calling and having conversation. If I have to call and if the person do not answer, I don't bother to leave a voice mail, rather I default to texting. However, when I communicate with parents, I always use the phone. I phone parents regularly.
I was very quick to embrace the email technology since I was a college student at the time. I was also fast to use mobile phones. However, I was very resistant to embrace the smart phones. I thought it was a waste of money and waste of time. I resisted for a long time until I finally get a smart phone in 2011. I was not fan of Facebook either. I opened an account in 2005 or 2006, when it was first launched, but I abandoned it and never used it and I have no idea what happened to that account. Now I am a facebook-er. I am almost addicted to these apps on my phone and I am an active user of facebook. I know where I need to change and I know what I need to do to reduce my attachment to my mobile devices and social media. I definitely plan to make drastic change my activity on facebook.
The email and phone call technologies are still the primary means of communication in online learning. Email is very convenient way for the teacher to respond at his earliest convenience within reasonable time.
Navigate 4.1.1 Trend Impact Quest
Online Learning has shown rapid changes following the rapid advancement of technology. Due to the innovation of new devices, super fast internet speeds, and better mobile networks, distance barriers is becoming the thing of the past. According to many studies, in 2014, the number of mobile users will exceed the number of desktop users. These mobile devices are phones, laptops, and tablets. So the default devices for people to access a course content, attend virtual classrooms and communicate with teachers and classmates will be these wireless mobile devices. So it is imperative to encourage new teaching methods that meets the needs of our students.
Navigate 3.2.1 Tools for Deciding on an LMS Quest
There are two major factors to be considered in deciding on an LMS:
- the needs of the teachers, students, administrators, parents and other stakeholders
- the cost of the LMS software
So one must strike the balance between the above two factors when deciding on an LMS. The process of selecting an LMS should follow the following steps:
- the goals of acquiring the LMS must be defined by conducting "needs analysis"
- identify the vendors available in the market whose product meets the needs of the organization or the school district. Open source is also an option to be considered
- seek information from the vendors and request to explain to you why their product the best and how it is going to meet your orgainization's needs
- request proposal to compare their pricing model
To the best of my knowledge, Desire2Learn seems the most appropriate LMS for K-12 schools.
Navigate 3.1.4 LMS Reporting Quest
In the last few years the phrase "data-based decisions" has been famous and has been mentioned in various occasions: speeches, literature, seminars, workshops, etc. In the last few years, many powerful soft-wares that can analyze millions of data in a little time have been developed. Given the technology at our disposal, to make a data-based decisions makes sense. Data analysis helps to identify area of problems and extent of the problems. If you know what the problem is and how big the problem is, you will clearly know your target and you know how much resources you will need to fix these problems. There will be less waste of resources.
Schools seem to struggle to clearly identify where the weakness is in order to improve student achievement. If the problem is not clearly identified, there will definitely be waste of resources by directing their resources to the wrong "problem." So how how does data help to improve student achievement?
At Student Level. This data comes in the form of the number of times the student visited to the portal or how many times does a particular student attempted to access the course or attempted to complete the quiz or test. His online behavior can be reflected by this data of the student. If a teacher has this information at his disposal, he can have some knowledge about the student. If a student is accessing the course many times, or if the student has been attempting to complete the assignment many times, but still struggling in the course, the teacher can provide special instruction to the struggling student. That way the teacher can differentiate his instruction according to the need of each student. The support could be in the form of tutorials, after school programs, etc.
At Teacher Level. This is when teachers assess their own work and the effect of their teaching strategy on their students. Data analytic can provide a teacher how his classes are doing. He/she can identify which class of the same course is doing good and which ones are not doing so well. A teacher can also see the performance of his students for different courses. He can pick the best practice and modify his/her instruction based on this information.
At Course Level. This is to use the data to assess the relevance of the lessons in the course or to assess if some lesson have to be added to the course. It is about reviewing the course and re-design it if necessary.
At Program Level. Effective use of assessment data could lead to intensive review of the curriculum or the program. Based on this data, the administration can make the necessary changes to the program including training teachers on how to use student data to adjust their instruction.
Schools seem to struggle to clearly identify where the weakness is in order to improve student achievement. If the problem is not clearly identified, there will definitely be waste of resources by directing their resources to the wrong "problem." So how how does data help to improve student achievement?
At Student Level. This data comes in the form of the number of times the student visited to the portal or how many times does a particular student attempted to access the course or attempted to complete the quiz or test. His online behavior can be reflected by this data of the student. If a teacher has this information at his disposal, he can have some knowledge about the student. If a student is accessing the course many times, or if the student has been attempting to complete the assignment many times, but still struggling in the course, the teacher can provide special instruction to the struggling student. That way the teacher can differentiate his instruction according to the need of each student. The support could be in the form of tutorials, after school programs, etc.
At Teacher Level. This is when teachers assess their own work and the effect of their teaching strategy on their students. Data analytic can provide a teacher how his classes are doing. He/she can identify which class of the same course is doing good and which ones are not doing so well. A teacher can also see the performance of his students for different courses. He can pick the best practice and modify his/her instruction based on this information.
At Course Level. This is to use the data to assess the relevance of the lessons in the course or to assess if some lesson have to be added to the course. It is about reviewing the course and re-design it if necessary.
At Program Level. Effective use of assessment data could lead to intensive review of the curriculum or the program. Based on this data, the administration can make the necessary changes to the program including training teachers on how to use student data to adjust their instruction.
Navigate 3.1.3 Tools within the LMS Quest
LMS provides online instructors, students and other stakeholders
with many mode of communication, modes of delivering instruction, tools to
evaluate student work and track progress, developing courses, etc. I believe
all of the features in an LMS are useful. Some of the tools are may be more
useful than the others. But overall, the most relevant features of a LMS
software are;
·
Email/Noification system/discussion/Calendar
tools: These three
features of an LMS are very effective and helpful mode of communication between
teachers, students, parents, and other stakeholders. Yes they are asynchronous
communication tools, but they are the best features of the LMS for
communication.
When it comes
to the mode of communication, the least important feature of LMS I noticed is
the Instant Messaging (IM) tool. I have never seen or experienced people using
any IM for educational purposes in classroom or online setting.
The Blogs
feature is also one of the least used feature of LMS application.
- Dropbox/quiz/test/gradebook. These important assessment features of an LMS application. The dropbox folder is very important feature of LMS because it allows students to turn their work in online by uploading their files to designated folders. The Droobox has good features that instructors can grade them and can provide feedback from inside the dropbox. Some LMS softwares are equipped with turnitin.com feature to check originality of student work.
The self-assessment/surveys are the least used feature of LMS in
the assessment category.
- Content. In the LMS software application, you can upload your contents and organize them by chapters, modules, and topics. You can upload many types of files such as text files, images, multimedia, etc. It is very important feature of an LMS software application.
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