Plugging in the 21st Century Social Studies Learner

End of Year Survey

2010-05-11T15:38:00.002-05:00

Number of students served by this grant:
Approximately 180 in my classes alone.

Summarize how the grant impacted the students it served:
The Power to Learn grant impacted a number of students by providing a different form of media that is not always easily accessible in every classroom. By receiving the grant, our team was able to purchase 42 laptops that have been used daily since their arrival. Also, we received 2 Nintendo Wii systems that have been used to supplement different learning stations throughout the year. Students have responded positively after using both of these tools.

Briefly share a couple of specific experiences that went well:
In general, every lesson that we used the technology on went well.
Jazz Age:
My first true experience with the netbooks, we were working on the Jazz Age. I was a little nervous about using the netbooks but decided there was no time like the present. The students were able to log onto Ning to:
1. take their notes on the Jazz Age (no lecturing, students could work at their own pace)
2. watch a video clip about the Jazz Age, then respond to the blog regarding the Jazz Age.
3. create a Jazz Age character based on their research.

World War II:
Students were given numerous options in a menu format to study World War II. The first part of the lesson consisted of centers, that used the netbooks for the simple process of watching a video and answering questions. The next part, which were the menus, consisted of students doing several things. Some students read Night by Elie Wiesel and then participated in a book study online. Others played 2 games on the Wii, Battles of the Pacific and Medal of Honor, then had to create journal entries about their experiences online. Lastly, one of the "easier" choices were BrainPop videos and online quizzes that were sent to me via email. Students had to do at least 3 of the choices. Students seemed to enjoy the experience and test scores were improved.

Movie Guides:
This one was relatively easy. I got tired of doing the same old movie guides that did not give me any real time information. Now, while a movie or clip is on, the students are logged onto Ning and have to answer questions while the clip is on. I choose when to post a question and the students have to answer before the next question is posted. The immediate feedback has been amazing.

Your plan for next year- how you plan to take the project forward next year:

My goal for next year is to implement this program much more from the beginning. The students have developed a higher motivation for learning and are learning more 21st century skills. Now, my goal is to create more effective lessons that use the technology fully.

Wrapping up the PTL Grant!

2010-05-11T15:36:00.004-05:00

Number of students served:
~150 students just in my Pre-AP and Academic World Geography classes

Summary:
This year has been a wonderful learning experience for my students and me. I have used several new techniques including technology like the mini-laptops, rubrics, and differentiation strategies to help students learn the concepts laid out by the World Geography TEKS on a higher Bloom's Taxonomy level. Although this has been a pilot year and extremely challenging, my classroom has been transformed! I have been able to engage my students by combining classical teaching techniques with technology. Overall, it has been an incredibly exciting and productive experience. I challenged my students to become plugged-in-21st-century-learners by teaching them to use technology to problem solve. Through this process of learning technological skills, my students have become more confident, comfortable, resourceful, and excited about using technology to be life-long learners. By keeping this blog with three other coworkers (Shelby Acevedo, Sara Russo, Kirk Eckstein) of lessons using the technology and meeting on a regular basis, we were able to collaborate to create even better differentiated lessons.

Successful Lessons:
1.Project Menu for Discovering Europe
Objective: The student will create a Europe Challenge Computer game using facebook (IQ Traveler Challenge), a Europe Trip Brochure using Open Office (Impress), or a Europe Tour Video using Google Earth in order to highlight significant physical, political, and cultural aspects of Europe.

This project was a huge hit because it involved student choice and higher level thinking skills. My students loved being able to choose how they demonstrated what they knew about Europe. I grouped students based on the project they picked so they could collaborate and help each other navigate the new computer programs.

2. Africa Online Glogster or Poster Project
Objective: The student will analyze a region of Africa by researching then creating an online glogster or poster of the most important culturual and physical features of that region.

Introducing the option for students to be able to create an online poster versus a paper poster was exciting to most students. Of course some students like to cut and paste by hand, but many students loved being able to be creative quickly by the click of a button. They were able to invest more thinking time into the information on the poster instead of all their time putting it together.

3. South Asia Stations
Objective: The student will learn about South Asia by completing 5 Stations: (1) The student will Compare/Contrast MLK Jr. to Gandhi using Brainpop, (2)The student will Label an online interactive South Asia map game with 90% accuracy, (3)The student will work in a small group to evaluate a series of South Asia maps including economic activity, population density, vegetation, climate, physical, and political in order to answer Geography Alive! questions in complete sentences. (4)The student will watch an India Globe Trekker (10 minute clip) and write complete sentences about information that was interesting to them. (5)The student will diagram different aspects of Mt. Everest by using a graphic organizer and brainpop.

The students seem to really enjoy having 20 minutes to focus on each activity then switching to something new. Stations allow students to literally get up and move every 20 minutes and they maximize classtime. Once you have trained your students to transition quickly, they learn about three times as much in one block period than they would normally because you teach them to focus on and learn five different concepts in one day!

Plan for Next Year:

I plan on continuing to work with my team to collaborate and create even more lessons using mini-laptops in addition to the wiis. I also plan on being more organized in teaching my students to problem-solve using this technology as this past year was a trial period for all of us! I feel confident that integrating technological skills into my World Geography curriculum creates students who come away with tangible computer skills in addition to worldly knowledge. I have seen my students put their creativity into practice, and I definitely plan on encouraging this further.

Power to Learn- End of Year summary

2010-04-26T15:55:00.010-05:00

Number of students served by this grant:
Approximately 140 in my classes alone.

Summarize how the grant impacted the students it served:
The Power to Learn grant impacted a number of students by providing a different form of media that is not always easily accessible in every classroom. By receiving the grant, our team was able to purchase 42 laptops that have been used daily since their arrival. Also, we received 2 Nintendo Wii systems that have been used to supplement different learning stations throughout the year. Students have responded positively after using both of these tools.

Briefly share a couple of specific experiences that went well:
Eco Tycoon:
During this lesson, students used the laptops and "Eco Tycoon" PC game to study the effects of negative urban planning. The premise of the game is to make each student a world leader. Throughout the game, students are advised to make annual decisions on city expansion, pollution control, scientific research, legislation, etc. The outcome and flow of the game differs based on the decisions that are made. Many different scenarios are brought up as the game continues.
As an assessment, students keep a log of all the events they encounter during the game. Also, they are given several critical thinking questions about how their decisions effect the world.

Latin America brochure: During this lesson, students used the laptops to collect information about a specific South American country. Information to be gathered included flag, map, standard of living statistics, travel info, imports/exports, significant dates, attractions, and famous people. After all of this was collected, students were given the option to produce either a hard or digital copy of the brochure. Students were excited to learn that they could research during class and then send this information to their email for further improvements at a later time. As a class, we were not confined to a specific amount of work time.

Your plan for next year- how you plan to take the project forward next year:

My plan for next year is to implement more lessons that involve the laptops. They have become useful for gathering research information and for presenting many other digital/software based activities. As new ideas and computer applications arise, the content of my world geography sections will also adapt for the benefit of the 21st century learner.

Quia Quizzes

2010-04-12T09:29:00.003-05:00

http://www.quia.com/ is a website Shelby actually found, but we have all loved using it!

My first time using this site was during our study of Africa. I gave each student a slip of paper with a link and their username/password (program automatically assigns each student) that they typed in. Instantly, each student had a randomized test just for them. You can also create multiple versions of the test if modifications are necessaray with just a few clicks of your mouse!

Cost:
-30 day free trial but then it's $49 for the year if you choose to continue
-Takes time to set up rosters, gradebook, and tests

Benefit:
-Helps you easily design and grade quizzes, tests, and activites.
-This system also allows your students to see instant feedback and retest if you permit them to. -Teacher has tons of options like differentiating assignments and tests based on student's pre-assessed ability.
-Tests and quizzes randomized everytime the student takes the test online (if a whole class is taking a test, each student's test looks different)
-GRADING is SO MUCH EASIER! I have the computer automatically grade multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank. It only takes me a few minutes to go back and grade short/full essays.
-Cheatproof (randomized)

South Asia Stations

2010-04-05T16:45:00.002-05:00

I have been experimenting with stations this past year, but the South Asia Stations we have done for the past few days have been the most successful and the most engaging. We spent two days on them (25 minutes per station).

Station 1: Brainpop on Mt. Everest (Vocabulary practice, Graphic Organizer, Quiz)
www.brainpop.com
Benefit: Short, engaging video clips that students can start/stop to self-pace their learning while learning new vocabulary.

Station 2: Discovery Education Video Clip on India (Writing practice, Student Choice)
www.discoveryeducation.com
Benefit: Students get to pick a video about India that looks interesting while practicing their writing skills.

Station 3: Geography Alive! on Monsoon Asia (Critical Thinking Mapping Skills Practice)
(all high schools have this set of Geography Alive!)
Benefit: Students engaged in critical thinking and working collaboratively to analyze/interpret maps.

Station 4: Brainpop on Gandhi/Martin Luther King Jr. (Compare/Contrast Venn Diagram, Quiz)
www.brainpop.com
Benefit: Comparing/Contrasting skill builder while learning a key figure in India's history.

Station 5: Sheppard Software Mapping Game (Asia Map Memorization)
www.sheppardsoftware.com
Benefit: Program keeps all attempts and previous scores of student's effort.

Study Stack Fun!

2010-02-19T11:17:00.002-06:00

Study stack is a great way to teach students how to study. Students can create their own stack or the instructor can share theirs to help students study. This program transforms one list of information into 8 different ways to study (flashcards, list, matching, hangman, bug game, etc.). Check mine out at www.studystack.com username:sbisdstudent, pw:sbisdstudent.

Taking Control by Letting Go

2010-02-16T18:36:00.008-06:00

This post should have been posted in January! No excuses...it is just late:(

At the end of last semester, I made some reflections and set some goals for achieving the classroom learning experiences of by vision with the AID of netbooks. The most challenging goals were to eliminate lecture and teacher talk, implement menus to provide student choice, and incorporate consistent differentiation. Well, mission on its way to being accomplished thanks to the acquisition of the PTL devices (netbooks)!

As far as the elimination of teacher talk goes:

Hi, my name is Shelby Acevedo and I am addicted to teacher talk/lecturing. It has been 101 days since my last lecture.

I phrased it the way I did above because it was truly a struggle and major conscious effort to keep myself from trying to control the classroom environment by talk, talk, talking. There have been 3 different instances in which I almost relapsed because I feared "they can't be learning if I am not telling them what they need to know". However, each time, the student's work and progress screamed, "Shut up and let us learn for ourselves Miss!"

Implementing menus for student choice and differentiation with netbooks:

Let's keep this real and start with the CONS of using menus:

It is ALOT of work, especially planning and preparing.
It is ALOT of work, especially planning and preparing.
It is ALOT of work, especially planning and preparing.

Now, for the PROS:

Students are able to self-pace which seems to increase student engagement and retention of information/skills.
Students choice seems to increase student interest in learning the content.
There seems to be a sense of ownership/responsibility to complete learning tasks and/or products because the student has chosen based on their own interest.
Classroom management issues have transitioned from keeping students awake, preventing them from cheating/copying, and boredom induced misbehavior to making sure each student has all the resources and instructions they need to complete their chosen product/activities, keep students from getting lost in the WWW, and preventing apathetic feelings about learning/computers in students who get frustrated by minor technological difficulties.
The teacher role changes from giver of content and the person in the classroom doing the most work (during class time) to diagnostician, learning guide/partner, and person in the classroom doing less than or equal to everyone else.
Student learning, at all levels of ability, has a real possibility of increasing simultaneously which seems to prevent students from feeling like they are wasting their time or like their needs are not being addressed.

On to the second unit of the semester using PTL devices to implement student choice and consistent differentiation!

Williams' World of Geography

2010-02-16T08:41:00.002-06:00

www.facebook.com is a great alternative to writing on a piece of paper. This means of blogging allows students to post significant information, educational opinions, etc., see other students' responses, and respond to other students. Facebook is a neat way for students to connect to each other and students in other classrooms. There are several geography games for students to play as well like GeoChallenge. They love it and seem to play during their free time at home!

Menus in the Classroom (and not the ones you order food from)

2010-01-28T13:01:00.002-06:00

This week has been an interesting experiment. Shelby Acevedo did these "menus" in her classroom and it worked so well, that I decided to try it as well. I was looking for a fun project for World War II that could incorporate much of the new technology. In years past, I have done the typical poster project, an ABC's of World War 2, even had students create PhotoStories. While I got some interesting projects, each student only became knowledgeable on their own topic. So this year....menus. What are menus? Menus are a series of assignments that the students can choose to do. There is a list of several 2 point options, 5 point options, and 8 point options. Students could choose which activities they wanted to do as long as their options added up to 10 points.
The students have been working on these for a week doing everything from presentations on proganda during World War II on Google Apps, creating study flashcards on StudyStack, reading Night by Elie Wiesel to complete a book study on Ning, using BrainPop to study major events, or using the Wii to simulate the landing on the beaches of Normandy for D-Day.
By being able to give students all these options, we are able to reach so many more students. Not only the auditory or visual learners but also the tactile-kinesthetic. Students are able to have a sense of empowerment in their learning and choose what most interested them, while still reviewing the necessary material to pass the exam. Differentiation of the material becomes easy as students are able to choose what best supports their needs. Students today are bombarded with changing technology everyday and we must as educators find a way to tap into that knowledge, draw them into the classroom and have every student engaged, teaching them both the content (in this case, US History) but also the 21st century skills to succeed in the future. While technology may not always be the answer, it should be a tool in our toolbox that is readily available if needed.

The War of Centers and World War 2

2010-01-22T11:17:00.002-06:00

Sorry there haven't been posts in a little while. The joy of starting a new semester has slowed down and at least for me, I have finally slowed down to take a breath. We begin the semester with a small review of the New Deal and then begin World War 2, which is what I was looking for because I was finally going to get to incorporate all of the components of the PTL grant. Here is a quick run down of my centers. (I only used 3 netbooks for this exercise)

Center 1: Europe at War.
Our kids like many others don't remember what they learned in the past, so I felt it was important to give them a quick recap of the world events that led to the outbreak of World War II. They were able to watch a video on the netbooks, read a primary source, and then answer questions.

Center 2: The Holocaust
Students were able to read an excerpt from The Book Thief and view pictures of the Holocaust and interpret what the pictures were. They also had to discuss why they thought no one stopped the Nazis before it was too late.

Center 3: Pearl Harbor
Students again watched a video from Discovery Education and then read primary sources to analyze reasons for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and then explain the consequences.

Center 4: American Propaganda:
Students received copies of 10 different propaganda posters and had to analyze them for message, feeling, and impact.

Center 5: Japanese Internment
Students viewed a video on Japanese internment and then had to discuss whether or not civil rights can be taken away during times of war.

Center 6: Wii: Battles for the Pacific
Students were able to play the History Channel's Battles of the Pacific to attempt to get a message to General MacArthur in the Phillipines. They had to fight Japanese soldiers to get through.

Positives:
All the students were very engaged in the lesson and asked lots of great questions.
Students were able to use a variety of mediums to learn material and were able to use multiple levels of Bloom's to gain the understanding needed.

Negatives:
Volume on the netbooks had to be adjusted so that all three videos could play at the same time without disrupting the others.
Centers took longer than expected. They were given 15 minutes for each, 20 would have been better.

All in all, it was a great experience. With the resources provided online (Library Resources) the research was easy and setting up the centers was relatively painless. Teachers are often scared of centers because they are concerned with the amount of planning and need from the students. I actually found these days to be a breeze because all the students were engaged in their centers and with the quick turnaround there was not a lot of "down time" so the students were always looking forward. Great experience in all.

Aside from that, this experience has been awesome as working with three other outstanding teachers, I have gotten so many ideas and we are all able to adapt each others ideas to suit our classroom.

Next up for me- menus where students get to choose what they will get to study (Thanks Shelby!!) more details to come...................

Point of No Return Reached!

2009-12-05T11:59:00.013-06:00

The past month has been crazy in terms of changes in the classroom as a result of the netbooks. I was talking to Sara Russo about the improvement of my students' behavior (6th period in particular), interest in learning activities, and the retention of the "TAKS facts". I told her "I can't go back" , and that I fear not having a 1-1 netbook/laptop classroom.

What I have been doing?

My personal philosophy of teaching is that whole group instruction is usually a waste of time. It seems that whole group instruction is most, if not only, necessary/beneficial to every different kind of learner when a skill is being taught. Almost every professional development class that I have attended proposes differentiation/flexible learning/individualized learning (wisely so), but, this is very difficult to do without technology (especially in large academic classes). For the past 1 1/2 years I have participated in Lynette. Breedlove's, Ph.D. GT book studies via blog and these have been priceless in terms of learning strategies on providing differentiated instruction and learning (through experience) the value of participating in discussions via blog. This experience gave be the confidence and know how to implement blogging in my classroom.

That being said, my original goals for PTL have changed a bit. Initially, especially immediately after the acquisition of the technologies, I was determined to use as many Web2.O tools and other web resources as possible to "update or 21st Century-ize" my lessons from previous years. My students were quick to show me that I was doing nothing more than putting a new coat of paint on a junked car. No matter how good it looks on the outside the car still does not work. These students are way more perceptive than I give them credit for....WAIT...what did I just realize? Yeah, that last statement was the moment in November that I realized I was the problem. I was the rock....hmmm...boulder in road between my students and them actually learning. I needed to get of the way in the classroom or...wait...let's get techy and say..I had to minimize myself on the desktop. Technically, I am still there, working, accessible in a click (or a "Hey, Miss"), but not blocking the view (learning) of the user (student).

So, the past 2 weeks I experimented a bit with minimizing myself on the desktop, and sadly, my suspicions seem to be correct. Most of my students don't need me to talk (lecture) or explain everything. Ouch...you did not hear that? My heart just cracked a bit and my ego shattered.

So what was the experiment you wonder?

I forced myself to not lecture. I uploaded all the notes for the chapter on to a Ning® site, and allowed the students access all the notes, videos, assignments, resources that I would normally present to the whole group on their own using the netbooks. If they needed me to explain or preferred traditional style teaching the option was available to them. So while I worked with students who did not want to use the netbooks, the rest of the students controlled their own learning (pace, order, and style) by using the netbooks. Every day of this was torture for me because I truly felt a tremendous amount of guilt and fear. Fear that we were going to lose all this time experimenting, and that none of my students were learning anything because I was not overtly teaching. However, on review day, most of my students, regardless of ability level knew most of the facts. I know knowing the facts is the base level of Bloom's, but let me tell you...this is huge in my experience at my school with my students this early in the year. Even my 2nd language learners, who typically struggle with learning history in a foreign language had managed to acquire the facts without me talking/explaining/overtly teaching.

What about the research?
The research I used to support my decision to take the plunge and minimize myself on the desktop in the academic inclusion classroom, and allow students to "self-pace", "freedom to choose" how/what they learn, and accelerate when the ability/interest level call for it:

From the book A Love for Learning: Motivation and the Gifted Child by Carol Strip Whitney, Ph.D., with Gretchen Hirsch

"As the world becomes more wired, technology skills will be required in every aspect of adult lives. For gifted girls, self-paced computer programs allow them to move quickly through material they understand and repeat lessons that may be more abstract and difficult for them. Computers allow them considerable control over their learning and invite them to become more technologically competent." (Page 192-193)

"In many classrooms, technology had revolutionized instruction." (Page 98)

"Educational fit means that classroom instruction challenges students in their 'zone of proximal development'--that is, just far enough above their comfort level to ensure that they are neither bored nor inordinately frustrated. Finding the best match between the child and the learning challenge is essential if the student is to be motivated to learn and achieve in school." (Page 99)

"Asking such children [gifted] to spend an entire school year learning what they already know puts them on a treadmill to nowhere, and equally important, it requires them to underachieve." (Page 100) It seems that this is particularly true for the most able students who have failed/opted out of Pre AP/AP classes and are (choosing to hide) in the academic classroom.

"In a differentiated classroom, a teacher must take care to ensure that each student's work is interesting and appealing. No student should perceive his work as dull and humdrum while others are involved in tasks that he believes to be more exciting and fun." (Page 102) This is TOUGH to do without technology. Especially 1 to 1 computers/laptops/netbooks. The 1 to 1 ratio makes differentiation less challenging to implement. Why? One, the student has something with which to interact with that is multi dimensional (not so true with pen/paper/textbook). Two, the Internet is literally an endless source of info/learning tools. So regardless of the students "zone of proximal development" their learning task can be made appealing and appears to be as technologically advanced as everyone else's in the classroom. Three, our professional/educational culture is fast/real time/NOW, and the 1 to 1 netbooks in the classroom cause the classroom to mirror the real world. The students do not have to "power down" when in the classroom (quote from Superintendent’s Convocation speech in 2008.)

"In the differentiated classroom, teachers are not simple reciters of facts ("sage on the stage"); they are facilitators who work with individual students on various aspects of their learning ("guide on the side"). They ask questions; listen to the students' answers; provide immediate, relevant, and understandable feedback; and measure progress toward stated goals." (Page 104) Multiple times this semester, I have been asked about my vision in regards to the PTL grant. And, each time I have had to respond to that, I thank my lucky stars that I am answering that question online because I was not sure what my vision was exactly and, if asked in person, my answer would have definitely seemed wishy washy. However, I know that the description in the quote above is 85% of my vision. My vision/goal is to successfully manage a constructivist classroom. I know that there are numerous risks involved especially in terms of TAKS and end of course exams, but, in my short career, I have come to believe that there are far more risks involved in not doing so, i.e., our most able students never being challenged, losing their abilities, and becoming disinterested in school/learning.---thought from the book Intelligent Life in the Classroom: Smart Kids and Their Teacher by Karen Isaacson.

Personal Reflection and Next Step:

I have to accept that if my classroom is going to become the classroom of my vision, I am going to change my behavior and accept that I am going to be more of a diagnostician than instructor. This is going to require that I make myself let go and relinquish my constant need to be in control and overtly direct classroom activities.
It seems that boys are benefiting significantly more than girls from the use of the netbooks. 3 boys received perfect scores on the last unit exam (this was the first unit in which I only lectured one time). Rarely, does anyone get a perfect score on a unit exam without the aid of bonus points/questions. Score for the netbooks/loss for Mrs. Acevedo's lecture :/. Support for this hypothesis: "With boys, show, don't tell. Keep instruction short and to the point." (Page 193 in A Love for Learning Motivation and the Gifted Child).

My next step in to implement the use of menus to allow the students to choose how they show what they have learned. I anticipate that, initially, there will be a significant amount of guidance necessary for some of my students, but there are quite a few that I suspect will be willing to take complete control of their learning and use me when they need me.

On to the next step.

Blogs, Movie Guides, and the Election

2009-12-02T15:06:00.002-06:00

It has been a little while since I have been able to sit down and post since I have now jumped into the technology with both feet. With everything else going on, I was a little behind the curve on fully incorporating the technology until the middle of October. However, the netbooks have made everything in my classroom go much smoother. This is my synopsis of my 2 different classes and their exposure to the grant.

US History: After setting up the Ning network, my US History students began working on blogging full time. They first would go to the Ning to get a pdf of their notes for the day and where able to fill in their notes on their pace. With some of my classes being almost 30% Special Ed. this was an AMAZING transformation. The information was in a condensed version right in front of them, and they did not have to tell me to slow down so they could get all the notes. They were able to do it and ask in depth questions. Once they were finished with the notes, they had to answer questions on the blog that asked them to analyze the notes and what they had learned. They were then able to use their netbooks and notes to create sensory characters of the Jazz Age where they drew a person from the Jazz Age depending on who they drew from the cup (i.e Charles Lindbergh, Clarence Darrow) and show what that person would see, hear, or feel. I feel like in this lesson we incorporated both the tecnology and the tactile learning that students enjoy so much. I had several students tell me it was the best class they had ever had. I also had a student that can be a trouble maker in general, that never asks questions, ask pointed questions about the lesson and was able to make inferences, asking "What effect does illegal money (i.e. bootleggers) have on everyone else?" It honestly took me a moment to answer because I was so surprised :)

AP Government: My AP students have also done their notes on the Ning, but my favorite activity with them has been a twist on the traditional movie guide. I only show one movie in my AP class, so they were all ready to watch. When they came in to class, they got the netbooks and logged onto the Ning. As they watched, during key moments, I would post a question on the blog that they had to answer. It was an interesting experience to get real-time feedback on the pressing issues of the movie. In one class I had over 150 responses.
*The other activity that we did, was internet based. When studying the election process, students participated in an election simulation from http://broadband.ciconline.org/elections/ where they had to choose which party they were running from, where to campaign, how much money to spend, etc. After winning or losing the election, they had to blog about their decisions and how it affected the outcome. It was interesting to see the students get active information that they could then incorporate to their learning style.

The best thing about the grant aside from seeing the students constantly being actively engaged, is the ease of differentiation. We try to differentiate as much as possible but there are certain things that it becomes difficult to do without separating the students. With this, there is an ease and every student is able to do and learn the best way for them.

Next up for me is learning how to work the Wii games for the classroom, as we start World War II in January so with both me and the students being excited about the prospect, it should be a great Spring semester.

Google Docs Fun Times

2009-11-10T10:59:00.004-06:00

Working with Google Docs has definitely been a new experience for all of us. My students have slowly warmed up to the idea, but still prefer using Microsoft Office as to avoid the log-on process. However, we all just need to get over it because it's cheaper to work in the clouds and accessible to them at home if they themselves dont' have Microsoft Office! Below, I have written a few tips to help teachers using google docs for the first, second, third, or even fourth time not to go too crazy :)

Tip#1 Write this statement somewhere on your whiteboard:
Please check these things below before asking me to help you log-in...or else :)
(1) Press Fn + NumLK (this will turn numbers into letters and allow you to type normally)
(2) Do not use Caps Lock when trying to log-in for any reason (your password will not work)
(3) Use the Shift key to capitalize letters in your password (you must capitalize password letters)

If you choose to not follow this very essential tip, you will have twenty hands in the air at any given moment asking one of these three questions :)

Tip#2 Have students practice logging in and logging out multipe times for a warm-up assignment.
This will help get the process running smoothly by students logging on immediately vs. 15 minutes into the class period. It might be good to do this warm-up two days in a row. It's pretty surprising how difficult for the students logging on to google docs can be, so prepare and set aside time to practice, practice, practice!

Tip#3 Have students save files from Google Docs into their Norway student file as back-up.
To do this click "File" (within the google docs, not the Internet Explorere "File"), click "Download As", click whatever format you want the file to be downloaded as (their will be a list), Click "Save", Click the pull-down tab to find norway, Click "Norway", Click graduation year, Click student folder, Click SS Portfolio (or whatever portfolio your class is using), Click "Save, and you're done!

That's all she wrote!
Until next time,
Mrs. Williams

Facebook Profile Creation

2009-11-09T16:34:00.001-06:00

"Williams' GeoWorld" is the page I have created on facebook for my students to blog, comment on other students' blogs, post pictures, and post videos onto. My students have had a blast creating academic and school appropriate facebook profiles connected to their mysbisd gmail accounts!

Step 1: Sign-up for facebook (www.facebook.com ) using mysbisd gmail accounts
Step 2: Open mysbisd gmail account to confirm e-mail before (open e-mail from facebook, click on blue link, this will get you back to the facebook site)
Step 3: Create facebook profile (Make sure to have a conversation before students begin sharing too much information on facebook about what is appropriate a.k.a. do not put things like phone numbers, address, cuss words, inappropriate pictures, etc.)
Step 4: Take a facebook profile picture using the webcam on the Asus

Signing up and creating their profiles took a full class period and a little of the next class for some. Most, however, were able to get write into blogging, commenting, and posting the next day.

The first question I asked them to blog is below. I also asked them to thoughtfully comment about at least two other student's blogs. This was a lot of fun! I put the Williams' GeoWorld page up on my Activboard screen, which they liked because they could see when people posted and all that good stuff!

Williams' GeoWorld
If you were a photographer for the book called “A Day in the Life of America” or the video “America Through My Eyes” what 10 things would you photograph? Give a brief explanation of why for each of your choices.

Notes via Ning

2009-11-06T15:26:00.002-06:00

Today my class started to look more like what I dream it will eventually be by nature. I want be a "guide on the side" rather than a "sage on the stage". Today, I was a "guide on the side" and it was GREAT....mostly for my students! Today, my students took notes (that would normally be presented whole group) from the Ning.

The scenario: I add a blog post to our class Ning that include a link to a flip chart. The students logged on to the class Ning, opened the flip chart on their netbook, and took the outline notes on a cloze like/fill in the blank handout. The beauty of this was that every child worked at their own pace. Some students made connections quickly and finished quickly and were able to move on. Some students needed a little more time to read the notes and make connections. No one had to wait for anyone else. Each child controlled their own learning.

The students were required to reflect on this new note taking experience on the blog. I was very happy to see that those students who finished quickly provide very positive feedback/liked the experience because these are the students who I find get bored, impatient, and discouraged in class when they have to wait for everyone else to catch up to them. However, in general, all student feedback has been positive. Those students who need a little more time to learn new concepts/content seem to appreciate being able to work at their own pace and not being rushed by whole class time limits.

I excited about what tomorrow will bring, and I feel that my students are excited to be a part of this pilot!

Inauguaral Blog!!

2009-11-04T10:50:00.003-06:00

It has finally happened...my students have completed their first official blog on the class Ning! I am so excited. It went very well! This is so powerful! This is the first time ever in my career that EVERY student has had there voice/thoughts heard/read by EVERY other student in a single class period. No one can hide, no one gets drowned out, everyone contributes!

The scenario: I posted a conceptual question based on the SS district curriculum on our portal for the Middle Ages unit. I figured this would be a good set for introducing the unit and to get the kids thinking about what they are going to learn. As far as blogging goes, I thought a conceptual/general question would be an unintimidating way to start because there really is not a wrong answer. The wrong answer is NOT answering/commenting on blog :)

This is very encouraging...it has been an uphill battle getting to this point, but, at the moment, I am a feeling like it is well worth the battle. The kids are loving it, I am loving it, and I think it is only going to get better!

Extra Benefits

2009-10-26T12:26:00.002-05:00

There is a definite added benefit to having the Asus netbooks in our classrooms. Aside from the planned activities and events that we all share, having them in the room allows for faster research and more engaging projects. My government students are currently working on foldables for the three branches of government. Normally it is a very textbook intensive assignment but with the netbooks they have been able to create more engaging projects with better graphics by being able to get on the internet in the classroom without the disruption of moving to a computer lab. They are also able to get real time information that applies to each branch to include which makes it a much more lively interaction.

World News by BLOG POPULARITY!

2009-10-20T11:14:00.004-05:00

In exploring current events and world news with my students, I have come across a pretty cool Web 2.0 app called THOORA (http://beta.thoora.com/). It allows the reader to explore world news by popularity of what's being talked about on people's blogs. This website tells you when the issue became popular, how many people are blogging or tweeting about the issue, links to articles on the issue, and essentially what issue is getting the most attention. Thoora is an interesting way to attract students' interest in what's going on in the world.

Pros:
(1)Thoora is a different and interesting way to discover world news!
(2)Students able to navigate the website with ease and research without needing too much instruction on how to operate the site.
(3)I was able to connect this website to teaching primary/secondary sources.

Cons:
(1)Web 2.0 apps generally function best using Firefox, which is not supported in SBISD.

Puzzled......

2009-10-20T00:08:00.002-05:00

I am having a dilemma. My students are performing unusually high on my tests (the same tests that I have given in the past) and I am not sure why. I know they are not cheating....I watch them like a hawk! I am not sure what is happening. Are my tests too easy for this generation of sophomores? Am I teaching too low on the taxonomy? Is the use of the technology and more pictures making that much of a difference? I am at a loss. I talked to S. Russo about this the other night and she recommended that I consistently give pretests before each new unit. She thought this would help me assess the difference in learning between units that include technology projects and units that do not, as well as, provide valuable/measurable feedback regarding the effectiveness of the PTL grant resources/increased use of technology in the classroom in general.

Is anyone else experiencing a similar situation?

Eco Tycoon Update

2009-10-19T21:34:00.007-05:00

Last week was my first opportunity to use the laptops. The project my students were working on was centered around the "Eco Tycoon" game. The premise of this game is very simple. Players select a continent that they will be in charge of. From that point on, they have free reign over all political, economic, and environmental decisions that are made. As the game progresses, students are given an Annual Report for their continent. Within this Annual Report one can find carbon levels, energy production numbers, and import/export information. Given this information, students attempt to consistently improve their continent on a year to year basis.

Originally, our team was going to base an Urban Planning lesson off of the Sim City games. We weren't able to get access to this game, but "Eco Tycoon" seems to be a sufficient alternate. Students still have the ability to manipulate the landscape by deciding which forms of energy and industry will be built on their continent. On the other hand, this game seems to lean more towards the Human-Environment Interaction realm as opposed to Urban Planning.

Nonetheless, the project I created still involves critical thinking questions, keeping an annual log, and producing a hard copy map of their finished continent.

US History Update

2009-10-19T18:46:00.002-05:00

Today was my first chance to get to use the Asus laptops in my classroom. Because most of the games for US History don't come into effect until after World War I, we spent the day working on Wordle.net which is a Web 2.0 app. After the initial oohing and ahhing, the students were immediately ready to get to work. Their assignment was to find three different articles looking at different aspects of the Presidency. They then had to pick what they thought were the two most important paragraphs for each and then insert them in no particular order into wordle. They were excited to see the word clouds, and were surprised at which words were "highlighted" as the most repeated. They then had to decide why they thought those words were repeated in all the articles, and if different articles had different emphasis.

Pros to Wordle:
1. Students were very excited to get to use it, and appreciated the ease of the app.
2. Students were able to do quick analysis on articles and view different perspectives on how words were used, picking up on key vocabulary

Cons:
1. no save option, only print or save online for public view.
2. Students that had an issue printing, tried to email me screen shots but since the screen is small, the screen shot does not capture the entire word cloud.

Toon Doo Experience

2009-10-13T11:14:00.010-05:00

Overall, I think Toon Doo is a good web program to use with our students. It allows for seemingly endless creativity which is something that many of my students mentioned was their favorite aspect of the program in their post project reflections. However, there were some problems encountered.

Pros:

1. The program is user friendly. Overall, the majority of my students were able to figure out how to use the various functions of the web program fairly quickly.
2. Many of the students expressed their like for the ability to use their creativity in showing their learning.
3. Many of the students expressed that they liked the "newness" and uniqueness of the web program.
4. Some students expressed that they felt that they thought they "remembered" the notes because they were creating stories with pictures. They felt that clicking and dragging was quicker, more visually appealing, and more efficient that illustrating by hand.

Cons:

1. Signing up for Toon Doo accounts and learning how to navigate/use the program takes at least 1 full class period.
2. Some students (approx. 10) were overwhelmed/confused by the amount of choices.
3. SAVING ISSUES: many of the students lost a days worth of work because their work would not save. We suspect this was an issue caused by the wireless kicking in and out. If the students attempted to save without checking to the wireless connection, the program froze in save mode and the work was lost. Many had to restart their comic strips. This caused disappointment/dispair in these students. We solved the problem by resorting to saving screen shots.

http://www.toondoo.com/

Student Work Sample:

Special Delivery

2009-10-06T22:18:00.005-05:00

We got them! Our students logged on to the netbooks within moments of them being delivered. They were excited to finally have them in the classroom. So far so good!

My students are using the netbooks and ToonDoo (www.toondoo.com) this week to create comic strips illustrating the Rise of the Roman Empire. I am loving this web site and it seems that my students are too. It is very user friendly and allows for endless creativity and imagination.

Was introduced to Brain Pop (www.brainpop.com) this afternoon and think it is awesome! Like ToonDoo, it is very user friendly and interactive. It seems that this will be an excellent resource for our ESL/LEP students. Check out the Social Studies section of the site. I have the passwords and will pass them along.

Hmmm...I am trying to figure out a system for managing all of the user names and passwords for our students. Any ideas?????

Team Meeting Notes; September 26

2009-09-18T10:16:00.005-05:00

Celebrations:
It seems that we are in the final stages of the ordering process! We should be receiving the netbooks by the 1st or 2nd week in October.

Our students has already completed (collectively) 6-7 technology based projects/lessons, and they have been performing very well.

Our students have expressed excitement about incorporating the Wii's and the PC games.

Concerns:

Are we going to have the netbooks by the 1 week of October? If not, we will have to re-plan our lessons that were designed to incorporate certain software/Internet access.

Team Business:

We are in the process of getting our team web page set up through our campus web master.

Next Meeting: October 21 at 3:15 in room D305.

Team Meeting Notes; August 25

2009-08-26T14:28:00.003-05:00

Celebrations:

The Wii Systems have been delivered!! The laptops have been delivered to the district and are being processed! Yea!!!

Concerns:

The eta of the COW's. The team agreed that we would happily store the netbooks under lock and key until the COW's arrive on campus. Our understanding is they are slated to arrive at the end of September/beginning of October.

Team Business:

Team Meeting Schedule: Our team will meet formally on the 3rd Wenesday of each month during the 1st Semester. We will decide on the day of our meeting for the 2nd Semester on a later date. We will meet after school in room D305.
District Meetings: Our team has decided to attend the required district Power To Learn meeting on the follow days: October 20, January 7, May 13.
Web Site: Our team web site is in the works. It should be up and running by the 3rd week of school. The site will include links to our team and classroom blogs, a technology usage calendar(with room numbers), and other items yet to be determined.
Video Games: We discussed Wii game selections. Some games have delayed publishing dates. We made final decision on 5/9 PC/Wii video games. We selected the following 5 games: Civilization (PC); SimCity 4 (PC); Axis and Allies (PC); Smarty Pants (Wii); Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (Wii)
We discussed our individual acticipated 1st projects with the acquired technologies.
Questions concerning the manner in which the PC games would be loaded and an e-mail addressing these concerns was sent to our coordinator.
We discussed Parent Authorization forms and other SBISD forms that need to be signed by parents, students, and teachers prior to the onset of blogging and archiving student work/photos.

Next formal meeting: September 16 @ 3:15 in D305.

Blogging Information

2009-08-06T14:40:00.000-05:00

Hello Team!

Hope you have had a good summer! I attended a couple of technology sessions at Teacher U this week that I think will be tremendously helpful at getting us off to a good start. The link below is to a page that provides excellent information about using blogs in the classroom.

http://csa.springbranchisd.com/bardenc/science_blog.htm

Also, I am almost positive that I am going to use ning for my class blog. It seems to be very user friendly and, well, I think the kids will find it appealing. Please check mine out (it is in a very primitive state) and see what you think. Hard/easy to read, follow, use.....? Let me know what you think.

http://acevedonhs.ning.com

Test

2009-08-04T11:07:00.001-05:00

Test post.