Tuesday, June 10, 2008

921-Session 4 and Deliverable #2


Session 4 & Deliverable #2

To gear you up (and psyche you up) for this session I'd like you to watch this. You have to click on it twice. "Did You Know? 2.0" :





If you do not have a high speed Internet connection (definitely the minority of you) then the video (around 8 minutes in length) is available in other formats at: http://scottmcleod.typepad.com/dangerouslyirrelevant/2007/01/gone_fischin.html

As you begin to work on, and think about, your project for Deliverable #2, (details in the syllabus and please post in both the blog and the wiki) consider using these resources to guide your integration with the students:



Past semester participants' comments and Deliverble #2's:

http://edc921.blogspot.com/2007/02/session-4.html



Rubric for student comments:
























And don't forget to visit your peers' blogs. Pamela's elementary school now has 11 bloggers, including the Principal!!! Wow! Her school only started on the blogging bandwagon last summer when one of her co-workers took my 920 class. Great job Narragansett Elementary School!









And also check out Jennifer Geller's posting. It traveled so far around the blogosphere that the author of our main text, Will Richardson, even responded by leaving a comment on her blog. These examples are just tip of the iceberg. Explore and check things out for yourself.



And if you haven't already, check out the Answers.com tool I've added to our blog. Just double click on any word and check it out. There's even an audio option.


You'll notice that Brooke mentioned some concerns with copyright issues last week. Copyright is a very complex issue, Brooke. I know some lawyers that specialize in copyright litigation and they still have to research different scenarios. But in simple terms I believe that using a picture one time, for educational purposes (with citation of source noted), very rarely is an issue.











One way to avoid copyright issues for online images, (or any other kind of file) is to do a search for files that are 'free to use and share'. For example, try a Google Advanced search, but choose the 'usage rights' option. Once there you can decide which kind of 'usage restriction' suits your needs. In this example, I did an GAdvanced search for butterfly, chose 'free to use and share', and then also restricted my search to Flickr.com (an online image site). It takes a few steps, but you can eliminate copyright issues entirely with this process. It also works for PowerPoints. In this example I did a GAdvanced search for caterpillar and restricted my file type to: PowerPoints that were 'free to use and share' and found these were my results. I chose the first link in my results list and ended up with 642 slides from the Encyclopedia Britannica (a pretty dull first choice), but if it was something that was useful then I could just choose the 'embed' option from this page and place it onto my blog w/o any copyright infringement. Like this:

































































Read this document on Scribd: Britannica Propaedia











and now you have a 642 page slideshow that is viewable in your blog posting. If this is a little over your head then don't kill yourself trying to recreate it, but if you are determined, and you get stuck, then you can always use the Blogger help section.



One of the education blogs that I subscribe to also recently wrote on this topic. Check it out: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/130020413.html

On another topic---Lynne and Joanne were discussing the editing ability of posts. Blogs are more static than wikis (which we'll be discussing later in the semester), so when you post a comment to someone else's blog and you want it changed, then your only option is to delete it and rewrite it. Lynne correctly mentioned that when you are in your own blog and you write a posting then you can always go back and edit it when you are in your 'Dashboard' screen, so these are some options.



Lastly, keep on checking each other's blogs and don't be afraid to post a comment or two. Those who have already begun using them in class would can use your comment as an example to the students that there are other people around the world reading their work. Just take a look at the # of comments to Erin's postings. Way to set the bar!!!

Happy blogging,
Dave


PS----One last reading for this session. It's worth the quick skim:
http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2008/06/02/avoid-school-talk-part-1/




16 comments:

Mrs. Kiernan said...

I've been playing with my blog, I've figured out how to post pictures and update a blog directly from Picassa (on my family blog) and how to post a picture from the internet. What would be the appropriate way to cite a picture from the internet? Also, how do you post via email? THANKS!

jack'sblog said...

Mea maxima culpa. Late and incomplete Deliverable 1.(Hope you still accept this, Dave.)
I would use blogger.com as the easiest to use in the classroom because it's the easiest for me to use. Therefore, it would be easiest for me to teach the students how to use it. It's that simple. The service also has privacy controls, which I deem essential for student use.
I could use this tool in my discipline in a number of different ways, including the following:
Journaling: Instead of requiring my students to journal in traditional notebooks, I could ask them to post journal entries to a clasroom blog so that other students can react to the postings and they can react to other students'.
Ongoing "conversation" about characters, themes, etc. in assigned reading: Students could use the classroom blog to register their thoughts and reactions to the literature we read. Their required entries, as others, could be part of a classroom participation grade that would be most effective for those reluctant speakers.
Open forum: Students share their (appropriate) thoughts about classroom and/or school policies and possible recommendations for improvements.
Independent reading book discussions: If students want to share their reactions to a book, magazine or newspaper article, or anything else they've read outside the classroom, they can post it on the blog and solicit comments.
Hopefully that catches me up to Deliverable 2 without any serious repercussions. Now on to Deliverable 2. Promise this one will be both complete and prompt.

jack'sblog said...

Dave: I hope this is what you're looking for. I have copied and pasted it to a word document, and that's how I HOPE to post it to the Wiki. So, as the Plains Indians used to say: "Let's Wikiup!" Okay, lame joke. Colleagues: Feel free to carve up this lesson plan.
Session 4: Deliverable #2
This is an introductory lesson to Player Piano, Kurt Vonnegut's dystopian novel about technology's role in society.
Objectives:
1)Students will learn the historical context of the role that technology has played in society beginning with the Industrial Revolution in England after reading and discussing the Luddites.
2)Students will learn what a player piano is.
c)Students will review and get reinforcement of metaphor as a literary device.
3) Students will be able draw inferences about the theme of the novel they are preparing to read based on its title, their knowledge of Luddites, player pianos, and metaphor.
4)Students will identify the role and relevance that various technologies play in contemporary society.
5) Students will identify specific technological devices and discuss their relevance in contemporary society.
6) Students will use their blogs to write grammatically sound journal responses to the following prompts: (a) Write in paragraph form as many as 5 technological devices that are essential to the quality of your life and explain why they are essential. (b) Imagine what your life would be like without them and describe it as best you can using specific examples of your daily lifestyles. (c) Based on your knowledge of Luddites and player pianos, predict what Vonnegut's novel will be about and identify possible themes.
Activities:
1. Teacher will distribute literature in the form of brief handouts on the topics of Luddites and player pianos.
2. Teacher will read each handout aloud to class or ask for a student volunteer.
3. Teacher will reinforce student understanding of the literature through brief question and answer discussion.
4. Teacher will review metaphor, provide examples, and ask for examples from students.
5. Students will respond orally to teacher questions about possible topic and themes of Vonnegut's novel.
6. Students will brainstorm current technological devices and their relevance and/or importance in their lives.
7. Students will begin rough drafting their blog responses to be completed for homework on any available personal computers.
Assessment:
Formative assessment (25%): Classroom participation in discussion and question and answer sessions:
Summative assessment(75%): Blog rubric attached. http://www.masters.ab.ca/bdyck/Blog/
The success of this lesson should hinge largely on student participation and enthusiasm for the topic. The background reading on the Luddites and the player piano is brief, but it should be enough to arouse student curiosity and generate discussion on the role that technology has played and continues to play in society. The preponderance of technology and student use of it should give them ample examples to discuss and/or write about. Typically, my students will resist the writing, maybe even more so if it's on a blog for others to read. I will give them the option of either speaking about them to their classmates or producing a poster that displays images of the devices with brief explanations of their relevance. I would want to continue having students write journal responses in the form of blogs and continue to urge them to comment to their classmates' entries. Based on their reading and their blog responses, students should be able to produce a persuasive essay on the topics and themes from Vonnegut's Player Piano.

Unknown said...

Brooke Strachan
EDC 921
June 16, 2008

The Lower School Library Blog:

As a school librarian at my school, I am in the fortunate position of having a flexible schedule. As a result, I see my students on a project-by–project basis. Since I don’t teach my students during a regularly scheduled time, I foresee my blog as a place for students and faculty to visit to learn the latest happenings in the library and to look for book recommendations. I will regularly update the books I have read and tag them with different categories so that students can find books that they might be interested in. I will also encourage them to share their comments when they finish a book listed on the blog.

Implementation:
I will first, recruit some of our more avid library users to comment on some of the books I have recommended or to write reviews of their own. Next, I will take 5-10 min. at the start of my classes to show students how to access and comment on the blog. Periodically through the year, I will show the students in the first few minutes of class the updates on the blog. Finally, I will present my blog at a faculty meeting to show my colleagues how to access and maneuver it. I hope that this will lead the teachers to think of ways in which we could incorporate blogging into future classes.

Objectives:
Students will think creatively about the books that they have read.
Students will express their ideas about the books they have read in a public forum.
Students will select books of interest to them based on teacher and student reviews.
Students and faculty will use blog to find out what is new in the library.

Potential challenges:
• It may be challenging to have students post their comments on the blog voluntarily. If this is the case, I may need to create some fun incentives to entice the kids to visit the blog. Perhaps I could have a question of the week and enter correct answers into a drawing. Or I might try to encourage guest bloggers around our school community to write posts.
• Not all students may have an email address. If not I will have them type up a word document and I will post their comments for them.
• Not all students will have access to the internet. I will make sure I invite interested students to the library over recess. In fact, I may start a library blogging club once a week during recess.
• Time is always a challenge. I will try and make sure I devote 45 min. a week to posting to my blog. I will also use that time to keep up with what is new with blogs and learn more about the features of edublogs software.


Future Goals:
1. Book Reports. Many of my teachers bring students to the library to hear me book talk books for them to choose for their book reports. I am hoping to collaborate with a class room teacher to have the students post their reports to the blog. Not only will this be a fun way to publish their work, it will also allow students to recommend their favorite books to their classmates. I find that the children sometimes prefer the suggestions of their peers to those of adults.
2. Summer Reading. I would love to find a way to create sneak previews, using some sort of mixed media program, of our suggested summer reading books and then embedding these in our blog. This would provide a much more fun and interactive format for presenting the students’ summer reading choices.
3. Audio. Finally, many of my teachers look for creative ways for improving their student’s reading fluency. I could see having students record their book recommendations and posting them to the blog. I think the students would enjoy listening to one another’s reviews and the teachers would appreciate having another way in which to improve their students’ verbal fluency.

Assessment:
1. Students posting to blog on regular basis.
2. Students discussing blog posts.
3. Students, faculty, and parents checking blog for updates.

AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner:
2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge. 2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.

3. Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society. 3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners. 3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively. 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. 3.3.5 Contribute to the exchange of ideas within and beyond the learning community.

4. Pursue personal and aesthetic growth. 4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth. 4.1.2 Read widely and fluently to make connections with self, the world, and previous reading. 4.1.3 Respond to literature and creative expressions of ideas in various formats and genres. 4.1.5 Connect ideas to own interests and previous knowledge and experience. 4.1.7 Use social networks and information tools to gather and share information. 4.1.8 Use creative and artistic formats to express personal learning. 4.2.4 Show an appreciation for literature by electing to read for pleasure and expressing an interest in various literary genres. 4.3.1 Participate in the social exchange of ideas, both electronically and in person. 4.3.4 Practice safe and ethical behaviors in personal electronic communication and interaction. 4.4.5 Develop personal criteria for gauging how effectively own ideas are expressed

Mrs. Matarese said...

Deliverable #2: Integrating an Edublog Into an Existing Lesson Plan
Title of the Lesson:
Sequencing in Expository Text, Water,
Investigation 4:
Ellen Swallow Richards: An Early Ecologist
GLEs
R – 3 – 7.1
Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository and practical texts) by obtaining information from text features (e.g. table of contents, glossary, basic transition words, bold or italicized text, headings, graphic organizers, charts, graphs or illustrations)
R – 3 – 7.3
Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository and practical texts) by organizing information to show understanding (e.g. representing main / central ideas or details within text through charting or mapping).
R – 3 – 7.5
Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository and practical texts) by identifying the characteristics of a variety of types of texts.
R – 3 – 13
Uses comprehension strategies (flexibly and as needed) before, during and after reading literary and informational text.
W–8–10
Students use a recursive process, including pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and critiquing to produce final drafts of written products.
W–8–11.2 Sharing thoughts, observations, or impressions
W–8–7.2 Stating and maintaining a focus/controlling idea/thesis
W–8–8.4 Commenting on the significance of the information, when appropriate W–10–11.1 Writing with frequency, including in-school, out-of-school, and during the summer
W–10–11.2 Sharing thoughts, observations, or impressions


Goals:
Students will recognize signal words, for sequencing, by underlining them in the text.
Students will write an expository piece using time order words.

Instructional Material and Resources
- A copy of pp. 24 – 26 of Foss Science Stories Water for each student.
- Large piece of chart paper with signal words for sequence written on it.
- Students will need access to a computer for writing portion of lesson.

Introduction:
To teach this lesson, I will use a “think aloud.”
To open the lesson I will explain “what, why and when.”
What:
- I will open this lesson by explicitly telling children that while there are six basic text structures in expository text, today we will concentrate on just one: sequence. Children already know the following time order words: first, next, then, after that, finally or lastly.
- I will invite one child to explain what sequence means. If necessary, I will use the “re-voicing” technique to clarify what the child has said.
- I will go on to explain that in a sequence, the events unfold in a particular order.
Why:
- I will explain why it is important to use this strategy in reading. I will tell children that they will learn more from the text just by knowing how to identify the text structure, sequence. Also, they will comprehend more when they can make text-to-text connections with other text structures that are sequence.
When:
Next, I will explain that children might see this text structure in recipes, biographies and autobiographies, instructions, historical accounts, and science and social studies texts. I will ask children if they have ideas of other instances when they might see the text structure, sequence.


Pre-Activities:
Modeling
- While students observe, I will model how to identify the text structure using a think aloud. I will reveal, one word at a time, the signal words on a large piece of chart paper. Then, I will ask children if they have ideas for other signal words; hopefully, they will reiterate the time order words above. After children read the first paragraph silently, I will read it aloud as they all follow along.
I will point out the signal word, “today” and highlight it in my copy of the text. Finally, I will point out the phrase, “In the early 1900’s” and I will highlight it. I will clarify that while the list does not include dates or years, dates and years are indicators of sequence, provided they go in order. I will invite the children to underline these words in their copies of the text.

Guided Practice
- I will direct the students’ attention to the second paragraph and ask them if they notice any transition words. I will ask the children to label paragraphs one and two with a “T” to indicate that we did this portion together.
- For paragraph three, I will allow children to work in pairs and we will discuss their findings as a small group. I will provide scaffolding for any children who need it. At this point, children should have underlined six words or phrases on the first page.

Independence
Children will work independently to identify all of the other transition words on pages 25 and 26 in the text by underlining them.

Writing Assignment:
Children will write an expository piece; it may be a how-to paragraph, an autobiography, a science piece, etc. The students may choose the type of expository text they write. The writing piece must include sequence words. The writing piece will be published on the class blog.

Extension/Adaptation:
Students will read and post comments to at least two classmates on the blog. The focus of their comments will be “stars and wishes” for their peers’ writing pieces. Students will make suggestions (wishes) or give praise (stars) about the use of sequence words. They may suggest that transition, or signal, words be inserted in the body of the text in strategic places in order to enhance the readability of the text. Or, they may admire the way students’ writing pieces were easy to understand because of the way they used signal or transition words.

Potential Challenges;
- Some students may not have access to the internet on a daily basis.
- Students may discriminate about whom they post comments. For example, they may post comments about their friends’ writing pieces only.
-
Assessment:
See following rubric.
Expository Text Structure:
Sequence

Rubric
4 3 2 1
Reading I underlined between 8 and 10 signal words in the text. I underlined between 4 and 7 signal words in the text. I underlined between 1 and 3 signal words in the text. I did not underline any signal words.
Writing I used at least 5 transition words to enhance the readability of the text. I used 3 - 5 transition words to enhance the readability of the text. I used less than 3 transition words in my writing piece. I did not use any transition words in my writing piece.





Session 4 Comments

I found the “Did You Know” video very interesting. It really resonated with me because I viewed it after having been in the presence of 50 or so recent high school graduates at a graduation party. They all had cell phones and were constantly talking, texting, recording, photographing, etc. (I am rarely in the presence of teenagers.) With a 13 month old baby of my own, I can’t help but wonder what his world will be like in fifteen years.

Also, I like Jack’s idea to include blog postings as part of the classroom participation grade for reluctant speakers. Brooke’s idea to have students make audio recordings for fluency purposes is terrific; the children will love it! I am very impressed with everyone’s blogs!

Erin Wright said...

Erin Wright
Reading/Literacy
Coventry High School

DELIVERABLE #2: Blogging Story Notes Reading Lesson: Gr. 9-10 Reading Class

Introduction:
One lesson created as a “task” in our literacy program to strengthen kids’ note-taking abilities as well as their literal and critical understanding of text is “Story Notes”. “Story Notes” consists of about four pages of lined paper with spaces indicated for students to fill in various info. on a text such as title, author, genre, and skills reinforcement(predictions, characterization, retelling chapters, and main ideas).

It would be great to use the blog to expand upon this lesson’s learning potential. Blogging about these story elements could add the dimension of discussion and evaluation.

Students will already be familiar with the blog because we will do this lesson after we have been blogging on our weekly topic for a few weeks. I hope to implement this lesson plan in the beginning of the school year, but maybe not for the first novel. Students should be comfortable with the whole blogging experience before this lesson.

This lesson is leant to be adapted for any fictional text and to be used more than once if desired. It will be administered as a “task” eligible for inclusion in a student’s graduation portfolio as either an ELA task or a task meeting one of Coventry High School’s “Learner Expectations” (L.E.s).

Goals:
-The student will be able to identify (in fictional text) title, author, genre.
-The student will make predictions.
-The student will describe and analyze characters.
-The student will retell chapters in basic format or in character’s point of view.
- The student will identify the main idea of any particular chapter, paragraph, or section of a fictional text.

District Goals Covered: (L.E.s)
1a Read widely, attentively and on grade level for a variety of purposes, including academic, vocational, and leisure.
1b Write for a variety of purposes and audiences, creating suitable ways to communicate ideas.
1c Speak, listen and converse intelligently in order to share information, build relationships, and promote understanding.
2a Work cooperatively and independently.
2c Collect and organize information.
3a Accept personal responsibility for the well being of self and others.
3b Work responsibly in groups and as individuals.

State Goals (Grade Span Expectations, ELA):
R–10–4: Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of literary texts by…
• R–10–4.1 Identifying, describing, or making logical predictions about character (such as protagonist or antagonist), setting, problem/solution, or plots/subplots, as appropriate to text; or identifying any significant changes in character, relationships, or setting over time; or identifying rising action, climax, or falling action (State)
• R–10–4.2 Paraphrasing or summarizing key ideas/plot, with major events sequenced, as appropriate to text (State)
R—10—16 Generates a personal response to what is read through a variety of means …
• R—10—16.1 Comparing stories or other texts to related personal experience, prior knowledge, or to other books (local)
• R—10—16.2 Providing relevant details to support the connections made or judgments (interpretive, analytical, evaluative, or reflective) (local)
W–10–2 In response to literary or informational text, students show understanding of plot /ideas/concepts by…
• W–10–2.1 Selecting and summarizing key ideas to set context, appropriate to audience (State)
• W–10–2.3 Connecting what has been read (plot/ideas/concepts) to prior knowledge, other texts, or the broader world of ideas, by referring to and explaining relevant ideas or themes (State)

Pre-Activity:
As mentioned above, students should by now be familiar with blogging.

Activating Schema:
As a pre-activity, we could do a week’s blog discussion on a topic related to the schema of the text. For example, if we were about to read “Breathing Underwater” by Alex Flinn, about domestic abuse, we could have a pre-reading blog discussion week about this topic with a possible prompt: “What is domestic violence? Do an internet search and post your findings. Then add a brief statement about your personal beliefs or opinions on the topic.” Students love these kinds of open-ended questions where they get to be the storyteller and share experiences or personal beliefs.

When they get their copy of the book, we’ll look at it together, and read the first page or two. Then we’ll go back to the blog and post our predictions about the text. I usually try to model this by responding to my own blog post question.

Prompts:
Students will have a choice between two questions each week. The particular questions would depend on the text, but would focus on characterization, setting, summarizing, retelling, or main idea. An example of a typical week’s posting question would look like this:
“This week, you will choose one prompt to address based on characterization:
#1: Choose a character and write one paragraph describing the opening scene from that character’s point of view.
OR
#2: Which character has the most to lose by the end of the book? Explain your answer in one paragraph.”

Students will also be required to make a weekly response to someone else’s post, using a rating scale of 1-4 (4-exceeds, 3-meets, 2-almost meets, 1 fails to meet) using guidelines in the rubric (below).

I plan to include options for alternate assessment/extension. For example, “As an optional alternative to this week’s assignment, or for extra credit, take it a step further and act out your scene for #1 to the class.” This would appeal to different learning styles, such as those who do better with oral communication than with written. It also provides the opportunity for students to bring their character understanding to a deeper, more personal level.

Assessment:
“Blog Posting Rubric” available at www.wrightsreading.blogspot.com and pasted here in non-grid-format:

Post Content Quality:
4- Thoughtful, meaningful, and complete. Addresses the prompt.
3- Complete. Addresses the prompt.
2- Complete. Attempts to address the prompt.
1- Incomplete or completely fails to address the prompt.
0-No post

Reply Content Quality:
4- Thoughtful, respectful, and meaningful to the poster. Fair rating.
3- Respectful and meaningful to poster. Fair rating.
2- Respectful/complete
OR
Fair rating.
1- Not respectful, meaningful, complete, and unfair rating/no rating.
0-No reply

Spelling/Grammar/Mechanics:
4-Perfect!
3-Almost perfect.
2-More than a couple of errors.
1-Needs major fix-up
0-no post/reply.

Promptness:
3-Post and reply were online by the due date(Monday of the following week)
2-Post and reply are online, but late by four days or less
1-Post or reply more than four days late or never submitted
0-Both post and reply not yet submitted.

*15 possible points worth 6.7 points each. 12 points must be earned for proficiency, with at least a 3 in post and reply categories.

Feedback:
I plan to post replies to students on the blog and to give them each week a copy of their graded rubric along with my comments.

Considerations/Limitations:
I plan to give students time in class to work on the blog, but not unlimited time. If they cannot finish in the time allotted, they may work on it at home. However, that could be a problem because some students don’t have internet access at home. I will have to see how many students this becomes a problem for, and maybe allow them extra time in class if available.

Students with dyslexia or fine motor disabilities might find it easier to speak their answers and have someone else transcribe the post.

This weekly assignment appeals to me because students do have the capability of doing work from home, even if they miss a class. It also makes them more accountable for their work. If the work is on the blog, it’s done. There is no issue of “you lost it”, “I lost it”, “the dog ate it,” etc.

Erin

CHSEinfo said...

Ami Sinclair
Resource
9th-12th Grade

Deliverable #2

Intro:
As a resource teacher I have put much thought into how I want to use the blog I created in the classroom. I will use the blog as a resource for students and parents to turn to for important dates. I will also use the blog as a reference for students to ask for help on an assignment that they are having difficulty on.

Standards:
State of Rhode Island’s Grade Span Expectations Definitions
English Language Arts

W-3 Writing in Response to Literary or Informational Text/Make & Support Analytical Judgments
W-3.1 establishing a claim
W-3.2 making inferences about relationships
W-3.3 using details and references
W-3.4 organizing ideas, using transitions/drawing conclusions to synthesize information

Goals:
1. Make students aware of where they can turn to when having difficulty in classes.
2. When in resource and they say they have nothing to do they can explore the blog to improve their writing.

Pre-Activities:
1. Ask the students if they are familiar with blogs and what could be the educational benefits of using them.
2. Show the students the blog that I have created and other blogs that have been up and running and working in classrooms and brainstorm what the students would like on a classroom blog.
3. Go over the rules of using the blog and have each student sign a sheet that they will follow the rules.

Writing Activities:
Have the students respond to the blog and comment about what the other students write.

Extension and Adaptation:
The students will be able to work on different subjects based on what their needs are. The students so not get grades in resource but they do receive effort grades so their participation in the blog will determine their effort.

Future Goals:
Hoping that the students will go along with this activity because they do not get graded they will be able to keep going back to the blog to keep up and improve their writing. Have the student’s parents not only use the blog to look for important dates but also comment on what their children write.

Mrs. Kiernan said...

Deliverable # 2
Integration of an Edublog

I would like to integrate a blog into my Literature Circles and use as an addition to our Reader Response Journals. During our Literature Circle time I introduce comprehension strategies via a read aloud where I model in a think aloud form. I am hoping to take one journal entry per week and have it posted to my blog.

Reading GLE’s

R-4-4 Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of literary texts by…
R–4–4.1 Identifying or describing character(s), setting, problem/ solution, major events, or plot, as appropriate to text; or identifying any significant changes in character(s) over time (State)
R–4–4.2 Paraphrasing or summarizing key ideas/plot, with major events sequenced, as appropriate to text (State)
R–4–4.3 Generating questions before, during, and after reading to enhance recall, expand understanding and/or gain new information (Local)

R–4–5 Analyze and interpret elements of literary texts, citing evidence where appropriate by…
R–4–5.1 Making logical predictions (State)
R–4–5.3 Making inferences about problem, conflict, or solution (State)
R–4–5.6 Identifying causes or effects, including possible motives of characters (Local)

R–4–16 Generates a personal response to what is read through a variety of means…
R–4–16.1 Comparing stories or other texts to related personal experience, prior knowledge, or to other books (Local)

Guided Practice:
Students will listen to the Read Aloud/Think Aloud and interact with the teacher by making their own Inferences, asking their own questions, and creating visualizations while the teacher reads. Students will then practice in a group with picture books. Finally, students will practice on their own with their literature circle books, stopping to discuss their group’s inferences, questions, etc.

Students will:
Read the assigned chapters and post to the blog, answering questions posed by the teacher.
Post their inferences, visualizations (drawn & captured via digital camera), and questions to the blog.
Comment on other student’s questions that have been posted.
Summarize the story using the Somebody wanted but, so outline we utilized throughout the school year.

Potential trials
I am eager to integrate this into my classroom that I am almost willing to toss all the paper and pen activities and go strictly to online learning but I am still working out the logistics of how. We have 1 computer lab in our school, which can be utilized by anyone who signs up for it, as well as 2 laptop carts with sign up sheets. A potential trial I may have is the computer lab may be occupied. I think I will be able to avoid this by choosing 2 or 3 days per week that my class will use the lab.

Many of my 4th graders are not familiar with this type of technology; therefore, we will have to spend time introducing them to the logistics of blogging.

It would worry me as to how many students have access to the internet outside of school, or even if parents will allow their child to participate if they are unfamiliar with the technology themselves.

During my Literature Circle groups I have 3-4 book talks going on at the same time. I will need to organize my blog in a way that all groups will be able to post to their specific book questions. I may be able to solve this problem by posing theme related questions or general character development questions. Many of the books I choose all have a similar theme.

Evaluation:

5 – All questions have been answered. Assigned reading is complete. Journal response has been posted to the blog. A thoughtful response to classmate’s questions has been posted. All of the assigned writing was complete, using lots of details and examples from the book, responded to someone else’s comment in a positive way.

4 – All questions have been answered. Assigned reading is complete. Journal response has been posted to the blog. All of the assigned writing is complete with good detail and some examples from the book, Tried to respond to someone else’s comment in a positive way.

3 – Some questions have been answered. Assigned reading is complete. Participated in the discussion some of the time and sometimes forgot to wait for a turn to speak. Post to the blog is complete but with some errors.

2 – Some questions have been answered. Assigned reading is incomplete. Participation in the discussion was sporadic and most of the time forgot to wait for a turn to speak. Did not attempt to post to the blog.

1 - No attempt was made.

Jeannine said...

Session 4 Deliverable #2

I am a reading specialist who coaches teachers and works one-on-one with students who need extra support. Therefore, the purpose of my blog is to serve as a communication tool, initially for teachers in my school and then for parents, students and administrators.

Trials
My plan is to show the staff my own blog at one of our first faculty meetings. I will explain how we will be using it as a collaborative communication tool. The entire school staff is on our school improvement team along with a handful of parents and community members. We usually began the school year with four to five educational book selections for a kind of literature circle book club. I can use this opportunity to have teachers begin to use the blog as a collaborative reflection space for our readings.
The blog will also include links to educational websites and blogs. I will post a monthly reading newsletter to inform teachers of upcoming assessment dates, district information and useful reading tips. I will also include book lists focusing on comprehension strategies and book titles that model effective writing skills.

Once the teachers from the school improvement team feel comfortable using the blog I’d like to find one volunteer to let me work in their classroom with the students. If I can get just one teacher interested and we do additional staff development together more teachers may be willing to jump on board. Once these students from this “test” class are up and running and we have student work posted, I will then open it up to parents and administrators to view and respond to the students.

Tests
Although we do reading week in April, since starting this class, I began posting the week long activities on my blog to not only get some practice but also post something that may be helpful to another teacher.

I still feel that the true test is going to be convincing the teachers that blogging isn’t another new fad that is going to cut into their day. I have to find a way to show the teachers that it isn’t added work but a motivated way to get students to write in a meaningful way.

Potential Missteps
Being new to blogging, wikis and podcasts I may only be one baby step ahead of those I’m trying to model for. This is something that I will share with the staff and see who is willing to learn with me. I feel that this class has given me so many resources already I will probably learn more and more each time I go back and read it over.

Potential Successes
I am hoping once one class is going strong more teachers will become interested and ask to learn more. My biggest hope is that the entire school will be blogging within two years. I’ll be mentioning and pushing this class to the entire staff.

Future Goals
I would love to be the first school in the district to use blogging as a way to foster partnerships with students across the globe, share student work and communicate our learning with parents. The most important future goal would be to open up the world to kids who don’t know much beyond their own backyard.

Comments
The video “Did You Know” was very inspiring. What a way for me to open up our school based professional development on blogging. The link to “Learning to Avoid School Talk” was an extremely motivating way to get students to think about their reading. I will not only share this link with my staff but will try to motivate one of the fifth grade teachers to use music as one way to share out a book. I will also forward this link to our Social Studies curriculum development committee as another form of performance based assessment.

Lynne Deakers said...

Summary of Deliverable #2
As school librarian (K-8) I will use the Dolphin Book Nook blog to introduce book titles, create some discussion on the books and solicit other recommendations from students. I will create categories so they can become familiar with the idea of genres and also add good author web links as we discover them. If a classroom is doing a novel in literature circles or as a class read I will put it up on the blog and encourage the teachers to view it and show the students how to comment. They might even require a guided comment from each student as part of the class assignment, or have each group talk about a certain aspect of the book. This will be first exposure to blogging for many of our teachers and I hope to set an example for them to see how the blog works and how easy it is to initiate one. I have posted the assignment to our class wiki.

I wonder…....
Can invited authors stay on until you delete them or do you have to re-invite them every few weeks?
I have spent hours playing around with creating a blog in edublogs so I could edit comments, etc. and I tried to setup student accounts and I got in way over my head and decided to pull back and go slow at this. Plus I could not find a page design that I liked that would allow the sidebars I wanted. Even though the instructions make it sound like you can add widgets of your choice, it did not work for me. The widgets were already there and some designs would not take a calendar or whatever.

I would like to allow qualified entries to this blog that I can review first but this would allow students to add books they have read and liked. How do I do this?

When I added my assistant as author I did not see an option for me to get entry first to review?

Also, it would be great to search the blog by book title. Is this possible?
Is it possible to link to a certain page of your blog?
I was thinking how cool it would be if I could include my blog review link in a local tag in the mark record in our online catalog

Joanne D. said...

Deliverable #2

American Dream Definition: An Ongoing Understanding

Introduction: Junior English students will be visiting the concept of the American Dream throughout the year as it applies to the information presented in American History and the novels read and discussed in American Literature. In order to adapt personal understanding with the new ideas introduced through history and literature, students will discuss, research, interview, and develop their personal definition of the American Dream. The students will develop a collage of images supporting their definition, post a definition to our class blog, and read and evaluate the definitions of their classmates.

As an extension of this lesson, students will also revisit the idea of the American Dream after reading each major novel and short story. In order to adapt their understanding a different writing prompt will be given for students to analyze how the concept of the American Dream is demonstrated in these major works.

Objectives:
 Students will develop a personal understanding of the concept of the American Dream
 Students will use research, interviews, and literature to assist in understanding the diversity and complexity of the American Dream
 Students will use multimedia format to communicate an understanding of the American Dream including a poster/collage and the classroom blog
 Students will apply their understanding of the American Dream to the themes and motifs presented in American Literature

Activities:
1. Introduce the concept of the American Dream by reading a brief overview from teacher notes. Ask students to brainstorm ideas that help define the American dream and write these ideas on classroom whiteboard. Assign the discussion of concept with parents or grandparents and summarize understanding in a paragraph.

2. Share out information gained from discussion with parents or grandparents. Assign research of American Dream. Allow students to select their own sites, but provide the following resources as options.
Resources:

American Dream links from Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/97/dream/thedream.html

American Dream on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream

American Dream on PBS: http://www.pbs.org/search/search_results.html?q=American+DreaM&btnG=GO

American Dream as portrayed in American novel: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/resources.htmlMultimedia options of American Dream: Podcasts:http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/podcasts.html Video:http://americandreamproject.org/centers/community/videos.php

3. Draft a personal definition of the American Dream. Use specific details to elaborate abstract terms such as happiness and success. Include resources that helped clarify concepts of the American Dream.

4. Peer-edit drafts of American Dream. Using peer-edit form, check for errors in grammar, punctuation, and usage; offer assistance in reaching specifics when generalizations impede clarity of ideas; make recommendations for including references from reliable resources. Assign collage of images to accompany definition and hand out criteria for poster.

5. Demonstrate posting to class blog using projector in classroom. Provide criteria for final definition that will be posted to blog. Brainstorm appropriate and inappropriate response to blog. Assign post.

6. Throughout the year develop writing prompts related to the concept of the American Dream as it is displayed in the literature read by students. Direct students to the class blog to respond to writing prompts and to respond to messages posted by classmates.


Standards:
National Standards for Teaching English:
Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience

Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

National Standards for Teaching Technology:
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

Montana Standards:
Reading-
Content Standard #1: Students construct meaning as they comprehend, interpret, and respond to what they read.
Content Standard #4: Students select, read, and respond to print and nonprint material for a variety of purposes.
Content Standard #5: Students gather, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information from a variety of sources and communicate their findings in ways appropriate to their purposes and audiences.
Writing-
Content Standard #1: Students write clearly and effectively
Content Standard #4: Students write for a variety of purposes and audiences
Library Media-
Content Standard #4: Students distinguish among, evaluate, and appropriately use current and emerging media and technology in the inquiry process
Technology-
Content Standard #3: Students use a variety of technologies for communication
Content Standard #6: Students apply technological abilities and knowledge to construct new personal understanding.

Extensions
Students with increased interest or ability will be encouraged to include the following in their posts:
 Links to interesting articles or sites that help clarify the definition of the American Dream
 A podcast of an interview or a video cast of an interview about the American Dream
 Link to flickr to display the collage develop to complement the definition

Adaptations
Students with specific accommodations will work individually with classroom teach and librarian to fulfill the assignment. Assistance will be provided as accommodations require. Such accommodations may include:
 verbally creating definition of the American Dream and teacher/librarian will post
 locating and reading articles referencing concept with teacher/librarian assistance
 creating collage with teacher/librarian assistance


Assessment
Use the following rubric for evaluation of blog, responses to student comments, and collage

Preparation/Process: 5-exmplar, 4-not quite exemplar, 3-developed, 2-not quite developed, 1-limited

Content knowledge: 5-exmplar, 4-not quite exemplar, 3-developed, 2-not quite developed, 1-limited

User contribution: 5-exmplar, 4-not quite exemplar, 3-developed, 2-not quite developed, 1-limited

Format and Structure: 5-exmplar, 4-not quite exemplar, 3-developed, 2-not quite developed, 1-limited

Text Communication: 5-exmplar, 4-not quite exemplar, 3-developed, 2-not quite developed, 1-limited

Image Communication: 5-exmplar, 4-not quite exemplar, 3-developed, 2-not quite developed, 1-limited

Separate participation points will be awarded based on contribution to class discussion and evaluation of peer editing efforts.

(I have a more detailed version but could not attach because of format)

Mr. Dudley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr. Dudley said...

Deliverable #2:

The following is a version of a lesson plan that I wrote for a 6 Traits of Writing class -- modified to include some blogging...

Purpose: To develop the students’ ability to write strong, attention-grabbing leads

Goal: Each student will practice writing leads corresponding to the four types of leads outlined on the “Leads, Leads, & More Leads!!!!!” handout.

GLE Addressed: W-6-6.2 (Selecting the appropriate information to set context, which may include a lead/hook)

Prewriting Activities:
1) Prior to this lesson, the students will have been introduced to the Big Potato Lead, the Snapshot Lead, the Talking Lead, and the Thinking Lead. They will have participated in an introductory lesson in which they will have had to categorize various leads found in various books, magazines, newspapers, etc….
2) The students will have been conducting research for an upcoming research paper on an animal of their choosing.

Activities:
1) The students will be divided into pairs. Each pair will receive a picture from a National Geographic magazine and be assigned one of the four lead types.
2) Each team of students will work together to craft a lead of the assigned type as if they were writing a story or an article to go with their picture.
3) Each team will then share their picture and their lead with the entire class. The class will discuss how effective each team’s written leads are in grabbing attention and provoking curiosity. The instructor will ensure that the discussion also includes thinking on whether or not certain lead types may work better with the various pictures.
4) ASSIGNMENT: The students will independently write four leads for their animal research papers (Big Potato, Snapshot, Talking, and Thinking) to be posted on their instructor’s blog.

Extension and Adaptation: Students who demonstrate advanced readiness for writing various types of leads can be challenged to produce four different leads, one of each type, for their picture during the partner phase of the lesson. In addition, such students can have the opportunity to craft alternate leads for the some of their favorite books or pieces of literature.

Assessment: At the bottom of their lead post to the blog, students will rank their four leads numerically in terms of effectiveness (effectiveness being thought of, in this case, as grabbing attention and provoking curiosity). Students will review each other’s posts and comment (ranking each other’s leads); the instructor will also rank (via comment) each student’s post. The end result will be each student having four different options to introduce their research papers as well as feedback as to the effectiveness of each lead.

Anonymous said...

I took a slightly creative approach to this assignment to help it fit within my discipline. First, I just wanted to expand my personal blog and make it useful for me on a daily basis. As a traveling therapist, I'm in a number of districts, schools and interact with a variety of staff. I was hoping to develop my blog to help keep track of all the tools that are available online that I can share with others.
I've found a new community of therapists who are starting their own blogs. Some are outstanding and I can't believe how much I've learned from just reading and exploring. It is the ultimate professional development tool. I hoped to keep this blog as my 'center' and build off of this blog. I added a few links- my favorite blogs, favorite companies, and a place to link to my blogs that I will use with students.

One particular classroom where I want to integrate a blog is in a high school life skill class. Many of the students in this class are working on prevocational and independent living skills. Each week, the students plan a "Soup" that they sell to the faculty on Thursday during the lunch period. The process of making the soup takes all week. The students plan, shop, estimate the cost, chop, cook, prepare the soup to sell on Thursday. It is through this functional activity where students work on writing, reading, math and communication skills. This year due to popular demand, we published a recipe book of all the weekly soups. We have almost 20 staff members who consistently support the program each week. Next year, I hope to include a weekly update through the blog called Thursday's Lunch. My goal would be to identify one or two students (I have one in mind) in this Life Skills class that could manage the blog including posting - The announcement of the weekly Soup, the recipe and ingredients. At the end of the week we would complete a survey from faculty to see if people liked the recipe. It will be a great activity for the students to post and read the comments at the end of each week.

In this life skill class there are students with varying skills and reading levels. Many of the students in these classes are struggling readers and writers. I'm often involved due to their difficulties with fine motor, visual problems or general social/ communication difficulties. Utilizing technology is often a motivating factor to have students practice their reading and writing skills. With the classroom teacher's help, we will identify the appropriate students for this job of managing the blog and monitor their performance and independence level. The goal would be to reinforce their keyboarding skills, functional proofreading and for some select students utilizing specialized software that may help with word processing.
This will help us keep a log of our weekly progress and parents can also be involved in seeing what their children are doing during this portion of the “life skills” class. I also think it will help integrate the students more within the school community- meeting other teachers and staff that they may not have the opportunity to interact on a weekly basis. A great deal of learning and motivation comes from these simple interactions with various staff and teachers around the building. I hope that this blog will be another vehicle to encourage this interaction and community integration.

Ms. DiTusa said...

I've been looking through many of my classmates' blogs, and I am very impressed! I do believe that as soon as I actually put time into my own blog, I'm going to steal...I mean, borrow...some of your ideas!

One blog I visited was Erin’s. I really like the idea of the voki - nice touch, very Jetsons!

The discussion topics you've chosen are appropriate in that all will be able to contribute since they can relate; personal experience is a great way to draw them into blogging. You have the prompt about advice for the incoming freshmen. Those students who have moved beyond the freshmen experience feel like experts, and students who will soon be freshmen can learn from their peers rather than just hearing their teachers preach the same exact advice. At our school, we use our advisory period in a similar manner; for example, we meet in small groups of different grade levels to discuss what each grade can expect in the next academic year. I have a grade 5 advisory, so we heard from a grade 6 group. This grade 6 group, once they shared what they learned, was able to hear from grade 7 students about what they could expect in the upcoming year. Although the idea is terrific and did work well, some students tended to dominate the discussion. If the same discussion took place through a blog, the more reserved students would have the opportunity to provide input, and the younger students might be more comfortable expressing themselves in writing rather than speaking face to face with the older kids. Our team also used to provide a brochure to the students as they transitioned to grade 7; today’s students would probably be more inclined to browse a blog than peruse a pamphlet.

I also liked the other personal experience topics, such as life ten years from now. At the beginning of each year, all teachers have their own getting-to-know-you bag of tricks; the blogging is a fresh alternative. Instead of the students writing on a piece of paper, which will likely be lost or tossed, they can preserve their comments, access them in the future, and see how close they were!

Since Erin has had such an excellent response, I’m curious as to how she got the kids actively involved. Erin, did you create an assignment at the beginning of the process, or did you just tell the kids about your blog? Did they respond from school or home? Did you receive input from “outsiders” or just from kids within your district? Thanks.

Erin Wright said...

Hi Lynn
I thought I responded to this earlier. GUess it didn't post. Thank you for checking out my blog! It was fun. To answer your questions:
"Erin, did you create an assignment at the beginning of the process, or did you just tell the kids about your blog?"-I told the kids that they would be responsible for one post each week and one reply to someone else that included a rating of their work. I made the blog myself and then just showed it to them. There was an introduction post that explained how it would work along with the rubric.
"Did they respond from school or home?"
I did give students ample time to work on it at school. But if they didn't use their time wisely, or if they were absent, thay were still responsible for having it done and many frequently did work on it from home.
"Did you receive input from “outsiders” or just from kids within your district?"-The kids in my district helped generate the questions, and I was taking EDC 920 at the time. There were no other influences I can think of.
I enjoyed hearing about your similar work with advisory.
Good luck with your projects!
Erin