Week 15: Was Sisyphus a College Student in Disguise?

Yipee. . .you have made it through another semester. . .almost ;-)

I have graded darn near everything. . .There is only the movie, Inspiration (which we'll grade in class tomorrow), and your TaskStream narratives (and of course the attendance and participation, which is almost exclusively based on attendance as everyone participated fully).

Wed: I will be in the lab as soon as a can. I have a meeting in SD which I will not be able to leave until 3pm at the earliest. Depending on traffic, I should be in the lab around 4:45/5:00 to help anyone with their movies. We will also be briefly discussing TaskStream and sharing out on Inspiration. . .and lastly, we should watch all of your amazing movies (I have confidence in advance).
Note: Don't forget to do the project reflection for the movie assignment!

Please check your grades to ensure everything you have turned in has been graded or fix and resubmit if anything is being returned. . .FINISH ALL MISSING WORK. . .PLEASE.

This week's Question: What are you going to take away from this class? I hope you have learned more than just a few technology tips and tricks.

Thanks to everyone. . .peace!

Week Fourteen: Are You a Trypto Phan?

I hope no one is still sleepy from the Thanksgiving Feast. Well, two weeks left and you still have some work to do! I really hope some of you were able to get some film shot as it will save you a few trips back to the university! The goal for next week is to ensure we have all of your artifacts loaded for TaskStream and then we will watch the cool movies you made!

What is still due: Inspiration & Journals 6-10 (to include the web 2.0 evaluation), edTechProfile-Post, TaskStream (finish narratives for II-VI), iMovie Software proficiency (if you haven't already turned it in) and your social justice group movies.

I was successful in securing the Pub Drive for this class. When you are on campus, do this:
1) Do Go > Connect to Server
2) Enter "afp://afp1" and click OK.
3) login using the info above(using your CSUSM password). You'll see a list of shares.
4) Choose the jheil share and click OK.

This way, everyone can store movie files and anyone in the group can access the content. As this is public, please ensure you title your folders specifically, so no one accidentally gets into your content!!

I will also try to come to campus next Monday to help anyone who might need assistance with things past due. . .


This week's Question: What has been your favorite assignment to date and why? Feel free to do the same for your least favorite!

Week Twelve: Almost . . .Finished!

I'm sure the craziness of the last few weeks has made it hard to make Ed422 a priority in your life; however, we are almost finished. Don't lose steam or become frustrated now. . .you've gone to far. The time off didn't affect the fact I was going to ask you to work on Excel and Inspiration on your own. . .so nothing has really changed, you've just had more time to stress ;-)

On a positive note. . .my wife completed the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk! They raised over 12 million dollars this year!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week: I will introduce the social justice movie project, discuss what we have left, and give you some time to work on your software proficieny assignment.

Still Working: You have the Excel assignment, Journal's 6-10 (to include the web 2.0 assignment as a journal entry), and the Inspiration/Kidspiration/InspireData project. I added some new instructions about saving the projects (making the journal entry optional). For Inspiration/Kidspiration I would like you to export your assignment as a .jpg, which makes it easy to share. For InspireData, it seems you can only export the data table. So, if you do InspireData, perhaps you can take a screenshot/printscreen pasted into a Word document to share with your peers. Don't make this harder than it has to be. . .it's more about becomming a student who is exploring a new technology tool.

Journal's 6-10: you should have plenty of options. . .the new L&L, Web 2.0, or other sources.

This week's question: I have noticed that a few of you have been forgetting to comment on the question. . .please don't forget! For this week, I want to know what your all-time favorite book is (or your current favorite)! Why is it your favorite?

Week Eleven: Back to Normalcy?

Halloween is over, the candy is waning, and I hope that y'all are ready to get back to work. Hopefully, everyone has been working independently and keeping up with our workload.

This week: I am going to go over how to to use iMovie and everyone is going to create what could be your first video masterpiece!
If time permits, we will also discuss the actual movie project that you will be completing in small groups. If you haven't requested your v-drive, please go to the link from the last entry and request a v-drive. This will come in handy as it will allow you to work on any computer on campus to work on video. Without it, you will be forced to work on the same computer you began editing on.

Journals 7-10: I gave you an assignment in week 8 for journal 6; for 7 & 8, you could choose an article from the November issue of L&L. Also, I would like you to pick a technology from the Classroom 2.0 website, choose a link from the tools list on the right hand column for a technology that interests you, and follow a discussion or two that relates to your technology. In the title bar, put journal 9 follwed by the technology you have chosen. (For example: Journal 9: Microblogging). In the journal, I would like you to define the technology and then report out on what you learned from the tool discussion and read and comment on at least three peers who have chosen a different tool. You reporting out should contain the 200-250 word minumum, but you do not need to ask and answer questions. In the assignments section, you will submit your peers names.

This week's question: I want to follow-up on last week's question. Many of you seemed to accept that tracking is a valid way to sort children in schools. (I am very sceptical as to how people get classified.) What I want to know is why is it, in San Diego County, that White and Asian students are overrepresented in GATE (a greater percentage in GATE than they represent in the school population), while Latino, African American, and Native American students are underrepresented in GATE (lower percentage in GATE than they represent in the school population)? Is it the classification system, innate intelligence or something else?

Week 10: No More Tricks!

Well, in some way, I'm sure everyone has been affected by the recent firestorm. I sincerely hope that everyone's lives are coming back to as close to normal as possible. While we still have a lot to do, I don't think that we are in jeopardy of missing out on anything uber-important. We will still have a virtual class this Wed to allow the parents to trick-or-treat with the kids! I still think we can get through everything. . .I'll just combine a few things and hope that everyone can work on her/his own for the next week.

Assignments in progress: Copyright (due Nov 2), Spreadsheet/Excel (Nov 9), Journals 6-10 (Nov 23), and TaskStream Narratives (NETS II-VI, due Dec 3). I really hope that, given any normalcy, everyone is taking advantage of the time to work on the TaskStream narratives. I have already given comments to those who submitted the narrative for NETS I. Please check TaskStream to look for my feedback.

Journals 6-10: You should receive your first L&L this week! Feel free to scan it to select an article (or two or three) for the journals. Also, the October issue of Edutopia revolves around environmental issues . Feel free to select an article from this issue.

Please obtain a V-Drive: go to the following address, v-drive, and sign-up for your very own v-drive. This will allow you to work on video from multiple computers, which will be very important when we begin our movie projects (next week)!

New Assignments: Inspiration/Kidspiration/InspireData. . .Check webCT for instructions!! Also, I would like everyone to use the Classroom 2.0 link and sign-up for a free account. This is a very-cool social networking site for teachers! We will incorporate this website into a future journal assignment!

This week's Question: Do you believe in tracking? Assuming it was in place, would you rather work with at-risk or GATE students? Would you put your kids in a GATE class if it were offered to you? Explain your answer.

Week Nine: Fires Suck!

As we all know or are discorvering, the fires have closed the campus for the week. Our primary concern is for our individual class members. I haven't heard from anyone who has been displaced, but I haven't heard from everyone. I hope that we can all support every class member as she/he works through whatever level of stress this fire requires. Please offer any level of support you can.

This week: well, we won't be completing any in-class assignments, I expect that you can work on two thing: your journal and your TaskStream narratives. I have graded all of your journals. . .well done! Feel free to choose your future journal articles and get them completed in the next week (hopefull thinking); also, you can use the samples I provided and complete as many of your TaskStream narratives as possible, which will make your future ed422 life easier. . .not a traditional tack, but something that we can easily do with some effort. Email me if you have any questions.

I'll post some additional lesson ideas later in the week!

This week's Question: Why do you want to be a teacher? Who or what inspired you?

Week Eight: Is the Class Half Empty or Half Full?

I believe that we have completed over half of the course! You should all be proud of the work you have accomplished so far. I know y'all are going to be the next wave of educators who incorporate technology into the curriculum. Hey, at least everyone has been able to exist in a web 2.0 environment . . .it's not your mother's Internet. Speaking of web 2.0, I noticed that I only had about 13 comments on last week's blog. Please don't forget that commenting is not only a way to build community, but to earn some of your precious attendance and perticipation points ;-)

This week: I believe that I have graded all of the resubmitted and/or tardy past assignments. Please check the "my grades" section of webCT. All I have left to grade is the wiki assignment, which I hope to have finished by classtime tomorrow!
I hope everyone has been working on the TaskStream narrative for NETS I. I had asked that you use Google docs to collaborate. We will spend some time discussing the narrative(s), Google docs, and introducing the copyright assignment. I have also posted the spreadsheet (excel) assignment that you will complete for Halloween.

Journal #6: This is from the current issue of L&L, which I was able to log into and access (I hope you can too. . .) The article, "The Threat of Security", by LeAnn Robinson, Abbie Brown, & Tim Green highlights some of the current issues that are fueled by administrator's fear of lawsuits.

This week's Question: Does our Education Institution's hyperfocus on grades kill instrinsic motivation? In other words, would you try just as hard in this class if the grading was pass/fail? Why or why not?

Week Seven: Can You Step into the Same TaskStream Twice?

I really enjoyed last week's PowerPoint presentations. Any time I can have future teachers collaborating is a good week for me ;-)

This week: you should be working on getting your awesome, thoughtful, inspiring wiki entries on the class wiki. Remember that we are looking for novel ideas only . . . and please don't use any links from the del.icio.us assignment. Our new assignment will be the beginning of our TaskStream narratives. If time permits, I will also introduce the Copyright collaborative assignment. I am purposefully deviating from the syllabus to be able to give everyone Halloween off to spend with family and/or friends.

Journal #6: I am going to give everyone a journal-free week. I hope that you will all receive your first issue of L&L by now. Don't forget the first set of journals (1-5) are due Oct 19.

This week's Question: I saw Jonathan Kozol speak last night. He said that he believed the most important changes that need to be made in our nation's education are to develop authentic pre-k programs and to decrease class size in k-12(for more than just the wealthy. . .to make these issues a priority in poor and urban districts). What would you say to the NCLB legislators? Do you agree with Kozol? Explain.

Week Six: Oh Wiki, You're So Fine!

I hope all of your NETS explorations have been dolphin safe. You should have gone from the exploration of the NETS, to the creation of a PowerPoint, to the creation of a rubric. I have been trying to get everyone to see way in which you can use technology to integrate into your content by using PowerPoint to teach the NETS. The whole concept of grading someone else might be a bit scary. . .but you'll need to practice!! Creating and using a rubric is a good start.
Note: I am a bit behind in my regrades and late assignments. . .I promise to catch-up soon!

This week: Don't forget to bring at least three of your rubrics to class!! We will finish our rubrics and PowerPoints, then grade each other in grade-range groups. Then I will introduce the concept of a colaborative Wiki. . .I am going to wait for a few weeks to introduce Inspiration. . .

Journal #5: Extra Credit!! It's a good idea to complete this journal to get ahead in the middle of the semester. You can pick an article from ISTE's L&L or any other article from source on our blog. . .or any that interest you. Ensure your article focuses on issues of technology in education.

This week's question: How do you feel about gender-specific schooling (e.g. all-boy or all-girl schools). What are your reasons for either agreeing or disagreeing? Does the age range matter?

Week Five: What's Your PowerPoint?

Wow, week five has come upon us very quickly. Hopefully, you hare settled in to the pace of the class and are no longer having any issues with WebCT. . .and I am much happier in our new room! Don't forget, we have switched to University Hall 271. Ensure you are checking that your assignments have been graded or returned and please complete any redos quickly. Don't forget to ask if you have any questions or tech issues.

This week: Have you completed your NETS intro on TaskStream? Are you reading the blog and answering the weekly question? Since we didn't get to work on the PowerPoint Assignment last week, I'll introduce the assignment this week and then we'll also learn how to create rubrics to grade them. I'll postpone the Inspiration to next week.

Journal #4: As ISTE still hasn't posted the Sept Issue online, and most of you probably haven't received your first issue, I'll allow you to find an article from past issues of ISTE, or use the link on the blog to search one of the other online mags (T*H*E Journal, Edutopia, etc.), or any other site/magazine that deals with issues of educational technology. If you need an article: Search L&L, Vol30, Issue 6, "Designing to Learn: A Focus on Design in Project-Based Learning" by Dianne McGrath.

This week's question: What's your learning style? Predict first, then take this online survey and tell everyone your learning style.

Week Fore: Change is Good, Isn't It?

(This hilarious poster comes from despair.com. . .)
Good news: I was able to get us into a Mac Lab with newer, faster, nicer computers. We will be in University Hall, room 271. For those new to CSUSM, University Hall is the building you would run into if you walked up the stairs by the main entrance (where the flags are). I will post a sign in SCI 306, but please inform your peers if you see any of them.

This week: you should be well into your newsletter. I will show you how to include your scan if you need help in class. We will also get an introduction to TaskStream and the NETS for both teachers and students. There were only two students who hadn't purchased TaskStream accounts. . .if that is you, please do so ASAP. If time permits, we will also begin the PowerPoint assignment. Check your grades and/or inbox to ensure you have a grade for the del.icio.us assignment!

Journal #3: Yesterday, I noticed that ISTE was doing some sort of maintenance on its computers. I went to the site today and the L&L is back to August. Anyway, I am going to give you an article for T-H-E Journal about plagiarism software. The article, "A War of Words" by Jim Paterson, is from the Sept 07 issue. I have a link to T-H-E Journal on our blog, so feel free to search the site for cool articles.

This week's Question: What is your favorite poem or who is your favorite poet? My favorite poem is "If", by Rudyard Kipling, and my favorite poet is probably Langston Hughes or Pablo Neruda

Weak Three: Still Standing?

If you are still with us, you have overcome some minor computer glitches, chalk in your keyboard, Google password-a-paloosa, and some intense heat. Hopefully, this hasn't deterred anyone from enjoying the work that we're doing in class. The blog should have been created and posted with the intro letter and at least two peer comments, the EdTechProfile pre-assessment should be complete (with perpahs some print-screen issues), and you may or may not have worked on the first journal assignment. I assure each of you that things will get easier!

This week: We are going to learn how to use Microsoft Word to create a classroom newsletter. As part of the process, we are going to draw some self-portraits that we will scan to incorporate into the newsletter! Please ensure that you have signed up for ISTE and TaskStream. We will be working with TaskStream next week and I need everyone to be registered so I can put you into a group for our class. I am also going to post a zero-point assignment that will help you organize your user name and password. I don't plan on going into your accounts, so you don't need to give the password (maybe a hint for yourself). I also hope to introduce the concept of IM for you (alas, something that the under-30 crowd is probably already familiar with ;-)

Journal #2: Of course, the minute I assigned a free article from the August issue of L&L, I received the September issue in the mail the next day. If you are still waiting on a paycheck, you can use a free article from the new issue, if you have a subscription, feel free to choose any article from the September issue! The "Infusion or Integration" piece by Kimberley Ketterer is short and interesting.

If anyone needs extra help, I will be at the Starbucks on campus by 5 pm . . .we can try to find an empty computer lab to work for an hour or so. If that doesn't work, I would be happy to stay after class to catch anyone up!

This week's Question: What music is currently in circulation in your car, iPod, Mp3 player, or . . .your 8-track? Or, who is your current favorite artist or group?

Week 2: Ready for a Wild Ride?

As I mentioned last week, we are easing into the content of the course to ensure that everyone is able to access webCT and can figure out how to submit assignments, etc. The Intro Letter assignment is going to be due on Sat to give everyone a chance to read other blogs and leave comments for peers. Some of you may have noticed the blogroll that I have started for those students who have submitted their blogs. If you haven't created your blog yet, it's okay. . .but you should have it up by the end of class! I will go over how to submit your entry in class tonight.

This week:
We will ensure that everyone has access to webCT and I'll discuss the journal assignment part of the blog. Some people didn't follow the title requirement of the blog. . .I'll show you how to edit the blog! Don't forget to complete the EdTechProfile. . .It is an assignment that you should be able to do on your own. Remember, answer the questions about your current level of technology proficiency AS IF you were in a classroom. You do not have to be in the classroom to complete the survey (although it was designed for classroom teachers). You should have your subscriptions to ISTE and TaskStream by now. You should also have your portable storage device. If you are reading this before class, I would like you to get a Google/Gmail account as well as a Yahoo! email account. We will discuss the many opportunities that both Google and Yahoo! provide educators and students. Lastly, I will introduce the concept of social bookmarking and discuss the del.icio.us assignment.

Journal #1: This is a feature article from the August 2007 issue of ISTE's Learning and Leading with Technology (L&L). "Power of the Mashup" By Susie Boss and Jane Krauss. I usually start out with an article that can be downloaded for free if anyone is having financial difficulties. In webCT, under the Journals 1-4 assignment, there is a one-page document that discusses the requirements for each journal. I will also cover the requirements in class.

Lastly, to ensure that everyone ready the blog, I will always attach a weekly questions that I would like everyone to answer. For me, this accomplishes two things: it lets me know you are reading the blog; it also allows you to get to know your peers. You will answer the question by leaving a comment. I expect everyone to participate by leaving a comment for each week's blog.

This week's question: What is your current favorite teacher movie and why?

Intro Letter Instructions

Write a three-paragraph letter of introduction to me and your classmates that you will post on your class blog.
Content:
1st paragraph: Introduce who you are, where you are from, and where you went to school (K-12).
2nd paragraph: Give an overview of your experience with technology. Are you a Mac or PC person? How much do you depend on technology on a daily basis?
3rd paragraph: Read the CSUSM/COE Mission Statement (It’s on the syllabus) and respond to any part of the statement that speaks to you. Was it a factor in your decision to apply at CSUSM?
Include a digital picture of yourself on the blog.
Also, comment on at least two other peers' blogs.
To submit: include your blog link and the names of the peers whose blogs you commented on.
Grading: Three points for the intro/pic on blog; one point for peer comments.

Intro Letter - Me

My name is Jeffery Heil and I am from, well, I'm not sure. I was born in Las Vegas, NV and lived there until I was two years old. Then I moved to Phoenix, AZ and lived there until first grade. . .then I moved back and forth from Seattle, WA (actually, Marysville, but no one outside of the NW knows the city). I attended quite a few elementary schools in Phoenix and Marysville and then attended two high schools twice. I started high school in Marysville, moved to Phoenix, moved back to Marysville, then moved back to Phoenix to finish high school.

My experiences with technology are varied. I had little or no experience until I began college, then I developed a love of computers. I am proficient in many different programs from basic word processing to advanced video editing. I have been teaching educational technology for the last two years and I love to show people how to integrate technology into their teaching! I just recently took a position as a technology resource teacher for the San Diego County Office of Education's Juvenile Court and Community Schools, where I will be assisting teaching in their use of technology to support student learning.

The mission statement of the CSUSM/COE was a factor in my decision to apply to be a distinguished teacher in residence (DTiR). As a San Diego County Office of Education employee, working for the Juvenile Court and Community Schools, I have been very committed to ensure educational equity for all students. The academic achieivement gap isn't something that will go away with positive thoughts, but through hard work and dedication from everyone involved in the education of our students. I see CSUSM as an istitution dedicated to producing educators who can affect positive change as we transform public education!