Reflection

Module 1 - Assignments
 * Wiki 1: gjohnson
 * Blog: Education First
 * Google account
 * Classmates information
 * Comment on course blog - discussion

All of the tools in module 1 provide a means for communication. First, I utilize the wiki to communicate with my students. Although the wiki is not available for student collaboration, wiki 1 has an enormous amount of content for review and reinforcement. In the future, I will develop a project or discover a lesson plan for students to work collaboratively. Second, I have seen many examples of blogs on the Internet. Blogs are utilized in business and commercial enterprises, by universities and colleges, by newspapers, and for numerous individual purposes. Blogs are used by individuals and groups in the world for a multitude of reasons. Third, I established a google account. I do understand that google docs is an avenue for business, personal, educational and professional collaboration. Fourth, how do you utilize web 2.0 tools with students in a responsible manner that does not violate their rights of privacy.

Module 2 - Assignments
 * Wiki 2 (new): gjlearningtools
 * Post new wiki information on class wiki page
 * Comment on class blog

Because I created a wiki in February 2009, the second wiki was created with ease. The first wiki provided me with the opportunity to learn the basics of wiki creation and development. I applied the knowledge toward the creation of wiki 2. When you are asked to make or create a web 2.0 tool, experience and familiarity are very helpful throughout the stage of construction.

Module 3 - Assignments
 * Read two articles: 1) The Art of Blogging, Part 1; 2) webblog-ed, the read/write web in the classroom educational blog
 * Sign up web blog: http://georgejohnson.edublogs.org/2010/01/
 * Write a post introducing yourself.
 * Post on blog on the class wiki
 * Set up an iGoogle account and subscribe to the other blogs from this class.
 * Add a second post to my blog.

I have to admit that module 3 was the most challenging of the web 2.0 tools. This module had many levels of complexity. I read each of the six steps methodically before I could proceed with confidence to the next step in the process. The most challenging task required the creation of iGoogle. However, this was somewhat confusing because the interface to add other blogs took time to understand before I could complete this particular step. After a couple of missteps, I successfully navigated the interface. Then I added a class blog to my iGoogle account.

Module 4 - Assignments
 * Sign up for an account at http://www.vocaroo.com
 * Using a headset or your computer's microphone, record two podcasts (one instructional and one as an example of what the students should produce).
 * Copy the embedded coding from each podcast and embed it in your wiki with the accompanying lesson plan.
 * Complete your information on the Class Podcast page (listed immediately below the link for this page).
 * Respond to the topic on the Course Blog.

I found this activity to be a lot of fun creatively. Although I developed the lesson to fit my particular situation, the student could create a list of questions that could become the meat of the podcast. Also, when the student generates the questions, he/she is engaging in a state of reflection (meta cognition).

Instructional Podcast

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Lesson Plan: Data Collection of English Language Learners

Directions: The student makes a recording on Vocaroo. The student supplies information for the following list of questions:

Question 1: Where were you born?

Question 2: What languages did you speak prior to learning English?

Question 3: Where did you start to learn English? (school or outside of school)

Question 4: How many years have you been studying English?

Question 5: Describe an enjoyable experience with learning English in elementary, middle, or high school.

Question 6: In what order did you learn the following: listening, speaking, writing, and reading?

Question 7: Did you participate in any activity outside of school which helped you learn English?

Question 8: How did you overcome the challenges of learning English?

Question 9: Are you enrolled in the ELA program? How long have you been in ELA?

Student A media type="custom" key="5323205"

Student B media type="custom" key="5344871"

Student C media type="custom" key="5344875"

Student D media type="custom" key="5349253"

Module 5 - Assignments
 * Visit the two websites for Web 2.0 Tools.
 * Post a list of the 15 tools (at least 3 for each category) that you explore on your Wiki page.
 * After you have your list of tools posted to your wiki site please add a link to that wiki page on the Class Tools link above to the left.
 * Write 2 different learning activities / lesson plans that incorporate any 2 of the tools you explored: One activity should focus on your use of a tool for instruction with students. The second activity should incorporate the use of an online tool by the students to support their learning.


 * =Presentation= || Vcasmo || Slidesix || 280slides ||
 * =Audio= || Audacity || Text to Speech || Vocaroo ||
 * =Research= || Wolfgang Alpha || Newseum || ASK ||
 * =Collaboration= || PBWiki || Media Wiki || Ning ||
 * =Mapping= || Quikmaps || Scribble Maps || Open Street Map ||

Lesson 1 and 2

Objective: Standard: Anticipatory set: Teaching:
 * The student will identify the elements in a map.
 * How to Use Maps and Other Geographic Representations, Tools, and Technologies to Acquire, Process, and Report Information From a Spatial Perspective
 * The teacher directs the students attention to the whiteboard. The teacher asks, "What are the elements in a basic map?"
 * input: The elements of a map are map title, compass rose, legend, and grid.
 * modeling: The teacher draws a map of the classroom, including all four elements of a map.
 * check for understanding: Ask four students from different parts of the classroom to provide one map element.

Guided practice/monitoring:
 * Distribute the word search. The student locates each of the elements on the word search.

Map Elements



Closure
 * The teacher demonstrates how to create a simple map with the Scribble mapping tool.
 * The teacher demonstrates how to make an audio recording with the Vocaroo podcast tool.

Independent practice
 * The teacher schedules a trip to the computer lab, or the teacher utilizes the mobile computer carts.
 * Activity 1: The student creates a map with the Scribble mapping tool.
 * Activity 2: The student makes a podcast about his/her map making experience with the Vocaroo audio tool.

Podcast

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Scribble Map

= = media type="custom" key="5413747"

Vacation (Day 1): Departure from Denver International Airport (image courtesy of Bing Maps)

Take-off from DIA media type="custom" key="5443089"

Vacation (Day 1): Arrival at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (image courtesy of Bing Maps)

Vacation (Day 1): Arrival at Carnival Cruise Lines, Port of New Orleans (image courtesy of Bing Maps)

Leaving the Port of New Orleans media type="custom" key="5443131"

Vacation (Day 2): From Port of New Orleans to Jamaica (image courtesy of Google Maps) media type="custom" key="5419877"

Vacation (Day 3): Cruise ship docked in Jamaica

Vacation (Day 4): Cruise ship docked off shore at Grand Cayman Island

Vacation (Day 4): Northwest route from Grand Cayman Island to Cozumel, Mexico (image courtesy of Google Maps) media type="custom" key="5419733"

Vacation (Day 5): Cozumel, Mexico media type="custom" key="5443169"

Vacation (Day 6): Voyage from Cozumel, Mexico to Port of New Orleans

Vacation (Day 7): Landing at Denver International Airport media type="custom" key="5443027"

Module 6 - Assignments
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Read through the material on pages 9 through 19 of the Alan November Workshop Workbook
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Take the Alan November quiz to gauge your Information Literacy.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Read the Course Blog post and leave a comment reflecting your learning from the November materials above.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Become a web detective. Select a website of your own choosing and see what you can find out about it using tools (Wayback Machine, links to and from a site) mentioned in the November document and others listed below.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Post your selected site and a summary of the information collected on the Class Literacy page for this module.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Post your information from #6 to your own personal wiki page.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Post a reflection about literacy and your detective work (think implications for privacy) to your personal blog, this may be similar to your course blog comment for this module.

Tools and Techniques to Help Determine a Site's Validity


 * || Read the URL || Do you recognize the domain name?
 * A domain name can sometimes provide clues about the quality of information of a site or tell you what a site is about.

What is the extension in the domain name?
 * .edu Educational organization (most US universities)
 * .k12 US school site (not all US schools use this)
 * .ac Academic institution (outside of US)
 * .sch School site (some schools outside of the US use this)
 * .com Company (usually .co in the UK)
 * .org Any organization
 * .gov Government agency
 * .net Network
 * .mil Military institution

Some extensions may provide more reliable information than others, but there are no guarantees.
 * Ones that may be more reliable are .edu, .gov, .k12. Ones to watch out for are .com, .org, .net.
 * These domains can be purchased by anybody. This is not to say that sites with these extensions can never be trusted, but it is good to know whether you are on a commercial or special interest-type site if you are trying to access academic-type information.

Are you on a personal page?
 * You may or may not recognize the domain name or extension of a URL. Keep reading past the first forward slash / for more clues.
 * If you are on a personal page the information you are reading may or may not be trustworthy.
 * A personal page is a web site created by an individual. The web site may contain useful information, links to important resources and helpful facts, but sometimes these pages offer highly biased opinions. ||
 * || Examine the site's content || In examining the content of Web site information have students look for information that is correct, up-to date and right for their topic.
 * Is the information on the website useful for your topic?
 * Are additional resources and links provided? Do the links work?
 * Is the site current? Do you know when it was last updated?
 * Do you think the information is accurate?
 * Does the information contradict information you have found elsewhere? ||
 * || Ask about the author/ publisher || Because sites on the Internet are in constant development, an additional, important step in examining a website is to look at its history.
 * The Wayback Machine (http://www.archive.org) allows you to browse through 85 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago.
 * To use this site type in the URL of a site or page of which you would like to research, and click the Take Me Back button. Once you have conducted your search, select from the archived dates available.

How can we find out who has made the website?
 * If you are ever unsure about the information on a web page and want to know who owns the site or has published the material, try easyWhois (http://www.easywhois.com).
 * When you get to the easyWhois website, you only want to enter the domain name. If you have a long website (http://www.martinlutherking.org/articles/king_trivia.html) truncate or shorten the URL down to only the domain name, martinlutherking.org. Click next.
 * easyWhois tells you the dates this site was created, specific contact names and addresses at which the organization is based.
 * Researching web site owner information may not be something you do all the time, but it may be revealing if you are at all concerned about the quality of information on a site and want to know more about it. ||
 * || Look at the links || Investigating forward links of websites is an important validating step because it can sometimes help students evaluate whether a site contains bias, false or quality information.
 * To check the URLs of forward links, move your cursor over a highlighted portion or graphic. The arrow turns into a hand and a URL appears in the status bar at the lower left of your browser. That’s a quick trick to help students scan links quickly.
 * What are the URLs of the forward links? The reason for checking the URL of a forward link is straightforward. It can help you judge the quality of the link and see if there are any patterns. Reading the domain name will tell you if there is any connection between the link and the page from which it originates. If the domain name on the the link is the same as the domain name on the original site, chances are likely the same person wrote them all.
 * Do the domain names change? It is important to look at the URLs of forward links to see who has written them. If the same domain name appears again and again in the forward links, there is a pattern and the information is subject to bias.
 * Look at what types of sites the forward links are taking them to. Are they academic, commercial or personal pages? (Read the extensions.)
 * Is the information biased? Many credible authors will offer links to sites dealing with the same topic. Some sites will include links that offer opposing viewpoints to their own, in order to ensure a balanced and unbiased approach. Have students look for balanced information. If a website has forward links that lead to questionable information or information you know is biased, the information you are reading may be biased as well.

External links are not controlled by a website’s author. They may be made by anyone in the world. Therefore, examining a web site's external links is an important step in validating Internet information.
 * Who is linked to the website? Are they universities, schools or commercial sites? Read the URLs, the titles and the descriptions of external links carefully. Look to see if there is a pattern in the types of sites linked.
 * What is the purpose of the link? Why have groups or individuals chosen to link to this site? Web authors choose to link to other sites for specific purposes. Speculate on what those purposes might be.
 * What do other sites say about the information on the site? Gain perspective about a web site by reading what another site tells you about it. Cross-reference information and look for hidden bias. ||

Web Detective

Read the URL
 * Domain Name: http://www.bigredhair.com/robots/index.html
 * Extension: .com (company)
 * Personal page: The site belongs to Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett.

Examine the Site's Content
 * In order to find the owner or publisher of a web site, use the following web sites: 1) http://www.easywhois.com; 2) http://archive.org
 * Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett created the site together to illustrate and to sell graphic novels and comic books.
 * This particular URL (http://bigredhair.com/robots/index.html) is about the creation of a comic book hero, a mechanical robot known as Boilerplate. The robot's character was utilized as an instrument of peace to resolve world conflicts.
 * There are three primary links on the site: work life, home life and Paul's portfolio.

Ask About the Author/Publisher (http://archive.org)
 * The web site was created on Feb. 2, 1999. The image below was taken from the home page on 2-2-1999.


 * The site is currently active. The image below was taken from the home page on 3-7-2010.



Look at the Links

All of the links have the same domain name. The information is not scientific or academic, but personal in nature. The personal information is obviously intended to help the authors sell novels and comic books.
 * home life: http://www.bigredhair.com/home/index.html
 * work life: http://www.bigredhair.com/work/index.html
 * Paul's portfolio: http://www.bigredhair.com/portfolio/index.html

<span class="webliter_highlighted_text" style="background-color: #ffff15;">Module 7 - Assignments <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> View each of the above media tools and post a short review on **3** of them addressing how they could be used with students on your personal wiki, then post the link to the Class Online Media page. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">You tube is a community site that allows you to upload personal content. In order to participate in the You Tube community it is necessary to sign an agreement which allows you to post content that you own. However, If you post content that is copyrighted, You Tube will cancel your account. You Tube contains embed tools for adding content to a website or blog.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Vimeo is another site that allows you to upload personal content. A basic (free) accounts allows for 500 MB of storage on a weekly basis.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Animoto is a site that turns photos, music, and video clips into uniquely produced video pieces. There is a free and a professional account.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Make comment on the course blog and the class blog.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Create a multimedia presentation.

Multimedia Presentation on Major Conflicts in US History
 * Revolutionary War
 * War for Texas Independence
 * Spanish American War
 * WWI
 * WWII
 * Cold War
 * Korean War
 * Vietnam War
 * Gulf War
 * Global War on Terrorism

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<span class="webliter_highlighted_text" style="background-color: #ffff15;">Module 8 - Final Reflection

At the beginning of this course, I was excited to enroll in a course that would extend my knowledge and skills in technology.

I am extremely pleased that each module focused my thinking toward a specific area of technology. This course provided me with an enormous amount of confidence to intergrate technology into my classroom. Some of the tools that I can utilize in my classroom next year are a wiki, blog, online media tools, web detective tools, Google Docs, Google Maps, Bing Maps, Microsoft Office 2007, and knowledge about Fair Use of online media. However, because technology is constantly evolving, I know that there will be new things to learn in the future.

I am very fortunate to be in an organization with talented individuals who are willing to share their expertise with others.