Part A - Description of Need or Opportunity

            An educational need that I have come to recognize in our curriculum is that students have difficulties translating distances.  They understand and recognize distance, but to a certain degree, it is an abstract concept that does not translate well for them.  Students need to understand the concept of distance not only because of state standards, but because, regardless of what they choose to do in their lives, distance will always be a factor.  If students are given the tools and opportunities to explore and understand distance through math and social studies, in particular, their understanding will increase, leading them to possess a real-world skill that can (and will) be used throughout their lifetimes.

            My solution to this wicked problem is to provide students with a variety of tools that will enable them to calculate distance as something tangible where they can experience it first-hand.  This will be accomplished through training students to read and use a handheld GPS unit, create and participate in geo-caching activities, and using Internet-based map applications such as Google Maps.  These approaches to guiding the students in understanding distance will give them hands-on experiences that will easily interpret in a real world situation.  My proposed approach is reasonable, however, the greatest cost will be to obtain GPS units for students usage, which start in the low $100 range.  Ideally, it would be great to have one per two students, but from some of the reading I have done, by assigning students different roles, placing students in groups of four or five is workable, thus lowering the cost substantially.  Having extra units available in the event of equipment failure is something that should be considered. 

            The possible alternatives for students would be to simply learn about distance using Internet-based applications, locating familiar locations (their homes and the school), and relating distance in that regard.  In comparison, it is very low-cost, but at the same time, students are not being granted the opportunity to explore distance through a hands-on approach.

            I anticipate using this tool, geocaching and Google Maps in particular, throughout the school year, with the major emphasis being at the beginning of the year.  I believe that the students would benefit in many academic areas if the solution to my wicked problem were integrated into their classes. 

            In order to accomplish this, teachers would need training to understand the need and why this is so important.  Workshops with follow-up training would be offered to assist teachers in feeling comfortable with the purpose and technology.  Due to the proliferation of smart phones, teaching teachers would be relatively easy because most adults have access to such a device.  Not only can they serve the most basic communication functions, but also with downloaded apps, they can be utilized as GPS devices for this problem.  However, due to hectic classroom schedules, I anticipate that the majority of learning would be done in the computer lab. 

            I would like to use this solution throughout the year for third and fourth grade students.  Obviously, the first year would be a transitional year for both grades, but in the following years, the older students would simply need a refresher course to remember the finer points.  They would also be helpful in assisting the younger students to understand and thus become a source for answers.  Additionally, the older students would also be able to delve deeper into measuring, calculating, and understanding distance due to their previous exposure to the problem.  They could spend more time doing and less time learning the concepts.

            Giving students the opportunity to learn through a hands-on approach will provide them with immediate, tangible feedback that will enable them to apply their knowledge with multiple subjects.  Performing a simple search for “geocaching” in Google provides over 23 million hits!  Even though many of them are not relevant, there are certainly some notable exceptions.  Opencaching.com is a site that I would use as a resource because of its easy approach to explaining geocaching.  It also has a comprehensive list of caches you can participate in and add to.  Performing a search for “Geocaching in the classroom” also provides over half a million sites.  These are particularly interesting because they are about the benefits of using geocaching in education!  Moving at the Speed of Creativity has a great article about the basics of geocaching and how it can be used with students.  It is a few years old, but highly relevant.  BrightHub.com also states how this works in a wide array of disciplines such as the obvious of math and science, but also social studies, literature and composition studies, and even Physical Education and Art. 

            I would also use Google Maps and/or Google Earth so students could begin to make a visual connection with where we are located and where we have been.  This will enable them to create an online portfolio of locations.  Understanding the distance between these locations would then give students the basic tools for translating known distances in known locations to unknown locations.

            I plan to start the initial research into implementing this aspect into our current curriculum during this course.  This will give me the time to formulate how I want to incorporate more hands-on experiences for students.  Obviously, giving students the opportunity to work with understanding distance will come once school is in session starting in late August.  As my class assignments are still unknown, I will have to make my plans flexible and be ready for implementation.

            I will know that this project is successful because students will be able to understand distance.  Not only will they be able to identify latitude and longitude, but also they will be able to translate these concepts onto maps and locate various given points.  Additionally, teachers and students being able to demonstrate proficiency and fluency with the various technologies used will provide feedback so that changes can be quickly implemented and improvements made.

CEP 812 Video Introduction

Hello!  Here is a short video introduction about me, where I work, and my current educational passions.  Thanks for watching!

Final Reflections - CEP 811

            When integrating technology, I have learned that since all students enter the school with various levels of technology skills, I need to have my lesson planned with UDL guidelines in order to meet the learning needs.  This is something that needs to be anticipated because I will never have students who all have the same understanding.  It is a fact.  But by being prepared and ready for multiple scenarios, I will have a quality lesson ready for students to learn with outcomes they can use in further studies and projects.  Aside from skills, I also need to anticipate cognitive abilities.  This strategy will enable all students to be engaged learners from day one without hesitation.  Understanding the different learning styles will further enable me to guide my students toward success rather than frustration.

            Integrating web-based technologies helped me think about and evaluate the uses of technology by enabling me to actively participate in using FTP and MERLOT.  I was able to upload my coursework to a remote server and provide a web address for its location.  This was a great tool to learn and understand because I understand how to share my work on a global scale. 

            At the beginning of this course, I wanted to understand how to utilize and integrate technology into my teaching.  The various assignments stretched my mind to think beyond the traditional uses of the computer and the Internet.  In particular, having learned about WebQuests, I was able to have a student work on one near the end of the year.  It was incredibly helpful by enabling me to understand the greater role technology can (and will) play in my future teaching. 

            I want to continue to discover new available resources through WebQuests and MERLOT to enhance my teaching.  These assignments gave me the hope that teaching does not have to be a solitary mission.  As educators, we want our students to succeed, so by contributing useful information and lessons to various sites, we have created this network that will flourish and give our students amazing new learning opportunities.  To reach these goals, I will continue to learn more about the resources available and document my work so others may use it, modify it, and benefit from it.  

Personal Learning Reflection

            Based on the past eight weeks, I have learned a tremendous amount of new, relevant information regarding Web 2.0 technologies.  I am excited over the prospect of what I can do with these tools in my school setting.  Initially, I wanted to focus on learning more about blogs, RSS feeds, and web-based applications.  However, after learning more about the bigger picture of social networking and “the cloud,” I want to work at learning how to integrate these tools into my learning network as well.  Utilizing free applications in our budget-uncertain times will only serve to aide our students in understanding the vast resource of the Internet that will be gained through contributing content and collaborating with our peers, near and far.

            I experienced growth in my learning, particularly in collaborating with others.  This was accomplished through several different avenues, but all equally important.  First, working with my SIG forced me to consider four other people and their thoughts and ideas as we worked together to complete a project.  Not only did we collaborate on our final project, but also we created a proposal in Google Docs, researched in Diigo, and presented in Prezi.  It was a positive experience, and even though I was skeptical, I am glad I had the opportunity to work and learn in this manner.

            One area where I would have liked to learn more is “cloud computing.”  I have a basic understanding of it through the information presented in session 7, but I would have liked to learn more about it.  I have a better understanding now, but at the same time, I want to know more.  The only thing that perhaps sometimes limited my learning and growth was the time factor.  When I learn a new application or register on a new website, I need to know what it’s about and understand how it works before I can fully immerse myself into working with it.  This is not a bad thing it is simply how I work to learn.  Unfortunately, with the time factor, this is something that is beyond our control.  I learned how to better budget my time and work on multiple assignments in order to complete my assigned tasks.

            When integrating technology, I have learned that since all students enter the school with various levels of technology skills, I need to be ready to instantly modify my lesson to meet their learning needs.  This is something that needs to be anticipated because I will never have students who all have the same understanding.  It is a fact.  But by being prepared and ready for multiple scenarios, I will have a quality lesson ready for students to learn with outcomes they can use in further studies and projects.  Aside from skills, I also need to anticipate cognitive abilities.  This strategy will enable all students to be engaged learners from day one without hesitation.  Understanding the different learning styles will further enable me to guide my students toward success rather than frustration.

            Integrating the Internet helped me to actually consider it as a tool.  I have a firmer grasp of what it means to contribute to the Internet rather than simply taking.  I want to instill the idea of becoming a producer to my students so they can see the benefit of belonging to this global society that will only become more intertwined as they progress through school and into higher education.   

            Even though I was reluctant to be a part of a group for our SIG, I found that I liked working in a collaborative environment.  I may never meet my group members face to face, but I know a lot about them already.  They are passionate about what they do and for doing their best work.  This assignment was an outstanding example of good teaching with technology because it required our group of five people, spread throughout the world, to coordinate schedules and produce content.  It never felt like one person was taking over or had to work harder than the others.  There was a tangible, mutual respect for each other and our ideas.  It demonstrated how technology could be used with students to formulate an idea and create meaningful content.

            One of my goals for this course was to gain a better understanding of Web 2.0 technologies so that I would have the confidence to teach my students about these tools.  To reach this goal, research was my main objective.  Inadvertently, through my SIG, other projects, and an additional class, I have gained the confidence and understanding to teach students about these new skills.  Research did play a big role, but it was only part of the picture.  I have increased my knowledge base, but through continued learning and exploring, I will discover new methods to teach students about the potential of these tools.  Through teaching them, I anticipate being taught as well.  My other goal involved finding mentors to assist me as I work toward understanding.  Once again, my SIG, although students as well, they taught me great skills about working with others and sharing information for the greater good.  Our projects never felt like one person was in charge, but as previously stated, we all had the same common goals and a mutual respect.

            I have no new goals per se, but rather an expansion of what I have already stated.  I want to learn more about Web 2.0 technologies, but now I want to begin the integration process.  This will certainly be a challenge and may take me most of the upcoming school year, but as I use these ideas and tools and introduce them to my students, I anticipate a deeper appreciation and understanding that will form.  Winning over the students will not be the true challenge however.  Demonstrating to our staff and administration the value of Web 2.0 technologies and how they can ultimately only benefit our students and their future learning will be the true issue.  It would be nice (and ideal), if I simply stated that I was going to do this.  Unfortunately, since I do not have my own class and must rely on other teachers and their needs, it may be quite difficult to implement any immediate change.  However, to start our staff and students in a Web 2.0 direction, I am considering working with students involved in our Gifted and Talented program.  This will spark an interest among our higher learners, and by doing so, we will gain the (positive) attention of our administration, which, in turn, may lead to a much larger implementation of these tools within our K – 8 district.  It is a long road, but one that we need to travel because many of our students are already running ahead in the distance.

Online Teaching Experiences

                  I work with 3^rd grade students, so WebQuests would be an excellent online experience for my students because they have not quite reached that level where they are ready for independent research or collaboration.  Their online skills are forming, but with the barrier of typing to convey their thoughts and ideas present, utilizing a technology that relied on this skill would simply amount to more frustration than learning for both the students and myself.

                  The content a WebQuest could teach my students is virtually limitless.  Depending on the subject and unit we are currently studying, an appropriate WebQuest could be located and implemented for students.  I would not allow students to choose their own WebQuests, but I would decide ahead of time which ones would be the best for them.  This would help me so that I would know what they were doing and save time later because I would know which WebQuest they chose to do.

                  Podcasts or vodcasts would also help me teach.  I could use them to engage students in public speaking or dramatic readings.  These are skills that they use on a daily basis, whether they are aware of it or not.  Using their speech to simply communicate is a basic skill that takes practice.  Having students work on a podcast would enable them to hear and critique their own work.

                  I would use many direct strategies with the WebQuest.  For starters, I would give a demonstration of a WebQuest.  I would show the students what they were supposed to do so there would not be any questions regarding any vague directions.  Additionally, I would use strategies to create mental links, apply sounds and images, and review.  These would be accomplished with the WebQuests I would compile before the students were set to work on them.  Cognitive strategies, practicing, analyzing, and reasoning would also be used to ensure that students were stretching their minds and learning new material.  A final direct strategy would be to have students learn to guess intelligently when they were completing their WebQuest.  I would not want them to randomly guess, but have the reasoning behind why they chose a specific answer.  Problem solving would be a component of indirect instruction that would follow well with intelligent guessing.  By understanding the difference between random guessing and problem solving, the students would benefit with more difficult challenges later in their work.  Leading up to working on WebQuests, I would introduce an inductive strategy as well.  This would enable me to guide the students, providing them with the necessary background information so they would be successful learners with their chosen WebQuest.  The whole idea of a deductive strategy would be necessary for students as they completed their first WebQuest because they may not have been exposed to learning in such a manner previously, so it would be a new experience.  However, as they became familiar with the modules of learning, they would understand the expectations and move into the inductive strategy.

                  With my students, it would be more difficult to use blogs and wikis with my students because they do not possess the necessary skills required to successfully input information with accuracy at an acceptable pace.  They have the skills to report their findings, but I am afraid that for many of the students, the task of typing would prove too taxing.  They would spend more time making sure that they hit the correct keys rather than what they were actually saying.  It would be a generally frustrating experience for all of us.

Wikis Lab

My school, East Evergreen Elementary School, did not have a wiki on Wikipedia, so I created one.  Unfortunately, it was redirected to a site about our town.  I contacted the individual who moved it and discovered that it was because it focused on one school rather than the district.  So I created a wiki for our school district.  It is relatively rudimentary and states where our school is located and how many classes in the elementary school, but for the time being, until I can gather further information, it is a start.  I also provided a link on the wiki to our school's web page.  Here is a link to see the Evergreen School District No. 50 Wiki page.

     Additionally, here is a link to the wiki I created on the PBWorks website.  I chose the name "school tech heads" in reference to my special interest group in CEP 810.

     Here is a screen shot of the tip I shared on MACUL space.

     And finally, here is another screen shot of an entry I added onto the Idea Exchange for the EduTech Certificate Program.

Learning Styles

     I enjoy learning new things and sharing what I have learned through teaching.  Generally, I am an independent, introverted learner.  I don't mind working in a group, but many times, I would rather work alone.  However, I do like being able to discuss ideas, problems, and solutions with classmates to deepen my understanding of the subject material.  Also, I need and want to see a concept in some context or format in order for it to connect and have meaning in my learning.  Thus, I thrive on structure and rubric.

     Teaching strategies that have been the least effective in my learning experiences are the abstract and uncertain lessons.  I need to know what is expected of me in order to effectively learn.  Like most students, I do not want to participate in a guessing game.  As with most of my undergraduate classes, they were lecture-centered.  This was not impossible, but unless I had something concrete to visualize (text, charts, diagrams, demonstrations, etc.) meaning was sometimes difficult to grasp.  Usually by re-reading the text, I would gain a better understanding of the concepts being presented during the lecture.  

     As we teach, it is impossible to focus on every learning style in our classes.  If we did this, we would be unable to accomplish anything because of the amount of time it would take to present a single idea or concept.  It would be a daunting task that would result in teacher frustration as well as issues with students as their focus waned while waiting for the teacher to present the information in a meaningful manner to them.  Instead, our focus should be to pepper the lesson with various teaching styles that would grab the students' attention by appealing to their personal learning styles.  While this may not be feasible in some instances, in many circumstances, it would work.  With advance planning, a well-rounded lesson would be formulated.  One that would ultimately captivate learners and motivate them on multiple, individual levels.

     Below is a screen shot of my learning style results.  I was not surprised by linguistic being my highest area because I like to write and read.  Both are very solitary activities in which I can easily get lost.  I was surprised that musical is one of my lowest areas.  I constantly have an "earworm" of a song playing through my head and like finding meaning in lyrics.  But maybe I'm just looking too much into that one.