EDU 720 Discussion Director Reflection

This past week I had the opportunity to serve as the discussion director for course EDU 720.  The topic for the discussion was social media and the participants were asked to read and watch the following articles and video:
Chapter 36 - Handbook of Research of New Literacy
Social Privacy in Networked Publics:Teens' Attitudes, Practices and Strategies
Christine Greenhow

Initially, I was nervous about serving as discussion director.  Everyone who served in the role before me did such a wonderful job, I was afraid that my assignment would not be educational or interesting enough to receive positive participation.  What I did not expect though was for the assignment to greater further my understanding of the topic.

For the assignment I asked everyone to provide their takeaways on two of the three readings and to connect their takeaways to song titles.  The song title idea came from a part of the Chapter 36 reading where one of the study participants mentioned how him and his friend had an entire IM conversation using song titles.  I thought it would be interesting to see what songs people would pick to summarize the resources that they were assigned to read/watch.

In addition, I wanted to utilize a new website that I found that could be used in a classroom to encourage online conversations between students.  I asked the participants to put their response in  Twiducate under a class that I created.  The site allowed all of the users to view each other's responses and provided them an opportunity to comment on other's entries as well.

I admit that each time I received an email saying there was a new posting, I was so excited to see what song titles people selected and what their takeaways were from the readings and video.  Not only were the posts interesting, but they also allowed me to continually think about the topic of social media and how it could be used within classrooms and with youths today.

As I reflected on the posts and this week's discussion, I took the song titles that everyone shared and put them together in groups based on each resource.  When I did this I realized that everyone truly took this assignment to heart and attempted to find the most perfect song title to make the connection that they were looking for in their responses.   It was a creative way for each person to not only share their opinions differently, but also a way to summarize the resources with using only a few words.  I found it interesting that so many of the songs were similar to each other and even one person even commented that someone else took the song they were thinking of using.

Below is a list of the song titles chosen for each resource:

Chapter 36 of the Handbook:
     -  Who Are You?
     -  Rumour Has It
     -  Come As You Are
     -  Decode

Christine Greenhow Video:
     -  Imagine
     -  Power to the People
     -  Don't Stop
     -  Changes
     -  Daft Punk
     -  For What It's Worth
     -  With a Little Help From My Friends

Social Privacy in Networked Publics:
     -  Parents Just Don't Understand
     -  None of Your Business
      -  Eye In the Sky
      -  Private Eyes
      -  Every Breath You Take

Songs used to describe all of the resources:
    -  A Social Network for Two: A Modern Love Song
     -  Where Do Children Play?

Overall I felt the discussion went very well.  When completing the grading rubrics for each person, I felt as if I had so much to write about what they had to say.  I was extremely pleased with the responses by everyone and could not have asked for a better group of participants!

Reflection - Open Mic 3 Twitteracy EDUC 7718

Working with my group members on the Open Mic #3, I realized how fortunate I am to have found such wonderful individuals to collaborate with on an academic level.  Our group worked very well together.  In my opinion we all carried the responsibilities equally.

In my opinion Sally was definitely the creative one of the group.  She came up with the idea of the Twitteracy and helped us come together as group to create the prompts and foundation of the Open Mic.  It is a digital literacy tool that many of students are utilizing on a daily basis.

I was responsible for completing rubrics for half of the individuals who responded to the prompts.  I truly felt that my responsibility led to a greater understanding of the topic.  Completing the rubrics made me reflect more deeply on the responses provided by the other students.  This allowed me to ask more questions to the respondents as well as internally reflect on my personal opinion on the topic.

After the assignment I began researching a variety of online tools that could be use similar to Twitter.  As the discussion director this week for EDU 720, I am using the free website www.twiducate.com.  This site is similar to Twitter, but is designed for individual classroom use.  I felt it would be a great way to reiterate the topic of Twitteracy through another course.

Unit Plan Reflection ED 7718

Initially I was nervous that I would be unable to receive my unit feedback on Wednesday night, due to my doctor's orders.  I knew my group would be willing to meet with me another night if needed, but thankfully they were willing to have me via Hangout.  Thank goodness I was able to meet with my group, because I received wonderful and helpful feedback regarding my unit.

First, I have to say that I love knowing how to use Google Hangouts!  Thank you IT&DML courses for making it a part of the program.  It allowed me to feel part of the feedback process without getting everyone else sick.

Second, I love using Google Docs when collaborating with others.  It allowed my partners to see my work since I could not give them my hard copies I made.  It also gave them the ability to comment on my unit proposal while they were discussing different items with me.

It was great to have group members with a variety of backgrounds.  Sally and Cathy both have literacy backgrounds and they provided feedback on how I could improve my math lesson with literacy standards.  With Amy sharing her math lesson with us, I was able to see what she was using in her high school math classroom and make changes and additions to improve my math lesson.

Not being a primary literacy person, I often use broad terms to describe literacy standards.  My group helped me reword my unit plan, so it clearly demonstrates what literacy focus I want it to have for my students.  Initially I was broadly stating reading comprehension, but my group discussed with me that my primary focus for my students was information literacy based on my proposal and what I created so far with the unit.

Another area that my group helped me with was how I would grade my students' progress of the strategies they used for information literacy.  During the unit I will be having my students blog on a variety of literacy strategies that they used during the lessons.  Although I had a rubric for the end of the unit presentation, I did not have one created for the blog responses.  After the feedback session, I took my group's recommendation and began created a rubric for my students to use for their daily blog responses.  I know this rubric will help the students identify the strategies and reflect on their processes productively.

Overall I was very happy with our group's feedback session.  I also enjoy reading the reflections posted by other groups.  They are helping me look at my unit and seeing if I can improve upon what I have done so far.

My New Website Using Google Sites

My school uses a website program called TeacherWeb.  I have a website on TeacherWeb that is dedicated to my math classroom.  The following is a link to that site:  Mrs. Ferry's Website - Mauro Sheridan Magnet School

I was going to work on updating this website and improving it as much as possible.  As I was working on it, I realized that I wanted to take my website beyond the math classroom.  I decided to begin creating a website on Google Sites that focused on all multiple areas, not just math.

Of course this is a work in progress and I want to continue making daily changes to the site until I feel it provides fantastic resources for any teacher.  In addition to creating the website, I also created a URL shortcut on tiny.cc to the site.

The following link will take you directly to my new site: Tech to Teach

It can also be reached by going to www.tiny.cc/techtoteach

Please know that this is a work in progress and by December it will be a wonderful resource for teachers to use in their classrooms.

Conversations, Discussions, and Presentations - EDUC 7718 Week 6 Response

Please feel free to view/listen to my response for Prompt 1 for week 6.

It was easier for me to record myself responding to this prompt.  I drafted my written response and it was over seven pages long.  I figured if I would record myself I would not bore anyone too much!

Please feel free to leave comments or questions.

Thank you!

Determining Accuracy and Validity of Online Information - Algebra I

Determining the Accuracy and Validity of Online Information - Algebra I

Online reading comprehension can be integrated at any level of math.  The following is a unit that can be used for upper middle school and high school Algebra I.  This unit is designed to not only teach students how to determine if information they find online is accurate and valid, but also to provide a different instructional strategy for teaching math content.

Algebra I Unit - Scatter Plots, Trend Lines, and Online Reading Comprehension

Overview and Day 1:

This unit will focus primarily on scatter plots and trend lines.  The students will be required to complete online research using online reading comprehension strategies.  Prior to beginning the actual math portion of the lesson, students will spend one day completing an online reading comprehension activity that teaches them how to conduct basic searches online and determine the validity of a resource.

Students will watch the PowerPoint presentation titled “Wading Through the Web”.  This PowerPoint and lesson is from the Read Think Write website and can be found at the following link: Wading Through the Web

While they are watching the presentation, students will each have a laptop that has Internet access so they can follow along during the presentation and conduct searches.  They will complete the worksheet that goes with the PowerPoint as well.

At the end of class, the teacher will discuss with the students how it will relate to tomorrow’s lesson where they will need to conduct research online.

Homework:
Throughout the unit, students will be required to keep a journal on either their own blog or the class blog. 

Day 1 Homework:  Students will complete a blog entry on the class blog and discuss one strategy they learned about researching information on the Internet.

Day 1 Homework Rubric

Material Need for Day 1:

-  Laptops with Internet for all students

-  Wading Through the Web PowerPoint presentation

-  Wading Through the Web worksheet

Day 2:

After day one, students will then begin the math lesson where they will be asked to collect data on bone measurements of a skeleton and foot and height measurements of themselves and their partner.  They will then conduct research on the Tunxis Indians and Will Warren from Farmington, Connecticut.  In addition, they will gather information using the Internet on historical heights of human from different time periods.

Students will work in cooperative pairs to complete today’s activity.  They will be handed the following worksheet to receive an introduction to the lesson: Day 2 - Get Ready Worksheet

After reading through the introduction worksheet, students will begin working on the data collection portion of the activity.  Day 2 - Data Collection Worksheet

Stations will be set up around the room to allow each group to complete the worksheet.  There will be seven stations, three which will require Internet access, two that will have skeleton bones to measure, one where they will measure themselves, and the final station will be based on the introduction worksheet.

Once the students have rotated around to all of the stations, they will compare their results with another cooperative group.  If time permits, the students will work on converting the height units from station 7.

Day 2 Homework:  Students will blog about the process they used to complete the online research.  They will need to discuss what process they used to find the necessary information.  Did they use specific keywords?  How they did decide which sites to use for what information?  Did they notice anything different on any sites that told them they should or should not use the site as a reliable source?

Day 2 Homework Rubric

Material Need for Day 2:

-  At least 3 laptops/computers with Internet access

-  Two separate bone pieces of a skeleton

-  Measuring tapes at three stations

-  Data Collection Worksheet

- Calculators

Day 3:

Students will complete data collection from the whole class and use computer to enter the data on a spreadsheet.  They will then create graphs, analyze the data and create algebraic equations to represent the relationship between two variables.  In addition, they will find the mean of the classes’ measurements.

Students will work with their cooperative pairs again to complete today’s activity.  Each group member will receive the data analysis worksheet and a measuring tape. Day 3 - Data Analysis Worksheet

Each group will measure their femur and tibia bones and provide the information to the teacher who will type the results into a spreadsheet which will be projected on the board.  (If there is not projection available, a table can be constructed on the board which students can fill in their information)

Students will then work in cooperative pairs to create scatter plots of the information.  After all the data is placed on the scatter plots, students will draw lines of best fit for both sets of data.  They will then create separate equations for the two scatter plots by using two points from each line.  With the equation they will be able to answer the remaining questions on the worksheet.

Day 3 Homework: Students will comment on at least one other student's blog entry that they found similar to their own experience when conducting the online research.

Day 3 Homework Rubric

Material Need for Day 3:

-  Teacher needs access to a computer with a spreadsheet program and projection capabilities for the entire class to see the information on the spreadsheet.

-  Data Analysis Worksheet

-  Calculators

-  Rulers

-  Measuring Tapes

Day 4:

Students will make predictions on bone lengths and circumferences of bones from the data collected the previous classes.  They will create algebraic equations to relate the year and the height of both men and women throughout multiple time periods.

Students will continue to work in cooperative pairs to complete today’s worksheet.  Day 4 - Prediction Worksheet

They will use information gathered from days 2 and 3 to complete the worksheet and make predictions.  In addition, students will create algebraic equations to demonstrate the relationship between the year and a person’s height based on gender.  If time permits at the end of class, students will share with the entire class the solutions they found. They will also share what resources they used to find the information.

Day 4 Homework: Students will work with their group partners and look up one of the websites that another group used to conduct the research. They will use the ORC strategies that they learned on Day 1 to determine if the site had valid information. After they have reviewed the site, they will collaborate with their partner and write a reflection on the class blog about whether or not the site was valid using the ORC strategies to justify their reflection.

Day 4 Homework Rubric

Materials Needed for Day 4:

-  Data Prediction Worksheet

-  Worksheets from days 2 and 3

Day 5:

Students will create a slide presentation documenting their finding.  They will also provide a reflection piece in the presentation that will address the strategies they used when conducting the online research.

To conclude the unit, students will work in their cooperative pairs to create a slide show presentation.  The presentation will be based on a scenario similar to the Will Warren situation.  They will need to address all of the areas in the rubric and provide a reflection on what they found was useful when conducting research online and any strategies they learned from Day 1 that they applied to their project.

Day 5 - Presentation Grading Rubric

Homework Day 5: Students will complete a final blog entry on the entire ORC process that they used when completing their project. In addition, they will reflect on working with their group partner on the project and what they found helpful when working with another individual when conducting an assignment that requires online reading comprehension.
Day 5 Homework Rubric

Materials Needed For Day 5:

- Computer for each cooperative pair with Internet access

- Worksheets from the previous classes

Day 6:

Students will present their presentation to the class.

Materials Needed for Day 6:

-  Individual group presentations

-  Computer with projection capabilities

Common Core

The following 8th Grade Algebra I Common Core standards will be addressed within this lesson:

Linear, Quadratic and Exponential Models

HSF-LE.A.1 - Distinguish and compare linear, quadratic, and exponential models and solve problems.

HSF-LE.A.2 - Construct linear and exponential functions, including arithmetic and geometric sequences, given a graph, a description of a relationship, or two input-output pairs.

Interpreting Categorical and Quantitative Data

HSS-ID.B.6 - Represent data on two quantitative variables on a scatter plot, and describe how the variables are related.

HSS-ID.C.8 - Compute (using technology) and interpret the correlation coefficient of a linear fit.

Statistics and Probability

8.SP.A.1 - Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association between two quantities.

8.SP.A.2 - Know that straight lines are widely used to model relationships between two quantitative variables.

Works Cited:

- Day 1's lesson is from www.readwritethink.org, a wonderful website that provides classroom resources and lesson plans to assist teachers.

- The worksheets from Days 2-5 are from the Connecticut State Department of Education Algebra I curriculum. Some of the worksheets were modified to focus on the online reading comprehension strategies used in the unit.

Five Strategies of Online Reading Comprehension Used in Math

Comprehension is extremely important when solving math problems.  Marilyn Burns, founder of Math Solutions Professional Development, wrote an article in Leadership Compass about the importance of comprehension within the math classrooms.  Marilyn Burns - Leadership Compass She stated that, “Comprehension is key to being a successful reader, and the same standard should hold true for math.”  (Burns, 2005) Online reading comprehension for math can be instructed in a similar way as it is taught in a tradition reading classroom.  The five components of ORC, questioning, locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating, are all used within math, but they may have different words used to describe the processes.  Marilyn Burns asked professional to identify key strategies for reading and they then related them to strategies that are used for solving math problems.  (Burns, 2005)  We then took the strategies identified and connected them to the five ORC strategies for math.  

Questioning

Students are often asked to make predictions while they are reading.  In math, students are asked to estimate possible answers to their problems.  For ORC in math, students can estimate what the solution will be prior to searching for their answers.  By estimating the solution, they will have a general idea of what information they find online is accurate and valid.

Locating

As with reading, vocabulary is an essential component for math.  When locating information online, students need to understand the terminology and vocabulary that is being used in text.  Teachers and students can create an online reading word chart that they can refer to when using the Internet.  These vocabulary words will assist students with locating the information they are looking for quickly and accurately.Evaluating

Once students receive their information from online, they are then asked to evaluate what they found.  For math students can take the information and compare it to their estimates.  They also can determine if the information came from a replicable online domain.

Synthesizing

Students will take the information they found and apply different method of problem solving and reasoning to determine if they are able to find a solution to the problem.

Communicating

All students will not necessarily have the same problem solving techniques for each math problem, therefore communication is key when completing math assignments online.  Students are encouraged to work in small group, whole class, and cooperative pairs to discuss their findings.  Reflection will be used to allow students to reflect on the strategies that worked well when completing ORC for math problems.