A Girl Can Dream, Can't She.... at least about her digital learning hub!

One of the many things I love about my school is that they purchased Teacherweb and licenses for teachers to create their own webpage for their class.  If you want to check out my site you can find it using the following link: Mrs. Ferry's Webpage

I fully admit that my webpage is nowhere close to what I want it to be.  Honestly after taking our three courses this past summer, I have worked on updating my website and using it for more than just listing the homework.  I want to be realistic though and understand with recent budget cuts I should prepare for when I might have to create my own webpage and not use the school's resources.

In general I want my digital learning hub to be one that is constantly alive and not stagnant.  Since technology and the resources online are constantly changing and being updated I feel that is what my website should be as well.  For my students it should be the ICT that they use for not only my class, but hopefully all classes.

Although I am a math teacher, I want to take what I learn in the IT&DML courses to reach out to my students and my fellow teachers in all academic areas.  Imagine what it would be like to have one website that would direct you to Internet sites that could assist you with online research, solving algebraic equations, identifying successful science fair projects, and looking for common themes between great literature pieces?  For both students and teacher alike, this type of resource would be an amazing resource and it would take the guessing out of looking through numerous search engine res

The webpage would have categories on the left hand side that list different subject matters.  Under each subject matter it could be broken down into grade levels and content topics.  In addition, there would be links and resources available for Common Core lesson plans and activities.  I get excited just thinking about what could be designed to assist my learners and fellow teachers.  Unfortunately I think about the time it would take to research and find the material, create the webpage, and constantly keep it updated with the most up to date information as possible.  It would be a full time job just keeping up the website, but boy would it be worth it!

As Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack stated 2004, "It will be up to each of us to recognize the continually changing nature of literacy and to develop a rich understanding of these changes."  Personally I feel at times it is hard enough to keep track of new curriculum and procedures in my own district and school.  I am sure there are other teachers who would share my concern and would like to have one resource available that could keep them up to date on the new literacies and how to implement them into our classrooms.

If a girl could dream about what her learning hub would be like, this would be it, one place where anyone and everyone could find resources that would help them succeed whether they were a teacher or a student.  The learning hub would be updated regularly and continually change to account for the changes in literacies and new resources that are available on the Internet.  It would take the guessing out of what search engine results are legit and which ones are really useful for academic use.  The time spent shifting through the Internet would be reduced and more time could be dedicated to learning actual content material.

My Biker Bar Moment - ED 7718

a.  (Your own Biker Bar moment) Describe an occasion on which you felt entirely out of your depth, “other” “I do not fit in here” “everybody gets it but me”; what in you and the situation contributed to that feeling?

I had the distinct honor of being accepted to the United States Coast Guard Academy during my senior year of high school.  Coming from a small town in Northeast Ohio, this acceptance was a big deal not only for myself, but also for my community.  I was one of five individuals from my high school class to attend a college outside of Ohio.  In addition, only forty percent of my high school class planned to attend a four year college after graduation.

It was a big deal for me to receive an acceptance.  Initially I was accepted to West Point, but was on the wait list for the Coast Guard Academy.  It was after I called the Director of Admissions and asked what I needed to do to receive a full acceptance, that my actual acceptance letter arrived in the mail with a note that stated, “Don’t forget that the squeaky wheel always gets heard.  Congratulations!”.

This note and the support from my community gave me an extra little giddy up in my step when I arrived to the campus on the first day of Swab Summer.  I knew that everyone else who was attending probably shared similar academic and leadership qualities as myself.  As we were sworn in on the parade field, I said goodbye to my family with a smile on my face and headed off to Dimick Auditorium for our first all hands meeting and my first of many “Biker Bar” moments while I was in college.

The first discussion during the all hands meeting was our class’ statistics.  They showed us our class average GPA from high school.  Since my high school GPA was above the class average, I felt pretty good about myself.  Next, they showed us the breakdown of how many of us were class presidents, National Honor Society members, team captains, etc.  Again, I felt pretty good about my acceptance, since I had a number of those positions listed on my high school resume.  Then they showed us the average SAT score.  I knew my score was probably on the lower end of the class average, since I had to take the test five times before I received the minimum score to apply to the Academy.  When they put our class SAT average on the screen, the person sitting next to me gasp out loud.  I immediately turned towards her and said, “Oh thank goodness someone else is as surprised as me with how high the average is.  I was afraid I would be the only one.”  I cannot begin to describe the look of disgust that she gave me.  “Surprised?” She asked.  “Really you are surprised?  My score was 200 points higher than our average.  How could you be surprised?  Our average is so low!”

Insert Biker Bar moment here.  I realized that she figured out that our class average was so low because of someone like me who had a very low SAT score compared to others in my class.  I felt completely out of place at that moment and throughout my entire freshman year.  Especially since I had three classes with the girl who looked at me like I was a disgrace to the institution.  I never participated in my classes that she was in with me and I rarely spoke when called on in other classes.  I was afraid of what she or others might think of me.  It really impacted my first year of college and unfortunately changed the type of student I was for at least a year.

It was not until the start of our Sophomore year when we returned from our separate summer training assignments that I found out that she ended up failing out of the Academy.  I realized that test scores were not a reflection of the type of student someone is and I have carried this realization with me when I transitioned from the military to education.  Since student test scores are a primary focus of schools, I keep in the back of my mind my “Biker Bar” moment and realize that students are more than a number.  It is my job as a teacher to determine where their strengths and weaknesses are and help them improve in all areas.

I look at my Biker bar moment similar Chapter 2 of Gee's book about meaning.  What is the true meaning of students' test scores?  As educators, I think sometimes we look at test scores and generalize what type of students we have in our classrooms prior to them arriving in class.  We see them as either basic, proficient, goal or advanced.  Does a basic test score mean that a student is not smart or has the skill set in a certain content area?  I think in most cases that is what some of us teachers assume initially.  Then again could the student just not be good at test taking?   (I always think about this case since I struggled with standardized tests.)  Could they have had a bad day when they were taking a certain portion of the test during the previous year?  What other things were going on in the student's life that could have effected the scores?  The meaning of test scores can change from student to student.  As educators I think we need to remember that test scores do not define our students. It is our responsibility to determine where their strengths and weaknesses lie and look at all types of data to determine how we can help them achieve success.

b. Consider your learners as they begin the new school year.   How are they negotiating/establishing their own positions in the learning community?   How are you seeing them?  What “data” about them are you reading? and how are they sending it?

Teaching in a school with one eighth grade class of seventy students, provides an interesting dynamic the first few weeks of school.  The students, most of whom have attended school together for the last nine years, have a good idea of the academic abilities of their peers.  It is the eighth grade teaching team that is figuring out the students and their abilities in the classroom.

We make it a point to meet with the entire class the first day of school and we tell them that they all have a clean slate.  No matter what they did or did not do in previous years, it does not matter now.  They might not have been the most studious or well behaved individuals in the past, but they can start fresh this year.  We as a team like to do this because each year we always see one or two students who really take it to heart and become more focused and motivated with their studies.

In addition, during the eighth grade year, the students are split into two different math courses.  As the math teacher, I look at a lot of data to determine where they should be placed.  In addition to quantitative data, such as standardized test scores and previous math grades, I use qualitative data to determine if the student can accept the challenge of the high school Algebra I curriculum.  This qualitative data consists of conferences with prior math teachers and phone conferences with the students and their families before the start of school.  I can tell you it is surprise for these students to receive a phone call from their new math teacher before the school year starts.  I purposely do this though because I want to make sure they feel confident in their abilities to take on the challenge of the higher level math course.  In addition, I want them to know before the school year starts that I have confidence in their abilities and that I am available to help them through the class.  I think it helps to start the school year off with these conversations.  The connections I make before the first day of class is priceless and it allows the students to feel comfortable enough to ask me questions.

There are four sections of math in my school, two Algebra I sections and two Pre Algebra sections.  During the first week, the Pre Algebra students always make a statement that they feel stupid because they are not in the Algebra I section.  I think it surprises them a lot when I tell them that when I was in eighth grade, I was in Pre Algebra.  Their demeanor immediately changes from one of despair to hope.  I tell them that everyone’s academic abilities are different and some people may not be good at a specific subject.  In addition I make it a point to tell them that I did not get good in math or at least truly understand the subject until Pre Algebra.  Once they hear this fact, they seem to start to feel a little bit better about their math placement.  As a teacher, the last thing I want is for a group of students to feel below or dumber than their peers.  If I can make a relate my personal experiences to their experiences then maybe they will change their perception of the class and their abilities.

With all of my classes, I try to integrate technology as much as possible.  I have more flexibility with the Pre Algebra sections since the curriculum is middle school based and not high school based like the Algebra course.  It is important for me to show the students how they can use technology to better understand the content, but also practice their math skills.  I have a student this year that has already expressed his dislike for math and for school.  Some teachers might see this as a turnoff, but I see it as a challenge.  He did mention in his class survey that I have all the students complete,  that he loves Instagram.  I have decided that I will investigate possible uses of Instagram with math and try to design at least one or two lessons that he can take part in to possibly gain interest in the subject.  He also mentioned in his survey that he does feel like he is one of the lowest in his learning community.  As his teacher, I want to help him understand the content and improve his self esteem while using technology that he likes to use in his daily life.  

The class surveys allow me to get a better idea of the students as individuals and not just numbers from standardized test scores or grades.  Most of the questions I ask are not about academics at all, but rather their interests, hobbies, and how they spend most of their time outside of school.  It is more qualitative data that helps me better understand the students in my class.    

Print to Pixel Presentation

Here is our presentation from the Print to Pixel Uncoference:  Technology in the Math Classroom - Print to Pixel

Quizlet Tutorial

Quizlet is a fantastic resource for teachers and students.  It allows individuals the ability to create online study cards for any subject or topic.  In addition, there are a variety of study cards available for users to view and utilize.  Quizlet Tutorial

I have also created a lesson plan for a math class to use Quizlet.  Although it is for a math class, it can easily be used for other subjects.  Quizlet Lesson Plan - Math Specific

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Networked Learning Project - Final Presentation

Thank goodness I was assigned the Networked Learning Project.  I would never have spent the time learning how to use the modes on my digital camera that I have been wanting to use for years.  It was such an educational experience for me and it taught me a lot about researching this topic and resources that are available.

In order to capture what I learned from the NLP, I decided to try Stupeflix to create a movie that would demonstrate the modes I used and some sample photos that I took using each of the modes.  I really liked using Stupeflix and they give you one free movie download for the first movie you create.  It was very easy to create the video and I think it is a great representation of what I learned through the project.

Please enjoy the video and let me know if there are any questions.

Module 5 - In what ways could you leverage the power of the Internet to expand work process and product by students?

Throughout the 5 modules I have been constantly thinking about how I could leverage the power of the Internet to expand my students' work process and product.  Each time I think about a different resource or tool that they can use, I immediately begin thinking about how I would teach the students the tool and how I would assess them to determine if they fully understood how to use it.  With that thought in mind, I am starting to really fall for the idea of badges.

As it was stated in the Connected Learning TV - Erin Knights and Open Badges discussion, badges are being seen more in the STEM fields.  

Luckily I teach at a magnet school that focuses on STEM and our math department in our district is all about STEM!  I think my administration would see the badges as a way to increase our students' understanding of STEM, specifically the technology piece, but it would also be a way to expand their work process and product on the Internet.  Badges could be used to develop students' online skills in an academic setting and it would also provide teachers with a form of "assessment" to determine their knowledge of the online resources that they are using.

In her blog post, Marsha Ratzel mentioned how she sees badges as a way to promote students to independently work outside of school to gain knowledge and understanding of the Internet.  Her blog post started with a comment about online digital identity and I too think that the badges could provide an excellent guideline for helping students establish and refine their digital footprint.  As a teacher I sometimes think that my students do not want to learn when they go home, but then I remember how many of my students talk about watching Animal Planet or Discovery Channel.  Kids do like learning when they leave school, as long as it is something they are interested in.  Why not give them something like badges to get them interested in learning about the Internet?  I bet they will be more likely to learn a new skill if it interests them.

The more our students are producing academic work and using the Internet to do so, the more likely it is that their digital footprint will be more of academic based.  I fear that most of my students' digital footprint now is more social and through the IT&DML program, I am learning more each day on how I can provide them with guidance in creating a digital footprint that is a better representation of who they want the world to see them as, rather than how the Internet sees them as.  If that makes any sense at all.

In conclusion, I see myself investigating the possibility of creating or finding badges that the students could use to gain skills that will assist them with expanding their work and product using the Internet.  I am afraid that there are a number of teachers who try to integrate the use of the Internet into their classrooms without thinking of a student's digital footprint.  In my opinion, it is very important that all teachers should educate their students on using the Internet properly to produce work.  Instead of limiting student access to the Internet though, which some teachers may do because they are afraid of digital footprints, teachers should encourage students to use tutorials, guidelines or badges to learn the skills necessary to continually produce work online.

NLP Blog #4 - Action/Sports Mode and Kid Mode

Initially I was going to use my dog to master the action/sports mode on my digital camera.  Since he prefers to sunbath instead of run around outside recently, I have had to change my subject to my son.  Fortunately he did not have to be prompted to be active, since he is active every waking moment of his life.

What I learned using this mode was that you really needed to anticipate the action you are trying to capture.  My face was glued to my camera pretty much the entire time just trying to get a picture of my son in action and in focus.   By using a sequence of pictures taken while my son was driving his jeep you can tell the movement of the jeep by the position the background is in reference to him.

Initially I was moving with him while I took the first couple of action shots, but I could not really tell they were action photos when I looked at them on the computer.  I researched best practices of action pictures and they a few references mentioned staying in one spot and taking a series of pictures in a row.  I apologize in advance for the transition of the photos, I tried to find the best program to use to have the slides transition quickly to demonstrate the action in the photos.

I also took this photo of my son running with his lawn mower to capture his action.  Trust me when I tell you that I would never be able to get him to stand on one leg ever.  He is always moving!

I also tried to capture one more picture of him running down the driveway with a kite.

I did find that a lot of my action pictures were blurry or at least the image of my son was blurry.  As I mentioned before, I had my face planted to the camera and constantly trying to keep my son in focus.  I read many photography blogs and tutorials that stated that if you wanted to get a good action photo you really needed luck and to be at the right time, right place.

The kid mode on the camera is very similar to the portrait mode except I have seen that the colors are more vivid in the kid mode and the background stays a little blurry to accentuate the main subject.

Below is a list of some references I used to help with mastering these two modes.  I have especially found a lot of information from the Digital Photography School website.  I would highly recommend using this website if you need information on improving your digital photo taking skills.

http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.html

http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/photography-fundamentals-articles/photography-kick-start-guide-basic-camera-settings/

http://digital-photography-school.com/digital-camera-modes