OK - Voki is yet another cool tool. I can't wait to show my son how to create an avatar. If he reacts to this tool in the same way he reacted to Picassohead, my inbox is going to be full of talking snowmen and who knows what else.
So, this was another straightforward activity. I have uploaded my Self Introduction to Google Docs. It took me a little while to figure out how to turn on my readability statistics (Mac user), but I eventually found the right page under Preferences --> Spelling and Grammar. For what it's worth, the document's Flesch Reading Ease score was 74.7 and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level was 6.4.
Voki was super-easy to use - and fun. Just a matter of registering an email address and a password and off you go. Meet my avatar:
Relationship to Standards - the Voki activity relates well to the following standards: 2(a) in that Voki allows teachers to design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity; 3(a) in that the use of Voki demonstrates fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations; and 3(c) in that the use of Voki allows educators to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Word Clouds
Wordle. What a cool tool. And very helpful for generating quick graphics that might supplement any lesson in any content area. I generated a couple of Word Clouds, one for the 2000 NETS T Standards and one for the 2008 NETS T Standards.
Here's the NETS T 2000 Word Cloud:
And here is the NETS T 2008 Word Cloud:
In comparing the two World Clouds, it appears that the 2008 NETS T Standards have taken a slightly different direction than that established by the 2000 NETS T Standards. Most importantly, the standards now focus on learning instead of technology. In addition, technology appears to have been broken down into components represented by words like digital, tools, and virtual. Not everything has changed though - both sets of standards still focus on teachers, resources, and students.
Here's a Word Cloud based on the text of FDR's Pearl Harbor speech:
Relationship to Standards - the Word Cloud activity relates well to the following standards: 1(c) in that the use of Word Clouds promotes student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes; 2(a) in that the use of Word Clouds is an example of an educator designing or adapting relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity; and 3(a) the use of Word Clouds by an educator demonstrates fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
Here's the NETS T 2000 Word Cloud:
And here is the NETS T 2008 Word Cloud:
In comparing the two World Clouds, it appears that the 2008 NETS T Standards have taken a slightly different direction than that established by the 2000 NETS T Standards. Most importantly, the standards now focus on learning instead of technology. In addition, technology appears to have been broken down into components represented by words like digital, tools, and virtual. Not everything has changed though - both sets of standards still focus on teachers, resources, and students.
Here's a Word Cloud based on the text of FDR's Pearl Harbor speech:
Relationship to Standards - the Word Cloud activity relates well to the following standards: 1(c) in that the use of Word Clouds promotes student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes; 2(a) in that the use of Word Clouds is an example of an educator designing or adapting relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity; and 3(a) the use of Word Clouds by an educator demonstrates fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Google Sites
I worked on the Google Sites activity over the course of a couple of days. I am still trying to decide whether or not I like working with the site templates. I ran into a little bit of trouble figuring out how to move pages and make other page changes. For whatever reason, the help links weren't all that helpful. The other Google products have been so handy and so user friendly that I tend to think the difficulties I've encountered with Google Sites can be attributed to my lack of familiarity with the program. Onward.
I chose to use a classroom template for my webpage with the idea that I might be able to use the site once I land a teaching job. I wrote a little bit of text for each page and left the Tip links in place so that I can use them in the future. I also added a Resume page and Rubrics page and posted the appropriate documents on each page. There are also links to each of these pages in the sidebar. One of the other things that I did was develop and embed a Google form that parents and students can use to contact me. All in all, this was a good activity and I can definitely imagine using a webpage to communicate with my students and their parents.
Relationship to Standards - the Google Sites activity relates well to the following standards: 2(a) in that the use of a website will allow educators to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools to promote student learning; 3(a) in that the incorporation of a website into class activities will allow teachers to demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies; and 3(c) in that the use of a website will allow educators to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students and their parents using digital age media and formats.
I chose to use a classroom template for my webpage with the idea that I might be able to use the site once I land a teaching job. I wrote a little bit of text for each page and left the Tip links in place so that I can use them in the future. I also added a Resume page and Rubrics page and posted the appropriate documents on each page. There are also links to each of these pages in the sidebar. One of the other things that I did was develop and embed a Google form that parents and students can use to contact me. All in all, this was a good activity and I can definitely imagine using a webpage to communicate with my students and their parents.
Relationship to Standards - the Google Sites activity relates well to the following standards: 2(a) in that the use of a website will allow educators to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools to promote student learning; 3(a) in that the incorporation of a website into class activities will allow teachers to demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies; and 3(c) in that the use of a website will allow educators to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students and their parents using digital age media and formats.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Excel 2
Wow. OK - this activity was not so easy for me. By the time I was finished, my mind was swimming with p's and t's and all sorts of statistics jargon. I think I ended up working through this correctly but translating the information from Dr. Pierce's Jing demonstration to my Mac version of Excel was a little confusing. I finally resorted to using this online tool to verify the answers that I came up with in Excel.
As a reminder, this activity focuses around answering this research question: Does student's gender impact 4th grade math performance? Our hypothesis is that there is a difference. We are looking for an indication of whether the differences we can see in the data are statistically significant or not. Our null hypothesis is that there is no difference. If our t test p value is less than .05 then we will reject the null hypothesis; if our t test p value is greater than .05 then we will not reject the null hypothesis.
Here is a graphic of my Excel results:
When I used the online tool at studentsttest.com I got the same results. If you want to see a screengrab from those tests, the one tailed test result is here and the two tailed test result is here.
Based on the discussion above and noting the one tailed p value of 2.51, I find that we will not reject the null hypothesis. In other words, although there is a difference between the male and female groups, that difference is likely related to error or chance.
As a prospective teacher, I can imagine using this sort of analysis with my future students. For the purposes of this discussion, let's assume I am teaching a high school history class. One topic I would like to investigate is the performance of students who take my class in the morning as compared to the performance of the students who take the class in the afternoon.
My research question would be the following: Is there a difference in educational performance between students who take my history class before noon and the educational performance of those who take the class in the afternoon. There would be two groups in this study: morning students and afternoon students. The dependent variable is that they are all taking the same class. The independent variable is the time of day when they take my class. My hypothesis would be that students who take my class in the morning perform at a higher level than those students who take my class in the afternoon. The null hypothesis would be that there is no significant difference in performance between morning and afternoon students and that any perceived difference is likely due to error or chance.
Relationship to Standards - the Excel 2 activity relates well to the following standards: 3(d) in that the use of Excel and statistical analysis models the effective use of current and emerging digital tools to analyze and evaluate information to support research and learning; 5(c) the use of Excel and statistical analysis allows educators to evaluate and reflect on current research and to make use of emerging digital tools; and 5(d) the use of Excel and statistical analysis allows educators to contribute to the effectiveness and vitality of the teaching profession.
As a reminder, this activity focuses around answering this research question: Does student's gender impact 4th grade math performance? Our hypothesis is that there is a difference. We are looking for an indication of whether the differences we can see in the data are statistically significant or not. Our null hypothesis is that there is no difference. If our t test p value is less than .05 then we will reject the null hypothesis; if our t test p value is greater than .05 then we will not reject the null hypothesis.
Here is a graphic of my Excel results:
When I used the online tool at studentsttest.com I got the same results. If you want to see a screengrab from those tests, the one tailed test result is here and the two tailed test result is here.
Based on the discussion above and noting the one tailed p value of 2.51, I find that we will not reject the null hypothesis. In other words, although there is a difference between the male and female groups, that difference is likely related to error or chance.
As a prospective teacher, I can imagine using this sort of analysis with my future students. For the purposes of this discussion, let's assume I am teaching a high school history class. One topic I would like to investigate is the performance of students who take my class in the morning as compared to the performance of the students who take the class in the afternoon.
My research question would be the following: Is there a difference in educational performance between students who take my history class before noon and the educational performance of those who take the class in the afternoon. There would be two groups in this study: morning students and afternoon students. The dependent variable is that they are all taking the same class. The independent variable is the time of day when they take my class. My hypothesis would be that students who take my class in the morning perform at a higher level than those students who take my class in the afternoon. The null hypothesis would be that there is no significant difference in performance between morning and afternoon students and that any perceived difference is likely due to error or chance.
Relationship to Standards - the Excel 2 activity relates well to the following standards: 3(d) in that the use of Excel and statistical analysis models the effective use of current and emerging digital tools to analyze and evaluate information to support research and learning; 5(c) the use of Excel and statistical analysis allows educators to evaluate and reflect on current research and to make use of emerging digital tools; and 5(d) the use of Excel and statistical analysis allows educators to contribute to the effectiveness and vitality of the teaching profession.
Excel 1
In this activity, we worked with data provided by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) on the nationwide performance of 4th grade readers in 2011. The activity took a little longer than I thought it would because, in order to calculate descriptive statistics, I had to develop my own table and insert the appropriate formulas (my Mac doesn't support the Excel Data Analysis Tool and it was easier to develop my own table than to decipher the Solver tool). Anyway, my descriptive statistics table is embedded below or available for viewing on Screencast.com here. I've also uploaded both my State Statistics and my Chart files to Google Docs.
A review of the data provided by the NCES indicates that West Virginia is not doing too well when compared to other states. 8 states and the District of Columbia scored below West Virginia and the other 41 states scored above West Virginia. In fact, West Virginia's score of 214 is six points below the average score of 220. Here's how the data looks on a scatter plot chart:
The same chart is available on Screencast.com here. As a prospective teacher and a parent of two children in the West Virginia school system, these figures are cause for concern.
Relationship to Standards - the Excel 1 activity relates well to the following standards: 3(a) in that the ability to manipulate and plot data such as the information provided by the NCES demonstrates fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies; 3(c) in that the use of Excel and similar programs will allow educators to communicate relevant information and ideas - like below average reading scores - effectively to students, parents, and peers; and 3(d) in that the use of programs like Excel models the effective use of current and emerging digital tools in the evaluation of information.
A review of the data provided by the NCES indicates that West Virginia is not doing too well when compared to other states. 8 states and the District of Columbia scored below West Virginia and the other 41 states scored above West Virginia. In fact, West Virginia's score of 214 is six points below the average score of 220. Here's how the data looks on a scatter plot chart:
The same chart is available on Screencast.com here. As a prospective teacher and a parent of two children in the West Virginia school system, these figures are cause for concern.
Relationship to Standards - the Excel 1 activity relates well to the following standards: 3(a) in that the ability to manipulate and plot data such as the information provided by the NCES demonstrates fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies; 3(c) in that the use of Excel and similar programs will allow educators to communicate relevant information and ideas - like below average reading scores - effectively to students, parents, and peers; and 3(d) in that the use of programs like Excel models the effective use of current and emerging digital tools in the evaluation of information.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Rubrics
Creating a rubric on Rubistar is a piece of cake. I wish I'd found out about the site a few months ago - it would have saved me a lot of time!
Rubrics are a tool that educators use to assess student performance. When shared in advance, rubrics can be used to communicate expectations for an assignment to students and their parents. Once assignments are submitted, a rubric provides educators with a standard assessment tool for evaluating those assignments.
Making a rubric on Rubistar was simple. First, I created an account, a step which took less than three minutes. Second, I selected the type of rubric I was interested in creating (for this activity, I chose an essay rubric). Third, I selected a few areas that I wanted to assess with the rubric. Finally, I saved and downloaded the rubric to my computer. In working through this final step, I learned that as a Mac user I had to switch from Safari to Firefox in order to save my rubric as an Excel file.
The next step was to drag and drop the Excel file version of my rubric to my Google drive. You can view my rubric in Google Docs by clicking here.
Relationship to Standards - the Rubrics exercise relates well to the following standards: 3(a) in that the use of Rubistar demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies; 3(c) in that tools like Rubistar allow educators to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students and parents (parents can view rubrics saved to Google Docs); and 3(d) in that the use of Rubistar models the use of current and emerging digital tools to evaluate and support learning.
Rubrics are a tool that educators use to assess student performance. When shared in advance, rubrics can be used to communicate expectations for an assignment to students and their parents. Once assignments are submitted, a rubric provides educators with a standard assessment tool for evaluating those assignments.
Making a rubric on Rubistar was simple. First, I created an account, a step which took less than three minutes. Second, I selected the type of rubric I was interested in creating (for this activity, I chose an essay rubric). Third, I selected a few areas that I wanted to assess with the rubric. Finally, I saved and downloaded the rubric to my computer. In working through this final step, I learned that as a Mac user I had to switch from Safari to Firefox in order to save my rubric as an Excel file.
The next step was to drag and drop the Excel file version of my rubric to my Google drive. You can view my rubric in Google Docs by clicking here.
Relationship to Standards - the Rubrics exercise relates well to the following standards: 3(a) in that the use of Rubistar demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies; 3(c) in that tools like Rubistar allow educators to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students and parents (parents can view rubrics saved to Google Docs); and 3(d) in that the use of Rubistar models the use of current and emerging digital tools to evaluate and support learning.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Maps 2
I found working through the interface with Google Maps and Google Earth to be very straightforward. Before I did this activity, I had never noticed how much higher the resolution is in Google Earth than it is in Google Maps - good to know.
Anyway, it took me a minute to figure out how to export my Google Map data as a KML file but it turned out to be a very simple process. Watch me figure out how to do the export in this Jing screencast. You can view my Google Earth map here. I've also embedded the image below:
The acronym KML stands for Keyhole Markup Language. KML files allow for the transfer of two-dimensional geographic information from a program like Google Maps into a three-dimansional program like Google Earth. This is a useful function for educators who want to develop maps in a simple mapping program and then enjoy the benefits of a high resolution program like Google Earth. The zoom and pan features of Google Earth allow you to take detailed tours of interesting locations.
Google Earth has some terrific resources for teachers. I found a D-Day lesson that would be very useful in the study of World War II.
Relationship to Standards - the Maps 2 activity relates well to the following standards: 2(a) in that Google Maps and Google Earth allow educators to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning; 3(a) in that the use of Maps/Earth allows teachers to demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies; and 3(c) in that teachers can use Maps/Earth to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students using a variety of digital age media and formats.
Anyway, it took me a minute to figure out how to export my Google Map data as a KML file but it turned out to be a very simple process. Watch me figure out how to do the export in this Jing screencast. You can view my Google Earth map here. I've also embedded the image below:
The acronym KML stands for Keyhole Markup Language. KML files allow for the transfer of two-dimensional geographic information from a program like Google Maps into a three-dimansional program like Google Earth. This is a useful function for educators who want to develop maps in a simple mapping program and then enjoy the benefits of a high resolution program like Google Earth. The zoom and pan features of Google Earth allow you to take detailed tours of interesting locations.
Google Earth has some terrific resources for teachers. I found a D-Day lesson that would be very useful in the study of World War II.
Relationship to Standards - the Maps 2 activity relates well to the following standards: 2(a) in that Google Maps and Google Earth allow educators to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning; 3(a) in that the use of Maps/Earth allows teachers to demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies; and 3(c) in that teachers can use Maps/Earth to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students using a variety of digital age media and formats.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Maps 1
I love working with maps. I'm one of those people who has framed maps of favorite places hanging on the wall in my living room. Needless to say, I had fun with this activity. I decided to map out a one-day tour along the lower loop in Yellowstone National Park. The map is based on tours that I used to give visitors all the time. It makes for a long day - especially if traffic is bad - but you really get a good look at the Park and some of its best known features. Anyway, selecting the locations was easy. I just zoomed in and moved from location to location placing pins in the specific spots that I wanted to include in the tour. Like every other Google app I have used, I found this one to be very user-friendly.
You can view my map here. If you'd like a little more information, you can click here to read a short description of each stop.
I can definitely imagine using Google Maps in the classroom. For example, I could ask students to create a map of General Lee's move up the Shenandoah Valley and into Gettysburg in 1863. Students could use pins to mark the location of significant events or battles. In creating a map, the students would have the opportunity to align historic events with the existing landscape. Very cool.
Relationship to Standards - the Maps 1 activity relates well to the following standards: 1(a) in that the use of Google Maps in a classroom would allow a teacher to promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking; 1(c) in that the use of Google Maps in history or geography classes will promote student reflection using collaborative tools to clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking; and 3(a) in that the use of Google Maps will allow teachers to demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current technologies to new technologies. These maps are WAY better than those tired, old flat ones that have been hanging on the wall for the last 20 years!
You can view my map here. If you'd like a little more information, you can click here to read a short description of each stop.
I can definitely imagine using Google Maps in the classroom. For example, I could ask students to create a map of General Lee's move up the Shenandoah Valley and into Gettysburg in 1863. Students could use pins to mark the location of significant events or battles. In creating a map, the students would have the opportunity to align historic events with the existing landscape. Very cool.
Relationship to Standards - the Maps 1 activity relates well to the following standards: 1(a) in that the use of Google Maps in a classroom would allow a teacher to promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking; 1(c) in that the use of Google Maps in history or geography classes will promote student reflection using collaborative tools to clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking; and 3(a) in that the use of Google Maps will allow teachers to demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current technologies to new technologies. These maps are WAY better than those tired, old flat ones that have been hanging on the wall for the last 20 years!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Self Grading Form
For this activity - and in honor of the 150th anniversary - I created a short quiz about the of the Battle of Gettysburg. If you'd like to take my quiz, please click here. Of course, the whole point of this activity was to learn how to create a self grading form. When someone completes my quiz, their answers are collected in a spreadsheet that will automatically grade their answers. To view my spreadsheet, click here.
I thought this was a pretty easy assignment. For future reference, I've embedded a very helpful instructional video below. The only thing that tripped me up in completing this assignment was that I forgot to enter the "=" when creating my grading formulas. At first, I thought I was experiencing some sort of Mac compatibility issue. After about ten minutes of struggling, I took a break. When I came back, I watched the instructional video again and caught my mistake. Lesson learned. Here's the instructional video I mentioned above:
I can definitely imagine using a self grading form in the classroom. It's obviously a great way to create and store a quiz. The data collection and self grading aspects are bonuses. Generating a quiz in this online format would not take any more time then generating a quiz in Word - in fact, given all the automatic formatting features included in Google Forms, this is probably faster. It's a great tool for the future.
Relationship to Standards - the Self Grading Form activity relates well to the following standards: 2(a) in that the use of the self grading form will allow me to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources; 2(d) in that the use of a self grading form will allow me to provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use the resulting data to inform learning and teaching - I can create as many short quizzes as I see fit and get nearly instantaneous feedback on learning; and 3(a) in that the use of technologies like the self grading form demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the current transfer of knowledge to new technologies and situations.
I thought this was a pretty easy assignment. For future reference, I've embedded a very helpful instructional video below. The only thing that tripped me up in completing this assignment was that I forgot to enter the "=" when creating my grading formulas. At first, I thought I was experiencing some sort of Mac compatibility issue. After about ten minutes of struggling, I took a break. When I came back, I watched the instructional video again and caught my mistake. Lesson learned. Here's the instructional video I mentioned above:
I can definitely imagine using a self grading form in the classroom. It's obviously a great way to create and store a quiz. The data collection and self grading aspects are bonuses. Generating a quiz in this online format would not take any more time then generating a quiz in Word - in fact, given all the automatic formatting features included in Google Forms, this is probably faster. It's a great tool for the future.
Relationship to Standards - the Self Grading Form activity relates well to the following standards: 2(a) in that the use of the self grading form will allow me to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources; 2(d) in that the use of a self grading form will allow me to provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use the resulting data to inform learning and teaching - I can create as many short quizzes as I see fit and get nearly instantaneous feedback on learning; and 3(a) in that the use of technologies like the self grading form demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the current transfer of knowledge to new technologies and situations.
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