So Long!!!!

So, here I am 8 weeks later....a little more knowledgeable I hope. I would like to use this time to reflect on what I think were the successes AND the failures (for me) in taking this course. I have really enjoyed having an open dialogue throughout the course with the other "ladies". At first I thought that the small class size would make it difficult to carry on an online discussion forum, however I quickly found that our course conversations became more intimate. I have taken online courses where there have been many students and you end up just replying to someone for the sake of the course and a conversation is difficult to maintain. I have to say that I really enjoyed our forums and found myself disappointed when there were no knew messages to read. Also, I think that the resource links made available through our discussion forums will also be very useful. I have bookmarked all the ones that I think will be beneficial to me and am hopeful to use them in the upcoming year.

Now if I had to talk about my disappointments I guess the only one would have to be the blog. In the beginning I was so excited about my new blog. I thought the idea of writing for an online audience was super. Likewise, I was looking forward to belonging to a teacher exchange about best practices and course material. With all this positive energy, you might think...well what went wrong? Well, given the content for our course and the reason for our blog I found that the dynamics of the blog disappeared. that is, it became a place for me to post links and reflections about the course, but I certainly didn't have the feeling anyone was reading my posts, or benefiting from what I had to say. I think to get true value out of a blog you need to believe at least that others are reading (not just because they have to...). I lost focus of our class blog about the same time I started up my own personal blog....(the mommy files..) I found writing about the trial and joys of being a parent of 2 young children much more enjoyable than the current task at hand.

Now, well I don't think that I got the most out of this class blog as I had hoped to I have certainly bought into starting a blog in my classroom and the benefits it can have for my teaching model. I have helped my husband start a course blog for one of his senior English classes and he loves it. I also have every intention of starting a blog for all three of my classes next year and finally utilizing those three computers at the back of my class (as well as having something to do for those students who finish early). I am excited about the blogging world, like I said I started my own personal blog, I currently have a host of followers and love love documenting the cute and crazy things my kids do. So, after this quick reflection perhaps the blogging portion of this course was beneficial for me.

I am excited about what Part 2 and 3 of this course will offer me, and am really hopeful that it will help me to not just stay on top of technology in the classroom but be a leader within my department, school and board in helping bring new initiatives towards technology and senior math education.

 

Take Care and if you are reading this I thank youJ,

Billie Gitter

Smart Exchange

Smart Technology has opened a website forum called the Smart Exchange. Here you can share notebook presentations with other teachers. You can easily search for related material by the course, grade and curriculum strand. This is a wonderful forum for sharing btw teachers. Smart sponsors it so there are even prizes for the best, most innovative lessons. It is worth checking out, regardless of the disciple that you teach.....did I mention that it is free!!!!!

Great Sites for PPT and More

Here are some super great sites...enjoy

Smartnotebook Lessons
technology.usd259.org/resources/whiteboards/smart-lessons/high_school_lessons.html

World of Teaching, Maths PP Page
www.worldofteaching.com/mathspowerpoints.html

1000's of Presentations, all topics
www.pppst.com/themes.html

Free Math Clip art
math.phillipmartin.info/math_tesselation.htm

All kinds of Presentations: Permethean Board, Smartboard and PP
www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/kentict/kentict_iwb_power.cfm

Dahabo's Story

Check out this paper for an intriguing story of how the use of digital images brought one girl out of her shell in the LA classroom.

Your first Assignment

Each member of this class is to create a personal blog for this course. I will also post content to this blog. You will be responsible for both commenting on postings I have made on this blog AND make postings of your own on your own blog site. A blog is like an online journal, here you can share your trials and tribulations as you embark on this "teaching" experience. And of course you success stories as well. Follow these instructions to create your own blog. Once you have created your blog, please reply to this posting with the web address for your blog. I will "follow" all of your blogs and you should sign up to follow your classmate's blogs as well. Following a blog will allow you to see your peer's blogs and any new postings they have made. Your personal blogs are to be used to both answer any questions I may ask and to converse with your peers about our GPP class. Please remember that all content will be available to be read by both myself and your peers and as such should be professional and anonymous at all times. Please have your blogs created, personalized and ready for my viewing by the end of the week. Happy blogging!!!

Some useful lists

10 ways a teacher can incorporate digital photos

1. Field trip ...I am trying to think of some different ones...thought I would leave that in though:)
   2. Junior teachers - as a welcoming of a new class....
   3. Kindergarten teachers - of each student to paste to their desk.....personalize cubbies, coat hooks....
   4. Home ec - process photos of a recipe
   5. Personal photos of kids w/ alergies...special IEP's...special need
   6. English class - creating story boards
   7. Caught being good - at lunch or recess
   8. Physed - proper technique of exercises
   9. Staff room - posted photos of suspended students (I often have no idea who these kids are...)
   10. ............
   

   
    

   10 ways a student can use digital photos
   

2. 1. Field trip
   2. Art Class - to create magazine cover shots
   3. Drama - to create a photo journal that "tells a story w/out saying a word"
   4. Math - find examples of shapes, lines (parallel, perpendicular) angles in nature
   5. Science Experiments - method, process photos
   6. Junior grades - collages of topics being studied....trees...insects
   7. English - create your own book cover...take a photo that represents the book being studied and create a new book cover of the novel)
   8. Junior grades - show and tell..."send in" a digital photo of a family trip or something interesting and talk about it to the class.
   9. Before and after shots for a tech project......
   10. sports and Society class - interviews..sporting events
   

   
    

3. 10 Ways a special needs student can use digital photos
   1.I taught a girl with acute short term memory loss, she carried a camera with her to take pictures of her day...every day. She took pictures of me (almost daily, I wrote the word MATH on the board and the room number and my name.....she did this for every teacher and most "friends" so she could review before school the next day adn hopefully remember who was who....).
   
   2. Create vocabulary pictures in early grades
   
   3. To create a digital reference of a school event or field trip to help students remember the important parts so they can properly recall/write about it when they get back to school.
   
   4. Use pictures to enhance story telling of children on autism spectrum
   
   5. Early math - take photos to represent simple mathematical concepts 2 red apples and 2 green apples make 4 apples.....take a photo of the child with the apples and holding a copy of the math sentence as well..Students to review concept at home.
   
   6. For students who suffer from anxiety or do not have age appropriate social skills, they could be in charge of taking the photos of the event (dance) so they are not forced to participate, but are also not noticeable absent.
   
   7. Young students can take photos of their day so they can tell their parents about it when they get home....(they have a way of referencing the questions...what did you do today...)
   
   8.
   9.
   10. I am still working on these:)

Great Ideas for Integrating Digital Imagery

Check this site out. There are some really neat links to sites like this one that make videos from still digital photos....

enjoy,
Billie

Digital Audio Recording and its Applications in the Foreign Language Classroom

Great Resource for Second Language Teachers: Check out this link for great ideas (both student and teacher centered) to incorporate digital audio in foreign language classrooms!

iPods...friend or foe?

Our school has banned all MP3 players. I have often thought that this was a bit "much" but never had much to back up my feelings....until now:)
Bare with me.....this is a circuitous route to my point.....
I was talking with my sister - in-law (who is also a teacher) today about purchasing a "white noise| machine to help my toddler sleep through my infants cries...sad I know! Anyhow, she went on to tell me how many years ago she used "white noise" to help a child diagnosed with ADD in her classroom. She got a FM/AM radio cassette player and found a station that didn't come in. The student was allowed to listen to the static, with headphones on while doing work. She went on to tell what a dramatic difference it made for all the students in her class.
This case got me thinking about the ongoing squabble we have with today's students and iPods and MP3 players. A few years ago students in my school were permitted iPods while working in class but could not "use" them during tests or assessments. Many students complained bitterly that they had gotten used to listening to their music and were sooo distracted at test time they found it impossible to do their best on their assessment.
Today students are listening to digital audio more than ever, but we have banned the use of these devises at our school as many teachers see them only as disrupting,
Perhaps we should mention that today's learners have grown up plugged in, a contrast to the silent kitchen table i did my homework at every evening. Many students need this "noise" to be able to focus.

If you have a few minutes please see the link below this outlines some of the benefits of having iPods available to your spec education students.
www.brighthub.com/education/special/articles/62763.aspx

Creating Digital Audio....how to..

Check out this slideshow. It shows how to record sound add effects, delete unwanted noise and finally publish.



Enjoy,

Billie

YACKPACK

All this talk of podcasting has me searching the web for useful tools. Finally I have come across a sight. YACKPACK is set up for classrooms to communicate (across the board, province, country or globe) with one another. It also gives teachers an audio tool that you can quickly offer feedback on assignments or progress reports that are confidential to the students. This would save my poor husband from writing page long reports for his 4U English students.

Some Great Podcasting Resource Sites for Educators

• Digg- Most Popular Podcasts: Education
  
• Guides and Tutorials.com - Podcasting in Education
  
• Podcasts & Blogging- Great Idea for a Podcast in an Online Class
  
• Poducate Me
  
• A Story for Bedtime Kiddiecast
  
• ChildrensBookRadio.com
  
• Podictionary.com
  
• Storynory
  
• Interesting Things for ESL Students
  
• podcastsinenglish.com
  
• NPR Podcast Directory
  
• Open Culture- Guide to Smart Media
  
• Digital Podcast
  
• Education Podcast Network
  
• China 232- A Fun Way to Learn English
  
• About.com:Podcasting
  
• Apple.com- Podcasting in Education
  
• Audacity
  

Podcasting and Math

So, I have spent most of the week touring the internet looking for some useful lesson ideas for integrating podcasts in maths based lessons. I certainly see some value at having a link on your webpage or class blog to a newsfeed summarizing what you are doing in class each day. It would take very little effort for a teacher to do a quick 3 minute blurb at the end of each lesson regarding the specific content, what students should have taken from the lesson, where students can expect the lesson to head the next day and of course and HW or CW they are responsible for. From an assessment standpoint I can also see assigning students or groups of students to be responsible for effectively communicating a weeks' worth of content. Students would be assigned a week early on in the year and they would have would have to publish and post their summary of the course content covered during their applicable week. As it is always a struggle to find new and creative ways to assess a student's math communication grade I think that this would be a great new way to gather valuable assessment information about what your students actually know.

There are a few good math podcast that offer quick 3-5 minute fun audio. Fun facts, neat mathspariments that you can do quickly and just quirky info. This kind of podcasts could be of value for a teacher to use to "grab" a class at the start of the lesson. In our day (and i often still do this) many lessons were started with the nifty math cartoon on the overhead, the podcast could be used in the same way to settle the students focus.

Finally, I have also found a few (very few) quality math teaching and summary podcasts such as DANSMATHCAST (http://www.dansmath.com/pages/po). This podcast effectively showcases a textbook chapter and then offers some summary problems at the end. Dan's is one of the few podcasts that are actually made with the intent of the audience being an audio learner. I have found a "google" (hee hee) of sights that are just recordings of lecture based classes. I am not sure who these would be useful for besides perhaps a student in the class that wanted to review something form the class. The background noises for these podcasts are horrible and often if there is a class question you cannot hear the question, which makes it difficult to understand the answer.

I am still struggling to come up with ideas for straight podcast, I would have no problem if we were talking about video podcasts or screencasting but I think we are to stick to straight audio content. Hopefully the start of the new week will bring a fresh perspective on this assignment.

Toddlers and Story Telling

My two year old son starts many of our car conversations with "tell me a story" or "tell a once upon a time". These are such important times for us. My husband and I have been telling stories to my son since he was a newborn (before actuallyJ) and he has the most amazing listening skills. He loves to cuddle and enjoy quiet time with mom and dad with either a good book or a good made up story. The listens so intently that days or weeks later he will ask me to tell him the same story, that I have no memory of. These are some of my most precious memories of my family time over the past few years, and I really think this "quite time" that we all share several times daily has helped to build the strong bond that we have. Recently though, I have tried to convince my son to tell me a story. He always says that he doesn't know how and then asks me to continue. Well finally we began this morning with a small story from my 27month old son. It was a short story that involved a horse, cow and a parade. I was soo proud. His story had a beginning a middle and an end, this is more than many middle school children do. It made me realize the power of the podcast. There are so many children in schools today that lack that time with their parents that maybe don't know what it is like to hear a good story. Now I am not for a moment suggesting that a story told on a podcast listened to on a set of headphones can replace quiet time with a parent. But perhaps some quiet time in a classroom, sitting in a bean bag chair in the corner can bread a love of storytelling for a child that otherwise wouldn't have that opportunity.

Podcasts at School

As with most technologies, it is not hard to see how podcasts might be beneficial in education. One way to see the use of education related podcasts is to visit the Education Podcasts Network. There is a large directory of educators who are doing personal podcasts, as well as suggested classroom uses broken down by both subject and grade level.

Project

Our first project for this course is due tomorrow. I have to say that I completely think that it has been over thought. You know how sometimes you might get together to collaborate with a colleague to just talk in circles for the afternoon. I feel like the last few days have been a lot of talk, but I do not feel any more enlightened. I feel as though "THE RUBRIC" has taken on, unnecessarily, a life of its own. I will be glad to press the "submit" button and move on to number two.

SmartNotebook

Thanks to the collaboration of my class I think I can finally upload documents to my blog. Attached (hopefully) here is a copy of a SmartNotebook lesson for grade 8-9 math. You must have SmartNotebook installed on your computer to view. Please let me know if you can upload this file and if you enjoy it.

Hyperlinking Help

Please click here to see my JING video question regarding hyperlinking and creating blog posts in MS Office 2007.

hyperlinking help

 

We are learning to use blogs in our online class at BrockU. I would like to use my blog to post Word documents or Smart Presentations to share assignments and lessons with teachers. i am having difficulty determining how to do this most efficiently using this software medium.

I have however learned how to use Word to create blog posts which is a much more practical means of publishing for me. Please follow along here to see what I have learned and where my hyperlinking problems are.

 

Click here to see my rubric for this course Start

 

Since we started this blog, I have really felt that for me to use this type of interface with my class I must be able to post word documents, presentations....basic files to my blog. I have spent sooo many hours trying to figure out how to do so. Tonight I started creating blog entries straight form Word, which is a great format as it allows you the same tool bar that you usually use in MS Word. Then, conveniently there is a hyperlink button which links to files on your computer. It seems like this is just what I want it to do...but then the link doesn't work as it gives an error msg saying my browser cannot open it. Ahhh failure.

 

So then I came across a widget called slideshare that allows you to create a slide version of word documents, powerpoint files along with a few others. You can click on the file name and view the document in its own page, but you cannot edit it in the format in which it was created.....or so I think.

 

I am looking for some advice on how to do this in an easier way......really I just want to be able to link up class work and assignments and have them directly accessible.....

Rubric

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Rubric

View more documents from UGDSB.

A Great Read

I have to be honest and say that I was overwhelmed at the amount of online content I found on Blogs and their use in schools as educational tools. I started my online investigation and quickly pasted many hours reading and found I had come out with new knowledge but no hard copy. I have a bad habit of logging too many hours searching and investigating things on the web, if I don't put in to practice the things I have learned quickly I forget them and next week or month will again log huge hours investigating the same topic. So I decided to go old school and visited the book store. I picked up a great book titled Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom

written by Will Richardson. This book is an easy read (I read half of it in emergency with my sick 2 year old, and the other half in emergency two days later with my sick baby...). Richardson is able to demystify words like "blog", "wiki" and "aggregator". The book guides you through how Web tools can generate exciting new learning formats, and explains how to apply these tools in the classroom to engage all students.

Sucked in

i have a problem with the computer. A few, actually. Recently I have encountered a few problems with my new computer. One: I think I have a built in microphone. I get feedback when I hit what looks like the microphone button on my computer....but when I try to record something it doesn't work, or I can just faintly hear my voice. Second: depending on the interface I am using some of my keyboard keys do not function normally. Typing in this post works fine, but typing in MS Word leaves me with all kinds of characters that I don't see on any of the keys. I have no idea how to turn this off. Third: I would really like to find a users guide for my new Toshiba Satellite so I can figure these things out, but I need to know what version I have and most people want to charge me $15 for what I think should have come with the computer at POP. Finally and most importantly my largest problem is how many hours I can log accomplishing nothing on the internet. I have spent the better part of 2.5 hours trying to answer any of the above questions. Really, what did my marathon of google searches get me......a few more questions, tunnel vision, a blurring headache and a feeling of resentment as i go to bed.
I am quickly learning that my blog may not be about what I can do, but about the myriad of things I do not know how to do. Suggestions welcome:) Goodnight!

Social Netwroking & Cyber-Bullying

Social Networking is the new “cell phone” of the last century. As networking sites become more popular (facebook, twitter, on line blogs, as well as the old school email) educators will/have started to use them to engage students in class. As such it is quickly becoming our responsibility to educate young people about safety while online.
What are we doing and is it enough?
The answer to that question depends on who you ask. Certainly some boards have strong initiatives to educate young people proactively about online acceptable use and safety whether at school or at home. Likewise some schools have their own agendas and implement them accordingly. My point of reference is from the school at which I work and from that I can say, no, we are not doing enough. What we are doing at my school is including one and a half pages entitled Acceptable Use of Computer Network and Internet on pages 23-24 of the student agenda along with a quick mention under the Bullying Prevention Plan found on pages 26-31 of the same agenda. As a school we expect that each student reads the 32 page forward at the beginning of their yearly organizer and understands and implements the lessons when needed. This certainly is not enough. I had to inquire as to where this information could be found, I can almost guarantee that there are not too many students who would be able to say what we have done for them (which is put it in print in their organizer). My school unfortunately has a very reactive plan in place.
What should we be doing?
As I indicated above, my school an board seem to be operating in a reactive mode. We need to get proactive and address these issues for every student before they arise. I found the site http://www.netsmartz.org/index.htm interactive and informative both for teachers, parents and educators. My school could easily create a web quest activity suitable for all students to do, which could be either done at school through assigned classes or completed at home the first week of school and returned along with a signed consent form from parents indicating they have read and understood the schools policy on safe computer use. Finally, I believe that there should be a zero tolerance policy in effect. Students found to be bullying others online, regardless of if they are using school computers, should be reprimanded and the offense being recorded in their OSR.

Troubleshooting

Well it is 12:13am and I have been at this for a while. I am trying to attach or post some SMARTnotebook files from my computer. I see that i am able to attach pictures and video but I have no idea how to post these files. The only way I think it is possible is if I had a website i could post them on my website and then post a link to the website here. I don't have a website though so am lost at how to do this. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Tired,
Billie

Blogs: promoting literacy and participation in todays classrooms

I really enjoyed the article “The Educated Blogger: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom” by David Huffaker. Huffaker hits on many key ways educators can use blogs to encourage students to read and write. The success of any teacher is often measured by their ability to engage their students to such an extent that they don’t even know they are learning. I am most proud of my students when I hear them arguing about proper methodology, through this dialogue they are learning most.
The online blog creates an atmosphere that encourages discussion through reading and writing for any age and discipline. What I think is most exciting about edublogs is their potential to break down some of the social discrimination that happens within a classroom. Many students do not have the social skills to engage in an open discussion within a classroom. Online blogging may very well give them the platform to have the confidence to speak (write) openly with students they otherwise would not have. Breaking down this social walls within a classroom may be the greatest benefit that edublogging can offer.
Students today are “plugged in”. There are few students who do not have easy access to the internet, many within their pockets in the form of iPhones and Blackberries. As Huffaker states “being situated within the Internet
allows bloggers to access their blogs anywhere and anytime an Internet connection is available, an opportunity for learning to continue outside the classroom.” (Huffaker, page4) This may be the single greatest asset of the blog. Students today do not value homework that straps them to the kitchen table for hours. Blogging allows them to participate and reflect of their classroom learning at their convenience.

Backup Education...I don't think so

Response to “Backup Education?”, by Marc Prensky.

I have to be honest and say my first response to reading Prensky’s article Backup Education was to cringe. Which side of the divide am I on? I slept on it for a night and have to admit that my advocacy lies much closer to the teachers he described at the beginning wondering when things will break down. I spent the night feeling ashamed of my feelings but have started the day with a few new thoughts.

Firstly, of course new technology should be used and introduced to student’s as much as possible not just as educational hype but as a tool to further their learning. I strongly believe that, and believe that a teachers competence in using the technology appropriately will translate directly into student achievement of the same. That is why I am in this course.

However we have to be realistic about the teaching world in which we live and have to operate daily. Each board, school and classroom will have its own story of the limitations the technology has placed on the learning environment. Just last year our board changed the server that operated the system at my school. Prior to the first week of school not one teacher could access saved files on the server, school email or the internet. This brings to mind Prensky’s thoughts when he said “Of course technology will break down. And of course some people may not know what to do until it’s fixed.” The problem is our computer issues did not stop at the first week prior to school. There was no access for the first 2 months and then very sporadic access until at least January. Who was left out in the cold, teachers like myself who had spend countless hours creating SMARTnotebook lessons and transferring all lessons to Interactive PowerPoint presentations, teachers that relied on blogs and wiki’s for their class activities. This was not a minor inconvenience but a 5 month disruption. The reality is that lack of funding and lack of training of board personal create a real technology sink hole in many boards. Our school has 2 functioning computer labs and one laptop cart. Our cart wasn’t operational until March of last year (due to the same blunders that caused the initial upset) and when it was no more than 11 machines work. Is this functional with 30 plus applied level students? Not so much.

I have been fortunate enough to be employed at a Canadian International school in Hong Kong. This was 6 years ago and at that time each student in my class had a laptop with wireless hook up. I had a PC on my desk with direct hook up to a projector as well as a wireless tablet PC that was also wirelessly connected to my projector. The projector faced a wall that had a full wall whiteboard. There was no chalk and no chalkboard, no overhead and an unbelievably small amount of paper and pens. Then I moved home and had to relearn how to teach without these resources. The reality is that our system is publicly funded and small boards are making due with out of date equipment.

Finally I have to strongly say that I am an advocate of learning the basics. Call it Backwards Education if you want, I call it the building blocks of higher education. This brings to mind another real life example I would (shamefully) like to share. Just this year I was at the local grocery store with a $1.00 off coupon and a past student as a cashier. Mistakenly the cashier typed in $0.10 as the discount. She called her supervisor over to deal with the problem. The supervisor replied to her quite logically to just discount the difference. The girl was confused and next discounted my bill the initial $1.00, upon which the supervisor explained it was too much and that I had to have monies added to my bill. The girl then manually charged me another $0.90 which was the wrong amount again. This is not rocket science math, but basic skills that any primary aged child should be able to do. Shockingly, with the aid of technology this student successfully completed her required math courses in high school. Have we done her a disservice? Absolutely!

The basics are needed; there is a place for drill and kill arithmetic, phonics and memorizing the periodic table. The most successful students have those skills and have access to the newest technology.

All about me

Welcome to my first blog post. My name is Billie Gitter and I am currently a senior Mathematics teacher with the UGDSB. I have been teaching math at WHSS for 4 years, prior to which I taught in Ottawa and in Hong Kong, Korea and Australia. I am currently at home enjoying a new addition to our family while staying busy with my two year old son.

I have always enjoyed incorporating technology into my lessons, however have met with moderate success in terms of achievement and learning outcomes. I look forward to expanding not only my knowledge of technology but also ways to incorporate it successfully into my everyday teaching practice.

This is my first online course and I am excited to hopefully gain new skills I can bring to the classroom to encourage both the reluctant and active learner. My goal is to one day be able to flawlessly create media and technology based lessons and assessments that meet all student needs.