CEDO 525 Feedback That Fits

After reading the article "Feedback That Fits" (http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec07/vol65/num04/Feedback-That-Fits.aspx), I have been thinking about/reflecting on the way I provide feedback to my students. One of the main points of the article says, "Feedback should be specific enough that the student knows what to do next, but not so specific that you do the work. Identifying errors or types of errors is a good idea, but correcting every error doesn't leave the student anything to do." In one of my classes, the students do a written research report on a given topic. The students are told that they can submit their report ahead of the due date, and I will look it over and give them feedback so they know if they are right on track or if modifications need to be made. After reading the section in the article called "A Tale of Two Feedback Choices", I realize (again, with one of those 'DUH' moments) that the feedback I'm providing to the students who submit their work early is mostly about the mechanics of the research paper and not about the content itself. 99% of the feedback I have given students is about the grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. rather than feedback on the content of the assignment. In Figure 2, there are many great examples of suggested feedback that provide a great basis for some constructive feedback points. I like how many of them are worded and will try to use them as a platform for writing more effective feedback on student work in the future.

CEDO 525 What Works In Classroom Instruction

A few things stand out to me from this article...

"...examined the effects of student learning in a small group versus working individually when students were using technology. They found that small group learning had more positive effects than individual learning." I'm glad to hear that the study found this since this is how my classroom is run most of the time. I am very fortunate to have a tiered computer lab as my classroom so whether it be in my business classes or technology classes, the students are always working on the computers during their learning activities. The majority of the time during the learning activities, the students are working with a partner or in small groups. Two + heads are usually better than one! :) I think it is good for students to share their ideas, talk about differences they might have which often times creates questions that they ask me for clarification, and the students have the opportunity to teach, support, and challenge each other during the small group collaboration.

"...students in classrooms where technology was moderately used were found to be on task significantly more of the time than students in the other two groups - in which technology was infrequently used or in which technology was slightly used." Again, this is really nice to hear since my students are using technology during 90+% of the class time on a daily basis. This point isn't surprising to me though. It makes sense that students are more on task when using technology because technology is often times fun and engaging....and also the way that our students have grown up learning.

"...more and better research needs to be funded and conducted by researchers in this area." I realize research is important but I always struggle with how research studies are conducted. I used to be very involved with a national, well-known charity but decided to use my time and talents elsewhere after seeing how frivolous their spending was. For example, the planning committee would meet once a month to talk about the yearly fundraiser and the organization would pay for our lunch (~15 people, ~$12 lunch per person, once a month every month = $2,000 every year that goes towards restaurant bills for the volunteer committee versus that money going towards research for the organizations main focus). So, I know the research needs to be done to know the most effective way to use the technology but there are so many schools out there that don't even have the technology available or the professional development funds to teach the teachers how to use it. How much money is spent (or wasted - depending on your viewpoint) on the research that could be used to get the technology into the schools and as staff development for teachers to learn how to use it? I realize the research done by Marzano might not have been done in this manner like I mentioned with my personal experience but when I hear "research" is being done, my personal example is the first thing I think of. Like most first impressions, they are lasting impressions...

CEDO 525 Principles of Teaching & Learning Article Reflection

During the first class on Wednesday night I was very confused when Robert Marzano & his strategies were first mentioned. I'm glad, after the instructor asked how many people were aware of what she was talking about, that I wasn't the only one out of the loop. However, after reading through the "Principles of Teaching & Learning" article, I realized that all staff at my school was given a book to read & implement the strategies of Robert Marzano a few years back. While reading the article, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, this information seems awfully familiar!" and it was then that I realized I already read one of Marzano's books.

The teaching principle that stands out to me most is "Effective teaching involves aligning the three major components of instruction: learning objectives, assessments, & learning activities." This principle is very straight forward & logical. It makes sense to have clearly laid out objectives, learning activities that align with the objectives, and finally, assessments that check the understanding from the learning activities to see if the objectives have been learned by the students.

The learning principle that stands out to me most is "Students' prior knowledge can help or hinder learning." This principle is so simple and makes me almost want to say "DUH" out loud, but yet, I haven't ever really thought about it in this manner. I've really only thought about prior knowledge helping in their learning but never about the flip side. It a student has prior knowledge about a certain topic but the information is incorrect, it will certainly hinder the new learning. A way to clear up some of the misconceptions that students might have before teaching a particular topic/concept is to use a KWL (what you KNOW, WANT to know, and then reflecting later about what was LEARNED). During the various phases of completing the KWL, the teacher has multiple opportunities to correct any misunderstandings in the prior knowledge or after the fact with what was learned.

CED0520 Final Reflection

Can't believe another class in the MEIT program is done as of today! It is good timing since today was our first day of school....I'm exhausted!!

Today I had one of my classes create a collage of 10 pictures that represent themselves that I will have them print off & hang up around the room. Looking at the picture collages gives me a peek into each of their lives & shows me what they like to do and about their personalities. Keeping in mind copyright issues that we talked about last week in class & did assignments on this past week, I had them use Google Images Advanced Search Options to find their pictures. I had them only use pictures "labeled for reuse" in their collages, and we had a quick conversation about copyright. I plan to continue to teach them about copyright issues as I become more familiar with all of the rules myself.

Tomorrow in my Web Tools class I'm going to use the "Four NETS for Better Searching" webquest that was discussed in 'week 2' of class (http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm) as an activity to teach them about more effective searches on the Internet prior to having them do a research assignment on the Internet. That's all for now....I'm wiped out after the first day at the grind. :)

CED0520 Week #2 Reflection

This week in class we looked at a number of resources. The first resource we examined was Noodle Tools. I have to admit...I was skeptical at first glance but after checking out the site for some time, I've decided that it is a pretty cool site. I'll be sure to share it with other teachers in my school system; I think it will be especially helpful to the middle school teachers/students to help narrow down search results so students don't feel so "lost" when searching the Internet. It might just give them the right amount of guidance to be able to find what they need & in an efficient/effective manner.

Another item we explored for this week was Google Alerts. Like I mentioned in class last week, I've used Google Alerts in the past to gather resources for an entrepreneurship website I used to do work for. It was very helpful to be able to set up the alerts for key words or phrases & let Google do the work in finding the information and delivering it to my email inbox. However, I've migrated away from using Google Alerts because I've become much more active on Twitter. I can just as easily find resources on Twitter and also have a person to then ask questions if I need additional information about something he/she posted about a resource. Besides using Twitter to gather resources, I also rely on my Delicious & Diigo accounts to find me new resources. I've joined a few groups in Diigo and have my account set up to email me any new additions to the group's resources on a daily basis which is essentially like creating a Google alert but with a different site/application.

Finally, the "To Wikipedia or Not To Wikipedia" debate is a good one. I look forward to reading the rest of the responses that are yet to be posted on this topic. It seems like most of the classmates in the MEIT cohort are in agreement that Wikipedia is a good place to start but not a source that should be counted on for correct information/included in any quotes/citations/bibliographies. I think checking out Wikipedia as a springboard for gathering key concepts or areas to research is a good way to use Wikipedia. Once an individual has a few ideas about a topic, he/she can then use other sources to actually find the correct information that was originally discovered on Wikipedia.

One more final thought before I sign off for the night....Last week we were able to create a website evaluation worksheet that we'll be able to use with our students. I felt so good about that assignment while I was completing it - knowing that I'll be able to use the activity with my students/use the activity again in the future besides just creating it to get it done & fulfill the assignment for class. I think wherever activities like that can be put into the courses in the MEIT program would be a great addition to what we are already doing/learning. As we approach the start of school very quickly, I think it will be really neat to hear how people are using the things we are learning about in their classrooms. I think sharing how one is using a resource with others often times creates those "ah ha" moments and connections are then made about how each individual might adapt what was given as an example to fit his/her needs/classroom. I look forward to those types of conversations as the school year approaches.

CED0520 Weekly Reflection #1

After completing all of the tasks assigned for 'Week 1' I'm able to take a few minutes to reflect. This past week we looked at Internet Learning Resources; we were to define the term & identify one resource that we currently use. Here was my response to the question, "What does the term Internet Learning Resources mean to you at present?"

The term "Internet Learning Resources" to me is such an open-ended concept. In simple terms I'd say it means anything on the Internet that you can use to learn from. It can include anything from a reference website you use to gather information to an interactive site where web-based simulations take place to Web 2.0 applications to social networking sites. I know it says identify ONE resource that I use but I'm going to list two because they go hand-in-hand for me. I don't know what I'd do without Twitter and my "Personal Learning Network" AND Delicious. I gather so many resources daily from my Twitter connections and then keep them all organized with my Delicious social bookmarking account. These 2 resources have really changed the way I teach and grow as an educator. Just the other day I needed advice about which platform to use for my class (Ning, Edmodo, wiki, etc) and within minutes, I have so many responses from my PLN - amazing!

In addition to looking into Internet Learning Resources, we also were given the task to create an Internet Resource Site Evaluation Form & evaluate 2 sites that we consider to be valuable learning resources. I found Kathy Schrock's Guide For Educators - Critical Evaluation Surveys extremely helpful. On the website there are evaluation surveys broken down by various categories (elementary, middle school, high school, teacher, blogs, etc); here is the website where the eval surveys are located - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html. I will certainly use these evaluation surveys in the future!

CED0515 Class #1 Reflection

After viewing the recording from class #1, going through the assignments, and reading the text, I feel like this is going to be a good class. I was excited to see not only some good resources listed in the text, but also examples of how other teachers are applying technology to various projects. I put a huge star on pages 17-18 by the "Technology-Enhanced Learning Activities" and can't wait to share these with teachers in my system. Also, after reading the chapters, it was nice to do the online review questions & get instant feedback. I know I can set this up somehow on my computers at school but I just need to sit down & figure out how it will work on our network. It is definitely on my "to do" list for this coming school year. For students to get that immediate feedback like we were able to is SO valuable!

When doing the presentation program assignment, I went the easy route this time & did a presentation in Google Docs. I should have really played around with the others more but I was already feeling behind the 8 ball since I missed the 1st two classes. I will go back and explore all of the listed programs in greater detail so I can hopefully use some of them in the future or at least tell other teachers about them for their use. Another presentation program that I've been playing around with and showing my students for presentations is Prezi. The students just love it!!! There are some really great tutorials right on their website which walk you right through the creation process. I highly suggest checking it out sometime if you haven't seen or used it yet.

I decided to use ToonDoo for my Graphics Program project; I will continue to use this program and share it with other teachers. I've seen lots of other people talk about other graphics programs that they used so I am anxious to find a quiet moment sometime in the near future to really explore them as well and get to know the "ins" and "outs" and see if there are any practical applications for them as well in the future.