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?