W4_Final Video

Option 3:

W4_Reading

Concept map of my week 4 reading:

PE_6 Final Flash

Ha Ha Ha!  I spent so many hours trying to learn how to use Adobe Flash CS5 by watching tutorials on Lynda.com, and all I could create was a stick figure bouncing a basketball.  I am going to try and upload the swf file to here, but if that doesn't work, I will create a screenflow video and post it that way.  This is a very complicated program to work, and it seems like you need to have many hours on your hand to master this program.  It is very useful, and is used in many ways.  Maybe we will be able to learn more about this program in future classes.  Here is my first attempt at a flash program:

PE_5Flash update

After watching several hours of video tutorials, I believe that I am going to try and create something using flash.  Stay tuned for a preview of my final product! 

Flash Tutorials | Flash Professional CS5 Essential Training

Flash Tutorials | Flash Professional CS5 Essential Training

Here is the link to the video tutorials for anyone who wants to get a head start!

PE_4 Flash

I have chosen to research Adobe Flash Player to get a head start on month six's work.  The first thing I did was to open the Adobe Flash CS5 program that I loaded on my laptop at the beginning of the Master's program.  I immediately went to the help file to see what kind of help was offered.  There were a few good tutorials, but I needed some videos to show me how to use the program.  I am currently going to Lynda.com to do a little more research.  Stay tuned for future updates!  Holy cow, there is nearly 7 hours of video content to watch!  Guess I will be busy for the rest of this week.

W3_Reading

I was able to highlight some important text that would help me in writing my AR paper.  I created the following concept map as a result.

 

PE_3 Freemind Finished!

I finally finished my concept map for everything that I am required to teach.  Wow! There is a lot of stuff, but now I have a "checklist", and I can begin aligning my text book with the concept map.  Here is what the final map looks like!

PE_2 Freemind progress

I am going to post the stages of my development through my Freemind progress.  First I started out with a concept.

I added some subtopics:

Then, I broke it down even further:

BP_12 Freemind Video

BP_11 Comments

Please follow this link to view my comments on Solange Dominguez's blog site.

BP_10 Comments

Please follow this link to view my comments on Angela Dixon's blog site.

BP9_Freemind

My task was to create a concept map of 8th grade language arts, as a beginning piece to receiving race to the top funding in our state.  I chose to use Freemind as my preferred tool.  I would highly recommend this to anyone trying to accomplish this task.  The ease of use, and product finalization are worth every second of effort that you will put into a concept map.  Taking the time to learn all of the features of Freemind, will benefit you in the long run.  There are several help sections that will guide you in your learning.  Me, I just like to fiddle with things until I figure them out.  This is what I did with this program.  I was able to figure out how to create the concept bubbles pretty quick, and adding subtopics was just a matter of clicking the insert button on a windows keyboard!  As I am working on this as my practical experience also, I will be posting stages of my development in future blog posts.  

PE_1 Concept Mapping

I have been tasked to create a concept map of all the topics covered in 8th Grade Language Arts, and relate these concepts to our state standards.  This process is needed to show growth as a result of our state receiving Race To The Top funding.  I have chosen to research a couple of the mind mapping web2.0 tools available at this time.  One is called freemind, and I am going to try to use this one to accomplish this daunting task! 

You Tube Post

Pretty sweet!  Ipadio posted my video on their youtube page!  See for yourself by following this link.

W2 Reading

This weeks readings focused on laptops becoming the wave of the future in the classroom, using hand held devices to improve standardized test scores, changing the delivery of education by using 3pluslearning, and improving standardized test scores with technology.  Here is what I found.

The first article I read was titled:

 This article gave some insight and opinion on providing laptops to every child in a classroom.  Some of the advantages that the article stated were that all students could follow along with teacher powerpoints on their laptops, and be able to make notes on their computers.  With such a push for a paper less society, the incorporation of laptops would cut down on the paper consumed by schools!  The author made a good point when she stated that our students are the leaders of tomorrow, and they should be provided with the technologies that they will need to be successful in the future, and be able to connect globally outside of the four classroom walls.  The full article can be found at by following this link. 

The second article I read was titled:

This article was about how achievement has increased on standardized test scores with the use of hand held "clicking" devices.  The devices are used along with a computer program called Qwizdom.  The technology allows the teacher to ask questions, and the students answer the questions by clicking a button on their hand held device.  This relays the information back to the program, and displays the data back to the teacher.  The teacher can tell who has answered, and who hasn't.  This program allows teachers to see where they need to focus attention on lesson planning.  The full article can be found by following this link. 

The third article I read was titled:

This article focused on budgeting education, and looked at how changing the way teachers teach could help balance this budget.  The article stated that teachers need to change the delivery of instruction to include instant feedback from technology, and include social networking.  "Teachers can create tests, surveys, evaluations, polling, blog study groups, chat live, and post photos in communities set up by them."  One of the most intriguing parts of the article was when it spoke about a program called 3PlusLearning.  This is a company that is providing a software program that is aligned with state standards, that gives immediate feedback on student weaknesses.  It  also provides remedial lessons, and tracks student learning.  The article contains a great interview with the companies CEO.  The full article can be found following this link.

The fourth article I read was titled:

This article looked at improving test scores with technology, and stated a few principles for making this happen.  The author states that we do not have technology in schools to increase test scores, and obviously it will not make dumb kids smarter, improve family support, or poor teachers great, but the author did give a few principles that all teachers incorporating technology should follow.  The author states that in order to increase test scores teachers must use the technology in the classroom.  If you don't use it, it won't do you any good! Also, don't let students do trivial tasks on computers.  Do things on computers that will pay off at test time.  Learning experiences should accomplish more than one task.  For example, the author stated that having students re-write a story, and incorporate some editing and peer revision would be excellent use of a computer.  The full story can be found following this link.

BP8_video

BP7_Comment

Follow the link to view my comments on Elizabeth Granberg's Blog!

creativecommons.org

BP6_Comments

 Follow the link to view my comments on Kelly Baker's Blog

creativecommons.org

ipadio: BP5 Ipadio

BP_5ipadio

My blog post this week will be done by using the Web2.0 tool that I chose to review, called ipadio.  It will be the next post called ipadio: BP_5  You can access the website by following this link: iPadio

ipadio: Test2

W1 Reading

The first article I read was titled: 

The article was found under a quick search that I was doing for results of implementing a one to one laptop program.  The article spoke about a Denver, Colorado school that implemented this type of program, and had great results.  Some of the students responded saying that it had a positive influence on the way they worked with other students in the classroom, and it increased interest in school and their grades.  The article seemed to be more about a specific software program that teachers could use to create tests which gave immediate feedback to the students and teachers.

The second article I read was titled:

This article interested me because it looked at the opposite of what I am trying to prove in my research.  It stated that laptops being integrated into the curriculum had not impacted student achievement as expected.  One of the key elements that stood out to me in the article was that it said that the problem with the program was more the fault of the classroom teacher not being able to implement a laptop program in the proper way.  This is one concept that I believe highly in.  You can provide all of the technology in the world to your students, but if the teacher doesn't know how to teach with it, then the desired results will never be achieved.

The third article I read was titled:

 This article was about what it takes to implement a full one-to-one laptop program in a school.  It stated you had to have administration, teacher, and community buy in.  The article went on to say that the future of one-to-one learning is that of a collaborative nature where the students and teachers work as one, and they all learn together.  The article also stated that there was more going on in the classroom besides things that could be measured by state assessments.  Things like, decreased behavior problems, collaborative learning, and higher interest in a student's own education.

The fourth article I read was titled:

This article was about the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program that is being implemented in many third world countries.  Manufacturers were able to cut the cost of laptops to around $100 dollars a piece.  Some of the objectives of the program were to provide children with access to information, learn through action and exploration, and encourage life long learning.  If we are able to provide this type of technology to other countries, then why can't we provide the same for our nation?

BP3_Diigo Group

Here is my Diigo group screen shot.

BP4_Edmodo

If you haven't heard of Edmodo by now, you are missing out on the best web 2.0 tool out there!  Just take a look at how similar it is to Facebook before I begin telling you more about this awesome tool.

screen shot courtesy of edmodo.com

screen shot courtesy of facebook.com

This is really like using Facebook in your classroom!  Please take a moment to view the screen flow I created of Edmodo.  Music was created by me using garage band.

BP2_iGoogle Screen Shots

Here is what my iGoogle Desktop looks like:

BP1_Google Reader

This is my first attempt at a blog post, and I have chosen to look at 5 different RSS feeds that would impact my teaching career.  I am currently in the process of doing an action research project for my Masters degree on the subject of increasing special needs student's state test scores by implementing technology into my curriculum.  One of the first feeds I chose to follow was at the following link: http://ets.berkeley.edu/

screen shot of home page

Berkeley is one of the leaders in educational technology and they provide some great resources, and articles for teachers.  

The second site I chose to follow is at http://www.naset.org/ 

screen shot of home page

This is the National Association for Special Education Teachers website.  It provides a great deal of resources, from educational powerpoints to in depth research articles.  

The third site I chose to follow was at http://edtech.twinisles.com/rb/

screen shot of home page

This site will provide me with some great insight on educational technology and how to use it in the classroom.

The fourth site I chose to follow was at http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePowerOfEducationalTechnology

screen shot of home page

This site caught my eye for it's wonderfully created videos.  Most of the videos are ways to incorporate technology in the classroom.  I can't wait to try some of these out!

The last site I chose to follow can be found at: feed://blog.laptop.org/feed/

screen shot of home page

This site will help me with my action research project tremendously!  It has all kinds of information relating to studies on the benefits of using laptops in the classroom.