Week 7 Reflections

This week for class we built two rubrics, one on RubiStar and the other by building our own in Microsoft Word. Clearly, I liked making the one on RubiStar better because when you use RubiStar to make a grading rubric, you can pick categories based on the subject matter that is being graded and then smaller sections within those. They can also be edited so that they fit your project perfectly, but so that you don't have to write the entire thing yourself.
We created two new pages on our Google Sites page. One was titled "Assessment" and the other was titled "Tools for Classroom Use." The assessment page gave a list of sites that teachers could use to create rubrics, something like a RubiStar. There was also another list on this page and that was for differentiated instruction. I feel very strongly about multiple intelligences and differentiated instruction so I really enjoyed finding these sites. I liked reading what other educators were writing and what articles are trying to teach educators who do not feel strongly about this subject. On the other Google Sites page, the "Tools for Classroom Use" page, we were asked to find five puzzles, activities, worksheet builders, etc. that would be helpful for our content area. I liked looking at these sites too because I found some great activities that I would love to implement in my high school math classrooms.
Finally, we made a wordle picture. A wordle picture is when you insert a paragraph, paper, site, or something of that nature and it generates a series of words that are used most. This picture, for our project, was used to describe our philosophy of education. This could also be used in classrooms covering English so that students could see what words they use most in their papers. I liked the wordle that I created and I think I would use this if I needed a picture for a website or something to give to my students at the beginning of the year when I generated one for them to learn about me.
The standards met this week were: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, and Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.

Week 6 Reflections

This week we worked on different types of video production. One of the videos was made in Voicethread and one of Windows Movie Maker. I thought that Voicethread was easier to navigate and use, but that's probably just because I use a Mac so Windows Movie Maker isn't a product of Apple, obviously. I like the concept of both of the movies and I thought they were good ways to explore more about our teaching style and what being in the College of Education at Ohio University means to us as students.
While making the videos this week, many standards were met. Some of these include: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership, Commitment to Ethics and Social Justice, and finally, Commitment to Professional Competence and Ongoing Professional Development.

Week 5 Reflections

This week we were asked to create a movie in Picasa that covered our interpretation of diversity and what it meant to us as educators and people of this Earth. I chose to go more with my interpretation of diversity in general and the importance I feel for understanding and being knowledgeable about all of the people of this world. I learned how to make a movie in Picasa and how to upload it onto to my Google account so that it could be seen in an online format. Making this movie was one of the harder things for me to learn because working through Picasa was hard for me.
The standards that were met through this Picasa movie were Commitment to Professional Competence and Ongoing Professional Development, Commitment to Ethics and Social Justice, and finally, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.
Another assignment we had to complete this week was a website evaluation assignment. I chose to evaluate a website that gave a more creative take on high school math, involving each subject matter along with games, lessons, quizzes, and more. We were asked to evaluate the site based on it's quality of how it looked and what it gave to us. I think overall the site I picked was good, but it didn't necessarily have all the educational assets that makes a perfect website.
The standards met for the website evaluation assignment were similar to the ones for Picasa. They were Commitment to Professional Competence and Ongoing Professional Development and Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.

Week 4 Reflections

This week each student in the class created a WebQuest that related to some topic in their content area. A WebQuest is exactly what it sounds like, it is a quest on the web to understand and learn new knowledge about a subject matter.
I did my WebQuest on Fibonacci's sequence. This covered the history of Fibonacci and his sequence, what makes Fibonacci's sequence special and what are some important numbers, and finally, where does Fibonacci's sequence appear in real life. My WebQuest guided students through exploring the questions and finding the answers, but they were also allowed to use other sites if they felt like that was necessary. After researching the "big questions" outlined on the task and process page of the WebQuest , the students were then told to portray the information in a visual media paper. This includes, but is not limited to: PowerPoints, videos, collages, comic strips, pieces of art, or anything else that felt properly conveyed the information learned through exploring the WebQuest and other sites.
This project met many of the standards of technology for teachers including: promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness; incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity; and finally, communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
Overall I found the WebQuest very interesting to make and I think it would be a great tool to use in my future classroom.