CEP 416 Online Course Reflection

I have only taken one online course besides this one during my time at Michigan State. I did not like the online class I had taken before. However, this one turned out to be quite beneficial. I learned a lot of information about technology I can use in the classroom. I realize I could have learned all of this information in a face to face college course but I feel like having to figure things out on my own was a good thing. I had to sit and look at my own computer screen and figure tasks out. Of course, I could e-mail the instructor or any of my classmates but I still had to do the task on my own. I will remember more from the course because of that aspect. Another part of this course that enhanced my learning was the interaction with my house members. It was cool to interact on the Google documents and the blogs. The content of this course was of course important. It was beneficial to learn about so many technology tools. However, I feel that learning independently while still needing to interact with group members and the instructor surpassed course content as far as being a beneficial experience.

Mary Rigan's Highlights Showcase Presntation

Below is the video of Mary's presentation:




First, Mary addresses Twitter. She speaks about keeping her Twitter professional which I think is a smart thing to think about. She says she doesn't tweet much and only follows certain people and organization. It is smart that she is still timid about its use yet still getting a lot of great information from it. Mary seems to love Google docs just as much as I do. I love hearing other people rave about my favorite technology tool. Mary then talks about One True Media. I have not ever used this tool so it was nice to hear someone's critique of the tool. She did not liek the free version of the tool and that is something any viewer of this presentation to keep in mind. Unlike any of the other Voice Thread presentations I have watched, Mary addresses Voice Thread itself. She speaks of all of the great things Voice Thread has to offer. I am glad she thought of featuring this tool because I agree that it is a great tool for the classroom. Mary addresses Google earth. Mary, just like I had, found Google Earth to be confusing at first but after working at it for a while she realized its great potential. Mary spoke a moment about her porfolio as well. It looks very professional.

Great presentation, Mary!

Alexa Haye's Highlights Showcase Presentation

Below is the video of Alexa's presentation:







Alexa's Voice Thread presentation was well done. Alexa shared about the blog. I had done blogs fro past classes and such so I didn't have such a tough time getting started for this class. It was interesting to hear Alexa's initial opinion on the use of the blog for class. I liked how she admitted that she hadn't really kept up to date on technology or education before this class. I see it that Alexa does now and that is what future employers would be concerned with anyhow.  Then Alexa addresses her portfolio. My favorite par of Alexa's portfolio is that she shares her teaching philosophies area on her about me page. This is something that I had not thought of. I am planning to add that somewhere in my portfolio as well now. The coolest part of Alexa's presentation was how in depth she went into on her technology integration lesson plans. She could show this presentation to someone and they would be very impressed. She seems very proud of her lessons and I think that she should be. I have never really used webspiration so it was interesting to see how much Alexa loved it. I will be sure to check it out now.

Besides the presentation being a bit too quiet, awesome presentation!

Katie Murphy's Highlight Showcase

Below is Katie Murphy's Highlight Showcase Voice Thread presentation:




Like me, Katie mentions Twitter and her portfolio as great resources. I like how Katie shares about how helpful tweet deck can be. It made a nonuser, like myself, much more interested. Katie's voice was clear and professional. She can be confident that anyone watching this would be impressed. I was also blown away that Katie figured out how to embed her blog into her portfolio. I thought that was way too cool mostly because I don't think I would have been able to figure it out. Unlike Katie, I did not enjoy the segment of CEP 416 that covered Creative Commons and copyrighting. However, after listening to her reasoning, I have realized that although it may be boring, keeping my techniques fresh and up to date in this category can be very important in my future. Last but not least, I didn't think to add a slide about the technology standards. I am glad Katie did. I agree with her that it is important to have these at hand when you are defending technology in the classroom.

Great job, Katie!

Highlights of CEP416

Technology Integrated Lesson Plan #2

Lesson Title: What Makes a Good Citizen?

Substance of Lesson: I want the students to understand how they can be a good citizen now even though they may feel too young. Many young students feel that being a good citizen is something for adults alone. However, I want to show them that they too can be a good citizen and make their environment(s) better. I believe it is important to start out this understanding early on in life so the students can bring it with them when they grow into adults. 

Technology Integration: Before this lesson was simply a talk about being a good citizen and then filling out a worksheet. Once I heard about www.scrapblog.com I realized that using this tool would be much more fun and motivating for the students. I will let them create their own scrapblog explaining what they can do to be a good citizen. Scrapblog is very easy to use and I feel that the students will be able to learn quickly how to create pages.

Grade: 2

Length: Roughly 45 minutes

This lesson covers the duties of an active citizen within the community. I will also teach the students ways they can be part of the community now (volunteering, keeping up with current events in the community, etc.)

Lesson Objectives: 

Understand the ways that they can already participate in the community (personal/civic responsibilities)

Participate in community improvement projects (thank you notes to firemen)

Grade Level Content Expectations (GLCEs):

2 – C5.0.2 Distinguish between personal and civic responsibilities and explain why they are important in community life.

2 – C5.0.3 Design and participate in community improvement projects that help or inform others.

Procedure:

Introduction:

·         I will have the class gather into the back of the room.

·         I will then go over what we will be doing for my lesson.

·         I will also tell them that they are to listen and stay focused because the end of the lesson will be fun.

Activity 1:

·         I will have “Good Citizen” written on the whiteboard.

·         Ask the students to share ideas about what they think a good citizen is. This will be a very casual conversation.

·         I will write all of the ideas on the whiteboard and talk to the students about each of them.

·         After the board is full I ask the students why they think it is important to be a good citizen and we share these ideas aloud.

Activity 2:

·         During this part of the lesson I will ask the students how they can help out in their community, homes, and at school.

·         I will also need to be sure to explain to the students that there are many things they can do even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes.

·         I will let them share ideas for a few minutes aloud.

Activity 3: Technology Integration/Assessment

·         Now I will have the students go back to their desks where there will be laptops already passed out.

·         I will have the students open their web browsers and go to http://www.scrapblog.com/ then login to the classroom’s user name.

·         I will tell the students they have about twenty five to thirty minutes to create a scrapblog. They are required to create at least one page but can make as many as they want in the time they are given.

·         They are required to display with pictures, text, and/or videos how they themselves can be a good citizen.

Side note: If there are not enough computers available for all of the students, this lesson would still be beneficial if students broke up into groups and shared computers. Also, if a Smart Board is available in the classroom, the teacher can create a sample scrapblog with the class before the create their own.

Potential Student Creation:

Wiki

I decided to create a wiki that I can use next year while I am student teaching. The title of the Wiki is Ms. Gauthier. I feel that the parents and students can come to this wiki for many reasons. The parents and students can contact me for one. I am also planning on updating the Wiki each day for parents to check in as well as for students who may be missing school. There will also be school announcements posted on the site.

You can view my Wiki here.

I feel that the Weebly I created at the beginning of this semester was much better looking to the eye. I also felt that it was easier to use and the formatting made more sense. However, I like how easy it is for other people to be able to edit this Wiki. I also like that my future students will be able to have discussions on this site. I will definitely use Wikis for many reasons in my future classroom.