"Readings"

 

1.  Chris Lehman, an amazing prinicipal, talks about technology as a tool for transforming teaching, even as too often,  they're used as "shiny new tools" for very traditional teaching

 

 

 

2.  Explaining, using tools other than the human voice.  What potential is there for thinking about how you'll explain things to diverse students?

 

3.  Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally:  New Higher Order Thinking Skills.

 

 

 

Required Common Assignments

 

1.    IPod Touch Project

 

You'll be given an IPod Touch to use for the quarter.  You'll use it for specific projects in literacy class, and you're also encouraged to explore its particular uses for your own professional work and for teaching and learning in your placement.  Some schools provide a class set of Touches, others equip classrooms with a handful of Touches, some provide all teachers with their own Touch. 

 

This is a powerful, relatively inexpensive mobile computer.  You can find much more information about how they're being used in schools here.

 

Explore and have fun!

 

Click here for the "Handout" that we've created that outlines our recommended starter list for Apps, instructions on how to charge, sync, set up your email, find Apps, and do other cool things with your Touch.... from basics to a bit more advanced.

 

Beyond your work in literacy, there are two additional pieces to this project:

 

1.  On your cohort wiki, find the page 1001 uses for the IPod Touch in the classroom.   You must each contribute at least 3 ideas to this list (first come, first served), but be creative and think of more.  Due March 10. 

 

2.  We want you to also reflect on this experience.  By 1:00 on January 18, make a post to your blog.  Think of three different students in your main placement for whom differentiated instruction is particularly beneficial. They may be special needs students, ELL students, or kids with endearing quirks.    How might having access to  a Touch support differentiated instruction for these students?  What are some limitations of using the Touch for these students?  What particular supports would benefit each of these students? No names, of course.

 

By February 8, post an update:  What are your current thoughts about using Touches for differentiating learning for students like this?  What questions do you have now that you didn't have at the beginning?

 

By March 10 Where is your thinking now on using a Touch to support differentiation?  What more questions have come up as you've experimented with handheld technology this quarter?

 

 

 

2.  Create a Voicethread.

 

          By the Second week of the quarter, apply for a VoiceThread educator upgrade account (free) here:

http://voicethread.com/products/k12/educator/

 

You have one required and one optional ("clicks") Voicethread  assignment this quarter.

 

You must each open your own Voicethread account and create a VT from scratch -- some of you will do this with Option A. Others of you must do with b or c.

 

 Options:

a.  Some of you *will* create your group voice thread for science teaching and reflection on teaching assignment .  One person in your team will upload your video.    (Then, you will each do critiques  of others' lessons). (see instructions on your science syllabus).

 

b.  You *may* use voice thread to document your science inquiry project and count that as a "click" assignment (you have several other "click" options for this inquiry assignment).

 

c. You may also create a voicethread to teach support your teaching in any area this quarter (or to prep for next quarter).

 

 

Requirements for the Science Reflections/Teaching assignment.

 

1. Create your own identity.

2. If you are uploading the teaching video to your account, compress your video so that it's less than 100MB.

3. Introduce your lesson plan with a brief commentary - Webcam, audio, or written.

4. Invite those who will be responsible for critiquing your lesson.

5. Then, in the teams that Carrie assigns, critique the work of others on your team by adding comments.

 

 

 

 

     In your commenting, you must use:

1. At least two different forms of commentary: type, voice, or webcam.

2. The draw tool.

 

 

 

2.   Podcasting

 

You'll be creating a 3 minute "podcast" -- an edited audio file using Garage Band on the macs.

 

Your audio file can serve one of three purposes:

a.  Create a "virtual read aloud" for children to follow as they read all or part of a book available in your classroom.

b.  Create a "background for a lesson we'll have tomorrow" audio file that students could listen to the day before, or as homework, as a way to lead them into thinking about your lesson topic.  How would your lesson change if part of the "Content" part was available to students ahead of time?

c.  Create a "review" audio recording with highlights, key vocabulary, or other review information for students who benefit from hearing things more than once.

 

You'll be syncing this file to your Touch, and also uploading it to a website that can create a "feed".  This assignment can be used in literacy week 9, your last session with your Juanita buddy. 

 

 

In addition to practicing syncing this podcast to your own Touch, your cohort podcasts will be hosted at

http://c15.posterous.com/

 

Required elements:

 

• Audio recording of your voice
• At least 1 sound effect/jingle to open the podcast
• At least 1 sound effect/jingle to close the podcast
• Upload the audio file to the Posterous cohort website. 
• Sync via your own computer to your Touch.

 

 

 

C15:  Email your files to c15@posterous.com

 

Handouts for the Assignment.  Here, find screen shots to help you find what you're looking for in Garage band.    Garage Band 101.doc

 

 

Resources:

 

You'll find examples of classroom practice, resources for recording audio on PC and on Mac, other small audio tools and more on the Audio page on this wiki.

 

 

 

3.   Create an Internet Safety Plan for the grade level that you'll be teaching:

 

Explain how how you would keep children safe using one internet platform that you would use at your gradelevel (wikis, blogs, voicethread, any of the tools you explore for your clicks assignment)

 

• Include information on
• Privacy settings on the tool
• Instructions you'll give about the amount of information that children include about themselves on their work on this platform
• At least one paragraph on what you'll teach children about being a good "digital citizen" who contributes constructively to web-based collaboration and who respects the privacy of others.
  

   

Create a page of your Tech Portfolio to house this Safety Plan. You may NOT simply copy the safety policies of your school or district for this assigment.   Your assumption is that you're making the case that a tool not now being used extensively in your district can be used safely.

 

 

Resources:

 

You'll find a variety of resources from classroom teachers and others on the Safety on the Internet page of this wiki.

 

4.  Choose from the Choice activities for a total of 5 Clicks. 

 

Go to the Winter Assignment Choice Activities page for specifics on your choices.

 

 

 

5.  Continue Blogging:  

 

 Required post(s) for literacy (with required commentary)

 Three Required Posts for Touch Project

 Required weekly posts for Math.

Whatever else is on your mind as you continue to grow as a teacher.

 

Continue building your conversations about teaching with one another.

 

Interact with at least three cohortmates' blogs by either a) commenting on their blogs and linking in the comments back to a similar post that you made on your own blog,  b) link to a cohortmate's blog within your post as you discuss similar ideas.  Make these interactions substantive -- no one wants to read comments or links made just for the sake of making them. You all have a lot to learn from discussion with one another :)

 

 

Note:  On blogger, I encourage you to play with some html code to create a "live" link to your blog within comments:  

<a href="/yourblogURL/">The Name of Your Blog</a>

 

 

 

6. Update your Tech Portfolio to include this quarter's work.   

 

Format for this quarter's work is up to you, as long as I'm clear about what you did, can easily find your projects, and can understand what you've learned. 

 

Include reflective writing -- either a minimum of two paragraphs on each tool or a page at the end summarizing your quarterly work.  Integrate your thinking on the "readings" for the quarter.  Basic questions to address in your reflections:

 

• How could tools like this be used to empower kids? To differentiate instruction?  To shift teaching and learning from teacher-centered to student-centered?  To enable higher-order thinking?   

• Compared to paper and pencil, what benefit might kids get from using these tools? 

• OR, how can tools like this enable me to work as part of a network of professionals committed to professional community and growth?

 

Schedule:

 

January 4 Intro

 

January 18  Open Work Time on Click Assignments

 

February 1 Tutorial on Voicethread/Video File Management

 

February 15  Tutorial:  Garage Band

 

March 1  Open Work Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due Dates:

 

Assignments for your other courses are due according to dates on those syllabi.

 

All Tech Portfolios must be complete by 5:00 pm on March 10.