Helping Jane with research assignment

Velia Alvidrez-Aguirre

Jane’s objective to have students work collaboratively in a blended environment, conducting a research, and creating a document on wikkispaces is great idea.  However during the process of this assignment there is more than one thing that went wrong.   Generally speaking issues will arise from group work.  In some instances the main problem is the lack of participation of all members of a group.  This for sure is the case in Jane’s circumstance where it is evident that some groups are having a difficult time collaborating in a fair manner. This is leading from some group members to be disengage and not contributing to the project.  Another problem Jane is facing is the fact that students are struggling to collaborate in a positive manner in an online project.  The lack of guidance contributed to students deleting and disrespecting their peer’s work.  The lack of objectivity from some groups is also another issue that needs to be addressed.  These groups are solely focusing on the aesthetic component however how can they refocus in researching their topic and gathering the pertinent information.  Jane could have guided students by providing a clear goal and objectivity of the research paper to prevent this issue.

The main issue is that some groups deviated from the objective.  Students should always be clear on what the objective and goal is.  The student’s creativity should be acknowledged and praised, however as teachers we have to be vigilant that we provide the necessary information to them to say on target.   This is the time for Jane to bring the class together and share strategies for students to analyze the assignment and the expectations of it.  This to me is the main issue because time is valuable and students should use it wisely to accomplish the learning objective or goal.  In this part Jane has to be very assertive in not only introducing the topic of research but also to provide examples or some modeling for students to have a clear understanding.  Jane can provide support to those students by ensuring that the example reaches to all students with different learning styles.  Have an open discussion to assess if students understood the instructions of their assignment.  Jane can ask questions to verify that students are in fact clear of the expectations and the material they will have to cover in the research paper.  The following are links that can help Jane.

http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/making-lesson-objectives-clear

            I feel the lack of guidance is for sure one of the main issues in Jane’s situation.  It is imperative that as educators we provide students with an objective and the clearest expectations of an assignment or project.  Students have the right to understand exactly the expectations and their roll and participation in it.  Jane could have helped her students by explaining how the project was going to be conducted and what was expected of every member of the group.  By informing students that they were going to be not only working in groups but also collaborating online and setting rules for on online collaboration would have eliminated some issues.  For most people working in a group presents a challenge, collaborating online makes it even more challenging.  Due to the collaboration being in a social platform it is especially important to explain to students the importance of respecting their peer’s work as well as embracing ideas and modifications that leads to a high quality piece of work.  The following link provides excellent tips and strategies for us teachers to make online collaboration more successful.

https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/5-tools-and-strategies-that-support-group-collaboration-online/

            Another issue to address is the fact that in a group assignment every member should have rights and responsibilities.   All members should take ownership and be able to contribute fairly in order to receive credit or a grade.  Jane could have worked on a rubric and this would have set the expectations of every member.  It is beneficial to students to begin learning about collaboration, accountability and responsibility.  Teaching students how important it is to be an active participant of any group assignment will prepare them for assignments at college and university level.  Many of the times we fail as educators to engage students to feel positive about group work.  It has to start at the elementary level to change the negative perspective about group assignments.  We should share the many of the benefits it offers to everyone as individuals.  This is a great opportunity to get the student buying so that in their college years they are ready and active participants of any challenge that presents their way.  By motivating students to go as a team and hold each other’s hand to create or do an assignment leads to a community of learners.  It also lends to build the positive social component needed in today’s society.  The following links provide assistance for teachers to create a rubric designed for group assignments.

http://edtechteacher.org/assessment/

            The responsibility of the teacher is to serve as a facilitator.  As a good facilitator you have to create a positive atmosphere in the classroom.  If this is created everything else falls in place smoothly.  Students have respect for one another, communication exist and the trust for one another.  As a teacher getting to know your students facilitates the process of leading them and orchestrating any assignment.  It is good to be observant of the things that are working and the things we need to modify in any given lesson.  Every child is different and what works with a class this year might not work with a class the following year.  This is the reason it is important to set a goal, expectations, rubrics and any strategy that will make student’s learning and academic journey a successful one.

Week 10 Social Media

Velia Alvidrez-Aguirre

TED 5372

Social Media

Section I:  Learning from hashtags

Learning about Twitter has been a very exciting journey.  I have to confess that I had never been attracted to this social media.  For the most part I am not a fanatic of social media to begin with, however I have to do Facebook for my school.  I am the cub reported and pretty much all event, activities and news are shared through FB.  Not too long ago I was asked to add Twitter to our school to promote and advertise our school at higher capacities and forced my self to add a Twitter account.  To make the long story short I delegated this duty to my librarian and asked her to monitor and update our Twitter account and I would continue to manage FB.  Now that I had to watch the tutorials and learn about it, I have modified my way of thinking.  Twitter is a world of information, links and resources.  One of the hash tags that caught my attention was #preschool and #BlendedLearning https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=%23preschool this has tag open an endless of resources from Halloween costumes to other attractive links.  There is one resource about hands-on fun for little ones http://www.raisinglifelonglearners.com/hands-on-fun-magnets-2/?utm_content=buffera3cbb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer in this link there are ideas and illustrations on how little ones that are allowed the opportunities to explore using magnets are exposed to learning cause and effect in a fun manner.  I was amazed to read all the different related topics and topics that escalate to other topics but however relate to in different ways to what you are looking for.  Twitter is a library full of material readily available to answer and provide information about any topic.  I research about pre-school because this is the grade level I teach and it is very interesting to look for effective ways of high quality instruction for our little ones.  I can go on and on with all the information that I came across such as ideas for parents with gifted and talented children.  In the many resources I came across there is a youtube video about science: http://www.raisinglifelonglearners.com/hands-on-fun-magnets-2/?utm_content=buffera3cbb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer   the information that Titter offers is not just as a social media but also as a resourceful media to search and learn from great educational topics.

Section 2: Ideas  for using Twitter for teaching and learning

      Once again I am in that position that it is challenging because my teaching experience is pre-kinder.  However Twitter is as one of our great social medias to advertise our school.  I have provided training to my librarian to update and post important information about any activities and events throughout the school year utilizing this platform.  Twitter is also a great resource at our school to convey information such as inclement weather, any news such as changes in bus routes due to city constructions and things of that nature.  It has been a very successful and effective manner to communicate with parents.  School fundraisers are also promoted through this means of communication and it works better than sending so flyers as reminders.

If I was in the elementary school and would teach 5^th graders I definitely would introduce students to all the components of Twitter.  My first idea:  I would have students create a social group for our class.   My second idea:  I would use the platform as a teaching resource to feed news to students such as reminders for quizzes and test.  The third idea: Another way to incorporate Twitter in the daily teaching would be for students to create educational hashtags where the rest of their peers can respond to and create an educational discussion. I would also use Live tweet for school activities.  This for sure would be very welcomed and liked by their parents to be able to view what happens at school if they were unable to attend those activities.  From all these ways in where students would be using Twitter they will be able to learn to use it for educational purposes. 

I also would provide training for parents to learn about the school Twitter account.  Parents would benefits from learning how to create their accounts if they don’t have one.  Twitter is in my list of technology parent training that would be rolled out during this school year.  Parents would be able to learn how to do their hashtags and become engaged in teacher’s tweets.  They can follow hashtags from their child’s classroom and be informed about any event, changes or news happening in the community and in their child’s school.

Velia Alvidrez-Aguirre Edmodo

Velia Alvidrez-Aguirre TED 5372 I had previously heard about Edmodo but did not know what it was. I knew it was a platform out there, however did not have any notion of the many components it has. The tutorials help a lot in fully understanding how to operate it and how it can be incorporated in the classroom. I was truly amazed at the many things that can be done not only at the teacher level but also at the student’s and parent level. At the beginning it was a bit overwhelming even though I had watched the tutorial. I had a difficult time creating a student account, perhaps because I have so many accounts already and in using one of them it kept logging me as a teacher. I finally was able to separate the profiles and create the teacher side and student side. Even though my experience is at the preschool level I cannot stop and think the many ways it can be used in the classroom. If I were a third grade teacher I would definitely be using this platform not only to incorporate technology and prepare students to use technology but to prepare them for STAAR. I would make the snapshot my best friend. This is an amazing tool that Edmodo offers for all stakeholders to know where the student stands. This is platform is a great and engaging tool to work with students to prepare them for this standardized test. Students at times go thru kill and drill, however what an excellent way to send them quizzes, assignments and to snapshot to target specific areas. I can say that as a student is much more enticing to take a quiz or work on any assignment in the computer than on paper pencil. Taking the snapshot my self on the student side I created allowed me to experience how engaging it can be. Even to read the passages rather than having printouts made it a more positive experience. The teacher side allows the educator to know specifically the student’s needs. Lesson plans can be created according to the target areas and scaffold from there. This is just like a magic wand for teachers to be providing material for students in the form of quiz, poll, snapshot, assess from there and to teach according to the needs. This is one of the greatest platforms I have come across. As a parent of a fifth grader I wish I could see something like this being incorporated. The many benefits of Edmodo are very valuable.

Educational Technology Blogs

Velia Alvidrez-Aguirre Edutopia: Engaging Parental Support for Smarter Thinking http://www.edutopia.org/blog/parental-support-for-smarter-thinking-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers This site had interesting and provoking insights on how to promote inquiry in our own children. At times there are some parents who leave the education to the school setting, however there are so many either negative or positive concepts that we as parents we role model to our children. It is in the home environment and outside the classroom where there is endless and valuable information not to mention the time allows for in-depth teaching and learning. I was very engaged in reading this site because our society in my opinion need to foster critical thinking to build confident and productive citizens. The strategies provided in this site for parents are a great tool to teach our children to learn how to learn. The article mentions that learning does not stop at graduation and for that matter it does not only have to happen in a classroom. Parents can teach every moment of interaction with their children. For instance going to the supermarket there are so many terms that parents can utilize to increase their child’s vocabulary and langue. For example during grocery shopping prices can discussed, synonyms such as legumes as an alternative word for vegetables. Children can be asked questions about how do the groceries get to the store. Prompt them to problem solve, as if what could it be done if you have more groceries than money. Edudemic: Teaching Kids to Build Computers http://www.edudemic.com/teaching-kids-build-computers/ This site is also very interesting because it does bring awareness in incorporating technology from early childhood and on. In todays 21st century it is not difficult to create a blended environment. Students are naturally engaged in computers and everything that revolves around technology. As a pre-k teacher it motivates me even more to put into practice educational apps and websites of course with the direct teaching as well. The site also includes good information about coding. This also attracted me because one of the goals I have for the next weeks is to do a lesson plan about coding. I have been researching age appropriate coding educational apps for my pre-k students. I think this will plant the seed for their formal education years. I was happy to read that starting in preschool is allowing students to learn about coding. I say I am happy to read this as often preschool is perceived as a day care or not even consider part of elementary education. Actually one of the sites mentioned is code.org a site I have been researching to use with my students. As the site mentions coding will prepare our students in today’s technological world.

Prezi Presentation

One Drive

Velia Alvidrez-Aguirre One Drive The whole concept of Google drive has taken it to higher levels of working independently or collaboratively. I have been using Google drive specifically Google docs. This is a very effective for me to have my documents and access them from everywhere. When I first came across this phenomenal program it made my entire workload much easier. I can recall the many times that if I had left my laptop at work and was unable to do anything. Once I started using Google this completely eliminated that issue. It is the most wonderful tool to be able to have your documents or any material saved in one drive. The storage capabilities are also much better and greater than using the computer’s drive. However the tutorials provided me with more knowledge on how to navigate and create and store not only documents but also slides and forms. These tutorials offered me with a better understanding on how Google has a lot to offer. For instance I was not familiar with the app to sync your devices to store your material in the cloud. Another aspect that is great is the capacity it has to send and forward large files. This particular feature helps me a lot because at times I have to e-mail teachers large files and through regular e-mail it either takes a long time or simply the file does not go through. One of the neat things too about this program is how easy documents can be converted into Google docs. This is a very convenient way to store documents, as it does not interfere with the space in the drive. Creating the form was an awesome tool to use with my teachers and my parents. As I was creating the form I started planning on how this can be an effective measurement for monthly trainings. It can target specific topics and provide feedback in order to continue growing. The form I created was great way to experiment on how the template and each type of question looks like. I will utilize this form each month for the technology staff training. Staff will have an opportunity to provide valuable feedback on how effective the information is to them. They will be able to offer ideas and topics they are interested in. The form also is a great tool to utilize in the teacher web page. I am intending to embed the Google form in their page for parents to use when requesting information or sharing information. I will select just a few questions for parents to submit a concern or question. One of the required fields would be the student’s name and the parent’s contact information.

Technology Survey

Please do the following survey. Make sure you have done it by Friday.