Course Reflection

I feel that this class and the work that I have done, have taught me a lot about what I can do with technology in my classroom.  I have learned to pay extra attention to ease of use when creating tech based lessons for my students.  I have learned to allow myself time to create quality resources that my students can learn from and I have learned to really search for new things that I can use.

I was forced to think a lot about what my students can handle when it comes to technology.  My students are  very young and I get nervous for them and their skills with technology.  I want the material they use to be appropriate and thought provoking and I don't want anything to get in the way of their learning.

I feel that several of my professional goals were met or that I came close to meeting them.  I am very excited that I was able to create resources for my students that I will without a doubt incorporate into my teaching.  I think that the thinking I did and the resources I created were well put together and I feel that they are things that my students will benefit greatly from.

My new goals are to continue to use this program as well as resources and my own time to explore technology on a deeper level in order to bring better educational experiences for my students.

Online Experience

I think my students would benefit most from an online experience in the form of a WebQuest or a Wiki.  I feel that since they are younger (second graders), the teacher involvement piece is critical in developing their online personality as a student.

Either of these online experiences could help me teach any subject.  WebQuests are great for Math or Science as the task section of a WebQuest is a great way to enforce and develop problem solving skills.  I've used the WebQuest experience for a math review task already and I can't wait for my students to try it out.

Wikis are excellent online experiences for reading and writing.  I have used wikis for book clubs and opinion writing in 5th grade and I can see using it for reading comprehension and typing skills for the younger grade that I am currently teaching.

I think that a lot of the simulations and blogging online experiences would be difficult for my students to be successful with as the are so young and inexperienced with educational technology experiences.  I think that with lower elementary students you have to keep them reigned in to ensure their safety online and to ensure their success.

STAIR Project

I created a stand alone resource for my students and others that promotes achievement in fact fluency.  It is meant to work on students' understanding of units of time, goal setting skills, and addition and subtraction facts. 

This resource has been updated to MERLOT you can find it here:

Beat The Clock  

Wiki Lab

I did not have a page for my school on Wikipedia so I went to the page for my district and created a link out of my school's name to my school's website, I made the link for Waterford Village Elementary School.  I was not comfortable adding information to my district's page.

I'm still working on my knowledge of widgets but the wiki I created for this lab is called Second Grade Delights

UDL Checklist

Below is the link to my evaluation of my Time Telling Lesson/Unit using the UDL checklist.  I felt that the lesson itself was strong.  Learning about the UDL principles made me think about each activity with my students.  The activities need to be hands on and meaningful with multiple learning paths so that each student has the ability to feel successful.  The amount to consider when evaluating this lesson was immense and overwhelming.  I feel the need to continue to tweak it as I'm going through the instruction of it.

UDL Checklist for Telling Time Lesson

WebQuest Evaluation

WebQuest:  Ahoy Matey, Come Join the Pirate Shape Scavenger Hunt

1. Synopsis of the WebQuest including its intended audience, its educational goals, and the curriculum standards addressed if stated.  The intended audience is for grades K-2 although it looks as though it would fit for primarily 1st and 2nd grades.  The goals of this WebQuest are for students to identify the four most common 2D shapes (square, triangle, circle, and rectangle). Although it was made in Australia; it covers the CCSS- 2.G.1 Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces. (sizes are compared directly or visually, not compared by measuring) Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.
2. What pedagogical strategies are employed in the WebQuest and are they effective? Is there use of metaphor? Are they using inductive or deductive strategies? Is there scaffolding? What other strategies do you see?    The goals of the task are made clear to the task.  The teacher has set up beginning songs that are fun and engaging to get the students into the theme of the task.  The games are computerized and grade level appropriate with added challenge that goes beyond the content standards.  There is scaffolding within the games, for instance, in one game they have students identify squares and circles and then in the next level of the game it is explained that when squares and circles are squished we get ovals and rectangles.   There are rhymes to help the students remember what they are supposed to ("shapes, shapes tall and short, skinny and wide; you can tell which shape you're looking at by counting up the sides").
3. In what ways is the WebQuest taking advantage of technology? In what ways is it 'change without difference'? Could this WebQuest be done just as well by photocopying pages and handing them out to students? This website is taking advantage of technology by embedding several different computer games and videos into one place.  The games are all meaningful and thought out.  This activity could not be done without technology.
4. Technically, does it work? Does it have bugs or flaws such as broken links or images? Is the material out of date? Does it credit its sources?  All of the links are in working order.  The directions are clear.  There is a teacher page that gives important information.  The credit for the site creator is given and each of the sites is credited because the site takes you to each of the links.
5. How would you improve the WebQuest?  For such young students, I felt that the site was difficult to navigate.  Each link took you to a site within the same window so the students are needing to constantly go back and forth between the tasks and the actual page for the WebQuest.  I would embed each task within the site and take the time to credit it later on to make sure that my students can work through the site in one place.

MERLOT Evaluation

MERLOT Material: What Time is it Mr. Clock?

Quality of Content:

1. Does the software present valid (correct) concepts, models, and skills?

This PowerPoint presentation is a great way to teach younger students how to tell time to the hour and half hour.

2. Does the software present educationally significant concepts, models, and skills for the discipline?

This PowerPoint does a great job of creating an opportunity for students to use both digital and analog clocks to determine the time shown.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Tool:

1. What stage(s) in the learning process/cycle could the materials be used?
   1. Explanation or description of the topic/stating the problem
   2. Demonstration of the curriculum/exploration of the problem
   3. Practice using the curriculum/analysis of the outcomes from solving the problem:  This material asks students to practice their time telling skills by independently identifying the correct time on two types of clocks.
   4. Applying the curriculum to "new" problems/application of the outcomes to other problems
2. What is(are) the learning objective(s)? What should students be able to do after successfully learning with the materials?  The learning material itself is an assessment on telling time.  Students must be able to demonstrate their ability to tell time using analog and digital clocks.
3. What are the characteristics of the target learner(s)? The target learning group is second grade students who are familiar with telling time.
4. Does the interactive/media-rich presentation of material improve faculty and students' abilities to teach and learn the materials? This PowerPoint presentation is an engaging and encouraging way to practice time telling skills. Students are not simply filling out a worksheet, they are sharpening their computer skills while practicing concepts.  They are not told they are wrong, they are encouraged to try things again.  It's engaging for the age group.
5. Can the use of the software be readily integrated into current curriculum and pedagogy within the discipline? Yes, the PowerPoint is ready to go when downloaded and easily usable with given instructions on the first slide.  
6. Can the software be used in a variety of ways to achieve teaching and learning goals? No, students are to use this activity as a formative assessment.  There is not a multitude of ways that this material can be used.
7. Are the teaching-learning goals easy to identify? Yes, within the first 2 slides it was easy to pick up on the learning goal of identifying time using both analog and digital clocks.
8. Can good learning assignments for using the software application be written easily? It would be easy to create assignments and activities to prepare students for this assessment.

Ease of Use:

1. Are the labels, buttons, menus, text, and general layout of the computer interface consistent and visually distinct? Yes
2. Does the user get trapped in the material? No
3. Can the user get lost easily in the material? No
4. Does the module provide feedback about the system status and the user's responses? Yes
5. Does the module provide appropriate flexibility in its use? No
6. Does the learning material require a lot of documentation, technical support, and/or instruction for most students to successfully use the software? No
7. Does the material present information in ways that are familiar for students? Yes
8. Does the material present information in ways that would be attractive to students? Yes