Classroom Website

Mrs. Parsons' Classroom Website

Above is my link to my classroom website. I think of this as a communication tool and resources where my Learning Coaches can go for resources information and forms that they may need.

It is a work in progress, but I have multiple pages working right now. If they are not I tried to delete the template information and note that it's "coming soon".

Online Application Review- Google Documents and Sumo Paint

Google Documents

I have used Google Documents before, so I know how it works and it's benefits. I used it as a type of survey to send out to my Learning Coaches at the beginning of the year. This helped me get their beginning of the year Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) started. It was nice because I could sort it into an excel file and then mail merge it into the document. It saved me so much type of cutting and pasting or retyping the information.
You can also send out a document to others that can be shared, changed, edited by the people you share it with. It can also be protected so others can't access it, if it's private.
So, I think it has some great benefits and uses. I personally use DropBox more than I use Google Docs because I like how easy it is for me to access the documents I have shared with my teammates. But, overall I think Google Documents is a great tool to use when working with collaboratively with others.

Sumo Paint

 I played around with Sumo Paint for a little bit. It was fun to see what you could create. It kind of felt like Kid Pix for adults. I am not much into painting or graphic design or anything like that so I don't see the big benefits of this application or how it would benefit me in my current job. (Kindergarten Teacher). I am not sure I would bother using this to edit my photos either. I really like to just use Instagram because I can easily edit photos and post it to Facebook, which you can't do with Sumo Paint. I feel like it is geared more towards  paint and image design. So it is fun to play with but not very useful in my opinion.

Concept Maps

This is an example of a concept map I would ask my Kindergarteners to make.
We learn about the 4 seasons and they get just an introduction to what happens during these seasons. We focus on what animals do, what is the temperature like and what happens to the trees.
So they would have to focus on these 3 things for each season and create a concept map.

I have done something like this in Kidspiration with 1st graders, so ideally I would do this in Kidspiration because then my Kindergarteners could use pictures and words or just pictures, depending on the student.

Using Jing and Screencasting

This is a video for my parents or 'Learning Coaches' on how to navigate the most important parts of the OLS (Online School). This is a video I would use for new families or at the beginning of the school year as they are learning how to navigate the OLS. I highlight just a few of the things. Jing only allows 5 minutes. So I could send out quick videos on how to do other tasks as well. This is something I have done before as well. I have another video on how to access a student's courses if their plan is not working correctly. This happened about a month ago so I created a Jing video similar to the one above. I put it below here. They are similar but I thought I would share both of them.

Lesson Using Google Maps Engine Lite

 My Kindergarteners learn about their community in Social Studies. So creating a map of their community ties into this unit nicely. The above map is an example of a map that they would create. This is where I grew up. I included 5 main places that my students will have to identify in their maps as well. My students are located all over the state of Michigan, so this will be a fun way for them to identify certain parts of their community and share it with their classmates. The assignment is to create a map of their community and include: 1) Their House 2) Local Grocery Store 3) Favorite park or place to play 4) Favorite restaurant 5) Your choice: This could be a place of significance in their community or one of their other favorite places. (Grandma's house, etc.)

EDT5410- Podcasts

 Early Childhood Education: Balancing Expectations and What Young Learners Really Need

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/1/3/3/133b85fcfdda94d1/wcpodcast-101013.mp3?c_id=6254509&expiration=1392950697&hwt=e082f355ade410f776641a52c8715bb6

This podcast is about early childhood education and explores weather we are asking too much of our young learners. There are so many tests and such a focus on academics. But what do early learners really need? More time to play and explore? This podcast has multiple experts weigh in on this topic.

Adding a You Tube Video to Blog

 My 1st graders used to love doing this video for a "Brain Break".

 I added this video just by  clicking the "inset video" Icon. It seems to have worked very similar to how I embedded the first one I did.

Embedding Google Maps- Location of Michigan Virtual Charter Academy

View Larger Map

Embedding Video- This is a cute introduction video I showed my Kindergarteners this week.

EDT 5410- Embedding Pictures

Here are some pictures of my 2 year old son, Dexter.

 Chapter 3 Reflection Questions and Photo Sharing

A. Describe at least three possible reasons why the project had very little effect on the instructional practices employed by the teachers. Each of the factors you identify should be related to the factors mentioned in this chapter as to why earlier forms of instructional media (i.e films, radio, television) had very limited effects on instructional practices.

First, I think one of the possible reasons why the project had very little effect is that the teachers didn't know what do with the technology and how to implement using it in the classroom. It's wonderful that they gave them the technology and resources, but if  there is no training or someone there to tell them how to enhance their lessons and implement it into their teaching, how are they supposed to know what to do? There should be some formal training on how to use the technology to enhance the lessons and someone or a "go to" person that can answer any questions they have and even hold them accountable to using the technology.
Another reason why the project may have had very little effect is that the teachers might have resisted change. Sometimes when you have been teaching for a long time and you know what works for you and your students it can be hard to adapt your teaching. So, when the teacher doesn't want to change how they teach, of course, this project will have little effect on the teacher's practices. I feel like sometimes, things, ideas, technology is thrown at you and you are expected to use it somehow. But, that can be very overwhelming when teachers already have so much on their plate.
Finally, a reason why the project had little effect could have been because the teacher may have not had access to supplemental technology, programs and resources. It did mention that curriculum and text books, etc. was installed onto their computers, but that does not mean they were given resources on how to present the material differently. I just see it as great, now they can read it off their computer rather than from the book. How does that change instruction? It did not mention if they had any other technology to use in the classroom, like projectors, access to instructional websites etc. So, I think this could  have been a big factor.


 B. Describe at least two strategies that could have been employed to help mitigate the factors that you think contributed to the minimal effect this project had on instructional practices. Indicate why you think each of these strategies might have been helpful. 

As I stated above I think one big strategy would have been to provide comprehensive training on how to use the technology and then trained on how to use it and implement it in the classroom. In addition, I think providing support and trainings as they went through the school year would be helpful too. This way they can learn one or two ways to use the laptops to enhance their lessons at the beginning of the school year, but as they go along they could learn new ways. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, so this way it would feel less overwhelming.
Also, another strategy would to provide supplemental resources and technology. If they had technology like projectors that could connect to their laptops then I could see the teachers using the technology more in their instruction. Also, it mentioned they had wireless internet access 24/7, but did not say if they had access to other programs on the internet to help supplement their teaching. This could have been helpful as well. I think of programs I use as a virtual teacher like Study Island, Reading a-z, and Discovery Education that you need subscriptions to in order to use them. Those can be great teaching tools that could have helped as well.

Photo Sharing

I have been using Instagram for a while now. It's an app that I use on my phone and I think it is really easy to use. I love the different filters you can use on them, and it's easy to share the photos on Facebook too.

http://instagram.com/gparsons05 

Week 4 Reflection

Social Bookmarking and Defining Instructional Technology

      When I briefly looked over the plan for this week and saw social bookmarking I was completely pessimistic. I had very little prior knowledge to go on besides what I knew of bookmarking on my personal computer, and I thought it was going to be a pointless tool. As I watched the videos and learned more I quickly became more optimistic about this tool. I played around with it for a long time, it was a little addicting for me. I kept thinking of websites to pin. I love Pinterest, so this has a similar feel in the sense that it is all in one place and easy to access. I think the biggest value I see in this tool is sharing this with my colleagues. There are so many wonderful websites out there and parents are always asking me for good websites to use. It's like my personal storehouse of websites, but the best part is that I can share them with other teachers and they can add  websites as well.

     I mention this a lot, but I teach virtually. This means that communication with my families and also my colleagues is very important. You have to remember that I can't just pop my head into the Kindergarten room next to me and talk to the teacher and we only get so many opportunities to be all together at one time to collaborate. So, I see where this can be very useful. I already started talking to one of the other Kindergarten teachers about using this.  I really focused on websites that I could use for my students and tie into our curriculum. 

     I could also use this to share with parents, but I could use it more effectively with colleagues. I can post some of these websites to my Wiki and add the most relevant ones to our curriculum and what we are learning and remove them as we go throughout the year. This way it won't feel overwhelming for parents. You can check out what I have been working on and pinning here: https://delicious.com/kiparsons

     For the Trends & Issues reading, I was pretty intrigued to see where the definitions of Instructional Technology started and how far it has come. I had never put much thought into the definition of it, or thought of it separate from just teaching. I thought of it more of an extension of what we already do as teachers. The early definition that talked about instructional technology as the production of "visual aids" aligns more with what I used to think it was. As I read through more of the definitions I gained a better understanding of what instructional technology is. It is so much more! It's the process and systematic design of instruction. This aligns more with what I do now as a virtual teacher. The way my lessons are created and technology that is involved in it is very different from my lesson planning and preparation when I worked in a brick and mortar school. I think that's why I was so intrigued with these definitions. Most of this information was pretty new to me just because I never really knew a lot about this career. Like I previously stated I thought of it more as just an extension of what most of us do as teachers. I can't say that I feel like something is missing, only because I have such an early understanding of what instructional technology is.

Creating a Wiki

 Week 3 Reflection

Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0 and Wikis

     This assignment this week was the most challenging and definitely the most time consuming for me so far. I know this reflection is supposed to be more about the wiki but something has to be said about that article. It was so confusing. It took me a very long time to find a section that I felt like I actually understood and do it justice summarizing it.  I re-read that article many times and I felt like it was speaking a different language that I certainly did not understand.I am not even sure if what I did was really what Dr. Horvits was looking for.
    Moving on to the wiki. It was not that hard to set up but I had to play around a little bit. Especially when I created a new page within the wiki.  Wikis are not new to me. The school district I used to work for had a Wiki page for all the elementary teachers. It was a place where we could access resources and certain teachers or administrators who were in leadership positions could add to it. Also, one of my former colleagues talked about a class Wiki he set up for his 5th grade students. He often shared how he was using it for different projects. The students really got into it and I believe they were at a good age where they could handle it.
      This is the challenge I am constantly running into as we are trying these new things out. How can a Kindergartener use a Wiki? I know they can't do it independently so it would be a matter of getting parents involved, which let's be honest, can be difficult at times. It's one thing to get the students involved and excited it's another when you have to rely on the parents to help them. I am not giving up on the Wiki just yet. I do see some potential, but again, it involves the parents.
   Here is my big idea for my Wiki. It's much like my idea for my blog, but it seems more practical to use it in a Wiki format. I want to set it up as a place for resources for parents. But the wonderful thing about the Wiki is that it does not have to just be resources from me. It can be resources from other parents too. It can be a great way to connect parents and use their skills and ideas too. I am actually very excited about this. I teach virtually and we are always trying to find a way to get connected. This would be a great way for me to be able to help parents, but also parents helping eachother out too. They work so closely with their students and curriculum that they are learning tips tricks and techniques too. They also may have resources they have found to be helpful and can add them to the Wiki.
   So far, the Wiki looks like it will be the most useful and helpful to my families compared to the RSS Feed and the Blog, at least for me.  I already started playing around with this idea and created a resources page on my Wikis main page. It's a very small start but I wanted to learn how to link a new page and add files. So check out my Wiki if you want to see what I started. parsonsclassconnection.pbworks.com 

RSS Reader, Blogs, Dale's Cone of Experiences, and "imaginitive" uses... Oh My!

Week 2 Reflection

Blogs, RSS Readers and Article Reflection

Edgar Dale (1969)
Martin Siegel (2003)
 

So far I am impressed with the RSS Reader. I had never heard of them prior to this week. How long have they been around? Because I see where they are useful and a time saver. At first I was nervous, I wasn't sure what to think of it. I think I will start to like it the more I use it. The same goes for this blog. I have read lots of wonderful bogs and I am completely underwhelmed with the appearance and lack of content of my blog. I also left wondering; who wants to read this? I have read some really wonderful blogs done by very talented writers, and I do not put myself anywhere near that category of a talented writer. It is a lot like a journal, but I think I would rather keep my journal private.

As far as which part of Dale’s Cone of Experiences these technology tools fall into for a learner, I would say the “iconic experiences-learning through observation”.  Especially with the RSS Reader there is not a lot of  participation involved.  “These materials (study trips, exhibits, motion pictures, television, radio and recordings, and still pictures) provide experiences in which the student is an observer rather than a doer".  Both the blog and RRS Reader supply information easily with videos, pictures and text, but there is not a hands on experience with them

 For me it's easier to think about an "imaginative" use for the blog first. I teacher virtually and one thing I have to constantly be on top of is communicating with the Learning Coaches of my students. I often spend a lot of time sending out mass e-mails and responding to e-mails. I also spend a lot of time responding to the same types of questions. I think if I set up a blog where they can go and access all sorts of resources and information it would save me a lot of time and energy. A big part of my job is supporting Learning Coaches and getting resources to them. I could easily do that with a blog, where it would be like "One stop shopping".  In addition,  I might be able communicate more effectively and have resources on hand for those Learning Coaches all the times. Plus, with the blog they can ask questions and everyone can see the response. So if they have the same question I don't end up having to respond to the same questions over and over again.

I am having a hard time thinking of how a Kindergartener could use a RSS Reader. I see where it can benefit me and save me time from bouncing in between all the different websites I regularly visit. But what can it do for a Kindergartener? I am open to ideas and suggestions. I know my students spend a lot of time on educational websites playing games, but what would be the purpose of having them on a RSS Reader?

Technology Transformation VS. Luddite

 Week 1 Personal Reflection 

Beyond technology integration: The Case for technology transformation & Of Luddites, Learning and Life. by Neil Postman

Postman, N. (1993). Of Luddites, learning, and life. Technos Quarterly, 2(4)

Reigeluth, C.M. & Joseph, R. (2002). Beyond technology integration: The case for technology transformation. Educational Technology, 42(4), 9-13.

 As Dr. Horvitz eluded to, this is definitely a more optimistic view of technology in education. I tend to air on the side of optimism as well, this is most likely because of my current job as a virtual teacher. My job has opened up my eyes to the technology that is out there and available to learners. Which I did not originally see, or use, as a brick and mortar teacher. This article also refreshes the reality of our dependence of technology. No longer do we have to go to the library and look in an encyclopedia. Most student's wouldn't even know what that is or how to use it.  I pick up my iPhone and hit my Google app and a few seconds later I have the answer I am looking for.  We are living in the "information age" as the authors pointed out.
The one thing that kept going through my mind while reading this, especially in the beginning of this article, was the authors dated view of what is going on in classrooms. I am not sure if it because this seems to be a older article, 2002 if I am not mistaken, but the author does not seem to have an accurate grasp of what is going on in classrooms everyday. He calls for a "transformation", and more individualized learning. I taught 1st grade for 3 years, and yes, we do have the GCLEs (grade content level expectations) and Common Core to abide by, but my students were not always learning the same thing at the exact same time. They had individual goals in Math, Reading, Writing, and Spelling. They had personal goal sheets that were individualized to meet their needs as a learner. I don't think technology is the sole  answer to this call for "transformation" I see it as a tool. There needs to be a balance. I love the opportunities and learning that technology can bring to education, but it is not the only answer. 
 The second article left more of a bad taste in my mouth. I felt like I wanted to say "lighten up!" to the author. The more I read the more I wanted to argue with him. I did not care for  his example of buying the car. I get what he was trying to illustrate, but I was interested to see if he was going to address, specifically what technology was hindering student's learning. I also, do not agree that "One of the principal functions of school is to teach children how to behave in groups." Is that what is in our job description as educators? I felt angry by the time I got to the end of this article. I think because I don't particularly like this article I have less to say. But, just to reiterate what I said above  it's about balance. I don't think technology is the enemy nor do I believe it to be the answer.