"Nycole's Little Kitten" Plot Assessment

This is a sample project I made for my students.  To view the entire project's expectations, visit this page.Nycole's Little Kitten on Storybird

Grading Online Dicussions

 I just responded to an online classmates’ discussion board post about the challenge of grading online assignments, such as discussion board and blog posts.  I’ve also found that it can be challenging, but I have developed two systems which require honesty and responsible behavior from my students.

For discussion boards, I do not respond to each student.  Instead, I expect them to respond to one another and submit their work using a Google form. Then, I just skim the posts—I see it as they were having an in-class discussion and I was observing.

For blog posts, I use another Google form and Google Reader.  The students submit their work using the Google form, which contains instructions, a simple rubric, and a place to paste links to their posts.  This form collects all of the assignments in a spreadsheet, but I normally just use it to see which students completed the assignment and the grade they expect to earn.  My TA also checks these forms and comments on posts throughout the week.  In Google Reader, I have organized my students’ blogs into folders, English 9 and English 10.  Every weekend, I tackle one folder.  I read each student’s posts in Reader and comment on one post in Blogger.  So far, this system is working.     

My Forms:
·         Sample Discussion Board Form
·         Sample Blog Assignment Form
·         Sample Student Blog Comments Form

Students: What are your thoughts about the forms we use?  Do you mind that I only respond to your posts every two weeks?

Adults: What strategies do you use to grade online discussions?

Loving the Jing at the Top of My Screen

During one of my recent courses, a classmate emailed me asking how I posted links to my students’ blogs on my classroom blog. Instead of typing out the instructions or creating a slideshow of screenshots, I created a Jing video tutorial. Since I already had Jing installed on my laptop, I just plugged in my microphone headset, asked my study hall students to work silently for a few minutes, recorded the video, uploaded it to Screencast, and emailed the link to my classmate. The entire process took less than five minutes. The video may be viewed here. Using screencapture tools, such as Jing, enable me to quickly record and share editable images and video with audio.

I’ve experimented with free screencasting tools for around a year. Before I began my master's program, I had made a few video screencapture tutorials for my students. But through course texts, my students’ feedback, and my own observations, I’ve learned that video tutorials are not an effective delivery method for multiple-step instructions. Now if I am introducing a new process, such as creating an account in a Web 2.0 tool, I have developed two effective strategies. My students prefer that I drive them through the process: I demonstrate the process step-by-step on my SMART Board while walking around the room to troubleshoot and encouraging them to help one another. However, I also like to create screenshot slideshow tutorials when possible. When following slideshows using a split screen, they practice working independently—this also creates archives of the lessons to be used by absent students.

This week, I used screencasts and screenshots within a digital storytelling lesson. First, I showed my students a screencast video created by the producers of Storybird, a free digital storytelling Web 2.0 tool. Then, I instructed them to create accounts by following my specific instructions posted in PhotoPeach, a free Web 2.0 slideshow tool. I used Jing’s screenshot and photo editing tools to create the slides within my PhotoPeach. If I had opted to create a screencast from scratch, I could have used Jing.

Students: How would you use Jing if it was installed on your laptops?

Adults:  Is Jing the best free screencapture tool?


Photo Credit:Jing Pro – Record HD-quality Videos for YouTube Originally uploaded by Ivan Walsh

Create “Intrinsically Motivated Lifelong Learners,” Not College-Bound Test Takers

The current American education system creates children capable of regurgitating what has already been discovered (particularly the discoveries of Western White men). To be successful in our system, students need to attend college. In order to prepare for college, young students must become proficient at mastering the routine of memorizing facts, formats, theories, processes, vocabulary, and formulas which are monitored through standardized assessments. After earning high grade point averages and scoring highly on the entry-exams, students are accepted into colleges where they read literature and scholarly texts, listen to lectures from scholars, and write papers which are only valid if they are filled with citations of experts’ ideas. Upon graduation, students are handed a diploma as proof that they have mastered the routine. This entire process ignores the successes of non-college educated people, such as Walt Disney, and the findings of psychologists, such as Jean Piaget.

Even teachers must follow this process, since our education system is rooted in a monolithic model of instruction and learning. Though future teachers examine learning theories, such as behaviorism, constructivism, and cognitivism, they still memorize content to pass standardized multiple choice and written response exams to earn a credential. However, they are never objectively required to demonstrate the ability to engage with students, coworkers or parents; create short and long term plans; manage a classroom; or actually implement lessons built around the learning theories they were required to study. The most basic requirement of becoming a teacher is showing mastery of the learning system and academic content—not demonstrating an ability to teach.

The tradition of respecting those who have become encyclopedias of knowledge has allowed the masters to control the education system. Though we know that a truly educated person does not need a diploma, such as William Shakespeare, the current system is managed by those with diplomas. As a result, the “creative and innovative minds” Jean Piaget encourages educators to create are only encouraged to express themselves through occasional standards-based projects (Ccaldero, 2007).

Looking back at my undergraduate teacher preparation program, I was repeatedly encouraged by Mount St. Mary’s College’s Sister Kieran Vaughn to create “intrinsically motivated lifelong learners.” However, I had to simultaneously create thematic units filled with entry assessments (to find out what they don’t know), differentiated instruction (to fill in their gaps), interventions (to really make sure they understand), assessments (to prove that they know it), and re-teach lessons (in case they didn’t get it the first time). Even within one program at a very small college, I was guided toward teaching based on progressive outcome goals but still prepared to continue facilitating the routine of regurgitation. As educators, it is our goal to create “intrinsically motivated lifelong learners,” not college-bound test takers. Besides, grading regurgitated content is boring.

Resource

Ccaldero. (2007, September 17). Jean Piaget . YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtNdLKqPCyI

Password Keeper Google Docs Template

I just created a template of Password Keeper form I use to help my students keep track of their passwords.   


On my blog, I post a link to the live form.  Whenever my students create new account profiles, I suggest that they submit their usernames and passwords to this form.  If a student forgets his/her information, I view the spreadsheet to access their information.  After a few reminders, I've noticed that students independently choose use the Password Keeper for their academic and personal accounts..

If you would like to download a customizable copy of this template to your Google Docs, please click here.

Cyberbullying Announcement

Get a Voki now!


http://bit.ly/jccscyber

Teachers & Online Privacy

Justified Discipline
If a teacher irresponsibly publishes text or other media online, he/she may be disciplined. As described in the Dian Schaffhauser (2008) article, “Suspended Teacher Incident Ignites Debate: Should Online Privacy for Educators Exist?,” the unidentified teacher cited ignorance of settings as her justification for posting a racially offensive statement on Facebook. This is ridiculous, since the excuse of, “But, I didn’t know” is unacceptable even in a kindergarten classroom. Even if the teacher had posted her statement to be viewed by only a select group of people, it could still be captured and shared by a screenshot. By choosing to publish online, this teacher and all others are responsible for the potential outcomes of their decisions.

Educators' Responsibility
Educators are completely responsible for their behaviors regardless of whether or not they are shared online. Teachers who create inappropriate online content may be disciplined by a school district for violating human resources policies, Education Code, and/or creating a disruption to the school day. In Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), the US Supreme Court ruled that teachers and students’ rights to freedom of speech may be limited if they cause a substantial disruption to the learning environment. Publishing online increases the ease by which a comment or picture can become a disruption, since it can be easily shared.

Online Privacy
The concept of online privacy is a grey area. Students and teachers are able to limit viewer access to many online social networking sites, but this only limits who can view their content. They cannot control what these viewers do with their content or the privacy regulations of the host site. For example, one of my students may post a very revealing self-portrait within a private folder of her Facebook profile. However, one of her friends with access to the folder may copy the photo to repost on his profile making it completely public. Instead of simply expecting teachers and students to use privacy settings online, it is more important to teach them to refrain from posting any embarrassing or inappropriate text or media.

Separation of Networks
Within most social networks, it is very easy to regulate who can view users’ profiles. Within most popular social networking sites, profiles can be set as completely private or can limit the amounts of information different groups or individual users can access. Using these settings, it is simple to separate professional and personal profiles. However, it is more important to focus on a teacher’s larger online footprint. For example, my Facebook settings block my current students and alumni from viewing my photos and status updates. But, a quick Google search of my name will quickly reveal that I have spoken against teacher layoffs, attended Treasure Trails as a child, and emceed events for Girl Scouts. I cannot control the privacy settings of school board minutes, local archives, and newspaper articles. But, I do not mind these publications, since they are mixed within pages of links to my educational online content, such as Prezis and blogs. Besides, sharing these parts of my life make me a real person which helps to foster an authentic learning environment.

Resources
Photo: Lock, Tibet, Originally uploaded
by 星翼star_trooper

Schaffhauser, D. (n.d.). Suspended Teacher in Facebook Incident Ignites Debate: Should Online Privacy for Educators Exist?. THE Journal: Technological Horizons in Education. Retrieved July 29, 2010, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2008/11/19/suspended-teacher-in-facebook-incident-ignites-debate-should-online-privacy-for-educators-exist.aspx