Copyright - NETS (4)

This is a document I created using a collaborative tool called Googledocs.

Fair Use Harbor-1

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Inspiration - NETS (1,3, 4)

This is a graphically organized document showing the current NETS standards and corresponding artifacts. It was created using Inspiration software.

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iMovie Software Proficiency Project, NETS (3)

This is a video I created using iMovie format.

Journal #10 - Are Digital Portfolios a Realistic Alternative to Standardized Testing?

Hudak, Tina; Zazula, Dulcie; Egeland, Teresa, (2008, June/July). Are Digital Portfolios a Realistic Alternative to Standardized Testing? Learning & Leading with Technology, Vol. 35. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume_35_2007_2008/JuneJuly/

This is an interesting question, and with the article comes two differing view points. Proponents of digital portfolios would call them authentic representations of learning that contain a collection of artifacts. They agree that for students, the digital portfolio clearly (and visually) demonstrates the steps taken to reach a particular goal. Students take pride in their accomplishments by showcasing them in a digital portfolio. There are those, on the other hand, who feel digital portfolios do not provide proper assessment. They feel that a well-designed test that is easy to administer and score provides a much better testing tool.

Regardless of the pros and cons, digital portfolios and standardized tests can both be utilized for students to demonstrate successful learning. Creativity with constants makes a good mix.

1. What are the advantages of digital portfolios?

Because digital portfolios are a continually growing compilation of information, they give immediate and useful data to guide planning for the coming year. Digital portfolios give educators a relevant "snapshot" of where students are in their learning, thereby enabling them to tailor the lesson according to students needs and abilities.

2. What are the advantages of standardized tests?

Standardized testing is fairly easy to administer and provides a view of how well a student is meeting standards and objectives at a certain point in time. By conducting standardized tests, we can determine more clearly where gaps in learning occur. Constructive steps (i.e. adjusting lesson plans) can then be taken to fill these gaps.

Journal #9 - The Kids Are All Right

Waters, John K. (2009, March). The Kids Are All Right. T.H.E. Journal, Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www.thejournal.com/articles/24104

As we know, the use of social networks (Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube) by students today is fairly common. The majority of kids we teach are often more familiar with these sites than some adults, and this is why it is vital for us to find ways to incorporate technology in teaching on a regular basis. Children are learning at a young age how to develop these online social skills and are becoming more and more adept each year. Very often, they find themselves much more adept than some of their “technologically-deficient” teachers. This 2006 study reveals the learning and participation that take place as a result of embarking in online social activities.

1. Why is it so important for students and teachers to exploit these skills?

With these necessary skills, students have a great advantage academically, socially, and economically. Exposure to online social media allows both students and teachers to make learning more interesting and relevant. This relevancy carries the application of learning these “real world” technologies that students will use on a regular basis throughout their lives to function in society.

2. Why is it important for teachers to know their students’ online habits?

Knowing this information can enable teachers to introduce new media that students might take a strong interest in. If a student is passionate about a particular subject, a teacher has the ability to help nurture that particular interest. The time students spend online, whether it be socializing or researching, is constructive. Teachers stand to gain by knowing, and can, in turn, use this knowledge to benefit not only the individual student, but also the entire class.

Journal #8 - Google Earth

Google earth is a fascinating website with a free downloadable virtual globe program that allows you to plot and view any location in the world! Three-dimensional images obtained via satellite can be viewed from your computer, at any time or any place. You simply point to a destination and zoom anywhere you like. This tool allows us to explore the world around us and to see it as we've never seen it before.

I downloaded the program, which took approximately 3-4 minutes. The opening page provides start-up tips and takes you directly into the site, showing an image of the earth. To get to a destination, you can type an exact location or just click directly on the globe. As you watch with a birds-eye view, you are taken to your destination as if you are flying. Navigation is fun and user-friendly. A variety of options at the top of the screen allow you to add place marks, path, and image overlays; record towns; show historical imagery; or even show sunlight across a landscape. A plus/minus indicator bar allows you to zoom in or out to view the location closer or further away. Various blue squares indicate landmarks, and when you click one, a still photo of the location pops up on your screen.

Google Earth is a great tool that can be used to integrate technology into the classroom, especially with math, science, and geography. Teachers are currently using this site to assist with lessons on latitude, longitude, polyhedrons, and line patterns, to name a few. Another great online resource for math teachers is Real World Math, which incorporates Google Earth in the curriculum. The site provides lesson ideas in four specific categories, geared for 5th grade and up. Both sites give teachers tremendous technology tools to provide interesting and active learning exercises for the classroom.

Journal #7 - Mining for Gold

Bigenho, Chris (2009, March/April). Mining for Gold. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-ditigal.com/learning_leading/200904/ templates/pageviewer...

This is another interesting and informative article on RSS feeds. RSS feeds allow internet users to control the information they receive through subscriptions, and give seemingly unlimited capabilities in accessing data. The best part…this data can be individually tailored to your current interests, topics, and educational needs. Feeds can be created fairly simply, and they are a great tool for teachers. “Mining for Gold” suggests subscribing to student blogs and social bookmarks, as well as feeding content onto HTML pages as ways to incorporate this technology into classroom.

1. Why is creating a custom feed beneficial?

Creating a custom feed has many advantages. The most obvious is that it is tailored to suit you and your individual preferences, whether it is for personal interests or for classroom data. It is available to access on one page, and is easy to navigate. It also has the ability to make information available on a school’s Learning Management System (LMS), to benefit both teacher and student regarding relevant study topics.

2. How do I bring this tool into the classroom?

Regardless of subject matter taught, this tool can be utilized by most any teacher or classroom. By setting up an RSS feed for your middle school math class, you give students access to specific resources related to the curriculum. Bookmarks in the LMS might include links to specific topics, such as fractions, ratios, probabilities under the category of Geometry concepts. For your history or English class, a bookmark might link directly to reference sites for historical data or novels the class will read.

Journal #6 - Grow Your Personal Learning Network

Warlick, David (2009, March/April). Grow Your Personal Learning Network. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.iste.org

Personal Learning Networks (PLN’s) utilize data from a vast array of online resources and provide users with relevant information almost instantly. PLN’s help to validate the collaboration that takes place online – what better way to gather information, decipher it, and share it! Staying connected and being able to manage this information are the most obvious benefits to having a PLN. As teachers and educators, we become living examples of what to model in the classroom so that we can inspire lifelong learning. Being able to share this ability in teaching technology will not only keep us abreast of the latest information available, but it will also enhance our curriculum potential.

1. When creating your first PLN, what are some guidelines to follow?

Think small when starting out, as keeping things simple and manageable is important – one or two blog subscriptions are a good rule of thumb. Organizing your topics into folders along time references is also helpful as some folders will not be accessed as often as others. Expanding the PLN will come with time and experience, and it can be as broad or as simple as you need it to be but starting out small is key.

2. How does teachertube.com assist educators?

Teacher tube is a site designed for educators. Whether you are looking for videos to view or have videos to share, teacher tube is an invaluable resource. Thousands of videos are managed and arranged by topic, and designed specifically for the classroom. This site can be added to your PLN as an aid in planning lessons, sharing your teaching experiences and expanding your peer network. The website also contains links to relevant education sites as well as Face book and Twitter.

PowerPoint - NETS (1, 2, 3)

This is a professional presentation I created using PowerPoint, showing lesson samples.

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

id="__ss_1134682">N E T S PowerPoint

View more presentations from Bethann.

Journal #5 - Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment

Bull, Glen. "Collaboration in a Web 2.0 Environment." Learning & Leading with Technology Apr 2006 26 Feb 2009

Syndication allows users to interact simultaneously within sites. Collaborative writing sites such as Gaia Role Play and Wikipedia have recently become popular syndication sites. The sites allow unlimited creative outlets in a collaborative environment. In the classroom, there are many advantages to posting assignments and information on a blog. Creating and maintaining a blog-based curriculum makes communication between peers simple in a supportive atmosphere and gives teachers an easy and organized avenue for keeping track of assignments. Thunderbird and Firefox are two of the newest technologies available that utilize sites with RSS feeds. Most teenagers use some sort of online blogging mechanism as a way to keep in touch with each other, so incorporating blogs into the classroom is not unfamiliar.

Question #1: What are the advantages of using blog lines to students and teachers?

Blogs allow the information to be organized in one area on a website. Easy navigation and downloads allow both student and teacher to complete tasks quickly and efficiently. Paper savings is evident as information is transferred and stored electronically.

Question #2: What is the easiest way to introduce blog lines to students?

Creating a simple project or assignment is a good start. It is best to begin with a site such as blogger.com to create the initial blog. As each student learns to navigate the site, they will become familiar enough to preview other blogs and eventually post comments to provide feedback to their peers.

Classroom Newsletter - NETS (1,2)

This is a sample newsletter I created for my "imaginary" junior high school classroom, using Microsoft Word.

Newsletterbam

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Other Academic Work

Journal #4 - Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students With 21st Century Skills

Riedel, Chris. "Create, Collaborate, Communicate: Empowering Students With 21st Century Skills." T.HE. Journal, Jan 2009. Retreived 19 Feb 2009 http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23872_1.

The title alone of this article speaks volumes. It is a fact that in order for us to remain competitive in the global economy, we need to nurture these 21st century skills in our youth. The good news is that today’s kindergartners often enter school with at least some knowledge of computers. When these children graduate from high school and college, they will possess vital technology skills to carry into their careers and daily lives. The top three skills potential employees should have are listed in the article as: a) Creative problem solving, b) Critical and analytical thinking skills, and c) Information gathering and evaluation.

QUESTION #1:
How can we encourage students to obtain these skills?
Think tanks, group collaboration with open discussion, and access to computers for internet research are three specific ways to encourage these necessary skills. The way in which we teach a lesson, whether it is math, science, or language arts, will have an impact on the retention factor. An example of this is for students to present a topic. A simple (but boring) option would be to have the students individually read a chapter and present the topic. Another (more engaging) option would be to divide the students into groups, assign sections in the chapter, invite them to research online to gather data for analyzing and discussion, and create a PowerPoint presentation.

QUESTION #2:
Why create a social network for schools?
Although many students today have access to MySpace and Facebook, there are just as many that don’t. A variety of factors determine who has access, with socioeconomic status being the most obvious. The students in this category would gain a significant benefit from a social network such as Ning. Having access during the school day not only provides a rich technological resource, but it also encourages a sense of community within a school setting.

Journal #3 - Keep Them Chatting

Cole, Jennie (2009, February). Keep Them Chatting. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved 02/15/09, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/

This article contains excellent ideas to encourage meaningful online discussions, aka chats. Although this topic is somewhat foreign to me, I still found it to be another great information resource to incorporate into the classroom. The title of the article lends itself to the importance of finding a relevant and thought-provoking avenue for students to adopt when interacting online. In doing so, students will not only find their chats engaging, but also relevant and interesting. Teaching these collaboration strategies imparts lifelong learning skills.

Question #1:
Why are these instructional strategies so important?
The number of students taking online courses is continually growing. Developing these types of strategies will help guide the increasing numbers of students embarking on the online bandwagon. Giving specific parameters regarding the project requirements alleviates the tendency to veer off-course. Without these parameters, students may lose sight of the goal of the project. Using the “illogical comparisons” strategy causes students to think outside the box and engage in brainstorming that essentially takes them to an entirely new level of thinking and learning.

Question #2:
What age/grade level can best use these instructional strategies?
The specific strategies in this article are geared toward the middle school and higher grade levels. K-8th grades are less likely to enroll in online courses overall, but finding age-appropriate guidelines is nevertheless important in guiding positive online interaction and collaboration.

Social Bookmarking

National Archives:
The “History of Women” exhibit caught my eye mainly for the reason of learning more about women who made significant contributions in our past. As we all know, especially in United States history, there is an abundance of historical information about men, but very little about women. This exhibit opened my eyes to the importance of teaching students more about those women who were liberated and unafraid to stand up for their rights as citizens who were willing to make positive changes in society. Women’s rights today are reflective of these important contributions in our nation’s history. The videotape available on this site would be an excellent classroom resource.

NEA – National Education Association:
“Becoming a Culturally Competent Educator”
The following three areas fit my teaching style the best:
1. Create a cultural competence committee or task force.
2. Ensure that your school has a mission statement that commits to cultural competence as an integral component of all its activities.
3. Network with parent, family, minority community, and faith-based organizations concerned with the needs of diverse students.
I believe these areas demonstrate the most effective ways to learn, demonstrate, and implement effective strategies to understand the variety of cultures present in schools. Creating a task force and mission statement helps to focus on a single purpose of compassion and unity within a community. Having a network, or base is essential in establishing the foundation for this group that ultimately represents a sound platform within a school district.

Kidsclick:
21st Century Problem Solving site – at hawaii.edu
This site links directly to step-by-step problem solving skills for students as well as teachers. These helpful links provide a relevant and useful data resource for reading level 7+ (grades 3 and up).

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators:
The bulletin board ideas for middle school gives access to many useful ideas to incorporate in the classroom. These pictures and ideas are the perfect resource for new teachers! I will definitely refer to this site when I begin teaching…

Edutopia:
The “Instructional Module on Multiple Intelligences” is a resource that contains everything you could possible want to learn about regarding multiple intelligences. I took an interest in the “why” section, for its attention to the details of why recognizing the fact that we all have different ways of learning is so important for teachers to consider. Learning about the interests, learning styles, and learning levels of each student allows teachers to develop lesson plans that work within each grade, level, and subject individually.

Teaching Tolerance:
The “Harry Potter” middle grades activity will give students the opportunity to examine magic, science, and friendship. The topic of social and cultural themes, among others, allows students to brainstorm ideas about magical powers (fictional) as well as discuss what powers they might wish to possess. I would utilize the “questions for discussion” to provide and initiate an open, meaningful dialogue between students. I think this forum would inspire a creative outlet of thought-provoking ideas and exchanges.

EdChange:
Equity and Diversity Awareness Quiz
1. According to a study by the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights, what percentage of physicians report witnessing a colleague giving reduced care or refusing care to lesbian, gay, or bisexual patients?
2. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median annual income for U.S. white men, 25 years or older, who have earned graduate degrees, is $80,000. What are the median annual incomes for Latina and Native American women, 25 years or older, who have earned graduate degrees?

The first question blows me away, simply because I refuse to believe that people would actually provide reduced care or refuse to care for these members of society. In this day and age, why would people consciously choose to be so ignorant?

The second question serves to remind us of the inequalities that have been present in society for many years, and which are most recently being changed. Fortunately, we are making progress in assuring a lesser gap in pay equality between men, women, and minorities.

Netiquette Guidelines:
Netiquette Quiz score: 80%
Teaching netiquette to students is important because it sets up a specific list of online rules. These rules pertain to every single entry into the wonderful world of cyberspace, and providing these rules to students at a young age will help them adopt necessary responsible computer habits. An important part of netiquette is remembering to treat others with the same respect you would expect to receive. If you are not careful in your choice of words, you might unintentionally give someone a !-( and not even know it! YIKES!

Journal #2 - Museums in the Classroom

Reissman, Rose (February, 2009). Museums in the Classroom. Learning & Leading with Technology, Retrieved 02/05/09, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/


This article introduces us to a variety of online museum-related resources. How exciting it is to learn about the availability of numerous resources accessible to anyone with a computer! The possibilities for creating a meaningful and relevant lesson plan are endless. Curriculum standards provide a basis for instruction, and vary from district to district, state to state. Online resources give educators unlimited access to ideas for enhancing their lesson plans, while still addressing curriculum standards. Cyber museums in the classroom serve as convenient “interactive encyclopedias.” What a great tool for teachers and students…that not only keeps them interested, but engaged technologically as well.

Question #1:
Is it more beneficial for students to visit a cyber museum or to visit a real museum?
Some might agree that the benefits of visiting a real museum far outweigh sitting in front of a computer terminal, however, each circumstance has its own particular benefit. A field trip to a museum can have long lasting implications for students and teachers. The experience of researching, studying and actually seeing museum artifacts in person gives a sense of relevancy to a project and students carry the memory long after the project or lesson ends. The benefit for teachers is further relevant as they have the ability to show rather than just tell. Although we know that taking a field trip to a museum is beneficial, the reality is that not all schools have the luxury of resources and funding to take advantage of this opportunity. This is when access to online resources is invaluable. Teachers and students can collaborate to create their learning agenda. They can decide whether they will focus on a general topic or a broad spectrum of ideas to incorporate into the classroom.

Question #2:
How can you incorporate an interesting multidisciplinary lesson plan using a museum theme?
Incorporating museum themes using online resources is the perfect avenue for introducing a multidisciplinary lesson. The specific museum resources in this article provide access not only for teachers, but for students to a seemingly unlimited array of ideas. An example is the National Cryptologic Museum site, where teachers can find ideas to combine math and social studies into a single-themed lesson. Offering hands-on activities supports not only increasing retention rates, but also keeping interest levels high.

Journal #1 - Passport to Digital Citizenship

Ribble, Mike (January, 2009) Passport to Digital Citizenship
retrieved 2/2/09 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigatorMenu/Publications/LL/Current_Issue/

This article addresses the importance of social rules regarding the use of technology at home and school. The NETS Refresh Project provides the perfect parameters for technology use and represents a vital aspect of bringing these important issues to light. The nine elements of digital citizenship (access, commerce, communications, literacy, etiquette, law, rights and responsibilities, health and wellness, security) incorporate the issues necessary to advocate in order to define the standards of appropriate and responsible behavior regarding the use of technology. Children today need to be prepared for our ever-increasing and constantly changing technological world. When teachers, parents and communities come together on these issues to agree on the guidelines necessary, future generations will be part of a functional foundation of responsible and ethical technology users.

Question #1:
Why is it so important for students to know and understand these issues?
Because technology has imploded in the past ten years (especially) no one is immune to the constant changes in advancement. In today’s society, technology plays a part in most aspects of the average person’s day, regardless of their age. For example, a kindergarten student often uses the computer to play educational games or take a math test. This student’s teacher in turn uses the computer to monitor individual test assessment and use this data to compile classroom stats. Grade school students often are exposed to technology not only at school but also at home with gaming systems, personal computers, and MP3 players. Junior high and high school students have the opportunity to take media technology courses, with daily hands-on use and exposure to a vast variety of the latest devices available. Adults in the business world rely on daily use of internet, email, cell phones, and blackberries to get them through the day. Today’s students will take their technological knowledge into their adult lives. It is especially vital for them to learn at a young age the importance of ethical (safe, legal, and responsible) computer technology use. Setting clear parameters and providing safety monitors are necessary not only for legal reasons, but to teach young learners there are boundaries and limits to which their use is held.

Question #2:
How can we bring teachers, parents, and communities together on these issues?
This is an important question because the disconnect between schools and home/community is a difficult hurdle to overcome. Culturally disadvantaged families do not have access to the same resources as more affluent members of society. This disconnect is also evident where children are more advanced technologically than their parents are, or ever might be. Many school districts help to bridge this gap in communication by providing very specific guidelines to parents and students in the form of a contract. This contract is signed by both the student and the parents prior to the start of the school year, and represents not only a written guideline of rules for the student, but also a legal protection for the school district. This is obviously in the best interest of the school as well as the students and parents within the community. Many communities can also benefit by offering classes through the local community center.

Introduction Letter of Beth McCormick

Hello, my name is Beth McCormick. I was born in the mid-west and raised on the west coast. I attended elementary school in Bellevue, Washington and graduated high school in Canby, Oregon. My college career began at Columbia Basin Community College (CBC), where I received a tennis scholarship for two years. I transferred to Central Washington University thru the off-campus program at CBC, and received my Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. I moved to CA in 1988, met my husband, and married a year later. We have two teenagers who attend the public schools in the Fallbrook district where I am also a substitute teacher. I hope to begin the Middle Level program in the fall.

I was considered fortunate to learn to type on an electric typewriter my senior year of high school. My first experience with computer technology began with a college course in Fortran and Pascal (anyone over 40 knows what I am talking about)! I learned Wang word processing as a college freshman when apple computers were just taking off. Through various jobs, I’ve learned to navigate pretty well thru Word, email, internet, and PhotoShop programs. I’m daily on the computer for email, banking and bill paying. I am most definitely a PC person at this point, although I am impressed with what the Mac can do after one class session. I am embarrassed to say that I just recently became the new owner of a flat-screen monitor, but I am thrilled to finally feel like I have graduated to the next level of home computer updating! We use latest Microsoft version, Windows Vista.

Years ago, I attended a ceremony at CSUSM to celebrate a friend’s graduation. She received her credential in special education, and I was inspired by the opportunities that teaching could provide. I believe that CSUSM has a reputation……it strives in every way to prepare its graduates to become great educators with a continuing effort to not only provide a quality education for their students, but to also embrace the significance of life-long learning in the ever-changing world in which we live. I chose to attend CUSUM based on this reputation, and also for the convenience and flexibility of the extended studies courses.