The link to my webcast:

http://www.connectionslivelesson.com/p32lg2ljh3n/

Webcast

I attended a webinar that discussed how to incorporate projects into your class.  I liked that the webinar included video; it kept my attention.  Some weaknesses were that some of the participants who chose to talk had a difficult time with their microphones or sharing their screen.  I found it just slowed the program and I lost interest when this happened.  I think I would participate in these in the future.

 It isn’t the same but I allow my students to research a history topic and then teach a lesson  for extra credit.  The participants are the other students who completed the extra credit.  The recording is then available for all of the students to watch.  Most of the students really like doing this.  They find it exciting and different.  I think it would be neat if I had my students create a webcast as a class project and then share the webcast with the same class in different states.  I could also incorporate webcasts into my lesson for the students to watch.  I haven’t explored very much but I’m sure I could find some history webcasts that are at my students’ level. 

Overall this was not a new experience for me because at my school most of our professional developments and faculty meetings are done in this format.  I think I will still attend webcasts because it is a great way to hear other teachers’ experiences and ideas.  It is always refreshing to hear new ideas and perspectives.

Social Networking in the online classroom

One area that I have the most difficulty teaching is my end of the year research project.  I am unable to work with all of the students individually to make sure they are on the right track.  I spend a lot of time correcting mistakes and having the students redo projects because they did not understand/follow the directions.  I have message boards and lessons that explain each step of the project but some students find these boring and most do not take full advantage.  I think if the students were able to work together in small groups in a skype room with me they would greatly benefit.  I currently have “open office hours” in which the students can come to my online classroom at schedule times to ask questions and I am also available all day for phone calls. The students usually work one on one with me in these situations and they sometimes feel intimidated.  I think that working in a skype room with peers would take away some of the stress.  I could schedule specific times to work with small groups of students.  It would be an informal meeting in which the students could discuss with each other in real time how their projects are coming along, how they stay organized, challenges they are having, etc. 

 The project is for my 10^th grade US history class.  They have to pick a topic that we studied during the year and explain the historical significance of the event/person and why it is important to learn about the topic today.  The students can either put their research into essay format, powerpoint/glog, digital story, or any other approved format.  Each format is worth the same amount of points but has a different rubric. 

The group collaboration will receive a participation grade.  My overall goal is that the students work together to brainstorm ideas for their project.  I will be there to facilitate the conversation and to answer any questions they have.  My hope is that they will have a discussion on their own and rely very little on me.  I want them to articulate their ideas with other and help each other strengthen their projects. This will also give me a better idea of who needs more help and I can contact them privately after the group discussion.  I think this will prevent a lot of confusion about the project and the students will be able to manage their time in a more meaningful way. 

Prezi.com

26.5/32

I had visited prezi before but I had not created an account and actually learned how to use the tool.  I was very surprised on how easy it was to use.  I like the final product that is created too.  It seems like it will be better for the visual/spatial learners since they can see the progression and pathway of what the presentation is about.  The site lost points in signup/contract area because students must sign up individually and their account is not connected to the teacher account.  The site also lost points because only the basic version is free.  There is not a mobile app available for this site although there is an app for an iPad.  Prezi also lost points in the final products area.  The final product is extremely educational however in the free account you have to view and save it online.  I also deducted points because students can search published prezis and they might find inappropriate material there.    

Other positives about Prezi:

Very easy to use

Awesome tutorials in text and video

Livebinders.com

I found this website while searching for web 2.0 tools.  It is a virtual binder that can serve many purposes.  As a teacher I can organize all of my information into the binder to give to the students or I can have them organize information for me to view.  This website earned 28 points on the rubric.

Students must create their own account and they are not linked to the teacher.  There are currently no apps available for this website.  I think teachers would have to be creative when using this website for groupwork.  The group would have to have a shared username and password. The final product is extremely educational and can demonstrate mastery however it can only be viewed online.  There are no ads on this site.  Students are able to search other published binders and may find some binders that are not age appropriate.

Other positives about livebinder:

Free

No personal information is required

Can be used for multiple grade levels

Enhances curriculum

Superlame.com

24/32

Another website that I discovered was superlame.com.  This site allows you to upload photos and add comic book bubbles and other effects to them.  This would be a fun way to add some excitement to presentations.  There is no login required and no personal information is given.  The website is free to use and does not require any software to be downloaded.  There is no mobile app available.  Once a picture has been edited it can be saved and emailed to others or put into a presentation. Depending on the picture that is uploaded and the captions that are added Superlame.com can enhance curriculum.  There were advertisements on the bottom and on the side.  The advertisements contained material that could be considered questionable and not school appropriate. 

 Human Filters

I am very fortunate that I have access to several professional learning communities.  I learn the most from my peers in my classes here at Wilkes.  Through discussions I always learn about new technologies and new ways to implement previous technology.  We share what is happening in our classrooms and improvements that we would like to make.  I always leave my classes with a lot of new ideas to try that I learned from my peers in these classes.  We all share a common bond of wanting to improve ourselves and our classes.    

The third group that I benefit from is the colleagues that I work with, specifically the ones that I share an office with.  I work closely in my office with a group of 25 teachers who vary from kindergarten to high school teachers.  Even though we all teach different subjects and grade levels we share in the unique challenge of educating students in a cyber setting.  We are able to share websites and tools with each other that we have found successful.  We are able to work together to build lessons the incorporate new technology and ideas.   

The third group that I work with is fellow Social Studies teachers.  I’ve meet these teachers in a previous school that I taught at, my husband’s co workers, and friends that I met in college and at conferences.  We are able to share ideas about how to make our lessons better and ways to make our lessons have more impact.  We all share in a common challenge of trying to make history interesting and relevant to young adults.   

Improvements

I sent an email to livebinders asking them to consider making an account in which groups of people could contribute to a binder.  I think this would be very helpful for students who are completing group work to organize their information and materials.  

CC Websites

Here is the link to my stack of EDIM514-CC links

CC Your Work

I selected the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.  With this license others are free to share and copy my work.  They are also allowed to make changes to my work.  If they do share or make changes to my work they must give me credit for the original work and it cannot be used for commercial purposes.  I chose this option because I do not mind if others use my work or even make changes to it.  I picked noncommercial because I am not comfortable with a large company or anyone else making a profit from my work. 

I would encourage students to use whatever license they felt most comfortable with.  I think a benefit of allowing students to pick their own is that it exposes them to the different types of licenses and makes them more aware of fair use when they are researching. 

EDIM 514 Intro

Hello, my name is Lauren Fox. I am currently working on my masters in Instructional Media Technology. I am currently taking this course and Inquiry Based Learning. After these two courses are complete I have one class and I will be finished with my masters! I have enjoyed my time at Wilkes but look forward to the completion of the degree.

I am currently teaching 10^th grade US History at Commonwealth Connections Academy. I have taught there for four years and in VA the previous two years. I love teaching history and I always have a lot of new ideas to incorporate into my class when I take these classes.