BP 8 RILS Links to Comments

Mitch over at The Exploratorium creates a great examination of schoology and aviary. Both of these tools are great resources for teachers that may not have a large amount technology resources but still want the students to be creative.

BP 8 RILS Links to Comments

Take a look on Alonia Moses-Johnson's blog Confessions of a Serial Techy at comments left about Dropbox.

ETC_Final Project

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario

Glenn Shelton

Brief Overview: The State of North Carolina requires ninth grade English students to take an End of Course Test. Instead of doing the boring worksheets and games where students recite back the information, I am having my students create the review materials using prezi, animoto, or any other Web 2.0 tool they feel comfortable using. The goal is for the students to create relevant examples of the concepts they have learned during the semester.

Target Audience: My target audience is my ninth grade English I students as they are preparing for the EOC’s.

Materials:  

            Laptop Computers

            Internet Access

            My Moodle Page

            List of EOC Term Created by School System Coordinator

            Tagxedo.com
Teacher Creation

Objectives:

Students will be able to

            1. define the EOC term in their own words.

            2. analyze a resource for its relevancy to give EOC terms.

            3. design a multimedia project that illustrates a term they choose.

            4. create the multimedia project using various tools.

            5. analyze fellow students work.

Procedures:

1. Students
of mixed ability levels
will be placed in groups of 3 to 5

2.
The groups will then be assigned five to six terms from EOC list.

3.
Students will then choose within through groups the terms they want to define

    and give examples of in their project.
(Students can divide up extra words for extra

    credit.)

4. Students will then become the
“expert” on their term and rely on other group members

   
for help portraying their word. (Example: If they decide to videotapea portrayal of

   
“conflict”or help brainstorm ideasto create a visual representation.)

5. Students then click on the
EOC term in a tagxedo creation by teacher (or other

   
student). By clicking on the term, they are automatically led to a Google search for

   
definitions, images, and activities using their term.

6. After completing the Google search, the student will then complete a multimedia

   
project using a Web 2.0 tool of their choice.The product must containthe definition of

   
their assignedword, an example, and a visualization.

7. After completion of their project, the student will then place
it on the class

    wikispace page.

8. Student will then evaluate other student
s’ projects leaving only positive comments

    or questions.

Web 2.0 Tool

1. Tagxedo (New)

2.
Wikispaces (New)

4. Presentational Tool
 of Student’s Choice
(Prezi, Animoto, etc.)

Social Participation/Social Learning:

Within their groups, students will select
the word(s) from the ones assigned to their group they beli
evethey can illustrate the best. Students must analyze as individuals the relevance of the Google search that Tagxedo provided.  They may seek other group members help/ The students then need to design/create a multimedia project that will be posted on the class wikispace page. They must rely on their group members if they decide to videotape and to brainstorm ideasAfter they post their projects on the wiki, each student must comment onotherstudents’ work and respond to comments left for them by other students.

Making Connections

Students will be connecting terms they have previously learned and applying them to real world surroundings. The new knowledge the students will obtain is the application of the literary and grammar term, along with a working knowledge of technology tools.
  The students will connect to other classes covering the same material. The connection to real world is through making all the projects public on the different Web 2.0 tools.

Create/Produce

The students will create a multimedia project and compile them with other groups to form a review for the upcoming EOC
on a Wikispace page.

Rubric

Element	Superior (25)	Excellent (22)	Great (20)	Good (18)
Literary Term	Illustrates/Defines literary term correctly, but in a unique manner	Illustrates/Defines literary term correctly	Defines literary term correctly but fails to illustrate it.	Does not correctly define term.
Illustration	Students produce illustrations using various forms of media.	Students produce illustrations using one type of media.	Students gather various media but fail to produce their own.	Students gather media from only one source or one type.
Presentation	Students use a Web 2.0 tool correctly.	Students use a Web 2.0 tool with minor glitches.	Students use power point.	Students create an incoherent presentation.
Grammar Spelling	Group does not have any spelling or grammatical mistakes.	Group has less than 3 mistakes.	Group has less than 6 mistakes.	Group has over 6 mistakes.

Reflection

Students will determine if they have a deeper understanding of the terms they were assigned
by examining other students’ assignments
. They will use their previous knowledge from the course study and compare example they and their peers haveprovided compared to the examples we have studied in the literature we have read. They will also evaluate their use of technology toolsin comparison to the first time they used the tool or the willingness to attempt to work with a new Web 2.0 tool.

Teachers will reflect on the cohesiveness of the project and if the students were able to create an orderly product that illustrated the students’ grasp of new terms.
by using the above rubric.

 

PE4_Tagxedo

I am going to highlight two tools for my RILS assignment I am completing for my coursework at Full Sail University. I am going to highlight Tagxedo (http://www.tagxedo.com) first. Tagxedo is similar to Wordle but with two highly useful differences. The first difference with Tagxedo is the ability to select different shapes for your word "clouds".

Tagxedo Home Page

Another great feature that Tagxedo has is an interactive google search. The students click on a word and Tagxedo automatically performs the search for them. This feature I love the most because I am a very practical person and a wordle seems (I know its not.) to be a "glamour" tool with limited use.

Tagxedo I created with a "check"list of EOC terms my students need to know. 

Once a student clicks on term, in this example the term was "personification", then the google search appears. The search will pull up the usual suspects of definitions, but it may pull up interactive sites.

Google search created by Tagxedo for "personification".

 This will be a great tool for students to begin researching concepts, or, as I am using, to review key terms as they prepare for major tests. With the google search feature, I now have literally hours of possible review activities as my students prepare for the EOC.

BP3_iGoogleScreenShots

The Emergent Technologies in a Collaborative Culture course has already paid for itself by showing the iGoogle tabs and apps. Life is already running smoother for me and I haven't been able to create all the tabs I need. Teaching face to face classes and online courses, I am using various LMS systems and numerous Web 2.0 tools. The organization this tool provides is reducing my workload already.

This is my Home iGoogle tab. I have several my personal links I use on a regular basis along with several professional links.

This is my FSO iGoogle tab. As you can see, I am a child of the 80's. I am still adding different tools to this tab.

This is my CBR iGoogle tab. This will end up being my deep thinking tank :)

This is my ETC iGoogle tab. There still part child in me and thankful that iGoogle has themes that relate to my youth.

You can see that I have other tabs for my other areas in my life and learning environment. I may not be a Digital Native, but I am a Digital Emigrant because, unlike a immigrant, I am never planning to return.