My Contributions to the Webquest Wikis

1. For my first edit, I added the webQuest Time Travel to the Introduction portion because I thought that this particular webQuest demonstrated a strong and interesting introduction that would most likely hook the students.

2. For my second edit, I added another webQuest to the webQuest components sight that I thought was so cool! This one is called Amazing Superlatives. I added this one under process because the webQuest has the students using comparitive and superlative writing techniques to make projects in newspaper form. One extra cool part about the project was the recognition of mulitple intelligences to form the groups.

3. For my third edit, I added the webQuest The Write Stuff to the components page because this webquest seemed to use the process to get the students really engaged. The teacher used his dog as a point of focus to get the students excited about the project. The best part about it is the evaluation, but this page didn't have an evaluation piece, so I settled on praising it's process also!

How To Help Someone Use A Computer

Tell yourself:"Your primary goal is not to solve their problem. Your primary goal is to help them become one notch more capable of solving their problem on their own. So it's okay if they take notes."

When you've convinced yourself:"When they do something wrong, don't say "no" or "that's wrong". They'll often respond by doing something else that's wrong. Instead, just tell them what to do and why"

These pieces of advice will be helpful in my team presentation by reminding me to slow down, be patient, and realize that some students may take longer than others to understand the use of technology that we will be describing.



How to Help Someone Use a Computer." 1996. 10 Oct 2008 .

Copyright and Fair Use (LR)

A student tries to digitize the shower scene from a rented copy of Psycho into a "History of Horror" report. Her computer won't do it. The movie happens to be on an NBC station that week, so the teacher tapes it and then digitizes it on the computer for her. This is fair use.

True. Manufacturers are instituting blocking technology, authorized under the law, so newer material like VHS rentals and DVDs block educators from their constitutional right to use material for teaching. It's time to begin complaining. In the meantime, educators should grab all the laserdiscs they can find. They're unblocked.

I have a hard time comprehending many of these rules. It seems pretty unreal to me that so many copyrights and agreements are out there for me to be aware of as a teacher. It's almost scary to think of all the trouble I could get into for a small slip up! This question and answer in particular struck me because where the line is actually drawn confuses me. At first when I saw true, I thought it was simply because it was on tv for public viewing and therefore it must be allowed to be used publicly. Reading on I realized that it had more to do with the date than the tv appearance. Then to further my confusion, the answer spoke about laserdiscs, which I am unaware of their purpose. So I wiki'd it and found that they are another form of burning tv programs that were never completely popular in America. Hmmmm? So we can copy things off tv, with whichever means we choose, but it has to be old? What if "How to lose a guy in 10 days" plays on tv, and I want to record it, will anyone know? Does it become illegal when I show others or is it when I hit the record button. If it is on tv, it should be public use, end of story! I pay for cable! Why would I buy the move if I can tape it. My last question becomes, if this is illegal, or parts of it are illegal, why in the world is T-VO completely legal and everyone in America can use it and keeps movies and tv shows and anything they desire on it? It is simply because they are not viewed publicly? And if so, don't they think those who are really determined will find a way around that?
From this assignment I have definitely gained that I have a ton of learning to do about the copyright industry!

Copyright and Fair Use (SR)

1. Backing up cd-roms is a really common, especially in learning environments. It seems a little ridiculous to not be allowed to back up important cds for personal use. To sell copies is obviously a crime, but just for yourself it doesn't seem wrong.

2. Downloading audio clips from MP3.com to use in the classroom is fair use. GOOD! I'm glad there is not a hidden restriction on this one.

3. Using video takes or old tv shows in productions for students seems like that would be against the copyrights. It was good to find out that it wasn't illegal.

4. The Holocaust survivor interview is an interesting one because I didn't realize that if it was all for educational use, and posted like that, anyone has rights to it.

5. The use of Disney video tapes to enterain children in a public place, being illegal, is ridiculous!

6. The compilation of VHS tape clips used for learning being illegal is also a little weird. I am starting to lose sight of the fair use and unfair use line.

7. Digital pictures in public places, posted online, should never be illegal. Because they are the students' photos, they have the right to them.

8. The students doing a digital yearbook and using full songs as background music is illegal use. This make sense sort of because of full songs, so the students should switch to song clips anyways.

Chapter 10: Going Beyond the Classroom

"Do regular class work outside of school." (pg.176)
I love this idea, I completely support doing classwork outside of the four classroom walls. The book basically explains how students can learn so much from connecting the lessons with outside sources and activities. In the book, science is a main example for classes to take outside, but with English being my concentration, I definitely plan on finding ways to bring the students to a different setting. During my first couple weeks of practicum experience, my mentor teacher brought the kids outside for descriptive writing. They immediately fell into it and did not want to return! The writing came out awesome, and they got to exercise the application of descriptive writing. It helped the students use all the senses rather than just their imaginations. I think this activity is really effective, and necessary in high school. Students need to get out of school sometimes. Using learning to help them escape is an amazing idea.

Chapter 9: When Things Go Wrong

In this chapter, one student speaks about the way a teacher let a student argue with her in class about the material they were discussing. The student had control over the situation, rather than the teacher, and this particular student believed this to be "unbalanced" and disrespectful.
This comment and situation confused me a bit. I believe that students should have the right to speak out in any situation. If the teacher is constantly respected then these types of actions should be controlled. If the teacher is respected, the environment will be comfortable and the students will feel comfortable and confident enough to speak in class. The arguing is questionable. I think it is okay for a student to disagree with the material and even speak to the teacher about it. A situation where the student is actually arguing, could get turned around onto the teacher as a negative situation. I think the student is right and wrong. Yes to speaking out, and possibly disagreeing, but no to the teacher losing control.

Chapter 8: Teaching Teenagers Who are Still Learning English

In this chapter, on page 155, a student explains his bad experience because of his inability to understand English. If a student does not understand, they are not going to be able to complete the tasks asked of them, and when they don't, they will not understand why they did, why they are being punished, and what the punishment actually is.
This completely blew my mind. As a student in Maine, this sort of problem does not slip through the cracks because it is not really common. Any student that cannot speak English, is generally an exchange student, and they are given extra attention in the case that they don't completely understand what is happening in the classroom. In a place that this is more common, it almost might not have occurred to me to be careful of this sort of red flag behavior. Obviously the student would have a minor disadvantage if they were still learning English and not completely understanding my class. I am glad this chapter brought this to my attention because coming from a smaller school and less diverse state, I forget about this possibility.

Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

The main thing I picked up from this chapter was to make connections for the students, or help them make connections. These connections could be to things that are currently happening in the world that they understand and relate to, or what will happen next in the class, or what they have already done and understood in the class. The point of doing this is to bring the difficult material to life. If they stop understanding what is being examined and discussed, they very well could stay lost for the remainder of the class, or the year, or even lose complete interest in the subject because of misunderstanding. The whole chapter the students are basically praising a learning they can relate to and fully understand.
I did realize that simply delivering material is not enough. The students have to be able to comprehend and apply what it is they are learning. I never want to have students just memorizing material and then letting it go from their minds. The chapter actually reminded me of the MEL model because it instructs you to apply and relate the material for students' understanding. Now hearing it from the students helps me really understand why that is the most effective way to teach the material.

Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom

In this chapter, it was the students listing the reasons for going to school that completely jumped out at me. I still can barely believe this! It didn't seem like a list that I would expect at all. Basically they concluded they were going because it would further them in life, so they had to, and because there was no real other way to do that.
I feel like I never want to be the teacher that makes students feel like this! The list gave off the idea that these students really disliked school and felt like it was mostly pointless. I know students at this age do not always see the use of the information they are learning, it is expected to have students feel frustrated and not see the connection to life. I cannot figure out if I think of high school the same way, that its only there to get you to the next level? I cannot decide if I also think the main purpose in high school is to get students to choose a career and survive in society. I think it is DEFINITELY a factor, but can that really be it? Are these students reading the teacher's minds, or totally missing the point?

Chapter 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group

One thing that jumped out at me in this chapter was one students ongoing comments. Lauraliz contributed to this chapter over and over with ways and reasons that she avoids being called out in the classroom. By looking preoccupied she can avoid feeling judged and talked about. Because she has a stutter when she is nervous, she becomes scared of judgements from other students. Then she continues on and makes a comment about learning from the person who does know the answer when it is not you.
This totally freaked me out about not paying attention to a students need. She needed to feel comfortable, but would not let herself. It made me feel like I am going to have students that really care about learning, but I might never be able to get them involved enough to get the most out of the lessons. If the student does not want to participate, I cannot make them. It helps for her to comment on learning from the other student, but the amount of information I will be delivering is much larger, and it makes me afraid that this student will get left behind because of fear.

Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success

This chapter taught me a lot about all of the pressures on teenagers. As you get older, you shift the pressure that you felt from high school to something else, and therefore forget how difficult things could get at that age. To take away from some of the pressure and make the classroom an accepting place one of the students suggests to establish in the beginning that if you have the wrong or right answer, either way is alright. This idea gives the students a chance to speak up in class without feeling singled out or stupid.
I really liked this idea because it shows the students that as a teacher you will welcome whatever it is they have to say and therefore they can all feel comfortable to participate. It gets the teacher no where by humiliating students in public. Giving them a chance to try out their answers can make them feel gratified for participating and for trying. If the teacher recognizes their effort and appreciates it, they will have created a comfortable environment.

Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior

The piece that jumped out at me in this chapter was the students recognizing the lack of discipline by teachers so quickly. One student talks about how the teacher didn't address a problem until a few days after it began occurring. This acknowledgement reminded me that students alone know and remember how a classroom should be run, and compare each teacher to those expectations.
This idea of students judging the teacher for not setting rules really kind of caught me off guard. Previous to this chapter I knew that students would respond to different types of classrooms and different classroom rules, but I did not consider the idea that students would be uncomfortable in a classroom without rules. These students know how a classroom is run when it's run well, and they do not necessarily approve of a classroom without expectations and boundaries. It occurred to me that students can focus on learning when they are not trying to determine what they can and cannot do; so a teacher should establish the boundaries immediately and then begin the learning.

Web 2.0 Educator

The blog I chose is written by Dan Meyer and called "dy/dan". This teacher seems to be blogging about his experiences as a math teacher. It would be my guess that he teaches a middle school or high school level judging by the student experiences he includes in his blogs. It was really interesting to read his blogs because he has a sarcastic tone to his writing that made me laugh quite a bit. His entries are entertaining so it was easy to get through the first couple pages of them, rather than only four. Dan didn't seem to talk too much about technology in his classroom, he spoke more of technique and strategy. This blog was voted best new blog, and I agreed with the choice because it was definitely fun to read!

Type I and Type II Technology

The instruments or tools classified as Type I are not new inventions or technologies, they are simply tools that help to sustain the learning that has always occurred in the classroom. This is to help teach the same subjects and concepts that have always been taught in schools, but not necessarily to progress those concepts.Some examples of Type I technologies are:
- Typewriter
- SMARTboards
- Graphing Calculator for traditional math rather than graphing
Type II Technology is actually using new products or old products in new ways to make progress in learning. This Type promotes new ideas and ways of presenting information, it’s all about being innovative. Some examples of Type II technologies are:
- Use of internet pages solely for class work (i.e. wikis, blogs, etc.)
- Advanced computer programs such as Word that edit work
- Using a graphing calculator for graphing

Citation:
Maddux, Cleborne D., Johnson, D. Lamont. "Type II Applications of Technology in Education: New and Better Ways of Teaching and Learning". 2005, Haworth Press Inc.
Available at: http://www.haworthpress.com/web/CITS

My MEL Experiences

• Student/Teacher Relationship (Environment): One of my high school experiences consisted of an English teacher who really disliked me. I am unsure still of what exactly I did to create her negative feelings towards me, but she really treated me differently from the rest of the class. When I would turn in work, especially papers or reports she would grade them differently than the rest of the class, giving me lower grades for my best work than my other 3 alternate English teachers had given for my best work. I am still unsure of why my grades were not as high as usual, I wonder if she disliked my writing style. I would ask other teachers for assistance on my work when she would refuse to explain her grading. No matter what the result of my grades in the class, or the help I received from the other teachers, I did not have a good experience in this particular teacher's class. She discouraged me from my own writing, making me feel it was inadequate when all of my previous teachers (and teachers after her) had praised me for my individual styles. The environment was not one that I benefited from or enjoyed, therefore discouraging my learning.
• Hands On (Experience): Another important learning experience for me was during my senior year I took two different classes with the same teacher that promoted learning from hands on and experimental work. One class was a cooking class and the other an interior decorating class. Both classes had a very structured curriculum, but were designed for the students to learn by doing rather than constantly studying books. That year I learned many different skills in both classes that I still use in everyday life and have yet to forget. This type of learning embedded the important ideas into my mind, therefore keeping the facts with me for this long. The hands on experience forced me to learn the patterns of the work rather than just the words and written directions. Physically experiencing the process helped me completely understand the subjects I was studying.
• Learning Styles (Experience): Varying the types of learning in classrooms not only keeps students engaged, but it creates a blanket for all the different learning types in the classroom. One of my best ways of learning is not only hands on, but it is anything in relation to the Spacial Intelligence. This type of intelligence gives me a decent ability to be creative, but productive and interpret things in more artsy ways. Throughout high school I would excel in any classes that gave me a chance to branch out and do a project with extra detail on the presentation, the designing parts of projects, or even direct relation to art, such as photography. Getting a chance to go outside and visualize pictures with the elements of rule of thirds or leading lines gave me the opportunity to memorize everything I needed to memorize in the class, but also see and experience the concept while designing a beautiful picture. It was another way of learning that incorporated different intelligences and promoted my memory of the written work.
• Autonomy (Motivation): The concepts of planning, designing, and creating have become more and more important to me as I have gone through school. In high school is where I learned the basis of these important tools. Receiving a syllabus in any class helps achieve a general sense of what to expect and how to plan ahead for the class. I find this tool always incredibly helpful in the learning process because it gives students the chance to focus on certain tasks and in a certain order. I also had one teacher that would have a board full of upcoming assignments and events that he would remind us to check each class. This gave us a chance to stay on top of our assignments with a little push from the teacher, but the feeling that we were succeeding independently also.
• Context (Meaning): Also in my senior year I took this one class that was called "Future Perspectives". I remember this class as one of the most valuable classes I took all through high school. As a segway into life after high school this class taught the students about budgeting, student loans, job interviewing, professional resume and letter writing, and any other general knowledge about surviving with or without a college education. Every single class I learned something that was meaningful and applied to my life. After that class I was confident that the things in life that looked so difficult and complicated that I was bound to come upon, were not so bad and I was old enough and mature enough to handle them. This teacher was understanding, helpful, caring, and compassionate. She taught us how to be adults in a way and it was definitely a class I would recommend to any high school student because it was truly motivating and an excellent preparation for the real world.

Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well

Reading through chapter one in Fires in the Bathroom one particular passage caught my attention. One student wrote "Just because I live in Harlem doesn't mean my brother sells drugs, I like in a crack-abandoned building, or I'm on welfare. Someone I know comes to my apartment and says, "Wow, I didn't know you lived in a place like this," because the house is clean." - Alexis (6)
This student makes a very valid point about teachers and stereotypes; though its not easy to ask questions about the student's background, it is also completely unfair to assume or categorize. She is simply stating that the stereotypes are not necessarily true and she would like to be considered as her own person rather than grouped with those who are completely unlike her and her family.
This point is incredibly valuable. It caught me off guard because I wasn't expecting a quotation so blunt and straight forward, but it is a fact that teachers need to be reminded of. I need to develop the skills of getting to know my students in a fashion that is not intruding on them personally, but gives me the chance to understand the student and the actions of him/her. I feel like this will benefit my learning of strategies for getting to know my students.

Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness

One thing from this particular reading that jumped out at me was Mika's comments on page 19. Mika explained,
"It's OK if kids hate you at first. If you care about your teaching, we'll get past that. We're not going to be receptive to someone so quickly - we're kind of young in our thinking."
This basically made it clear that students are relatively forgiving, but have immature thinking. So if I am strict in my classroom, they will get used to it, and get over it, and like me because I care about my teaching. This is more of an achievement compared to being liked because I am nice, lenient, and an easy teacher. This surprised me because I thought the majority of high school/middle school students were more into having fun with there teachers and having no homework. She states that the students are young and have immature thinking; I would possibly disagree because if they care about their teacher quality, that seems to me to be a very mature step into the right direction.

This piece really helped me ease my worries of where the line is for being nice and having your students like you, or being strict and having them all dislike you. After reading this comment, and others similar to it, I realized what the children respect is the teacher knowing their content area and caring about it and the way its being understood by the students. Being liked has suddenly become less of a priority. I would much rather be respected in my classroom than liked, respect promotes success, the strong teacher-student relationships will develop if we have shared respect.

Learning Style Inventory Results

Style Scores:
Visual -11
Social -15
Physical -12
Aural -16
Verbal -8
Solitary -9
Logical -5

These were my scores for the MEL learning styles survey. These scores seem a little different from what we went over in class with Grace this morning, but seem somewhat accurate. I do have higher skills in visual and social, which is relatively alike to my in class results. It seems to be pretty accurate!