EDC 665--Blog 11

What theory, discussion and/or application from this course most impacts your ongoing action research project?

After much thought, I feel that the most important concept taught from this course that most impacts my ongoing action research project is the integration of Backwards Design and establishing Essential Questions. Each of these concepts has helped me to further understand the lesson planning process, while also effectively implementing lessons.

Backwards Design is a lesson planning concept in which you design the lesson from the end. You focus on the end result or target of your lesson, and create your lesson(s) around that focus. Most of these "end results" are formed by the State Content Standards. I used the Backwards Design motif with the creation of my technology club. I created my technology club around the idea that students would learn new technological equipment and using it will create a brochure and video highlighting the important places for kids in our valley. Each lesson was then designed around achieving the big goal of the brochure and video.

Establishing Essential Questions was another one of the targets for my technology club! An essential question is a question that "lies at the heart of a subject or a curriculum, and promotes inquiry of a subject" (Wiggins & McTighe, 342). Each of my lessons is developed around an essential question in which the students partake in learning adventures to solve. They use all of the available technologies to them to complete each mission.

EDC 665--Blog 10

In your current professional environment, how are educational experiences or programs assessed? Is the evidence collected from the assessment used to inform change? Why or why not do you think this occurs?

In my current professional environment, educational programs and experiences are assessed on a variety of levels, depending upon the program.

*In-services: At the end of any staff development meeting, we fill our a form that asks reflective questions like What did you learn today? What are you able to take away for your classroom? What additional ideas/materials do you need? and What is your overall experience? I really like this approach because it gives the district and the presenter immediate feedback on the presentation.

In some ways, I feel this assessment is used to inform change, but(I feel) many voices and concerns do need to be addressed with this form in order for any specific change to happen.

*GATE program: Our district sends out a questionare to all GATE teachers, parents, and students regarding their impact of the GATE program. The GATE teachers fill out a survey on what the participation methods were used in the class. Surveys are a great way to get feedback on programs and having all parties involved complete the survey will give the trainers a more specific approach to the strong areas of the program, as well as the areas that there is room for improvement!

*ZOOM intervention program--our school's intervention program, entitled ZOOM is a newer program at our school, and is currently in its second year. ZOOM is an intervention program that all students receive for 30 minutes three days a week. It is a time of homogeneous grouping so that teachers can target specific needs of students. The GATE students are challenged, while the Lower students are put in smaller groups for instruction. This school wide program is still in the works of perfection, and is assessed in a variety of ways. First, the program is assessed by our thematic unit test scores. Teachers have noticed increased unit test scores within their own class and improvement of skills. There has been verbal assessment through the administration as well! While the program has the potential to do quite well, I think a more structured form of assessment will help even further target the ultimate goals of the program. Many teachers are still overwhelmed as to what they are specifically to teach.

EDC 665--Blog 9

Melissa asks: "From your experience in OMET thus far, what design practice has resonated with you the most? Why?

From my experiences in OMET thus far, two different design practices have really been effective in my learning, the first being learning adventures and the second being group learning.

Embarking on learning adventures was a very challenging concept for me, but it taught me the most! Learning adventures are tasks given to you and you complete the assignments by doing research and using prior knowledge to figure out the answer. Gary Stager's class was primarily centered around learning adventures. About every week or two, we would have a new task and question to answer. These tasks always centered around a certain concept and then an activity was performed.

I use learning adventures in both my technology club and my class. At each tech club meeting, my students are presented with a mission of what they need to accomplish. They are to use their prior knowledge and tools given to them to complete the task. I have found this to be very effective because all of my students are engaged while also learning new technology concepts. In my own particular classroom, I have used learning missions as a part of my curriculum. In science, we are studying rocks and minerals. While all students have read and learned about Moh's hardness Scale, they have not applied this learning. I designed a mission of giving them Moh's Hardness kits and using their knowledge to place the minerals in their correct places by conducting the tests of hardness, streak, and luster. Students also work in groups while completing this task.

Working in groups has also been an effective way of learning for me. I have found that when working in groups I learn from others who have given me input or who have more knowledge on a particular subject. I have been able to provide feedback to others about things I am more knowledgable of. We have been grouped in a variety of ways for our program, and have also had different tasks while working within the groups. It has been nice to know that I can trust my partners to carry their weight in group projects. Knowing that we have all come here for a common purpose of learning has been great! From previous group experiences (outside of OMET) I have been the one to carry most of the weight and completing the projects on my own. For once, I can see the benefit of working with others in an educational setting, I am learning from others in this way and I am helping them out in return.

EDC 665--Blog 8

Melissa asks: "In your ARP are your learners engaged in their learning? Why or Why not?"

According to dictionary.com engagement is defined as "to be busy or involved in." Being engaged in any learning activity is important because the student will understand the full meaning of the concept being taught. Students being engaged in the learning process will not only be able to actively guide their learning, and work collaboratively to solve technology missions.

Each class period is designed around a mission my students need to complete with teammates. The missions are student-centered and are discovery based, meaning that the students work together to learn the central concept for the day.

During the second meeting the students had a mission to work as a team (groups of 2-3) and operate a camera/video camera and perform various tasks. These tasks included deleting pictures/footage, zooming in and out, and using some other functions like taking pictures in black and white or sepia toned. Upon taking pictures and filming, the students needed to connect and watch their footage on a television and a computer. Very minimal instruction was done for these components, but an "expert" (the teacher) was always available if questions arose.

Over the course of the next few technology club meetings, the kids will be creating and designing their own videos and brochures of pictures they have taken throughout our city. It is my hopes that my students continue to learn through discovery. As the concepts have gotten harder, I can sense some frustration and I might need to have a mini-lesson on a particular concept, so they did not get discouraged.

In the end, I feel that my students have really been engaged in what they are working on in the technology club. I have a consistent turn out of club members and each meeting they come prepared to be challenged. My students love these challenges and are learning more about how these various technologies work, while having fun! I have had confirmation that my students are engaged when they tell their actual teachers what they have learned and show enthusiasm when doing so!

EDC 665--Blog 7

Melissa asks: "For your ARP, how did you select the technologies that you are utilizing? How have your learners responded thus far?"

My Action Research Project focuses on the development of a technology club and various learning components that are involved with the process. I created this technology club for fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students because I felt there was a lack of technology integration in the elementary curriculum. I wanted my students to learn various technological mediums, so that they can use their new knowledge within their classroom and homework assignments. My hope is also that they will train other students in utilizing the technology.

There following are the technological components that I am incorporating within my club:

1. Digital Cameras
2. Video Cameras
3. Video Editing Software
4. Creating a Brochure using Microsoft's Publisher
5. a Website

My goal is to utilize all of these mediums to create a brochure, video, and website illustrating fun and kid friendly places to go in the Santa Clarita Valley. My decision to include various mediums is such that I want my students to be well rounded in their exposure to technology. I firmly believe that my students will have much exposure and will feel more comfortable in pursuing the technological mediums further.

My students have had 3 one hour sessions of using the Digital Cameras, Video Cameras and Video Editing software, and the cease to amaze me. The first time we used the the equipment, I felt that my students would need two entirely different class meetings (1 to learn the digital camera, and one to learn the video camera, but I was surprised when they were able to complete their missions within one meeting.

My club is designed in missions (or mini learning adventures :) ) Each meeting the kids receive a mission that they needed to accomplish. The first and second mission had various tasks that they students needed to complete using the digital and video cameras. The tasks ranged from deleting footage, using various camera functions like zoom and color, as well as hooking and viewing the footage on both a television and computer. This first and second missions were completed by within 1 hour.

The next mission was to shoot video footage of the school and create a video highlighting various important places around our school. This was a two day mission because the students needed to prepare for their filming, shoot, and edit their footage. The preparation of shooting and the actual filming was easy for all students. The challenge came when the students had to edit the video. We ran into some roadblocks with the video footage from the digital cameras, but this also taught students that sometimes you run into difficulties using technology.

So, how did I select the various pieces of technology for this club? Well, I wanted students to have the opportunity to use technologies that they might not use at home or in the classroom, or have little experience in using. Also, knowing that my broader goal was to create awareness of fun and kid friendly places in our town, I had to choose technologies that would meet this goal.

Ultimately, my goal of this club is to utilize technology as a tool and not merely just teaching them how to use it. My hopes are for these students to identify with this concept. Time will tell.

EDC 665--Blog 6

Melissa asks "Blog: As learners, we are often focused on completing assessment activities successfully as opposed to acquiring the outcomes indicated by the course- why is this? Describe a learning experience where either you have combated this learner tendency or you felt a teacher handled this well."

Much of today's society has taught that perfection is the key when being assessed. If you are not perfect, you have failed. Many of today's students have severe test anxiety because they are afraid that if they make a significant amount of mistakes, they are not good students and will always fail. It I beieve that it is somewhat ingrained in our society's heads. Speaking from experiences within my own class, many students get dwon upon themselves if they do not do well. I think that it is important that teachers reiterate that an assessment tells a teacher how well the concepts were taught and what concepts the student needs to be retaught. I think this is a common mistake, that even I have made regarding assessments. I think what scares kids the most is that these formal assessments are reflected on their report cards.

OMET has combated this fallacy very well. In each of my classes I have felt comfortable with the way all of the professors have assessed our learning. They use various mediums to determine how well we have met their goals and objectives. These mediums include blackboard, TI, blogs, SecondLife, weekly discussions and group projects. I think that by not having the "test" limitations I feel that I have been able to grow more as a person and fully learn about each of the concepts taught. My severe test anxiety has been subdued this year. I think that OMET is a model program that illustrates effective assessment strategies without testing.

One last note about OMET: Professors of OMET ask us to assess ourselves. Oftentimes, that is the best form of assessment. Students are more critical of themselves than teachers are.

Finally, while some people are good test takers, they may not comprehend the material in its entirity. I think that it is important to look at the other side of the situtation.

EDC 665--Blog 5

Melissa asks "Blog: Identify a standard that impacts your local environment or practice. Reflect on the value of the standard and its intended affect on student learning."

My work environment is surrounded by standards, especially state standards.

One standard that I am focusing on in my classroom this week is (4th grade):

2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events, and experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the drafting, research, and organizational strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.

Using the writing strategies of grade four outlined in Writing Standard 1.0, students:
2.2 Write responses to literature:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the literary work.
2. Support judgments through references to both the text and prior knowledge.

Writing is a huge component in fourth grade because the students are assessed on their ability to write a composition for the CA STAR test (Writing competencies are given to 4th and 7th graders in CA)

My students have to know a variety of genres and are given a prompt that will focus on one during the test.

I chose this standard for two reasons:

1. it is something that I am currently working on
2. it is an important standard for children to know (in life)

Value of the Standard

Writing a response to literature is an important part of writing that is used throughout school career through college and possibly beyond. Being able to analyze literature and the meaning behind the author's purpose is very challenging and so giving your own judgment to the author's meaning.

Intended affect of student learning

This standard will require students to dig deeper and really analyze what they have read. It forces the student to critically think and use higher order thinking skills. Some teachers use and only assess basic knowledge and regurgitate information, but this standard forces students to think deeper and become analytical. I think that it is important that the students know that there is no one right answer and that as long as they defend their thoughts, they will be okay.

EDC 665--Blog 4

Melissa asks: Blog: Using the same learning experience you reflected on last week, did each activity explicitly map to a goal? Implicitly? Did this impact your learning during the activities?

Due to the nature of my learning experience, I feel that the activities that were planned explicitly mapped out in the trainer's mind, but were implicitly transferred. Simply stated, the teacher/trainer implied the various learning activities and did not specifically state the specific aspects of the Mimio board that we would be learning. He had directly implied what we were going to be learning.

In some ways, I feel that this did impact my learning during the activity and lesson. I felt that I went into the training blind-sided (I was signed up for it on a Tuesday and trained on the following Friday.) For something that I have not had any experience with, I feel that the initial training should have given explicit instructions on how to utilize this new tool within our classroom. When you explicitly learn something, one is involved in "an active process where people seek out the structure of any information that is presented to them." This meaning goes hand in hand of exactly how the Mimeo training should have been structured.

Implicit learning is " characterized as a passive process, where people are exposed to information, and acquire knowledge of that information simply through that exposure." While implicit learning could work very well using the Mimeo board, we would have needed to have a hands-on experience to utilize this type of learning process. Exposure is the key word. We were exposed to it visually, however, because it was a training in how to use it, we should have also been exposed to it through an active experience.

In the end, this instructor could have had his objective met had he been consistent and had a specific goal in mind. I feel that he mixed up implicit and explicit learning. He will be coming back for another training this month. Hopefully the next learning experience will be more beneficial and will better my understanding of the Mimeo Board.


Definitions and quotes obtained from : http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~epritch1/impnexp.htm

EDC 665--Blog 3

Melissa asks: "Think back now to a learning experience you have recently had--were the goals explicitly stated? If not, were they still clear? Were you aware of them as a learner during the learning experience?


A recent learning experience that I had was being taught to use a Mimio Board. A Mimio board is an interactive whiteboard that is able to capture any notes written on it as well as utilizing the included tools that will help teachers enhance their lessons in all subject areas. The general goal of this training was to introduce fourth and sixth grade teachers to this new technology that our school acquired. While all teachers were to be exposed to this board, no specific purpose was explicitly stated. We were not really told what things we would learn, but over the course of the training, we gradually learned all of the aspects of the Mimio board. I was not really aware of the learning goals during this experience because of the approach that the trainer took when teaching us. Much of what was taught was via direct instruction and did not give the trainees time to interact with the product. I can tell you that I know I was trained in the features, but I would not be able to perfectly use it. Practice upon training is a very important feature if you want your auidence to have retention. By having one person just show us the features of the board, I felt I was in a sales pitch instead of a training.

How would I have improved this learning experience. I would have had the trainer stop every new strategy that was taught so that way the trainees could physically relate and experience what our trainer was talking about. Giving the auidience the opportunity to experiment with the board is the best way for people to learn. While I know I will use this technology, I'm not sure how many non-technical people will use it because they are afraid.

EDC 665--Blog 2

Melissa asks "using the same learning experience, what were your desired results? Why did you choose these results?"

The learning experience that I chose related to teaching others to use the computer grading program, Easy Grade Pro (EGP). As a third year teacher, I was not sure how I would have been perceived because I was "teaching" more experienced teachers, yet it was something that I was more knowledgeable about.

My desired results were to have all teachers go back into their classrooms and be completely comfortable using the program. I felt that these results were reasonable because I gave the teachers a thorough user friendly explanation with a hands on experience. These desired results were very reasonable and did not put added pressure onto the teachers. Each trained teacher was given a lesson, with visual step by step materials in addition to the hands on experience that was provided with the training. I did not expect all teachers to utilize the program to its fullest extent, as I knew through Vtgotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, but let them know that there were other options to explore upon mastery of the basics.

Upon the completion of the workshop, I uploaded the EGP program into all of the interested teachers' computers. Many teachers were ecstatic to use the program within their classroom, but it was up to them to follow through with practicing and implementing what they learned. Speaking from experience, a new program can be somewhat intimidating when you begin it on your own upon training. It is important for you to dive right in and play around. Many people learn by doing and trial and error and that is what these teachers needed to do! About fifty percent of those in attendance at my workshop utilized the program days after the workshop. Many people commented upon the step-by-step insturctions and were appreciative of what I had done. They found that their gradebooks were much easier to use and made their lives a lot easier, especially when report cards came around.

It has now been about a year since I taught that workshop and some of my attendees have taught me a few things. They have since explored options that I had yet to explore and use. I am very proud of the end results from this experience and I am thrilled others have gone on to explore other aspects of the program without being afraid of the technology behind it!

EDC 665--Blog 1

Melissa Anderson writes:

Think back to a successful learning experience you have designed. What made it successful? What was your role in creating that success?

Considered a technological-savvy teacher by many of my colleagues, I have been called upon by many of my co-workers to assist them in the use of many computer related items in their classrooms, especially using it to make their lives easier. Last year I made the change from second grade to fourth grade. Knowing that I would need to have specific calculated percentage grades (A, B, C, N, U) as an upper grade teacher, I knew that a traditional handwritten grade book would be more burdensome. My principal purchased a site license for Easy Grade Pro (EGP) so that teachers could keep track of their grades on a computer, which would give me easily accessible, and more detailed information about specific graded assignments.

While we have a large staff that could easily utilize this grade book, I was the only teacher that really learned how to use Easy Grade Pro. I found that the grade book to be very helpful and it gave me one less thing to worry about (calculating grades ) at the end of a grading period.

Many people began to see the success that I had with the grading program, and had asked me to teach them how to use the program. During one of our staff development my principal asked me to run a session explaining how to use the grading program. I gladly accepted, as this is one of my outside passions--teaching adults technology. I had about ten people attend my session. At this session I gave the teachers a step by step instruction packet with screenshots--no use of giving them a manual that they would not use. In this packet, I only included the most important information.

I EGP loaded on all of the computers prior to the session. I used a projector to so that the group could have a hands on learning experience while I taught the program. I believe that technology is one of those things that needs to be taught in one of two ways (exploratory or hands-on learning) and that is why I wanted the teachers to utilize this experience using computers. I answered questions throughout the process and also gave time for each of the teachers to practice using the concepts I taught--creating a gradebook, entering student names, entering grades, printing out progress and grade reports.

I then proceeded to load all of program onto all interested teachers' computers. Many teachers set up their grade books after the session. As time went on, they used the program and had questions ---they were ready for another training for the next step in the EGP process. At the time I could not provide the needed instruction due to time constraints, so many of the teachers attended a district in-service. Upon completion of the inservice, many teachers complemented me and told me my session was much more helpful and that they did not understand this other person's approach to teaching the program. I received many compliments and that made me realize that the learning experience that I provided for my colleagues was utilized effectively and was beneficial to them. (Recently, I attended the same inservice (only so I could get a copy of the latest version) and I completely agree with my colleagues.

So why was my teaching so successful and what was my role in creating that success? I think it was super successful because of the approach that I took to teaching my colleagues. I created an easy how to guide, provided a hands-on and guided instruction experience, and gave practice time for each of the trainees. I also gave individual instruction time to teacher's that needed it. I believe that because I was the initial person to tryout this program, I was able to project where people might have difficulties and questions. I believe this was a great learning experience that I provided for others.