CEP 822 Intro Post

Hello! My name is Lisa Myers.  I live in Traverse City, MI and have taught second grade for the last four years at Central Grade Elementary School.  A little over a year ago my husband-to-be and I eloped in Fiji.  We just built a house, so when I’m not teaching or working on class assignments I am busy with house projects.  In my free time I love to enjoy the beauty of Northern Michigan summers by biking, SUPing, or lounging in my hammock with a good book.  I also love to travel!  I am very excited to be completing the MATC program with this course.

In the first clip, The First Day, I was reminded of the first day of school and the importance of setting the standard from the moment students enter the classroom.  A first impression is very important.   Mr. Prezbo was not assertive and trusted that the kids would go to their assigned desk.  Unfortunately this did not happen.  Chaos ensued as he passed out bus passes to the wrong students and got even worse as the students exited the classroom without listening. I think this is a good reminder of the importance of understanding the demographic and culture of students you are teaching.  Mr. Prezbo took for granted a simple thing such as having students go to an assigned desk.  Possibly with some communication with colleagues about these students Mr. Prezbo would have been better prepared on how best to communicate with them so he could have potentially avoided that mess and gave a better first impression.   When Mr. Prezbo told Randy to just take a hall pass it was clear he did not understand these students.  Randy took Mr. Prezbo’s trust for granted and stole a whole stack of hall passes.

In the next clip, Detention and After-School Bonding, it still appeared that Mr. Prezbo did not have a good handle of these students.  He was making exceptions for students in detention and allowed all of them to leave “just this one time” when the students started listing reasons for needing to leave.  It does seem like Mr. Prezbo is starting to try to get to know the students on a personal level when he was talking to a couple of the boys outside of school. I’m wondering if this will work in his favor or if the students will take advantage of him.  Based on what a few students shared about their home life it seems that they face many troubles and really need to think about survival. 

In the fourth clip, Sharing a Happy Moment, it seems that Mr. Prezbo is finally starting to understand the students and learns that the way he will reach these students is by connecting content to their life.  When he discovered their interest in poker and gambling he quickly thought about how he could relate gambling to what he needed to teach the kids.  The kids were so engaged and wanted to learn about the odds on dice.  This really shows the importance of connecting content and curriculum to students interested, especially with difficult students to earn respect.   Like Mr. Prezbo said, you need to “trick them into thinking they aren’t learning and they do.” 

Group Leadership Project

For the group leadership project I was asked to collaborate with three other classmates to create a professional development tutorial on a technology of our choice.  During part A of the project I "met" with my group members on Vyew to discuss possible technologies to teach and the logistics of the project.  Our group decided to teach about the uses of Blogger by creating a tutorial using Camtasia.  During part B our group continued to collaborate and created a storyboard and script for our presentation.  We chose to use google presentation to create our storyboard and script.  Check out the tutorial below! 

What tool did your group use to deliver the PD tutorial?  Why?

Our group chose to use Camtasia to deliver the tutorial.  As a learner I prefer to see a step-by-step tutorial of what needs to be learned.  This allows the viewer to pause and review areas of the tutorial they would like to see again.  I thought the use of Camtasia would allow our group to not only verbalize, but also show each part of how to use Blogger effectively.  

What did you learn during the development process of the final product?
I found it to be very easy to communicate and collaborate with a group solely through the use of technology and the internet.  I learned a lot about Camtasia, and had to do quite a bit of troubleshooting to figure out how to put all the pieces together to make our final product.  I also found that using technology and creating deadlines allows everyone to work at their own pace and complete the assignment when it is convenient for them.  This is a great feature of using online collaboration tools such as google docs. 

What would you do differently if you had to develop a similar product again?

I thought our group worked together very well.  I offered to put all the pieces of Camtasia together and edit the final project.  This proved to be much more difficult than I had anticipated.  I own a Mac computer, and the version of Camtasia on a Mac is completely different than the PC version.  When my group members tried to send me their files they were not compatible with the Camtasia version I had.  After many different attempts to get their files and a lot of troubleshooting, I finally found a solution!  I asked my group members to share their portion on screencast.  Then I logged onto their screencast account and downloaded the mp4 to my computer.  Then I was able to import the media into my Camtasia account.  That being said during my next group project I will do more research to make sure that all technologies jive, so I can avoid a headache at the last minute.  I enjoyed using Camtasia and would definitely use it again. I found it to be very user-friendly, and after watching a few tutorials the editing process it was very easy to edit as well. 

Wicked Problem Project Final

For the Wicked Problem Project I was asked to use technology to address a problem of practice or educational goal.  In this blog post you will read about the educational problem of practice I addressed, the technology integrated solution, and the application of TPACK to my solution.  Below you will also find a video summarizing my Wicked Problem Project.  

My Wicked Problem: For the wicked problem project I see an educational need for students to have the ability to view mini-lessons of a concept taught, especially in the area of math.  Many of my students need to review addition and subtraction strategies, while others have mastered the concept and are ready for a challenge.  Addition and subtraction is something we continually practice and learn more efficient strategies for throughout the entire school year.  By the end of second grade, students are expected to add and subtract by breaking the number into tens and ones. 

My Solution: As an elementary teacher I feel that I spend a good amount of my time assisting students who do not understand a concept or need more assistance to master a concept.  Because I devote much of my time to these students, I do not feel like my higher achieving students are getting the challenge they deserve, especially in the area of math.  My technology integrated strategy is to create short lessons using jing and powerpoint that will review the various strategies for addition and subtraction that have been taught throughout the school year. Multiple students will be able to view the jing lessons at once using an ipad.  While students are reviewing and practicing this concept, I will now have the ability to work with students who have already mastered the concept and are ready for a challenge.  
At the second grade level students have a difficult time “teaching” each other a concept.  They often want to give their classmates the answer, instead of taking the time to try and explain the process.  This is why I believe creating math tutorials using jing is a great option to assist students in learning efficient addition and subtraction strategies.  

Application of TPACK:  TPACK stands for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge.  The purpose of the application of TPACK is that when integrating technology into teaching and learning it should address all areas of TPACK, not just using technology to use technology.  For the wicked problem project I see an educational need for students to have the ability to view mini-lessons of a concept taught, especially in the area of math.  Many of my students need to review addition and subtraction strategies, while others have mastered the concept and are ready for a challenge. I plan to use jing to create tutorials for my students to view.  Here is my application of TPACK:

Technological Pedagogical Knowledge: I have chosen to use jing to create a guided math tutorial.  Using jing will allow me to model a math problem for students. They will also have the option to review the modeled problem by starting the tutorial over as much as needed and have the ability to work at their own pace. As the tutorial continues students will use pencil and paper to attempt a guided practice problem.  At the end students will be given an independent practice problem.  They will be asked to pause the tutorial to practice an independent problem.  Once they have completed the problem they can resume the tutorial to view another modeled problem and have instant feedback.  


Technological Content Knowledge: Giving students the ability to view the tutorial as much as needed, as well as the option to pause the video and work at their own pace will assist in making the content more intellectually accessible.  As a learner myself I know there are some topics that require multiple readings or watching videos more than once for me to understand the concept.  My students are the same way.  Having a tutorial for addition and subtraction strategies at their fingertips will allow them to pause when necessary and rewind if a part of the concept still isn’t clicking.


Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Using a tutorial to allow for guided practice through the steps of solving an addition or subtraction combination, as well as giving the students the ability to pause the tutorial and solve problems independently with instant feedback will make the content more intellectually accessible.  Through the use of the tutorial created through jing, guided practice can be done at the speed of the learner.  If the learned needs to review a step, they can rewind the tutorial and watch it again.  Once students feel they are confident with the process they can practice a problem independently, then check their work instantly.  This will aid in correcting any misconceptions before students are sent to work on their own.  

Professional Learning Plan

Professional Learning Plan on Prezi

Part D: Findings & Implications

Last week I was able to implement my wicked problem project with two students in my second grade classroom.  Using jing and powerpoint I created a math tutorial to assist students who needed more support using the tens and ones addition strategy. Here are my findings and implications:


Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned? 
While other students were working on math problems or playing math games I implemented my wicked problem project with one of my students.  Part of the implementation was to use an ipad for students to view the tutorial I created.  When I attempted to connect to the tutorial link provided by jing, it would not connect on the ipad.  I quickly switched gears and had the student use my computer to view the tutorial.  Other than the use of a computer rather than an ipad my project was implemented as planned.  
 

Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice
After getting each student setup at a computer and giving a quick explanation of what they needed to do, both of my students were able to use the tutorial independently.  One of the students who used the tutorial struggles with work independence.  I was very interested to see if technology would improve his ability to be on-task.  I was pleasantly surprised to see this student was able to follow along, was fully engaged, and completed the guided practice and independent practice when prompted to do so on the tutorial.   This was a huge sign of success to me.  I spend a huge amount of time supporting this student, and the fact that he was engaged and on-task for ten minutes independently was a huge success!  The other student was able to complete the guided practice and independent practice independently as well, and answered the questions correctly.  Due to the time of the school year I wasn't able to see if either of their skills transferred into daily learning, but I found the tutorial to be successful in the little time I had to implement it. 
  

How would you approach another project of this type differently given what you’ve learned here?
As I mentioned in my podcast, I would like to find a way to create the tutorial quicker and easier.  I have heard that the latest version of word and powerpoint has a whiteboard feature, which would be a great way to show each step of adding and subtracting as I'm recording with jing.  This would allow students to watch me step-by-step, as if I were in front of them teaching on a whiteboard in class.  I love using jing, and plan to continue using it.  It is very user-friendly for both the creator and the viewer.  One downfall of jing is the time-limit of five minutes, but I don't feel I would need more than five minutes to record since I have places within my tutorial where students need to pause and practice independently.   
 

What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about?
As I mentioned above the whiteboard feature in the latest version of powerpoint and word could be great tools for creating tutorials.  Anyone who is looking for a whiteboard feature to create presentations or tutorials should look into the newest version of powerpoint and word.  

In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do?
I found the tutorial created through jing to be very successful for my students. I have thought about creating tutorials with extension activities or challenge activities for my high achieving math students versus creating tutorials for students who need additional support.  Either way I found the idea of the tutorial to be very beneficial and successful in my classroom. 

Mobile Learning Lab

After learning more about mobile learning, I was excited to explore mobile learning opportunities to use in my classroom.  I explored many of the articles including the Innovator Educator Blog, 10 Ideas for Using Cell Phones in the Classroom, Ipods/Ipads in the Classroom, & Podcasting: Using Podcasts in the Classroom. Podcasting is something I have used in my classroom, but would like to use more of.  I have used it as a way for students to share their writing, and practice reading with fluency. 


What ways are you thinking about integrating mobile technology into YOUR classroom?
 I created a poll using polleverywhere.com.  Unfortunately, my school year has already ended, but I decided to create a poll to use at the beginning of next year to use as a "getting to know you" activity.  I thought this poll would be a fun way to incorporate technology and help students get know each other in our classroom.  I could see using polls for a quick assessment of student learning after an activity, quizzes, or even to collect data and analyze during our data unit in math.  I love the idea of using wordle to create an image of the results.  My class could easily see which response was the most frequent by how large the words were.  This is a wonderful visual for my second graders.

Another way I have used mobile learning in my classroom was when my students performed different reader's theater performances last week. I had one student who really did not want to be involved in the acting part of the performance, so I had him use the classroom ipad to take a video of each performance.  I would like to use video more often in my classroom.  

What challenges (or inspirations) do you foresee?
One challenge I see is the ability to use cell phones in an elementary classroom. My students are 7 and 8 years old, so most do not own a cell phone at this age.  I enjoyed the video which showed three 5th grade students and their enthusiasm for learning with technology, specifically cell phones.  This school was able to provide all students with a cell phone through a grant, which is something that would need to happen in my building in order to make cell phones accessible to all students.  

Data Visualization

Using a free visualization tool website I had the opportunity to explore several resources available to assist with data visualization.  Here is my reflection on my experience exploring data visualization tools: 

What tools did you try? 
I looked at a few tools, including 1001fonts, Prezi, Wordle, & TimeGlider.  Prezi is a great resource to create a new style of presentations.  1001fonts was fun to explore.  I will download some new fonts to use for newsletters.  Wordle is a fun resource.  I could see using this resource for an activity on adjectives, or even as a way for students to introduce themselves at the beginning of the school year.


What are you representing in the visualization you created?
I chose to use TimeGlider to create a timeline of the history of San Francisco.  I use the Social Studies Alive curriculum in my second grade classroom.  One chapter I teach is the history of San Francisco.  We discuss the gold rush of 1849, how the population grew drastically, and then the earthquake and fire of 1906.  I created a timeline of a few key events we discuss using TimeGlider.  Here is a link to my timeline.  I also included an image of my timeline. 

What questions or "ah-ha" moments arise when thinking about representation?
I enjoyed the opportunity to explore several data visualization tools available online.  While watching Karl Gude's video on Visual Information, he said something that I thought was very important and fundamental for teaching, "Words, words, words. We need to force ourselves to look at information differently."   Then he shared his solution, "Show it.  Why?  They notice it, they get it, they remember it."  Students of any age do not want to just sit and listen to a lecture.  They want visuals, representations, etc.  As a learner I know how important visuals are for me, so as a teacher I do my best to incorporate representations into my lessons.