Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!


I attended the 2011 CUE Conference, and attended classes and sessions and visited booths that armed me with many tools to help enhance our classrooms.


One of the classes was about creating blogs using Google's Blogster tool, and how they can affect and impact a classroom. In this class we had the opportunity to start making our own, and the presenter suggested we make a "sandbox" blog - one where we can play around and mess up, but that no one had to see. I am letting you see mine, because I want you to see the steps I took to 1) make this blog and 2)what I did with it less that 30 minutes after I started it.


What follows are posts with my notes from the conference, as well as the baby steps I took while creating this blog. As you scroll down, you will notice that my posts are very messy ... this is because I was learning how to create what you are looking at right now.

Instead of scrolling through each page, look at the "Blog Archives" in sidebar on the left. There you will see the titles of each post, so you can click on the ones that interest you and avoid the rest.

You will need to click on "2011" to see the titles. Ignore the 2014 link; I postdated this message so that it would stay at the top of the page.


Enjoy.

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This is a test

Thinkfinity - I'm a Trainer

Last summer, I took a course to become a Verizon Thinkfinity trainer. Verizon has made a push to support educators and education by joining several groups to prove a sort of one stop shopping place for educational resources.

Click on http://www.thinkfinity.org/lesson-plans and use the sidebar on the left to explore. You can type in a keyword and see what you find, or limit your search to resource types, grade, subjects, or a particular "partner" such as the Literacy Network or EDSITEment.

If you like what you see and would like more information, let me know, adn we will conduct an official training.

Cyber Law and Order: Educational Intent

Cyber Law and Order: Educational Intent

Presenter: Glen Warren

Session Website http://tinyurl.com/389tynm

go watch this presentation! There are several slides at the end that I did not take notes on because the slides do the talking. They explain cases and free speech VERY well, and will tell you about laws you must know.

• Just because the data is good doesn't mean the approach was right
• We are so busy trying to make the right score that students are focused more on the answer than the process of gaining that knowledge
• We must keep students safe
• firewalls protect students from certain content
• We are trusted with so many inconsequential things, and yet we are trusted with people's children
• we steal all of the time
• lessons, worksheets, music, videos, images
• CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act)
• CIPA has often been seen as the barrier that kept us from implementing technology
• now, the law is beginning to say that we should implement technology
• our most powerful gift to children is not the implementation of rules, but education
• develop information resilient students
• then we make our teachers, schools, and districts less susceptible to lawsuits
• Defensible Position
• have you done everything possible to protect that child
• pencil example: we give this to kindergarten students, and we teach them to use it, why it is relevant, and have faith that they will learn it
• They are digital natives - they know how to use it, but they are not digitally literate
• we don't think about teaching digital literacy until middle school or high school
• we would not send a child into a playground by themselves; we cannot expect them to go into the Internet without guidelines... BUT we
• if we deny students of this access to digital technology, we impede them from learning
• 62% of parents said they would buy a mobile device for students to use in school
• credit card example
• max out, pay it off, stop using it - credit score goes down, not up
• if we don't allow the students to use the digital tools, they lose the skill and cannot compete with those that have been using it
• keep students from seeing obscenity
• Acceptable Use Policy
• have and enforce
• can't just use it when problems come up
• that is just CYA :)
• Sexual Harassment example
• take the class, sign the papers, someone harasses, but he harassed sues the company rather than the person and wins
• The purpose is to educate  the teacher, not just have them sign the paper
• therefore, cannot just have teachers sign the paper...we need to be educated on technology law
• Privacy of Texting
• Ontario v. Quon - before the US Supreme Court
• kid sexting, teacher took the phone to principal, principal gave it to AP, AP arrested for possession of child pornography
• We spend so much time enforcing, but no time educating
  We need "to make sure they know how to use [technology] wisely" - Sen. Robert Menendez
• Complex Issues
• Free Speech
• Privacy
• Safety
• Policy and Law
• woman who posted comment on enabling parents, posted two years ago, two followers, student found it recently, lawsuit
• but won't be fired because
• there was not policy in place saying she couldn't do that
• she was exercising free speech
• Ethics
• Security
• Copyright and Plagiarism
• Damages
• Filtering and monitoring
• Blocking sites
• Legislation Regarding Digital Literacy
• State - AB307
• Requires we educate all teachers and minors
• really don't start teaching until middle school, and often it is cursory
• Ethical Literacy
• Digital Citizenship
• Federal - S1492
• Minors only
• Must educate students on
• Social networking
• Chat rooms
• Cyber Bullying
• BUT WE DON'T REALLY DO THIS
• Therefore, we are not in a defensible position because we haven't taught and reinforced this in every single grade
• what if it happens earlier than 7th grade?
• How can we teach without access to the Internet? Simulated environments do not work
• like teaching swimming in the deep end by using the blow up pool
• Many people feel that these laws don't really matter - that as long as you have something in the tech ed booklet, you are covered. But it isn’t true
• Which one of the following scenarios gives school districts the greatest amount of safety and protection, and puts them in a defensible position?
• No Access, Yes Education
• No Access: No Education
• Yes Access, No Education
• Yes Access, Yes Education
• Character Education needs to include digital character education
• there is a disconnect - make the connection
• The Three Biggest Obstacles
• Powering Down
• Access
• ... look this up on line
• Digital Literacy Includes Privacy
• Google Buzz suit
• had to pay millions
• Digital Literacy Includes Law
• as of January 1, 2011, if someone "harm intimidate threaten or defraud" on line - fine and jail time
• Digital Literacy Definition just defined
• look this up
• CA Model Library Law Standards
• access information
• evaluate information
• use information
• integrate information literacy skills into all areas of learning
• Overarching Standards - spelled out in presentation at the top of this post
• "Reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic" is outdated - they need all of the vowels
• Access
• Evaluate
• please!
• Integrate
• Integrate
• Originate
• Use
• In any other discipline, if you were having a problem in an area, you would find an expert, but we are firing our librarians who are credentialed and trained in this
• Educational Stakeholders want education in digital literacy to close the legislative gap
• including the FBI, UC
• Email presenter for the letter that says this
• Parent's biggest concerns are meeting strangers online, sharing personal information and online predators. They are least worried about copyright issues, but copyright is the number one problem students face.
• we need to teach it all
• See case studies
• Hate and threatening speech is not only not protected, but is a crime in California
• Woogi World
• kindergarten education on Digital Literacy
• FBI  - SOS program
• actually tests levels of mastery

Google Lit Trips

Google Lit Trips

Presenter: Christ Keeler

Find the presentation at http://christykeeler.com/LitTrips

Depending on your purpose, the Lit Trip can function differently

historical topics with a pedagogical topic

• Content, Trade Books and Lit Trips
• Content
• integrated studies of social sciences and humanities
• Trade books
• any book that helps relates to the content being taught
• can be primary sources or fiction
• should be a book rather than an article... maybe?
• can use any book that has geographic locations (we need to be able to find a map)
• What are they?
• go to googlelittrips.com to see examples
• invented by Dr. Jerome Burg
• under "Downloads, etc", find resources for teachers
• go to the "Site Map" and look at the Trips already made
• Many books already done K-12
• Night, The Kite Runner, Grapes of Wrath
• students could write on their own place based experiences 
• these files end in .kmz - don't worry. Your computer will open it
• works within Google Earth
• can be done individually, or you can break the book into sections and have individual students or groups make a trip for just a few points on the trip
• teach writing - this is a published work, so the entries should be deep and well written
• those who have html experience can also create backgrounds, animation, change colors, etc.
• What you see when you open one
• introduction
• geographic path
• if it doesn't tell you exactly where they were, students need to make an educated guess
• deeper thinking and analysis - think about season, area
• use main points to make assumptions
• pictures of the places
• information about where you are in the book when you reach that location
• can be a summary for comprehension, in depth for analysis, or short so as not to give away the story
• add discussion questions
• More requirements
• vocabulary exercise
• historical overview
• lessons and activities
• links to additional resources for understanding
• Models
• find an existing Lit Trip
• teacher created
• this is html, so you can modify anything
• ex. change the vocabulary, focus questions, descriptions so that it is tailored to your needs
• student created
• Integrated Approach
• Social Studies
• NCSS themes
• NCHE Vital Themes and Habits of the Mind
• NCGE strands
• Literacy Baseline
• Technology
• Comprehensive and Contemporary
• 21st Century Skills
• TPACK
• Build one
• What is your purpose and objective?
• Books
• need to have geographical locations
• Inferno would be great if you could find a map of Hell on Google Earth ... :)
• Places
• find the places
• Outlining
• outline your information
• Resources
• gather
• Build it
• go to http://www.earth.google.com/
• create a folder in "My Places" with the title of the book
• create a cover page: make your own, or go to the presenter's site and click on the link for Cover Code Template
• Highlight the code - you do not need to know what this means. Just copy and paste it into Google Earth.
• there are red and blue texts. These are fields you or the student can change to add more information
• Do a simple Google search for the title of the book and look for images
• click on the picture
• right click and copy the picture
• paste it in
• go to http://www.amazon.com/ and find the book
• copy the URL and paste it in to the specified field to provide a link where someone can buy the book
• Write a short description in the required field
• Fill in the name
• Marking the Places
• type in the location in Google Earth's search bar
• Place a marker and type in the name of the place
• go back to  http://christykeeler.com/LitTrips and get the code template you need for the places
• fill in the fields
• place, description, citation, discussion questions, more information, etc.
• delete anything in the code that you do not want to add
• Adding Video
• find your video that relates to your content
• in another window, go back to Google Earth and place a marker where you want the video to appear
• you can change this icon as you wish to match your book
• ex. if it was raining on the River, choose the cloud with rain
• go back to  http://christykeeler.com/LitTrips and choose the code for video
• copy and paste it in to your pin in Google Earth
• go to the video and copy the embed code
• go back to Google Earth and paste it into the correct field
• Save it!!
• go to the top level folder
• click File or Right Click
• click
  Save Place
  As...
• Save it to the folder in which  you want the Trip to appear
• Delete it
• Go to the folder in which you saved the Trip, and it will be there.
• I would check to make sure you saved the Trip properly before deleting it
• Resource Collection
• Create a place to save
• Primary Sources
• Video Resources
• links
• Social Bookmarking - an online resource to help keep track of links
• Diigo – diigo.com
• you can save your links in a Word Document as well, but it may be a bit more difficult to save pictures that way. Do what makes you comfortable. 
• Citing Sources - if it isn't cited, it cannot be posted
• Use free resources or cite it

Discovery Education - From Print to Digital: a Conversation

Dr. Jocelyn Chadwick

jocelyn_chadwick@discovery.com

Dr. Chadwick is a professor at the Harvard School of Education, a Mark Twain Scholar, taught for 10 years in middle school, I believe, and overall a brilliant woman. She has so many accolades under her belt ... it was truly a pleasure to  listen to her speak. Look her up and read her bio.

This session discussed the importance of digital literacy, and how moving from print to digital media in the classroom helps keep content engaging and relevant for students.

Discovery Education is working with school districts across the country to align the State and Core Standards to each site’s specific curriculum, supplementing those lessons with digital assets. Each digital asset aligns with standards and curriculum, is easy for teachers to use, and is presented in one electronic document with hyperlinks – think of it as one stop shopping when it comes to offering engaging lesson plans that include digital media. A teacher can then use Discovery Education’s model of a unit and create their own lesson plans that align to the standards and include digital assets.

This was not a commercial session, but Dr. Chadwick’s discussion centered around her work with Discovery Education as examples of the topic.

• How do you take rigorous curriculum and infuse it with relevance?
• "If we can imagine it, we can create it...it is just a matter of having room to do it."
• In Indianapolis, handed curriculum and asked to make it engaging, easy to teach
• What happens if you align each standard with digital media assets
• We need to engage students of all learning modalities and situations, and make these strategies accessible to teachers
• Students are visual and tactile learners more than ever, due to the digital age
• So Discovery created documents that are friendly to teachers no matter what year they are in, and provide links to resources, so as not to overload the teachers
• Took the curriculum and followed similar mapping, but created "metadata" so that students are no longer just looking at a picture of Maya Angelou, but can read about her, watch a video, access resources, all with one click - easy access
• If the state changes the standards at grade levels, digital media makes it much easier to change the curriculum
• Modular units that move teachers easily from print o digital media
• Pre-assessments (tactile)
• Vocabulary - How to make it relevant
• Interactive Vocabulary Journal
• took vocabulary from the curriculum guides and made those the list for the year
• rather than writing out the definition, students need to create the definitions with images, sounds, etc.
• manipulate the definition
• now it is tactile and relevant, and the students can connect to and remember it
• activities - keep the vocabulary relevant
• project based
• student produced
• standards based
• Created Digital Strategies
• World History - be an archeologist: create an archeological report following the guidelines of a real archeologist
• now have a multi-dimensional approach
• blogs
• digital cultural quilt
• creates a timeline from then and now
• example - American Revolution
• digital pamphlet
• digital poster
• all designed to start with working in groups and scaffold out
• all designed for presentation to class or school
• Students begin to feel more in control of their learning
• we have very visual students
• Teachers have models to base their own classroom digital adventures
• Now Discovery takes curriculum guides and creates model curriculum
• everyone one the team that creates these models are teachers
• created cross curricular models as well
• Time frame for creating these alignments?
• It can be done in about a week/grade level
• create the template for document resources
• Video, Instructional Images, Instructional Games, Articles, Audio, Writing Prompts
• Doesn't take longer than a month for K-12, all four content areas, cross curricular
• No two alignments are the same because the standards are not the same.
• Common Core Standards
• The goal is critical thinking, to create good, responsible citizens, processors
• Goal: How do these standards combine to create a thinking member of society?
• The Core is taking off because
• recession
• Obama Administration has tied the money into adopting the core
• It is here to stay
• "ratchets up" the curriculum - raises rigor
• the five states that the rest of the country follows have adopted the core, so soon others will follow
• California, Texas, New York, Massachusetts, Florida
• Will there be a common assessment?
• Districts are now asking for both the district and common core standard alignments
• ELA - digital alignments supplement text, eliminating the need for purchasing new textbooks, considering that much does not change
• Model Lesson
• time frame
• description
• essential question
• focus questions
• Be the Historian
• activities
• create a digital notebook portfolio
• this answers the essential and focus questions on the back end of the lesson
• links to resources are provided right in the lesson
• nothing is below grade level - all either at or above grade level
• there are some repeats of topics and titles in resources so that you have different perspectives
• pre assessment
• classroom activities
• ex: digital research paper
• writing, videos, images, citations
• guidance for students and teachers
• prompts
• projects
• rubric
• standards
• They always check with teachers to see if it is working, and adjust as requested
• The question becomes: Did the students address the objective? Whether they have all of the technological tools or just the barest ones, did they think through the essential questions?
• enhance that with images and interviews and videos, etc.
• don't have to be in a lab to complete the projects - can do it at home, or complete part of it
• ATT - providing tools to help further this, keep kids off of the streets and help them graduate
• Funding
• Indianapolis is using textbook money
• just bought a class set of books, and then spent the rest of the money on the contract with Discovery
• others using Title I funds, etc.
• Create your own models and lessons
• All of the resources that are used to create these models for each district are available to us on http://www.discoveryeducation.com/
• customize your lessons with digital aspects and engage students and increase motivation and achievement
• You can also do your own research, using your favorite sites and resources