Lesson Eight Blog

Introduction:

This week's blog focuses on internet safety and the security systems that help provide it. I will also discuss any areas of concern that I have with the district's protocol for preventing malicious activity or hacking.

All students must first receive permission from a parent/guardian before they can use the internet at school. Furthermore, a copy of the district's "Internet Safety Policy and Acceptable Use Procedures" is given to all parents and students at the beginning of each school year. This ensures that everybody is informed of the district's rules and guidelines for using the internet.

Limiting Malicious Activity:

My district has a blocking/filtering software installed entitled "X Stop" which prevents students and faculty/staff from visiting inappropriate or potentially harmful websites or web pages. For example, if I were to open a web browser like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox and type www.facebook.com in the URL box, an error message would be displayed saying, "X Stop: Your District Has Blocked This Page!"

By using this blocking/filtering software, the district ensures that students are visiting only educational sites and not wasting instructional time by exploring social networking or other non-educational pages.

Avoiding Hackers:

"X Stop" also prevents outside sources from invading or attacking the network in which students and faculty/staff use for internet browsing. This is vital because it allows those using the internet to browse safely without worrying about hackers stealing important data, files, or other information.

All internet users must log in on the district's network before accessing the internet. This also helps limit hacking because an authorized user name and password must be submitted before visiting the World Wide Web. Furthermore, all students and faculty/staff must make "strong" passwords, meaning they are fairly lengthy and include upper-case letters, lower-case letters, and numbers, and they are required to change their passwords every 30 days.

Requiring students to login before browsing the internet may prevent one from doing malicious things because administrators and moderators can trace each user's internet activity. This is also why the district stresses that passwords are not shared among co-workers or other people in the school.

Areas of Concern:

One main concern I have with these internet safety procedures is that younger students, like my fourth graders, aren't very organized and can sometimes be forgetful. These traits don't bode well when students are encouraged to make passwords that are hard to decipher. I fear that my students will make passwords that are too "strong" so that no other student will figure them out. Then, if my students happen to forget the password, we will have to go through the password-changing process and thus waste instructional time.

Another concern I have is that students may forget to log out of an internet session. This could allow other students with bad intentions to act maliciously in order to prank or bully the student whose user name is still logged in. However, I feel this could be a non-issue with proper teacher supervision.

Lastly, I'm concerned that "X Stop" blocks too many pages and can sometimes be a nuisance to an internet browser. For example, my personal classroom website was blocked at school when I first created it. In order for my students to view it, I had to contact my media specialist and have her add the site to the allowable websites list. I have also tried to view other websites and web pages that were blocked in the past. I feel this issue could be resolved by allowing teachers to control which pages his/her classroom can view.

Overall Reaction:

I feel the district has all the proper guidelines and procedures in place to make internet browsing a safe and enjoyable experience for students and faculty/staff. My concerns are minimal and I never have second-thoughts after allowing my students to explore the net. Though "X Stop" and constantly typing different user names and passwords can be annoying at times, it definitely helps out and allows our educational community to utilize one of the greatest resources available: the internet.

Lesson Seven Blog

In this week's blog, I've been asked to discuss a type of educational software that I use with my students. Therefore, I have chosen to talk about CPS software (Classroom Performance System) manufactured by eInstruction.

This software is used with CPS hardware called "student response pads" (otherwise known as "clickers"). One can use the software to develop class rosters, gradebooks, and much more. Each student is then assigned a numbered student response pad to use during instruction. For example, Student A would be assigned a clicker numbered one. Student B may be given number two and Student C could be assigned #3.

After each student has been given a numbered student response pad, educators then have options for using CPS during instruction. The first option is to go into "Verbal Mode" where one can ask multiple-choice or true/false questions and have the students input their answers using the clickers. This is a fantastic option for teachers who don't want to plan or upload assignments into CPS beforehand and just want to use the software freely.

The second way to use CPS software is to type or upload assignments into the program and have students use the clickers to answer the questions. The program will then provide feedback on how the students scored and will even grade the assignments uploaded. Though this takes more planning than using "Verbal Mode", it does cut down on the amount of time spent grading or providing feedback for students since it does those things for you.

CPS is one of the most wonderful pieces of software/hardware that I've ever used in the classroom. The students always get super-pumped when we use the student response pads because they feel actively-involved in the lessons. Additionally, CPS is a terrific resource for educators because it provides instantaneous feedback of how the students are absorbing the content being taught. For instance, if you notice that several students are struggling on a certain topic, you can spend more time explaining it and take advantage of the teachable moment. Likewise, if you see that the majority of the students are getting ALL the questions correct, you can then determine the content is either well-covered or too easy. Then, you can move on to something more challenging or to a different concept altogether.

CPS software helps me meet my instructional goals because I can easily assess how the students are performing on given objectives in the lesson. Also, an essential part of teaching is providing feedback in a timely fashion. Using CPS, as I stated above, gives students feedback instantly and lets them know how they're scoring.

Another instructional goal I emphasize is differentiating my instruction so that all students are given an equal chance to learn in a positive learning environment. Using this technology, I feel that I meet the needs of several different learning styles including Kinesthetic (hands-on) and Visual.

Lastly, a final goal I set for myself is to constantly motivate students to learn and be active learners at that. Since my students absolutely love using this software, I feel I reach this goal when using CPS. I literally have students arguing over who is going to help me operate the CPS software on the Smart Board when I use it in class (hitting buttons and stuff like that). Therefore, it's obvious to me that CPS is something the students look forward to using and, if they had it their way, we'd use CPS on a daily basis.

Now allow me to discuss some triumphs and challenges I've encountered with using CPS software. First, let me say that I consider myself a novice user of this program, as I only recently started using it and haven't really experimented with it much. With this in mind, I only used the "Verbal Mode" option in class. Therefore, one challenge I've faced is not uploading lessons and assignments effectively in CPS. I tried to upload a test once and couldn't get it to work correctly. This is definitely something I would like to change when I use CPS next year in class. Something else I'd like to change is in the amount of time I spend using this software. Last year I used CPS about 2 or 3 times each week. I would like to at least double that number to the point where I'm using CPS constantly in class.

Having said that, I also had a lot of good experiences with this software. I figured out how to show graphs of the results of student answers to questions during my instruction. The students really enjoyed seeing the amount of correct answers and the number of incorrect choices. Plus, it was easy to incorporate math skills into the lessons because I could ask students to read graphs, tell me the difference between certain scores, and so forth. Since I'm always seeking ways to motivate my students, I turned this into a challenge by saying things like, "If more than 5 people miss this question, we're going to do 5 more problems just like it!"

To sum this blog up, let me say one more time that CPS can definitely bring of a lot of joy to both teachers and students if used in a classroom. Just like many other types of educational software/hardware out there, it will take some time to get acquainted with using CPS, but it's worth the time up front because CPS can save teachers so much time in the end. If you scroll back to the top of the blog, you'll see that the word "eInstruction" is underlined. It looks that way because I linked that word to eInstruction's website that discusses the Classroom Performance System. If you have any questions, I'm sure that website will have a ton of additional information for you to review.

PS- Look how happy the kid in green is...don't you want your students to look like that? ;)

Lesson Six Blog

For this week's blog, I was asked to create a WebQuest, describe what I created, post its URL, and then discuss the challenges I faced in the process.

I created a WebQuest that asks students to compare and contrast their lives with children living in Pioneer times. This content is assessed in the area of Social Studies. My WebQuest asks students to be creative as they determine the similarities and differences in the two time periods. I believe they'll enjoy completing the activities I have planned.

My WebQuest can be accessed by visiting the following URL:

http://questgarden.com/104/97/4/100612122523/

Here is a copy/paste of my WebQuest:

Wq 1

View more documents from David Jenkins.

Wq 2

View more documents from David Jenkins.

Wq 3

View more documents from David Jenkins.

Wq 4

View more documents from David Jenkins.

Wq 5

View more documents from David Jenkins.

As I completed my WebQuest, I faced a few unexpected challenges. First off, as soon as I learned about my assignment, a million different ideas went running through my head for my WebQuest. However, after reading the chapter and other helpful resources, I learned that it's essential to be organized when making a WebQuest. This really helped me slow down and think sequentially as I developed my project.

Secondly, I encountered a few problems with QuestGarden as I worked on my WebQuest. For some reason, all the work I completed at first didn't save. There may have been a glitch in the system on that day because some of my classmates in EDOL 533 had the same problem. Another challenge I faced was figuring out how to embed a document from my computer. For the WebQuest, I typed up some documents using Microsoft Word and used a website called "Slide Share" where you can upload and embed or email documents. This site was extremely helpful for me as I finished my WebQuest. I also used this URL to embed Microsoft Word documents I created with the WebQuest I made.

Overall, this was a very entertaining and informative process. I hope to make more WebQuests in the future so that I can utilize them in my classroom.

Lesson Five Blog

The blog this week discusses forms of online communication like electronic mail, blogs, microblogs, forums, and more. Two specific questions will be addressed below and they are as follows:

1. Have you ever used online communication in your classroom before? If so, detail your experiences. If not, what has prevented you from using online communication tools?

2. Identify one online communication tool you can use in the classroom and discuss how you will prepare your students for using this communication tool.

First, let's start with question one. In my classroom, I use various forms of online communication on a daily basis. I established a website that is equipped with a guest book which serves as a "mini forum" for the students to use. On this guest book, students, parents/guardians, and I can communicate back and forth in an asynchronous fashion. Secondly, my website features a blog where I post about various activities taking place in my classroom each week. I feel this really helps the parents/guardians get involved with their student's education by seeing what the students will be learning and completing in school. Also, students can check the blog on Sunday nights to see what they'll be learning about throughout the week to get mentally prepared for the instruction.

There are a ton of other forms of online communication that are available for me to use on my website. Some examples include a forum, an instant messenger chat program, a wiki, and a VoIP. I plan to incorporate more of these functions at a later date.

Another way I've used online communication is by setting up student email accounts. Our district setup a program where students in grades 3, 4, and 5 are given an email account through the school. Each student is responsible for his/her password and must change the password every 30 days. Though I didn't use this online communication to its fullest extent, I feel I made the students more familiar with using electronic mail and constructed the support for future use.

I also briefly experimented with a website called "Epals" where students could create accounts and post messages on a forum. However, after allowing students to browse the site and post a few times, I concluded that the software was too difficult at the time to continue using it. The students had trouble locating others' posts and responding to each other, so I decided to pursue other avenues for communicating online.

Question two asks me to brainstorm ways that I can use one type of online communication in my classroom. On my website, there's an application I can utilize that allows the students and I to make video blogs using a web cam. Also, coincidentally, our school has an abundance of barely used web cams available for me to check out from the library. I think it'd be neat to have the students create mini video blogs explaining concepts or processes they learned in the classroom. I would then keep all the videos organized in an online archive that could be accessed on my site.

Not only would this help struggling students better understand the content by watching and re-watching videos of interest, but it would also help the students making the video blogs internalize what they've learned. I strongly believe that a student who can teach a certain lesson has a pretty good grasp on the material. Lastly, by incorporating this form of online communication and strengthening the level of technology in my curriculum, I feel I will have motivated students and differentiated instruction to support them.

To prepare my students for creating video blogs, I will have to show them how to hook up a web cam and how to use it once it's ready to go. I can introduce terms like USB to them while doing so. Secondly, I'll need to teach my students how to create an account on my website so that they may post video blogs on it. Like with setting up the web cam, this should be a simple procedure to explain. Lastly, I'll need to show my students how to locate and use the video blog application installed on my page. This may be trickier than the first steps but shouldn't be an insurmountable task. In order for the students to make the video blog, they will need to practice what they're going to say and can even script out their procedures. I believe the students may be nervous at first but would eventually become more accustomed to being recorded.

Before using this form of online communication, I would make sure to go over our district's acceptable use policy with the students so that nobody does anything inappropriate on the website or on a video blog. I would also attain parent/guardian permission before recording or publishing any blogs from students. Lastly, I would make my website private to where it could only be viewed from site members like parents, students, and other educators in the building. By taking these safeguards into consideration, I feel I would provide the best possible online experience for my students.

To sum it all up, it's easy to see that the "way of the world" is changing and things are becoming more and more reliant on online communication. For instance, how many newspaper companies do you know that don't have an online version of their product? How many companies can you find that don't sell merchandise online? The answer: not many. Since the world is evolving and technology is becoming more prevalent, we, as educators, must instill a level of technological literacy in our students to prepare them for the "real world" and life outside of school. Isn't that our ultimate goal anyways? Using forms of online communication is just a small step in the right direction but every journey must start with a first step.

E V E R Y

J O U R N E Y

S T A R T S

W I T H   A

F I R S T

S T E P

Lesson Four Blog

This week's blog centers around presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint. I will be creating an example of this software to use in my classroom and will then analyze its effectiveness to strengthen it for the future.

First, let's introduce what I've created. On the first day of school, I always like to make a PowerPoint presentation to show my new students introducing my teaching philosophy, highlighting basic information of my classroom, and to allow my kids to learn more about me outside of the school. I feel this is a good "ice breaker" and helps my students and I become more familiar with each other.

At the beginning of the school year, I showed a presentation to my current students. I created a presentation to show for next school year (2010-2011) and will ask my kids to provide feedback on it so that I can improve it before it's shown on opening day in August.

After I gather my students' thoughts on the PowerPoint, I will reflect what I've learned below the dotted line and answer the questions from this week's blog assignment.

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Question: What was the presentation about and to whom did you present it?

The presentation was entitled, "All About Your Teacher," and was presented to my homeroom class. The goal of the presentation was to offer a glimpse into my life in and out of education and to explain my personal teaching philosophy. The purpose for showing this presentation to my students at the end of the school year was to strengthen it for next year and to brainstorm ideas for the future.

Question: Of which item in your presentation are you the most proud?

I was proudest about the cohesiveness of my presentation. I felt like all the slides were focused, organized, and effectively communicated the main ideas I planned to address. By limiting the amount of information per slide (and adhering to the "rule of thumb" mentioned in our chapter reading), I was able to keep my students engaged and motivated to participate in the lesson. Lastly, I was proud of the design of the presentation. I made sure to use colors that worked well with each other so that my message was easily construed to the students.

Question: What might you do differently if you could create the presentation again?

After allowing my students to provide feedback on the presentation and after spending some time in self-reflection, I would add more animation and multimedia to my PowerPoint. I used few sounds and moving pictures and those were some of the most interesting parts according to my students. Plus, I've always been the "multimedia guy" at our school. I wrote and recorded a theme song to be played over the morning announcements and have written various songs for other school-related activities. Furthermore, I write goofy songs in class and record them for my students. With all of this in mind, why wouldn't I add more sound and "life" to my presentation? By doing so, I feel that my presentation will be even more engaging, entertaining, and will inspire my students to want to create a PowerPoint of their own.

Question: How did your students respond to the presentation?

As I previously mentioned, I felt my students were very engaged and motivated to participate in the lesson. They enjoyed seeing new pictures of me and my family, and were extremely interested in helping me strengthen the PowerPoint for my next bunch of students. Also, several of them expressed interest in creating PowerPoint presentations of their own to show the class.

Question: Do you have any new ideas or thoughts on how to use PowerPoint with your students in the future?

After seeing how interested the students were in creating their own presentations, I plan to utilize Microsoft PowerPoint as a way for future students to get acquainted with their classmates at the beginning of the year. I will instruct each student to create a presentation with pictures and information about his/her life that he/she would like to share with the rest of the class. This will be a great way to make the students feel like our class is a "family atmosphere" and get more comfortable with their peers. More importantly, incorporating technology in the classroom will make my curriculum more diversified and address more learning styles. It will also help the students sharpen their technological skills to hopefully become technologically literate.

Lesson Three Blog

This blog will focus on how I utilize word processing and desktop publishing programs in my classroom to create various "documents" to present information, news, and more. In case you're unsure of what these programs are, allow me first to provide a brief explanation of each. A word processing program allows teachers/students to type information and often includes tools like a spell checker, thesaurus, and a guide to using proper grammar. Desktop publishing programs are fairly similar to word processing ones as they allow teachers/students to type and present information in the form of banners, flyers, newsletters, etc. However, desktop publishing programs also enable users to arrange photographs, drawings, and other graphics. Lastly, just so we're on the same page, Microsoft Word is a word processing program and Microsoft Publisher is a DTP (desktop publishing program).

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's move on to the assignment at hand. As an educator, I use both types of programs constantly. It seems like I find myself typing up a test, worksheet, or other instructional document each week using Microsoft Word. These materials aren't always the "prettiest" things you've ever seen but they are extremely organized. Unlike some items I've seen other teachers make, I try to limit the amount of pictures and graphics I put on the documents I create using a word processing program. I feel that I should utilize as much space as possible for higher-order thinking questions and try to provide as much space for student responses as I can.

Secondly, as a part of my professional growth plan at my school, I have sent home monthly newsletters to strengthen my communication with parents and guardians. These documents are much more visually pleasing than the educational documents I create in Microsoft Word. Each newsletter is divided into sections that tell what's going on in our classroom currently, what our class will be learning in the future, and what events will be taking place in our school. I do feel, however, that I tend to include too much information that can distract the readers from absorbing everything I want them to from the newsletters. In the future I plan to send home two (or more) newsletters each month with condensed information so that I can avoid this issue.

The next part of my assignment this week is to recreate an item that I use in my classroom to make it more effective. I will first post a picture of what I created and will then explain why I feel it'll be better than what I currently use.







(Click to enlarge!)

On this newsletter, I provided more space for each section and also limited the amount of information that I included. Like I mentioned previously, my newsletters are usually overflowing with info and could seem cluttered to those who read it. Therefore, I feel the newsletter I posted above will help alleviate this issue. My ultimate goal with sending these newsletters home is to open the lines of communication between the classroom and my students' homes. So, it's probably a good idea for me to make them as communicable as possible! ;)

Thanks for reading this week's blog and be sure to send me an email with any questions/comments/concerns. Have a good day.

- Mr. David Jenkins
New Highland Elementary

Lesson Two Blog

This week's blog post will be divided into three categories: a helpful URL for using spreadsheets/databases in the classroom, a surprising URL for using spreadsheets/databases in the classroom, and a reflection of ways that I currently implement spreadsheets/databases into my classroom.

First, before I dive into this week's discussion, allow me to share an EXTREMELY helpful link that I found for using Microsoft Excel and creating spreadsheets. Often times, one can save a ton of time by using shortcuts and cheat codes while operating this program. And, after consulting my friend Mr. Google, I've found the perfect link for those who consider themselves "beginners" when it comes to use Excel.

Click here to visit the link!!

^ While this link may not answer every question you have for using Microsoft Excel, it will definitely make your life easier when using the program. Make sure you check it out. ;)

Now, onto my assignment for this week. In order to keep this post organized and easy to read, I'll break each question down into segments.

1. Interesting URL: After doing some internet surfing, I came across a website with a ton of nifty ideas for using spreadsheets in the classroom. Here's a really cool activity I found that allows students to go on an interactive shopping spree at Wal-Mart or E-Toys. There's a situation given where the students recently won $1000.00 to spend and must choose items they would like to purchase. In order to keep track of their expenses, the students must complete an online, interactive working spreadsheet. Furthermore, the online spreadsheet teaches students to use a function like you can use in Excel. To do so, the students need to click the button labeled "Fn". To integrate more Microsoft Excel skills, I could adapt this lesson to have students use Excel for their gift list instead of using the online spreadsheet. I think this would be a great lesson to use with students because they'll be VERY motivated to participate knowing they will be "buying" toys. Plus, considering my school has several families with low incomes, this will be a fantastic chance for students who don't receive many gifts to imagine buying items they desire. Lastly, this is a great way to have the students practice basic math and real-life skills while learning about technology.
   
2. Surprising URL: While searching for interesting activities to use with my students, I came across a surprising fact that I never thought about....you can use Microsoft Excel to make time lines! In my reading classes, I always ask students to create time lines to show the sequence of events in a particular story or to demonstrate their comprehension of what they read. Now, using what I've learned here, I can incorporate Microsoft Excel and technology into this activity. Here's a link that discusses using time lines with Excel and also explains how to make them. This activity can be used for many different subjects including social studies and writing.
   
3. How I use spreadsheets: I'll admit that I haven't used Microsoft Access as much as Excel, Word, Front Page, or even Publisher. However, I have used databases in the past to sort and organize student information in my classroom. I use Excel often at my school to create helpful spreadsheets. I make custom grade sheets to use for my classes through Excel and also use it to make charts to monitor student progress on AR goals, Writing Portfolio progress, etc. When I was completing my education courses at W.K.U., I often used Excel to create graphs so that I could analyze and interpret student data on assessments. In the future, I'd like to use Excel much more in the classroom to make timelines, charts, graphs, and more. More importantly, I want to include my students when using Excel so that they may become more technologically-savvy.

I have another idea that doesn't really fit into the three questions answered above. Recently, I gave a fluency test to my students to determine how many words each student could read per minute. I think it'd be interesting to use Excel to graph the progress over the course of the year that students show with their fluency reads. This would be great for conferencing with parents and other school professionals and also could be helpful when talking with the students on their progress. Instead of just saying, "You're doing much better," I could bust out my Excel graphs to show them how they've improved/declined over time.

Also, MAP scores are extremely important in our district and at our school. I always conference with students to talk about their scores, how long they took to take the test (giving best effort), and how many points they need to improve the next time they are tested. Using Excel would be helpful here because I could make a graph that shows scores of students who didn't take their time as opposed to those who did. I believe the students who took more time should have higher scores and that will be illustrated for the students. Secondly, I could chart/graph each student's individual scores and show their progress throughout the course of the year.

As we learned in this week's lesson, "productivity software" is to help educators be more....well, productive! If Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and other programs are utilized properly, they should help make a teacher's life much easier and make that teacher much more efficient with his/her instruction AND analyzing student achievement.

Lesson One Blog

After reading a few chapters in my "Teaching and Learning with Technology" textbook, I've learned some things that I didn't know before.

One thing that stood out to me is that the ISTE, or the International Society for Technology in Education, have developed a project called the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS*T). This project provides rubrics to determine a teacher's technology level including what he/she should be able to do with technology in the classroom.

Along with this rubric for teachers, another set of standards have been created for students entitled NETS*S. Using these standards and rubric as a guide, teachers can now set appropriate and effective goals for the implementation of technology in the classroom.

With this information in mind, I plan to closely monitor my students' progress with technology using the criteria defined in the NETS*S. In order to implement this strategy in my classroom, I plan to create a checklist where all 6 standards are listed in a chart with each student's name running down the side. When I notice a student demonstrating criteria in a NETS*S standard, I will record the date and description of the activity on the chart. I can then identify areas of strength and weakness for each student and work to have them master all standards.

At the end of the year, I will include a summary of each student's NETS*S progress in their permanent record. Since the N0 Child Left Behind goal is for all students to be technologically literate by the end of their eighth grade year, I feel this will be a good way to effectively communicate a student's skill/lack of skill dealing with educational technology so that he/she may improve in the future.

Some challenges I may face with this plan is a lack of time and resources to complete a checklist for all students in my class. With a heavy focus on other content areas in the curriculum, technology sometimes take a "back seat" to being monitored/assessed. However, I believe that I can "kill two birds with one stone" by planning various technological activities into my lessons/units so that students can be analyzed based on the content at hand while also checking their technology skills.

A second problem that may come into play is a lack of resources at my school. In my classroom, I only have 3 student computers, so I will need to split the time on them amongst all my students so that everybody has an equal chance to sharpen their computer skills. However, technology doesn't revolve solely around computers, so I believe I can find other ways to provide learning opportunities for my students when a computer is not available.

Though not all problems can be planned for, I feel a good teacher can always find a way to adapt to the situation at hand. I'm positive my "plan" won't always go smoothly, but with hard work and a good attitude, I know that I can make it successful. I also believe that I will become better at reflecting upon my own technology skills if I become more aware of my students'.