Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards are a fantastic tool. Below is a video of my colleagues and I discussing how one brand of whiteboards ("Mimeo") works:


Teaching Moment: Interactive Whiteboard Demonstration from Aimee Smith on Vimeo.


Also, here is a link to the video on Vimeo, the website used to condense this video into a viewable size:

Vimeo Whiteboard Video

Google Sheets: Charting Raw Data

This was a good experience. After watching a few brief tutorials, I was able to quickly transfer data to a new spreadsheet, analyze it by finding averages, and then graph a growth trend. Plus, it was easy to embed the link below so that others can view it.

Click below to view:
Sheet and Chart




Here are the trends I observed:

• All students had a considerably better score on test 10 than on test 6. 
• Most students improved their score with each test. The exceptions to this are Jason, Katherine, Walter, and Queen. 
• Katherine realized the greatest improvement from test 6 to test 10.

As a result of these observations, I'd do several things in the classroom:

1. I'd send Katherine a letter congratulating her on being the "most improved player."
2. I'd personally congratulate each student on their overall improvement in a discrete way, such as by attaching a note of congratulations to homework I returned to them (so as not to embarrass them in front of their peers).
3. I'd give each student a graph showing their personal achievement from test 6 to 10 and then administer a survey with the following questions:
1. What helped you the most to improve your scores from test 6 to 10?
2. Was any one test harder than the others?
3. If your test scores didn't improve with each test, what do you think was the cause?
4. What would have helped you to learn better?

UStream

This is a great tool. I especially appreciate that it has a ZERO tolerance policy for inappropriate content.
Simply put, UStream is a way to quickly and easily create audio and/or video recordings that are broadcast on your very own channel. I created a channel called "Zachervision" and figured out this morning how to embed my first video here on my blog (you can view it at the bottom of this post).

There are a number of ways to leverage this tool in the classroom:

1. Have students create a commercial in class about the current subject being studied.
2. Create a video lecture(s) for students to view in the event that inclement weather prohibits them from attending class for an extended period of time.

Once a video is created, it can be uploaded to sites such as Facebook, YouTube, or embedded in a blog (SEE BELOW).


Live Video app for Facebook by Ustream

OTEN Conference 2011

The OTEN Conference was definitely worthwhile!
Click "PLAY" to hear more...

My Favorite Web 2.0 Tool

What is Web 2.0? It really depends on who you ask.


Tim O'Reilly has quite a lot to say about it in the YouTube video of the Web 2.0 Expo SF 2010:
CLICK HERE



According to the Collins Dictionary, it's:

"the internet viewed as a medium in which interactive experience,in the form of blogs, wikis, forums,  etc. plays a more important role than simply accessing information." web 2.0. (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. Retrieved October 07, 2011, from Dictionary.com website:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/web 2.0

According to The Encyclopedia of Management, Web 2.0 is:
"The term Web 2.0 refers to new social applications and methods of communication implemented over the Internet." Web 2.0." Encyclopedia of Management. 2009. Retrieved October 07, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedmlia.com/doc/1G2-3273100319.ht"


To me Web 2.0 emphasizes that the internet is now:

• a tool for interaction, not just investigation
• used for collaboration, not just individual accomplishment
• social versus isolationist

We have myriads of ways to stay in touch such as, Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Now, more than ever, the internet connects people to each other, not just information.

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DELICIOUS...


That's the Web 2.0 tool that I chose to investigate. Simply put, it's a web-based collection of bookmarks or favorites. I like this because it's accessible from any browser, whether I'm using Chrome, Safari, Foxfire, or Internet Explorer. I simply log in to my Delicious account, and I'm ready to surf my favorite sites from any computer with any browser.


But, the question begs, how would it help in a school classroom? Let's think about a teacher who wants students to create a project solely based on internet research. The student could easily create what Delicious calls a "stack" to do so. For example, they could create a project about mustaches and have a visual/audio bibliography in a stack. Check out this example by clicking on the link below and playing the video on that page:


MUSTACHE STACK VIDEO


Once the student created this project on Delicious, they could easily share it with the teacher and other students by clicking, "make public".
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Google Docs Group Project

We created a Google Docs project titled, "Sheets." The purpose of the project was to experiment with the use of Google's version of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. On Sheet 1, we created a sample grade book that lists different students' grades on various projects, including their final grades in the form of points and percentages. We then created a corresponding colored chart that provides a visual representation of the same data on Sheet 1 for the more "visual" viewer.


You can view our spreadsheet by clicking HERE.


I was impressed by Google Sheets. The product is superior to Microsoft Excel because:

• it’s free, whereas Microsoft Excel costs around $100 when purchased with the Microsoft Office Suite of products.
• it’s accessible from any computer, whereas Excel is often saved to the hard-drive of just one computer.
• it’s collaborative, whereas Excel is not.

One way that Google Sheets could enhance teaching is as a collaborative tool for an IEP (Individual Education Plan) in special education. The spreadsheet could be used by both general education and special education teachers to layout specific learning objectives and to track the progress of each of those objectives by day, month, quarter, etc. If the teachers desired, they could also grant access to the parent of the special education student as well as the professionals working on that students behalf (speech pathologists, etc.).

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Google Docs Group Project

Here's a link to the Google document that we created:

CLICK HERE

The document is titled, "Script for aspire ed 520 in class activity." The purpose of the document was to create a quick list of collaborated ideas about the use of technology in the classroom, and then to transform that list into a script that we could use for a yodio audio recording.

It worked quite well and allowed us all to be able to see the main points that we had agreed upon. My contribution was to monitor our time limit in class to complete the project and to ensure we were staying on task and moving forward with progress.

I enjoyed using Google docs and found it quite user-friendly. It could be a great tool for teaching, especially if two teachers were co-presenting a lesson plan created in Google docs and wanted to individually contribute to that plan from separate computers in different locations. Google docs allows for quick, easy modification of ideas for all contributors involved.

BLOGGING FOR THE CLASSROOM...

This blog could be a great tool for the classroom. For example, I could use it to introduce myself to  new students and their parents before the start of the school year. I would mail a simple welcome letter to each student with some information about me and an invitation to them and their parents to view my blog.

Within my blog, I could embed a yodio recording so that my students could hear my voice and feel as if they'd met me even before coming to class.

Once classes began, I could post all kinds of things to the blog that would be helpful for both students and their parents: school calendars, calendar of homework assignment due dates, links to videos about my philosophy of education, etc.

And on and on we could go. But this will suffice for now.

P.S. - Here's a photo of me....

About Me

Here's a bit about me: my professional aspirations and some personal tidbits.

I'm excited about teaching as a vocation and calling. My desire is to teach elementary or middle school. I'd be happy teaching all subjects and/or specializing in either English or Math, or even Business if available. My goal is to acquire the special education endorsement. I believe I have the compassion, patience, and persistence required to be successful teaching those who have such needs.

On a personal note, I love to hike and play guitar. I think I'd have to say that calzone is my favorite food. Also, I'm a big fan of coffee. I'm not an addict, I just can't stop drinking it. I have two incredible children (a daughter and a son) and probably love being a daddy more than anything else in this world.


That's it for now. Thanks for visiting.