Observation Journal Monday, Dec 1 2008

October 22, 2008 12:30-2:00 PM (1 ½  hours)

I observed students working during a Computer Specials time. Students came in the room and went to their assigned seating.  I observed a lesson about using Accelerated Reader.  Most of the students have already used this software, but quite a few are pretty new at it.  Students are able to read certain books and take quizzes on them using the computer.  When my class goes to the lab, I have them take an AR folder where they keep a list of all the AR books they have read.  I usually allow class time to do these tests, but since I only have one computer in my room, not everyone gets a chance during class time. I can tell some of the students really enjoy using it, but others are frustrated.  They are having difficulty with typing in the titles of the books they have read.  Because these students are 7-8 years old, they still do not have the qwerty keyboard memorized.  It is also frustrating to students who did not read their story well enough because they are not able to make a passing grade on the quiz.  When students finished, they were allowed free time on happymeal.com.  This is a program that allows students to practice basic computer skills.  Although the games weren’t academic in nature, I could see how they would help students practice mouse control and computer screen focusing.  They all seemed to enjoy different games and activities.  I began to see how students learn and apply their classroom learning with their ability to continue that learning on the computer games they played.

Nov. 4, 2008 9:30-11:00 PM (1 ½ hours)

During this Computer session, I observed students working on starfall.com.  Students were allowed to take any AR tests they had and then asked to loging to Starfall.  This program allows students to practice reading skills.  I really liked it as a classroom teacher because it had stories that practice skills by phonics sounds.  For example, the first story was a short a practice story, where as further down the list, the stories were by long vowel stories (with a silent e on the end of the word).  The computer would sing songs and practice the sounds for the student to hear.  Students used headphones in order to hear the audio in the program.  Phonics is a weakness I have observed at my school, so I was glad to see that students were practicing this learning.  This is a program I haven’t seen very much of, but heard about, so it was nice to see how it works in the computer lab.  If I had more computers in my room, I would really like to utilize something like this during my centers time.  I think it would help students practice weaknesses in another type of setting.  It would reiterate those needs of students who might be struggling in reading.  I noticed that students really seemed to have a good sense of technology and computer literacy.  They were able to follow directions to get to the website and to the correct activity for this class.

Nov. 11, 2008 12:30-2:00 PM (1 ½ hours)

First, students started the class by being allowed time to take any AR (Accelerated Reader) tests that they needed to.  After students finished their AR tests, they were allowed to do free choice on JumpSart.  This is a program where they can practice reading and math skills.  The teacher allowed the students to choose if they want to practice reading or math.  Most of the class chose to do the reading.  They said it is more fun than doing the math.  The reading was actually a cloze practice where students had to fill in the blanks of a story.  Most of the class talked about a spaceship game on there that they would rather play, but don’t ever get to.  They said this game is practice using the keyboard.  It’s odd to me that she wouldn’t want them to practice this skill more.  This is often the frustrating part for me when I take my class to the computer lab.  Students don’t want to type because it takes them too long to type in the words that they need to.  Students also said that the spaceship game asks them geography questions that they can answer. 

November 18, 2008 12:30-2:00 (1 ½ hours)

Today, I observed students working in a program called Starfall.  The class began with students being allowed time to complete AR tests, and then they began working in Starfall.  Starfall is a program that helps students practice reading.  Students began by reading a story and then answering questions and practicing phonics skills.  Most of the students did not seem very interested in working in this program.  I could tell they were not very enthusiastic about it.  It really seemed that those were the kids who were also struggling with reading.  Once they were finished with that, they were allowed time to work on funbrain.com.  Funbrain has arcade games that practice reading and math skills along with online books and comics.  The kids really seemed to like this program.  I’m sure a lot of it had to do with the interactive games, colors, and use of current books and movie/television show characters.  I think this would be a great website for me to use in my classroom as a reward for good behavior.

Overall Observation Thoughts (Total of 4 sessions equaling 6 hours)

One thing I noticed was a lack of good software.  Many of the activities that were used were online programs or very basic programs that most schools probably have.  I would really like to see a better variety of programs.  I think students would enjoy computer time more and be more engaged.  I would also like to see more links between classroom learning and computer time.  As a classroom teacher, I do not often have time to take my whole class to the computer lab.  Since students go to computer once a week during their Specials time, it would be nice for the computer teacher to transfer things we are learning in class to activities students could do in the lab.  They could use sites such as yahooligans to research information.  Or, they could use webspiration (since its free online) or PowerPoint to create a project about something they have learned.

I would also like to have more computers in my room.  As I said before, I do not have time in my day to take my entire class to the computer lab very often.  If I had 2-3 more computers in my room, I could set them up as a center during my centers time and students could work on skills practice or a computer project over something we have learned.  When I taught 4^th grade in another district I had 3 other computers besides my teacher computer.  It was really nice because I could utilize them for classroom learning activities, but students still had their computer time during Specials.

I wonder how common it is for schools to have such few computers.  I’ve tried writing several grants for software, but not computers.  I’m just too afraid that the expense would not be granted.  I would love to set up some kind of program where people could donate old, but usable PCs from their home for classroom use.  The only drawback I could see is have the IT support you would need to keep the computers working.  That is very often a problem in my district.

Overall, it was very nice to see students in the computer lab.  I’ve never really taken the time to go down there while they are there because that is my conference time.  I’m glad I got to go in and see what they are working on and how it is helping them in the classroom.

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Work Samples and Reflections Sunday, Nov 30 2008

Below are my favorite work samples and my reflections.  I created a table to organize the samples and all of the information.

Work Samples and Reflections

 

Emily Hart Caram

 

Assignment	Reflections	Other Ideas
Multimedia	I think my favorite assignment was creating the video.  I used Powerpoint to create jpeg images that I loaded into Movie Maker.  Then, I used the tools in Movie Maker to create transitions, and finally added music.  I really enjoyed this assignment because it allowed for some creativity and originality.  I think I could have done more with color, and font and maybe added some other images.  I noticed that other students in our class that are in the business world, tend to have that mindset.  I think if I spent some time learning about Public Relations, I would be able to create something much more professional and creative. It was frustrating at times to get the timing down for each slide.  I wanted to make sure there was enough time to read each slide without making it too long.  It also took me a while to figure out how to change the file to a wmv for YouTube.	I have already used this learning to create a video with my husband.  We had an 80s party on Halloween and instead of using Evite, we decided to make a video to invite our friends.  With this video, I was able to be a little bit more creative because of the experience I had had creating the Dress Code video.  I made a separate slide for each image that was added for the collage and my husband mixed the 80s music.  We actually had a lot of fun coming up with what we would include and I know he had a great time mixing the music using Acoustica MP3 Audio Mixer.  After creating this video, I can see how each time, there could be more creativity and better use of technology.  With each video you create, you think of new ideas to incorporate. I think my second graders would love to create a video about something they have learned.  It would be fun for each of them to create a Power Point slide and we could put all of them together to create a class video.  That might be a great idea for the end of the year.  We could each make a slide about our favorite second grade memory and put them together to create a class video.  I think a lot of parents would appreciate something like that also.
Publisher	I enjoyed this assignment because I was able to compare work I had already done in Publisher to what I learned in our class.  I like how you can be very creative and original with publisher.  It helps you communicate information in an organized and effective way.  I’ve used it quite a bit to create a monthly newsletter that I send home with my students.  That way, parents can stay up-to-date on what is going on at school and what we are learning.  I liked that I was able to upload personal photo images onto the newsletter.  I also like how Publisher already has everything set-up so all you have to do is input your information.  The only mistake I made while creating this is that I didn’t delete the last 3 pages.  When I’m at school, I never make a newsletter more than one page because I figure most families don’t have time to read much more than that.  I like how you can really play with color and images to create an informative and interesting piece.	Since completing this assignment, I have started sending home a small, simple Weekly Update with my students.  I include a reminder of the spelling list, what we are learning each subject that week, and a form at the bottom for parents to cut off, sign and return to me.  I think they have really liked having the weekly reminders and it also helps them reinforce what I am teaching at home. I also think it would be great to send a monthly newsletter home as an administrator.  It would give me the opportunity to include any information parents need and communicate with them in a positive way. I also enjoyed making the Casa de Caram Brochure for my company along with the Casa de Caram business card.  I was able to use a lot of creativity and originality.  I also enjoyed matching the theme to that of my website.
Excel Assignment **Disclaimer** I had to use Adobe to insert a link of my workbook.  My blog will not upload an excel spreadsheet, but I wanted to at least have a copy of it on here.  For a copy of the assignment, you can e-mail me at e.m.hart@tcu.edu.	I really liked this assignment because I had never really learned how to use functions in Excel.  I like how Excel allows you to use colors and borders to organize the information you need to input.  I also like how you can have more than one sheet to combine information across sheets.  The use of the functions can really allow a business or school to organize and interpret data.I think I did a good job of organizing the information needed to complete the assignment.  I also think the assignment I used would be interactive and real-life for high schoolers.  It is still hard for me to justify using Excel with second graders.  Since they are so young, teaching them formulas will not make very much sense to them.  And having them practice math facts could be useful, but since there are so many free websites out there, it is more practical to use them instead.  Plus the games and colors are much more exciting to 7-8 year-olds than what I would probably be able to create on Excel.	I have actually used this program since learning about it in class.  I have been researching data and statistics as part of my internship for my school.  We (my administrators and me) used Excel to input data and create charts and graphs.  I am not able to link any of that onto this assignment for FERPA reasons, however I was able to help my principal create a pie graph that she could not figure out.  I found that what I had learned was very helpful and useful to them and I actually have been given the opportunity to present some of the data I used before the school board this month! I think this is a program I will use a lot as an administrator.  I try to be as organized as I can, and Excel really allows a user to do that.  I also like using visual aids and if I am already keeping data in Excel, it would be very easy to convert it to a graph or chart to use for a presentation or training.
PowerPoint Interactive	I really liked this assignment because I learned how to create an interactive assignment for students.  I think this would be a great way to assess student knowledge on learning they have done in class.  I think making the big, interactive buttons and using a soft blue color help make this an activity that people would be more likely to use.  This was a fairly easy assignment for me to complete.  It was at times, frustrating getting the Macro interactive buttons to work, but now, any time I use a program I have found that each program has a Macro component.  Does that mean I can create an interactive program using all kinds of software?  If so, that’s pretty cool.	I definitely think this would be a great tool to use in the classroom.  As an administrator, I would really like to provide some training to my teachers on how to create such assignments for their students.  They could create a few each six weeks to use to review students on the information they have learned before a formal assessment.  It would be especially good for Spelling practice or math fact memorization.  You could also create guiding questions over information learned from a reading assignment in almost any subject area.
Graphic Organizer	I really liked this assignment because I use graphic organizers a lot as a classroom teacher.  It is very often a student weakness on TAKS Reading tests.  I try to help my students understand the use of them and how they can transfer information from one organizer to another. I like how the software allows you to use different colors and images.  You can also use links and tags to helps students understand information. My favorite part is the ability to go from an outline format to an informational web.	I have seen this software used some in the computer lab.  I think it is a great way for students to transfer the information in the classroom to its ability to be used in the technology setting. I think this is another great tool to encourage teachers to use.  Even as an adult, I still use these skills to aid myself in learning.  The use of this software would help students better understand the use and application of graphic organizers throughout their education.  You could have students create a graphic organizer and then transfer that into a PowerPoint presentation that they would present to the class (see my Technology Unit).
Website	I included this to my list because I liked how my website turned out.  It does look very “teacherish” but that’s because I’m a teacher.  The basis for my company/website was from my own experiences as a teacher.  I often find that schools and families struggle to find common ground and work together.  I think that is one of the things that is often keeping struggling students from becoming successful.  I enjoyed creating the brochure and business card because it allowed a lot of creativity.  I also enjoyed creating the website for the same reasons.  I would like to do more research and find other ways I can incorporate information and creativity in an easy-to-read and productive manner.	One thing I would like to try is to create another website that would cater to the needs of my families.  I would really like to have a website where I could include homework information, grades, assignments, what we are learning in class, and maybe a discussion board where parents could post comments and discuss things together.  I think this would help parents feel more involved and allow them easier access to classroom information.

 

 

 

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Unit Plan Sunday, Nov 30 2008

Below is a copy of my unit plan (a Word document link).  I included the TEKS I would cover and the learning students would transfer from the classroom to technology.  We have been studying pilgrims and how they are still coming to America for religious freedom (the point to students is that they were not just people who came and ate the first Thanksgiving).  I would want students to use this learning to create a Webspiration project (this would include teaching them how to create a UserID on webspiration for future purposes) and then take the Webspiration graphic organizer to create a small PowerPoint slide with a partner.  Both assignments would require a small presentation.  I would have a final lesson that students would take a test over everything they have learned throughout the previous 4 lessons.

Technology Unit

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Position Statement Sunday, Nov 30 2008

          Technology is something that we use every day.  It doesn’t always mean booting up the computer and checking e-mail.  Technology is integrated into almost every area of our lives.  I think anyone who says they don’t use it or like it is naïve.  Scanning a credit card or using a cell phone are both forms of technology that many people use every day.  Technology aides us in the tasks we do each day to help our lives function normally in our current society.

          I envision myself using technology as much as I can.  The reason I have a laptop is so that I can take it everywhere and check e-mail, look up information, and work on tasks for my job or my classes.  Any teacher or educational professional who is not using technology is out of the loop.  It amazes me how many teachers I have worked with whom don’t even know how to send an e-mail!  They are missing out on so much for themselves professionally, but also for their students!

          I love finding new ways to use technology in my profession.  Recently, I’ve done webinars, something new and very easy!  It did not require any driving or time away from school.  I was able to sit in front of the computer with the speaker phone and hear an entire lecture.  I was a bit surprised at how easy and useful it was.  I was still able to learn from the lecture, but I didn’t have to travel anywhere to do so. 

          As an administrator, I want to help teachers find as many ways as possible to use technology in their classrooms.  We are training students for technology that hasn’t even been created or invented.  It is our job as educational professionals to make sure we are preparing students for all types of learning and professions.  If we are not using technology in the classroom, we are missing a HUGE piece that students (will) need in order to be successful academically and professionally.  We are also missing out on an opportunity to reach out to kids.  So many kids have so much access to technology now.  They love using it!  If we are trying to reach kids where they are socially and academically, then we should be using technology as much as we can.

          The biggest obstacles I foresee are the issues of time and money.  It can take a lot of time to research, find and install software.  But if you are using something educationally valuable, it would be very worth it.  Money can be a major obstacle.  Many districts still do not see the value of technology in the classroom and therefore, do not want to spend resources to incorporate it.  I have written several technology grants that have been rejected.  I think it came down to the fact that the stakeholders do not see the value in using it and therefore do not have any desire to incorporate it any more than they must. 

          It would also take time and money to have an IT crew.  I know the response time in my district is VERY long.  It can be very frustrating to teachers who want to use technology in their classroom, but are unable to because we do not have enough IT support.  I think this is a very over-looked obstacle that needs to be considered when integrating technology.

          I think I have very good basic computer skills.  I have learned a lot this semester about programs I can use to help students learn.  I would also like to research more ways to help teachers.  I think that might be an overlooked area in technology.  Teachers (especially those that are more experienced) often do not have proper training and skills to use the technology that is available to them.  I would like to use what I have learned this semester to aid teachers.  The more confident and able teachers are with technology; the more likely they are to use it in the classroom.  In turn, students will gain learning and experience from their teachers’ use of it.

          I think it is very important to always be learning.  As a teacher, I attend as much training as I can because I want to be the most effective to my students that I can be.  This will also now include technology.  I think it is important for me to continue to find professional technology workshops that will help me be an effective administrator.  Technology is always changing, and it is important for us as professionals to try to stay ahead of the curve.  That means always learning, always researching, and always putting forth the effort required to be effective.

          I think my blog will be a great resource for me to use professionally.  There are work samples and thoughts I have had on technology and education.  I can also change or add a few things and use it for my students’ families.  They can see work examples, homework, what we are currently learning, and they can also contact me through the blog.  I also think it would be a great idea for me to upload an updated résumé.  I think I will also encourage other teachers to do the same thing.  It will be a great way for them to also be effective with their students and families.

          As I have already stated, I think it is very important to encourage my peers and colleagues to use technology.  As an administrator, that will mean providing time, training, and money for teachers to use in order to help their students learn through the use of technology.  It will also be my job to model the use of technology.  By modeling its use, I will hopefully encourage teachers to use technology as much as possible.

          This class has provided me with many ideas, techniques, and motivational strategies to use technology in education.  I want to be the most effective I can be in my profession.  That will mean using technology to the best of my ability.  It will take time, money, and faith in technology to achieve this, but I am willing to put forth the effort in order to help students become more successful.

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Software Evaluation Saturday, Nov 29 2008

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/sci-tech/scicom.html

I found this site using a google search.  I think this would be a great tool for educators to use when they are evaluating new software for their school(s).  Kathy, the site manager, has all kinds of links.  She breaks the software down by subject so you can click on a subject area software you are looking for and find her ratings and thoughts on certain software.  She also has links to articles and blogs she has written and other helpful software resources.

I think another great idea would be to create a site that allowed educators to discuss software they have used and how it did/did not work.  That way, you could go on and find ratings and thoughts on software that teachers similar to your experience/expertise level.  Many teachers already use such sites for lesson planning and unit research.

One of the grants I wrote, included an online reading program. To me, this was much more valuable because it didn’t require uploading software to a room full of computers (time) and it was much less expensive. It only included a one-year use, but to me, you often have to experiment with a program in order to use it successfully. After a year, we could have had a good idea how well the program worked, and it would not have been very much money out of pocket to use it again. Unfortunately, many people do not see it that way in the educational profession.  I think many people only want to spend the minimal amount of money.  They think that by having only computers and some other simple technology, then they have met the standards for what students need.  I disagree.  I think we need to provide as many opportunities as we can for students to use technology.  It will cost money, however I think the benefits will far outweigh the costs in the end.  Students will be able to apply their learning in a new way and therefore gain a new understanding of the information they have learned.

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Website – HTML Assignment Sunday, Nov 16 2008

http://www.freewebs.com/casadecaram/

 

The above link will take you to my website.

 

In this assignment, we were asked to create a website that will support our idea for a business in a future assignment.

 

I chose this business to help schools and families work together.  I potentially see it as a non-profit that would helps schools or families work together for the success of students.  In my experience, this is a common problem among schools.  There seems to be a disconnect between homes and schools.  I think this disconnect is affecting students ability to be successful.

Websites are an obvious requirement when you are starting a business.  These days, people immediately “google it”.  If we need a service, the first thing most people do is look it up online.  In order for most businesses to be successful, there would have to be some kind of website that will help the customers they serve.

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Excel Rubric Monday, Oct 13 2008

	AWESOME	DEVELOPING	BASIC	TOTAL POINTS
	3	2	1
NEATNESS	The student’s work was very neat and organized.	The student’s work was fairly neat and showed some organizational skills.	The student’s work was not neat or organized.	3
CREATIVITY	The student used creative and innovative skills and ideas to complete the assignment.	The student was somewhat creative, but could have used more creative techniques to demonstrate their learning.	The student did not demonstrate  creativity with this assignment.	3
ORIGINALITY	The student used original ideas to demonstrate their learning.	The student used a few original ideas to demonstrate their learning.	The student did not demonstrate originality with this assignment.	3
USE OF NEW SKILLS	The student demonstrated a clear use of the skills learned for this assignment.	The student demonstrated some of the new skills learned for this assignment.	The student did not demonstrate an understanding of the new skills learned from this assignment.	3
TOTAL POINTS				12
ASSIGNMENT AVERAGE

Above is the copy of the rubric I chose to use.  I would use this rubric to grade students on an Excel sheet they have created to calculate a monthly car payment.

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Publisher Monday, Oct 6 2008

Technology Newsletter

This assignment was fairly simple for me.  I’ve made class newsletters in the past to keep families up-to-date on what is going on in our classroom and at school.

I used contrast by making some of the text boxes darker with lighter font.  I used repetition by using the same font throughout.  I also kept the font size the same in the stories and similar column widths.  Alignment wasn’t very hard for me because I tend to like things in an organized matter.  I aligned the columns and sidenotes so the newletter would look straight and organized.  Since I only used one page, proximity wasn’t difficult either.  I tried to stick to topics about school/class. 

I included all the requirements for the assignment.  I even sent this home with my students today!  It will be a good template to use throughout the year.

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PowerPoint Interactive Sunday, Sep 28 2008

dress-code-interactive

Here is my interactive PowerPoint.  I thought this was relatively simple.  It would be a great way for teachers to test students.

One thing I would like to learn is how to assemble all the answers at the end and be able to use them for a grade.  How could you take all the answers students chose and have the program tell you what they got correct?

I think school districts should train teachers on using this program.  It is relatively simple and could be use pretty easily as a learning tool.

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Videos Using Movie Maker Sunday, Sep 21 2008

 

I really enjoyed this assignment way more than I thought I would.  It was fun creating the video and adding music and effects to it.  I could really see myself using this feature in my classroom.  I could use it to introduce new concepts.  It would be a great way to review information with students and by using all the tools in Movie Maker, I could make it creative enough to keep student attention.

 

The only problem I had was changing the file over to WMV.  Actually making the video and PowerPoint slides was fairly easy and fun.  It took me quite a while to upload the video onto YouTube…the part that I thought would be the easiest!

 

It will be interesting to see how I do next week when I make the interactive program!

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