The Beginning?

Wow, last class. . .seems like only yesterday we were talking about our favorite trashy TV show. . .oh wait, that was only 5 weeks ago ;-) I see the end of class of more of a beginning of your new future as a tech-savvy individual.

I have graded everything except a handfull of copyright assignments, so please check your grades so you can ask any questions before the end of the evening.

Tonight: The goal is for most everyone to walk out of here finished with the narratives. We will spend a little time working independently, then we will discuss the narratives, do the evaluations, and; hopefully, go home.

I hope that you all feel a lot more confident with the computer and your ability to foster student technology growth in the classroom. I also expect that you will continue to utilize some of the tools that we learned in class. Please feel free to contact me in the future with any further questions.

Last Question: I believe that education and learning is a social, collaborative process. As such, I work very hard to build community in my classes. Everyone has something to contribute in the process. So I ask you, what did you contribute to this class? (not, what you learned, but how did your presence add to the overall learning process?)

Are the NETS Dolphin Safe?

Is it really the end? To the best of my knowledge, I believe that everyone has survived the summer with minimal scarring. I have graded almost everything (the journals/web 2.0 are actually graded, but I need to input the grades). . .you should be finishing your CSUSM movie (don't forget the data on the college), taking the EdTechProfile again, adding all assignments that you can to the blog, and getting any revisions in ASAP.

Tonight we will be working on the NETS-T narratives and discussing which artifacts should go where. . .no small accomplishment. You will also share your work in small groups to give each other feedback and support.

Please check your grades and ask any questions about any assignment that you might have had returned. There were a few students who are missing some assignments. I won't penalize you, but your window for any necessary revisions is quickly closing. . .

Hmn. . .don't forget that leaving comments at the end of each blog is part of your attendance/participation grade. . .

Today's Question: What has been your favorite assignment in this class and why? What about your least favorite?

Is there Light, Camera, and Action at the End of Your Tunnel?

Itz moovie time!!
Hopefully, you took good notes from the last class on how to use iMovie. . .but if you didn't, there are some video links in webCT that should help explain the project. Ensure you get a printed copy of the checklist, check that you have completed every requirement, then ask for me or a peer who has been checked off to grade your project. As we are not also doing a social justice movie, I have higher expectations for the finished product. . .create a good PSA that may encourage someone to attend CSUSM. . .and don't forget to insert some relevant data!

I'm sure you are all knee-deep in work, but you have all evening to work on your movie and any unfinished work you may have. My goal is to get everything graded this weekend so that you can make any corrections Tuesday evening and then begin to write the narratives! If you are all caught up, you can begin to write the narratives this weekend. . .and don't forget about retaking the EdTechProfile.

We will work on the narratives on Tuesday. . .start really thinking about which assignments or past work should be used as artifacts for the NETS-T. Look back at your Inspiration and add information that represents your newly acquired MAD TECH SKILLZ!

Tonight's Question: Who has been your favorite teacher and why? What makes a good teacher?

And 4 your Next Trick. . .

We are almost finished. . .seriously ;-) I know that you all must feel like there is no end in sight, but the next two weeks should allow you to reflect on all of your hard work and newly acquired technological savvy as you prepare to write your TPE reflections. . .

What are we currently juggling: wiki, web 2.0, Inspiration, Journals 1-6, Intro to TaskStream, spreadsheets, and . . .I think that's it.

What we have left: iMovie software proficiency, EdTechProfile Post Test, emerging technology (pimping your blog with by adding your artifacts) and your TaskStream portfolio . . . not too much for two weeks.

Journals 5 & 6: You have the option to surf the web to find online publications that deal with educational technology, or you can choose one or two of the following . . .The August issue of L&L is now online, so I will use some articles from it!
Transforming School Communities: Creating Dialog Using Web 2.0 Tools By Helen Soulé and/or Connecting Depth and Balance in Class By Matthew S. Kuhn

Emerging Technology: I will go over how to put your Newsletter, PowerPoint, Inspiration, etc., on your blog. The emerging technology assignment is simply the way in which you incorporated everything we have learned into your blog using some of the cool tools that I demonstrate on the class blog!

Tonight we will begin the iMovie software proficiency assignment, which must be completed in the lab. You should be able to finish by Thursday evening.

That's it. . .I think

Tonight's question: Does the current Institution of Education teach students to value grades or learning? If a professor told you her/his course is going to be graded Pass/Fail, would you try just as hard? Explain.

When the Internet gets a virus, does it see a GoogleDoc?

And we still work on. . .The most important thing you learned last class was the value of the work around. I'd like to say that I meant to to that, but then I might lose the remaining thread of credibility that I still have ;-)

Tonight we are going to grade each other's PowerPoint presentations in groups of 3. I would like you to stay in like grade levels, but not in the same groups that made the rubrics. . .Each person will need to have at least 2 peers evaluate his/her presentation. You will then submit to me the two rubrics from the peers who graded you (you will not submit your own rubric). If there were any mistakes on your PowerPoint, please fix and show your peers so that you can turn in a rubric that gives you full credit. . .
What else. . .TaskStream, Inspiration, Web 2.0, and Spreadsheets. . .

Journal 4 or 5(depending on your participation in the Summer Institute): Yes, there are more journals. . . I would like you to pick a technology from the Classroom 2.0 website (see link in the links area), choose a link from the tools list on the right hand column for a technology that interests you, and follow a discussion or two (or three. . .) that relates to your technology. If there are no discussions for your technology, choose another topic.
In the title bar, put journal number follwed by the technology you have chosen. (For example: Journal 5: Microblogging). In the journal, I would like you to define the technology and then report out on what you learned from the tool discussion and read and comment on at least three peers who have chosen a different tool. You reporting out should contain the 200-250 word minumum, but you do not need to ask and answer questions. In the assignments section, you will submit your peers names.

Tonight's Question: Do you think a competency model of education, one where students are allowed to fix errors and resubmit, punishes the "A" students? Would it be okay for everyone in your class to earn an "A"? Explain.

What is Half of Infinity?

I know, it seems that the assignments will never end. . .but we only have three more fun-filled weeks to become ONE with technology.

If you made it to the first lecture last Thursday, I'm sure you were entertained and inspired!! If you only came to the second lecture. . .well, not so much. But I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger (you all gained a bit more patience, right?).

I still don't know exactly what RTI is . . . Can someone help me out?

Most of you should have noticed that I graded a number of assignments. As I told everyone on the first day, I expect that you fix any errors. While I did kick back a number of newsletter, they were all still good. Look in the published tab to see some of your peers' work. If you need to resubmit, please leave your original attached and resubmit the correction with the number 1 after it. Example: newsletterJH1.pdf, etc. Please get your revisions in soon.

Also, I would like everyone who had their newsletter graded to upload it to your blog. This is accomplished in a few steps:
1. Go to the Scribd link on the class blog and sign up (it's free)
2. Upload your document.
3. Once your document is uploaded, you will "embed" the document into a journal entry. when you view your document, you will choose the embed option and copy and paste the code into a blogger entry

This week: We have a lot to do. . .I HOPE to get the rubrics introduced on Tues, as well as the Wiki and Copyright assignments. . .For Thurs, I HOPE to get TaskStream, Inspriration/Kidspiration/InspireData, and the Web 2.0 Assignments introduced. Phew, I'm tired just typing this. . .

Question: Where would you go for your ultimate vacation? Who would you take? What would you do?

Thursday Evening Class. . . .

Don't forget that we will all be attending at least one session of the Thursday evening program of the:
10th Annual San Diego Summer Leadership Institute

You will choose to attend one of the two keynote addresses:

Thursday Evening Program Location: Arts 240 Time: 6:00 – 9:00 pm

6:00 – 6:15 “Welcome” – Patricia Prado-Almos– Associate Dean, College of Education

6:15 – 7:30 “Restructuring for caring and effective education: The possible futures of education”

Richard A. Villa (President, Bayridge Consortium Inc., San Diego)

Break

7:45 – 9:00 “RtI: Innovations in prevention and intervention”

Rich Reid (Educational Psychologist, Jericho, VT)

Journal 3 (and perhaps 4): you will summarize the discussion and ask and answer two relevant questions about the presentation. It would be great if you could document your attendance with pictures or some other form of media. . .

Comments: please leave a comment and let me know which of the keynotes you plan on attending!!

Don't forget: I'll be in the lab from 5-6pm to answer any questions you might have about the class or the institute!