Module 6: SRS Showdown

Student Response Systems (SRS) are very beneficial in the classroom.  In this way, students can engage with the lesson in a unique way that tests their understanding of the subject, allowing the teacher to assess them in a variety of ways.  SRS can have their own specific purposes, but the most common are to take polls and quizzes with real time feedback for the teacher to review.

In class, we were assigned a group that would teach a specific SRS tool to our classmates as well as other instructors who may find the tools beneficial.  While many of the tools were discussed and taught during class, I am going  to focus on sharing my thoughts on 3 of these tools:  Formative, Answer Garden, and Class Responder.

My group actually presented Formative (click text for the link) to our class.  Formative is a unique SRS tool that is valuable, not only for teachers, but for students as well.  Using Formative, teachers can create homework assignments, give quizzes and give assessments in order to gauge a student's understanding of a particular subject in real time.  My group focused on how to make an account and how to create a quiz.  The quizzes were easy to make, and it was interesting that there were different types of questions.  There was the typical multiple choice, true or false, short answer, but there was also a show your work kind of question.  This would be especially beneficial for math teachers, because rather than seeing the correct answer to the math problem, they can view whether or not they truly understood why the correct answer was correct.  For this specific feature, it would be better for students to use their phone or their tablet for Formative.  Not all students may have access to a tablet or a phone, so this may be a small downfall  Creating the quiz and taking it is easy, but grading the quizzes are also just as easy.  The teachers can view the live results.  They could have already preset the correct answers, but teachers also have the ability to adjust the grade to however they see fit by sliding a bar to either a higher grade or a lower grade.  They can view the progress of the individual and the class as a whole.  Personally, I would use this as a secondary English teacher.  I think it is very beneficial for student learning.

The second SRS that I found interesting, but could be very valuable is Answer Garden.  With this tool, a teacher can receive a real time response from their students as a minimalistic feedback tool.  Creating a question using this tool is very easy to do, as a teacher, and for students, all they need is a technology tool.  The teacher would simply create a question, set a mode (brainstorm, classroom, moderator, or locked).  There is also a useful setting where you can filter the spam answers automatically.  In brainstorm mode, students can answer unlimitedly, without the teacher's consent.  This would be useful for more mature college students, but can be used for the junior high and high school level.  Classroom mode only allows one answer per student, but the answers appear without the teacher's consent as well.  In the junior high and high school grades, this could be a potential issue due to the fact that the students may be a bit more rowdy and inappropriate with their language.  Therefor, it would be recommended that teachers use moderator mode.  In this mode, the teacher can manually filter answers that they feel are not appropriate or are not related to the topic.  Answers get sent to the Anti-Garden.  In the end, there should be a "garden" or a "cloud" of different answers jumbled together.  If multiple people type the same thing, the answer will appear bigger in this garden.  I believe that overall, this is a useful tool.  Especially for my classroom, it will help my lessons get straight to the point.  I could ask them a quick question before I start a unit to see my students' initial ideas or after the unit to test understanding.

The last SRS tool that I want to discuss is Class Responder.  In Class Responder, teachers can assign lessons, and students immediately can see and complete it by responding with their answers in real time.  As a teacher, you can view each student's individual responses, but also have the ability to view these responses from a classroom level.  Some of the benefits to using this tool is that the assessments are automatically scored.  Also, making and taking the quizzes are easy to carry out.  The most common questions are multiple choice and true or false.  For the most part, the students are given a choice rather than using critical thinking skills, which I believe is a disadvantage to the tool.  Another function of Class Responder is that teachers can conduct quick polls.  Unfortunately, the teacher must write the question and possible choices on an alternate surface, and the students can only answer A, B, C, or D.  One other advantage, if it were the right classroom, is that there are apps that the students can use.  Again, it would be difficult for those who do not have access to these technological items.  As a teacher, I don't think I would be using Class Responder, because I believe it is geared more towards the elementary age.  As a secondary English teacher, I should be concerned with more critical thinking questions rather than solely multiple choice or true/false.

Overall, all these SRS tools can be very beneficial to a classroom, and the tools I mentioned serve different functions and different ages.  It was nice for me to learn about all of these tools, because I may end up using them for my class one day.

Module 5: My Flip Project on Public Speaking

Becoming an English Education major, I never expected to be in the classroom, teaching so early.  Sure, I'm observing right now at a middle school, but when I mentioned this Flip Classroom project to my supervising teacher, she thought it was a great idea.  In discussing what I could teach about, we both decided that the most beneficial item to discuss for her 8th graders was the subject of public speaking.  In my teacher's class, they are giving research presentations at the end of the quarter.  Many of them have not given speeches before, so my teacher suggested that I talk about speech delivery.  Speech delivery would be a great and beneficial subject to discuss, but the problem was, it would be difficult to produce critical thinking questions based on speech delivery alone.

Thankfully, Eden, a classmate (and dear friend of mine) wanted to work with me.  She brought up the idea of incorporating the 4 different types of speeches to these students.  It would be important for them to know in the future as well.  I asked my teacher if this would be acceptable, and she was completely for it!

So, we created the project on Prezi, putting all the necessary information that these students will need to know for when they give their presentations and the potential they could take away for the future.  Making the Prezi took a good amount of time as well as composing an informal script.  Once we put it all together, the next day, I presented it to two of her classes.

Since I would be there for 4 class periods, I had the opportunity to teach the same lesson to 32 of her students.  My teacher actually gave me control of the classroom for the period which was scary to think about.  I was just glad that these students were already used to my presence. She instructed these students to bring their headphones and to use their Chromebooks (which the school provides) to watch the presentation.  I explained all the directions to them and let them begin.  After the presentation, I instructed them to take the quiz afterwards.  When they were finished, we actually went over the correct answers, and for the rest of the class period, my teacher and I answered their questions.  The students did well overall, meaning that they understood the concepts.  But, we basically spent the rest of the period explaining why the correct answers were right and the wrong answers were wrong.  The purpose of this was so that in leaving the class, they would feel more confident about presenting than they did before.  I definitely believe I succeeded in that.

I think that the Flip Project is very useful in the classroom, and as a future teacher, I can see myself using this.  I found it very valuable, and I truly believe that the 8th graders found it valuable as well.

Module 4: SMARTBoard Lessons & My First Lesson Plan!

The SMARTBoard, needless to say, has been one of my greatest adversaries throughout the course of this class so far.  It was far less time consuming then the Digital Story, but it was more difficult to understand in comparison.  With the Digital Story, my problem was with time than overall understanding.  With the SMARTBoard Lesson, it was just the opposite.  In the end, I really enjoyed this project and teaching my lesson to my classmates.  

For my SMARTBoard Lesson, I focused on the ELA Teaching Standard for 6th Grade Language for Vocabulary Acquisition and Use, 4b.  It states: "Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies: Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible)."  For my lesson, I decided to teach about 6 different Greek/ Latin prefixes:  aud-, ex-, sub-, cent-, tri-, and mis-.  My overall goal was for my students to recognize these roots in words that they see in their everyday lives, and from knowing the prefixes' meanings, be able to determine the meanings of unknown words which contain these roots.  

Starting this lesson with just a teaching standard was difficult, because I wasn't sure where exactly to begin.  But eventually, I was able to pinpoint how I could teach the lesson in an effective way, and then engage my students in a way where they will learn the subject efficiently as well as apply it.  I had three different activities planned, one building off of the other.  In this way, it can go from simple to more complex.  After teaching the definition of a prefix as well as the definition of the six prefixes, I gave them a matching game where they match the word containing the root with its definition.  Then, I gave them a fill-in-the-blank activity so that they can test their contextual skills using the same prefixes, but different words. I also asked my students to explain why they made certain choices.  The last activity I had planned was not able to be done during the process, but the main point that I wanted to elaborate on there was that while a word may contain what seems to be a prefix, the English language can trip us up.  So, it's important to be able to identify when it's a prefix and when it is not.

Overall, I had a lot of fun creating my lesson.  It was definitely difficult at first and also inconvenient (for I had to be working on it in the computer lab or in the library), but, honestly, when I'm a teacher, I can see myself using this in the future to teach my students.  It may be more useful if I use it for middle school, because high schoolers would be on another level of learning.  This was my first lesson plan ever, and I'm nervous and excited to create more. 

Module 3: Screencasting

From this class, I am learning about so many different technologies that I could use in the classroom.  One of these applications that I can use on my desktop to help me teach is this idea of screencasting.  In screencasting, you can explain how to do something on your desktop and SHOW others how to do something.  It is very simple to do, and it makes learning an online tool much easier to understand.  In this way, if I need to use a certain application in the future, I could refer to a screencast for beneficial guidance.

For my screencast, I chose to explain how to use the online tool, Evernote.  Evernote is an educational, online tool where someone can take notes and keep them organized so that there is easy access.  I actually use Evernote all the time now.  It makes it easier for me to keep all my notes together for all my different classes, and because I constantly use my laptop, they are always there.  Another benefit is that if something happens to my computer, I could easily log onto a different computer and be able to access these notes there.

To create this screencast, I used the tool screencast-o-matic.com.  The other option that I could have used was Jing, but for some reason, it was not compatible with my laptop.  It was very simple to use, because it was not necessary to download the application onto your laptop.  You simply go to the site, choose to open the application, and you're free to use it!  One thing that I liked about my screencasting tool was that if I messed up on a part, instead of restarting from the beginning, I could just restart from a certain point.  Also, it let me upload directly to YouTube.

Coming up with a script for my screencast was not too difficult, because I had started using this tool very recently, and I knew what I was doing.  The most difficult part of this screencast was looking into how this online tool could be used for special education.  It took much research, but I was able to find some helpful information, and I put it into my screencast.  Even if an online tool doesn't seem like it will benefit special needs kids, I believe that most, if not all tools have some aspect to it that makes it easier for special needs kids.  My feature that I discovered on Evernote was the audio function.  You can record lessons or notes, and play them back later.  It is very useful for kids with learning disabilities who may struggle with understanding things right away or may need more clarification.

In the future, when I become a teacher, I can see myself using Evernote as well as Screencast-o-matic.  I found it a great tool for not only students to use, but also for teachers and special needs students.

Module 2: Digital Storytelling

There are different ways that we can tell our stories.  We can tell it orally, by writing it down, or maybe even act it out.  But, these past few weeks in class, we have experienced the art of digital storytelling.  Digital storytelling can enlighten the minds of others and teach the audience in a different, but exciting way that is captivating.  This is a very complex and enriching process, that, when done right, results in a magnificent work of art which could then be used to teach others.

For our digital stories, we had to incorporate and explain a teaching standard using our own stories, or stories we wished to tell.  Once we had found our standard, we had to create a unique topic that incorporates our own personal lives with a learning concept.  After we had done that, we were required to develop a narration for our story (using Audacity) as well as a concept map (using bubbl.us) to keep our ideas together and flowing.  Then, we encountered the most difficult part, in my opinion, of creating the digital story:  finding the pictures, audio, sound effects, and combining all of these things to make a video (using WeVideo).

Also with this idea of the digital story, we added an effect to make our story come alive.  Rather than using transitions to travel from picture to picture, we used a technique called the Ken Burns effect.  In short, this involves moving each picture slowly in its frame, zooming in or zooming out, stimulating the mind.  It creates an ambient and peaceful mood when watching the video.

My digital story involved the Reading Standards for Literature 9-10: 6:  "Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature."  My topic for my digital story was about my love for Holocaust Literature, but I used the story of Anne Frank to compliment my personal journey.  I started out by talking about my love for books, specifically Holocaust Literature.  It all started when I watched The Freedom Writers.  In that movie, the book The Diary of a Young Girl was introduced to me as well as that genre.  From that point, I told the story of Anne Frank and her experiences.  Even though our situations may not have been the same, we can learn from her experiences and take a look through her eyes.  Here is my video down below:

I was very passionate about this topic and am joyful that I have completed it to the best of my abilities.  I'm not going to lie.  This was a difficult, riveting process.  As hard as I worked on this project, it took up so much time.  Prioritizing was a key in creating my digital story.  It was very time consuming finding all the pictures to match your narration, and then adding the Ken Burns affect to all of these pictures. While I do find this project difficult, I found it even more worthwhile.  It wasn't until it was finally finished that I could genuinely put a smile on my face.  I could say, "I worked really hard, and my hard work paid off in the end.  I'm proud of my digital story." This experience introduced me to different ways that I can teach and different ways that I could learn.  Creating a digital story was a huge learning experience that I will not forget.  And, hey, who knows?  I may use this when I'm a teacher.

Module 1: Conquering the Jigsaw Method

After my first full week of classes as a college sophomore, I feel as if I have been learning so much, yet I am fully aware that there is so much more to learn.  This past week in class, we have been learning about the Jigsaw Method.  Basically, the Jigsaw Method involves different groups of people, each learning a specific subject, and they each teach their particular subject to the rest of the group.  The purpose of this method is that each person will have a knowledge of all the subjects in the hopes of learning more efficiently, like putting all the pieces of a puzzle together to reach a higher goal.

In our class, our different groups had to learn how to operate programs that we could potentially use for teaching our future students.  I had to learn how to use the program, GoAnimate.  GoAnimate.com is a site where you can customize a scene, customize characters, record your voice, and create a story that way.  It is fairly simple to use, and it makes teaching interesting and fun.

It took me around 15 or so minutes to learn how to use the site, but making the videos took a lot of time and effort.  Teaching this program to my classmates was good, because I knew what I was talking about and would be able to teach them effectively.  I found this method very helpful, because it was easy for me to learn the other programs that my classmates were teaching me.

The other programs that I had the opportunity to learn were VoiceThread, Animoto, and Pixton.  VoiceThread is site where you can make a "powerpoint" presentation, and others have the ability to add comments by video, voice, or by text on pictures or videos.  This program is very efficient for group projects or discussion.  Animoto involves picking a template and adding photos or text to make a unique presentation.  You are also able to add music to make your presentation more inviting.  I actually used what I learned about Animoto to make my second introductory video.  Once I learned how to use the program in class, it made making this presentation much easier, and I can honestly say that I am happy at how my presentation turned out.  The other program, Pixton, involved making customized comics to teach others.  Also, students are able to use Pixton for their own projects.

Overall, I feel like I have an equal understanding of all four programs that I had to learn.  The Jigsaw Method proved very efficient and useful, and it will be much more helpful when I enter the classroom as a teacher.  Not only will students be able to learn by themselves, but it will challenge them to learn from and listen to others.  Even if a student is not particularly fond of another student, in order to learn that specific subject, they must listen carefully and intentionally.  This method is a tool that both students and teachers alike can conquer, and the results are a finished puzzle--all the pieces are finally put together to accomplish the purpose.