Wrapping it up

This class, The Connected Educator, has been extremely useful to me. In the past I have sat through a wide variety of classes that were supposed to help me with my professional development. Usually, though, they were just a giant waste of my time. Rarely did I walk away with helpful information that I could take back to my classroom and use the very next day. This class has been one of those rare instances where the information I've learned is not only useful but relevant and can be used by both me AND my students. Tomorrow.

I especially liked how we were able to individualize assignments to focus on our own teaching areas and interests. As an older student who teaches on the high school level, I rarely have classes with anyone my own age or who works with my subject area. I was able to personalize the assignments for this class so that they would be practical for my job. I have found that I have already shared some of this information with my colleagues and students. Hopefully I will continue to use some of the tools that I have started in this course.

Learning more about how to do an effective Google search was particularly helpful. I was a little creeped out, however, to see how easily Wolfram Alpha could access and analyze my Facebook account. It's not like I have anything to hide, I just found it a little creepy. I think that I will share this option with my students. I always tell them that anything on the Internet is public, but I don't think they really take me seriously. Perhaps some charts and graphs would go a long way to illustrate my point.

Light Bulb!

Using the research function in Google Docs was a definite light bulb moment for me. How awesome is this? Having resources right next to the document you are working on is great. Having the hyperlink and citation added is even better. I really love this option.

I found it so useful that I'm sharing it with everyone that will listen to me. I showed it to the librarians at my school who didn't know about it. They told me that the citations are not exactly MLA correct, but they are pretty close and have most of the information needed in a citation. This is important for me to know so I can pass this on to my students. I am always telling them to work harder, not smarter, and this tool is a way to make that happen.

This tool is so great that I incorporated it into an assignment for my junior English class. We have been discussing the American Dream and the various interpretations of this concept. Their final activity in this unit is to write a compare/contrast essay examining their definition of the concept with the American Dream of the athletes in the documentary "Hoop Dreams".

I have tried and tried to figure out how to attach a copy of the assignment I gave my students but I wasn't successful. I did, however, figure out how to share a copy of it with you, Marcia. So far, the kids seem to really be applying this new tech tool to their essay. Will it produce any better content? We'll just have to see. (fingers crossed)

Updates!

Diigo update: I had thought about having my students create a Diigo account for a small research project they are currently doing. In talking with my school librarians, however, we came to the conclusion that this assignment might not be the right time to roll out Diigo. They were very supportive if I wanted to try it, but this is a really short assignment whose main purpose is to get the students introduced to evaluating good sources from bad ones and beginning to use MLA style for citing those sources.

My ELA kids will do another longer research assignment next quarter, so perhaps we'll try Diigo then. The longer assignment will require them to use more sources and to do more collaborating with these sources. Diigo is still a tool that I think students will find useful.

Edmodo update:  I created an Emodo group for the new knitting club formed at my school. I invited the students to the group and one of them responded! Yeah! It was so much fun to see that message that someone new had joined my little group of one. I'm sure that this is the start of many more Edmodo adventures.

Fun Form Facts

Google forms are pretty awesome. I've used them in the past, but in working with them again this past week, I love them even more.

My students are using a Google form I created for their monthly self evaluations. This has worked very well. Some of the advantages I see in using the Google form include:

• eliminating another piece of paper to shuffle.
• having the students' work time stamped.
• being able to easily compare student answers in one place on an easy-to-read spread sheet.
• students always knowing where to find the evaluation form.
• creating the all-important "data" that my principals keep asking about.

This self-evaluation form has worked so well that I am going to see what other Google forms I can use in my classes.

One of the templates I found in the template scavenger hunt assignment was a KWL form that students could use. This includes a area for students to list what they already know about a topic, what they want to learn more about on this topic, and then what knowledge they have learned. This was a perfect fit for a small research project my junior ELA classes were doing. I asked my school's librarians to put a link to the Google template on their webliography page (this is the link to that page). I tested it out and it seemed to work just fine. BUT, when the students tried to complete the form, it wouldn't open for them. They received a message telling them they didn't have permission.
I still wanted them to complete the chart so their research would have a better focus, so I punted and had them create a Word document with the information.

Now I know what I did wrong. After reading the feedback on the scavenger hunt assignment, I see that I didn't have permission to use the template after all. Who knew? Now I know. I am going to go back to try to correct that assignment.

Getting organized--it's about time!

A goal that I've set for myself this year is to be better organized. With four preps (ELA 11, 21st Century Journalism, Newspaper and Yearbook), and advising two publications (yearbook and newspaper) and supervising our publication website and social media outlets, being organized is absolutely essential. I haven't even mentioned my home life. Keeping track of my two sons' and husband's schedules is crazy. This week's digital tools will be very helpful in meeting appointments and deadlines.

I have used Google calendar for a while, but I hadn't really "learned" how to use it until now. Keeping track of everything in one place will be magical. I may actually be able to give up the three separate calendars I currently use.

One major way I've been trying to stay organized is by using Planbook.com. A friend has been using this program for a year, and she recommended it. She uses it with her iPad and the subscription rate is higher, but it's only $1 a month with my laptop. That definitely works for me!
https://www.planbook.com/welcome.html

So far Planbook.com has been wonderful. It's helping me to stay organized and keep track of handouts, assignments, links, etc. I haven't connected students and parents to it yet. I want to make sure that I really know what I am doing and how it all works before making it public. Maybe next semester I'll be ready for prime time.

Another gem I found this week was MasteryConnect. http://www.masteryconnect.com/home
With this free site (the best kind), I can input my students' names by class and keep track of their progress on common core standards and skills. There is even a way to use assessments that the computer will grade for you! AWESOME! I am still experimenting with this program, but it definitely looks promising. If I ever get some free time, this is where I will be.

Free time? Really? Who am I kidding?

I'm going to have to eat my words

Okay, I'll admit it. I am surprised that I like Edmodo as much as I do.

Edmodo has been available in my district for quite a while. I'm sure that I've had training on it in the past, but you know how that goes. A large group of teachers (who are the worst audiences ever) are sitting in a darkened room watching someone else click around on a computer. In other words, 60 minutes of your life that you'll never get back.

But now that I have had my hands on the keyboard to actually use Edmodo, I'm sold. I have created the BVN Media group that I originally envisioned only for the media teachers, but in thinking about it even more, I see that it can be possible to have students involved as well. If our goal is to have our programs collaborate, what better way to give everyone (teachers AND students) access than through Edmodo. We'll be able to share ideas, completed work, feedback, links to our website and Vimeo accounts--the whole enchilada. 

Ironically enough, at our monthly faculty meeting Thursday afternoon, a science teacher demonstrated how he uses Edmodo with this classes. I can easily see how I could make this work effectively in my classroom.

My concern, though, is that I traditionally start with huge ideas that are probably more than I should start at one time. Because I really do think that Edmodo is something I want to use more, I'm going to start slowly so I don't become overwhelmed. I'm going to start with the two groups I have created so far--BVN Media and Knit Wits. The second group is for the new knitting club being organized in my building. I'm one of the sponsors, but I really don't see the kids involved with the club during the school day. Edmodo is a way we can communicate easily. I also see us connecting with the other knitting clubs at the other high schools in my district. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

PLNs are A-OK

   I made a few great discoveries today in working on my assignments. 

   First, I think it's interesting how Twitter and Feedly interact with each other--at least they do for me. I found that I followed some of the same sources on both sites, and while this could be redundant, I actually found it quite useful. I am able to scan the tweets from the sources quickly to see if there is something I'm interested in learning more about. I feel that I can look at lots of information very quickly. When I find something worthwhile that I want to pursue, I go to Feedly and check out the longer version.  I used this method today, and in clicking around I found out about a book that is available through my school’s library that looks like it will be helpful in some projects I’m planning in my English classes. I’ve already contacted my school librarians through email to check this book out. Without using Twitter and Feedly, I never would have found this professional development source. This seems to be how a PLN is supposed to work. 

   My second great discovery is that I have to make sure that I'm checking out my PLN  when I have a sizable block of free time. Maybe it's ADD, but I find that I am easily distracted by all of the options available to me that seem so interesting. If I'm not careful, two hours will have gone by as I'm happily clicking my way through wonderful information. If I'm learning, I wouldn't  call it a waste of time, but it definitely is a time suck that can get away from me. Perhaps as I become more practiced in using these tools, I'll get better at organizing information and gleaning the good stuff. Until then...it's a better use of my time than watching old "Law and Order" reruns.
   This article provided some really great information on how I can incorporate PLNs into my teaching life. I find that I often get so busy that I don't have a conservation with another adult during the day. PLNs are a way to stay connected (and possibly sane). I also liked the ideas that this article suggested on how students could use PLNs. This is something that I hadn't thought about before that could be useful in my advanced classes.