Module 5

Creating an online identity seems to be all the rage in the teaching world. Now more than ever, teachers are using applications such as twitter and Facebook to cultivate online learning and content construction. However, I take a cynical view on online identity. To me, encouraging the use of this medium is false learning. In one of the #Walkmyworld posts I labeled the internet as flugazi, or fake. I truly believe this and I’ll tell you why. For some reason, the internet has transformed into another dimension. In this dimension, anything can be said, done, or heard with consequence to the real world. There are countless examples of people mistaking the line between internet and reality. I think the blurring of this line is a trend we will continue to see in the future generations. If you think the blurring of this line is a good thing, let me be the first to tell you that blurring the line between fantasy and reality is never a good thing. However, all hope is not lost. There is one thing we can do, especially teachers. Tell your students to pick up a good book and read it. By doing just this, we can re-affirm the line between reality and fiction.

Link to online identity: https://royceherbert.wordpress.com/

Module 5 Reflection

The best way I can think of to support work progress and  process is the use of blogs. Blogs, such as this one, are a new medium that could take the place of journal entries. Numerous elementary schools across the country have some form of free writing or journal entry where students can write freely about anything they want to. Blogs can also facilitate this kind of learning by allowing students to write on the internet freely. The best part about this kind of writing is that students can easily keep track of their work. Using different links, students can have an individual section for different types of writing. This way, more than one assignment can be done on the same platform. For example, you can have your students keep one section as journal entries and another section as how to do MLA citations. A blog allows learning to happen in a forum where students can connect to one another which leads to mutual respect. In addition, less class time is used up because typing is faster than writing. Many teachers struggle with transition time in their classrooms. A regular journal requires some sort of special notebook in a certain basket. With an offline journal, here are the steps involved:

• Students get up and walk over to the basket
• Students sift through journals to find theirs
• Students return to their seats and begin writing
• Students get up to put their journals back.

In this process, students can loose their journal entries, everyone is unorganized, and too much time is taken for transitions. Now lets look at how the class transitions with an online blog as the journal.

• Students get up and walk over to the computer
• Students log in to blog and complete their entry
• Students save their work and return to their desk

In the case of blogs, using technology to increase efficiency and production is obvious. The use of blogs as journal entries is just one way to diversify the classroom and expand work process by students.

Module 4 Lesson Plan

Teacher: Mr. Royce

Grade Level: 11th Grade

Subject: English Language Arts

Date of Lesson: 4/14/16

Length of Lesson: 1 Day

Lesson Topic: Getting credible pictures from online to use in a blog

Overall Goal: Students will be able to search for photos from the internet to use in their own personal blog. These photos will be taken from credible sources and cited.

Learner Background: Students will have already established their own personal blogs. These blogs may have a post from outside work, but if not, this will be the first post.  The blog will be titled online content management.

Student Learning Objectives:

• Students will be able to determine if an image is credible/ usable for online work.
• Students will learn how to properly cite an image and add a caption

Assessment:

Part One: Formative: Students will be asked if they know the difference between a credible image and an unusable image. Students will then be asked to give an example of each. Students will then be asked if they know about the Creative Commons Website.

Part Two: Summative: At the end of the class period students will have to submit a link to their blog with at least two images they could use online. These images will be cited and a caption will be added describing the picture. The students will be graded on completion of the assignment and will only receive a passing grade if the picture, caption, and citation are present.

Materials/ Resources

• WordPress
• blogspot.com
• Computer Lab
• Creativecommons.org
• Citation maker/ Purdue OWL

The Lesson:

Students will enter the computer lab and take a seat at an individual computer. Students will then be instructed to go to the blogs they have created from the week before. The teacher will give the formative assessment. Then the teacher will instruct the students to open the website creativecommons.org. From here, the teacher will explain that the students are to find an appropriate image from this search browser to include in their blog. The photo can be anything from a hobby or interest to something more personal like home life. Regardless of the image, the student will then have to transplant the image into their blog along with citation information (if applicable). The student will come up with a caption for the image.  The student will then be instructed to gather an image from another source than through creativecommons.org. The student can use any cite they want to as long as the image is appropriate. The student will then transplant this image to their blog along with its citation information. The student will come up with a caption for this image too. Once both images are transplanted to the students blog along with citation information and captions, the student will have completed the activity.

Closing:

In closing, the instructor will ask if the students had more trouble finding and citing an image through the creativecommons.org website or through a regular google search. Once feedback is taken, the students will be instructed to submit their blogs through an email to the instructor.

 

Module 4 Discussion Post

Anytime we have children using the internet there should always be an air of caution while doing so. The internet is a massive place and can produce things that are not appropriate for children of all ages. This is probably the number one concern when trying to include Online Content Construction into a lesson. However, as teachers, we have to keep including digital content into our classrooms because that is the skill that the new generation of children is best versed in. In other words, children of the new generation have the most “soft skills” in the world of technology and the internet. Because they grew up with this technology, this is the most common media they use. By excluding online content, we are going backwards in terms of skill acquisition and proficiency. Most children can find their way around a computer and the internet around the third grade. The question is, how do we balance a generation that uses the internet for everything and controlling where they go when constructing classroom materials? One way we can do this is by having a conversation with our students before letting the use the internet for class. By explaining the dangers that lie behind every corner of the internet and how they can change a kids life forever, we can shed a light on how it should be used. By having an open dialogue with our kids, we can express the concerns we have over safety and content. This way our students will know exactly what we expect from them and what they can and cannot do when building content online.

Module 3

Teacher: Mr. Royce

Grade level: 12th Grade

Subject:English

Date of Lesson: April 10th

Length of Lesson: 30-40 min

Lesson Topic: Finding sources when writing a paper on the effects of air security in America following the events on September 11, 2001.

Overall Goal: Students will be able to find credible sources to write a paper.

Learner Background: Students are familiar with how to find sources on the internet through a google search. Students know how to select the options on the first page of the search. Students know how to put the source into the required MLA format. Students know the difference between a primary and secondary source.

Student Learning Objectives:

• Use more than one search engine to find information
• Find at least one peer reviewed source
• Find one first hand account of the event

Assessment:

Part One: Students will be verbally assessed on how many search engines they can name. Students will also be asked if they know of any search engines that give completely reliable information every time they are used. Students will also be asked if they have ever used information from the internet that was not reliable.

Part Two: Students will submit five sources in MLA format at the end of the class. All of the sources must be from online work. One source must be from a peer reviewed article and one source must be a primary source.

Materials:

• Computer
• Paper and Pencil

The Lesson:

The teacher will lead the students to the computer lab where the students will sit down at a computer. The teacher will display the topic of the research on the board at the front of the classroom. The teacher will put an example of a source in MLA format up on the board. He will also direct students to the Purdue OWL. This website gives information on how to correctly cite an article from any kind of online source. He will then suggest different search engines such as Google, Ebscohost, and AcademicOneFile. Then the teacher will show the students the entire database the school has available. The teacher will then walk around and answer questions on what sources are credible and which ones are not.

Closure: The teacher will then walk around and collect the students’ work. The work will be assessed on accuracy and completion. In closing remarks, the teacher will ask students if finding credible information was easier or more difficult than finding non-credible information. Students will also be asked if they know how to take the information from the sources and use it effectively in their papers.

Fool me once

Growing up in the generation that first got to experience the wonders of the internet, I have a unique perspective on everything it has to offer. Because the internet is so vast, it takes skills to determine what information is credible. One time the internet “fooled” me when the video of a pig saving a baby goat turned out to be a staged event. The video was leaked to many different social media outlets including a YouTube video that got millions of views. The video even made it onto the Today show, the pinnacle of morning news. In fact, they made a TV show about the project called Nathan for You. The show is about a guy named Nathan that graduated from Canada’s top business school and now consults struggling business owner’s with peculiar ideas. Teaching students about finding credible sources of information is going to be critical as we steadily progress towards more technology use in the classroom. Places I look for credible information is the College of Charleston Library website. Our library has managed to compile a massive amount of online resources that have reliable information and articles written by distinguished authors. The database at the library has peer reviewed articles. This means that someone in that field or study looked at the article and determined that it was relevant, useful information. The ability to determine whether an online work is credible or not is an imperative skill in the academic world.

Working Collaboratively Lesson Plan

Teacher: Mr. Royce  Grade Level: 8th   Subject: History

Length of Lesson: 1 Day

Lesson Topic: Revolutionary War Battles in South Carolina

Overall Goal: Students will be able to see how their knowledge of the subject compares to their peers in a quantitative way. Students will be able to pick and place 80 percent of the battles that occurred in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War.

Learner Background: Students will have prior knowledge of the sides that engaged in the Revolutionary War. They will also know locations of these different battles.

Student Learning Objectives:

• Score above 80 percent on the assessment
• Students will learn when each battle in South Carolina happened
• Students will learn exactly where each battle in South Carolina happened

Assessment: The entire activity is a summative assessment on Kahoot!

Students will receive or already have a device that can connect to Kahoot.it. The students will then be instructed to log on to this website and enter the game pin that will be displayed on the board. Students will then enter an alias and be ready to take the assessment. Students will be asked multiple choice questions involving characteristics of each battle that occurred in South Carolina. They will have to chose which answer goes with the description of the battle. Students are expected to score above 80 percent. If this goal is not met by two-thirds of the class, the assessment will be re-administered.

Materials/Resources: 

• Computer/ Tablet/ internet connected device
• Kahoot.it/ getstarted/
• Textbook

The Lesson: Initiation

To start the lesson students will be instructed to quietly pick up a school provided or personal internet connected device. Once the students have gathered their devices they will be put into groups of three. Each person in the group has to answer each individual question, but the students can work together on determining which answer choice is the best. The students will have a 30 second time limit they have to respond by. The element of time adds suspense and pace to the game. After each question, the results will be displayed on the board. I will then ask the students what they think of the results and other open ended questions to deepen their understanding of the content. These could include: what type of terrain was at each battle, certain ways to remember a battle, and ultimately who won the altercation.

Closure:

In closing out the lesson, Kahoot will display the results of the assessment. I will be able to see who was able to answer 80 percent of the questions correctly and who could not meet this mark. The students who were unable to meet this mark will be asked to re-take the assessment immediately or at another time until they are able to produce the 80 percent proficiency required. The highest scoring student will be rewarded with verbal praise and a physical award. A brief verbal assessment will be given at the end to assess whether groups were able to work together or if some of the team members did not contribute.

Working Collaboratively

Team work skills is one of the main aspects a company looks at in a potential employees profile. There is a big demand now-a-days for people to be able to work collaboratively. Most experience working
collaboratively happens in school. Students work collaboratively on power points, presentations, and even peer lessons. So, the question is how can teachers facilitate collaboration? One way this can be accomplished is purely in the way the room is structured. By putting desks in groups instead of rows a teacher’s can encourage students to work together instead of individually. With the desks in groups, students will naturally be inclined to ask questions of their peers. Another way teachers can encourage collaboration is assigning projects that need more than one participant. An example of this is a presentation. Whether using power point or some other software such as prezi, by assigning a group presentation, you require the students work together to make a final product. From the simplest presentation on photosynthesis, to the most complex presentation on Apple’s fourth quarter earnings, assigning a presentation requires students to somehow have contact. Of course, we have all seen presentations where the students didn’t work together. Those usually turn out to be disasters.  The final way  teachers can facilitate collaboration is assigning a multi-step project. For example, if the project is a research paper on crabs there are certain steps students have to follow to produce an acceptable product. For research, you have the students work together in order to speed up the process. By collaborating, the students will only include the most important information. In addition, giving multiple students the opportunity to work on one research paper allows them to focus on one part of the paper and do it really well. Sometimes it is hard for a child to put in consistent effort throughout a very long assignment. For multiple reasons the child gets distracted and more often than not puts out a flawed product. By delegating the work to group members, students can learn from their peers and put the most effort into their specific part of the assignment. Working in collaboration with others is one of the most highly sought after skills by employers. As teachers, it is our job to prepare our students to work in the world. By rearranging the classroom, assigning presentations or multi-step projects, teachers can foster the collaborative skills kids need later in life.

Multimodal Tutorial on Kahoot

Step One: Go to getkahoot.com. Then sign up for a free account.  

 

Step two: Get a free account.

 

Step three: Once you have created an account, your screen will look like this. To start a new Kahoot! click on the New K! tab in the top left hand corner. 

 

Step four:Make your questions.

 

Step five: Adjust the settings.

 

Step six: Add some Multi-media 

 

Step seven: Play your Kahoot!

Step eight: To play your Kahoot! your students have to go to Kahoot.it and enter the game-specific pin. 

Technology Use in the Classroom

Now more than ever, teacher’s are encouraged to use technology and media as a part of their lesson plans and overall classroom flow. Throughout the early 21st century we’ve seen smart boards and the like replace traditional methods of teaching. As much as I may not see the light, I must play the devil here and advocate for the decrease of technology in the classroom. I believe there are more down sides to using technology than their are upsides. However, this does not mean the internet is all bad and cannot be minimally used. One way technology can help me in the classroom is through the use of a website called Kahoot. Kahoot is a website that allows you to create fun learning games that get kids excited while assessing their progress. Kahoot also lets you share individual or group results in a community. Kahoot replaces paper and pencil assessments that can be time consuming when it comes to results. In addition, by sharing results in the community, I can spark competition between the students to see who can get the highest scores. If students have a visual representation of how they match up with another student it can influence positive learning and a hunger for more knowledge. However, for me, Kahoot will never replace what the same activity on white board can do. With Kahoot, the text is just on the screen, allowing kids to just chose an answer instead of synthesizing the information for themselves. However, with the white board, the student has to write the question down and examine all the components. This practice will allow me to see students work step by step, which when it comes to math, is imperative.

https://getkahoot.com/how-it-works

Another way I can use technology as a text in the classroom is through a site called iCivics. iCivics is an interactive website that allows students to see what it would be like to hold certain social positions. The site boasts plenty of games such as running for the presidency, making laws, and what is covered under the Bill of Rights. iCivics gives me an online tool to teach civic duty while mixing in how our government got started in the first place. iCivics also allows me to teach morals along with knowledge. It gives me a platform to explain what a good law is and what a bad law is, why we have laws, and how important it is to follow them. iCivics gives me the opportunity to diversify the way I teach civic responsibility.

https://www.icivics.org/games

These are just two ways I can use technology as a text in the classroom. I believe the most important way I can use technology in the classroom is expediting information. Answering a students off the wall question is easier with a google search than a library search.