Mobile Learning Lab

The mobile learning lab had a lot of tools that didn't quite fit into my classroom. I have 3rd and 4th grade students in a small charter school, and as far as I am aware, none of my students have cell phones. We do have a few IPAD's in our school and my students use frequently, so I decided to focus this lab on IPAD's in my classroom. In the past, I have always used the apps that were already on the IPAD's. However, thanks to this website, https://teacher.ocps.net/groups/ipodsintheclassroom/, I found many IPAD's that fit my curriculum than the apps we already had loaded.

An example of an app I have downloaded to fit my curriculum, GeoMasters USA, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geomaster-us-states/id335552646?mt=8#, fits my curriculum very well and will be used regularly in my classroom!

I was interested to hear that there are cell phone companies that donate old cell phones to schools. I was not able to look into this yet, but I think this would be a good solution to having a younger class who doesn't have personal cell phones yet.

I also joined a classroom2.0 network and specifically the mobile phones in education group. I didn't know this group existed until today, amand rather excited to see what all this site has to offer.

"Michigan"

WPP PART C - Implementation

Link to Podcast discussing the implementation of Raz-kids in my classroom: http://msu.edu/~teusche2/Razkids.mp3

PART B - Storyboard and Script

Here is a link to my group's storyboard and script for teaching weebly: https://www.dropbox.com/s/i9duidxvguoj8o3/storyboard.doc

My part of the final project is doing the slides on page 5 of the document. It includes teaching the design, editors, and social media buttons. I also have been setting up the website preparing for to put our jings on it. I created a google form to act as feedback regarding our website.

Each member of the group is using jing to teach their part of weebly. We met as a group to discuss who was doing what part, then we met as a group again to review out storyboards and scripts. You can view our ongoing brainstorming document that shows who is doing what at the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16bYIg1W8nlp3uGfBTL6Xkt56Fk-CVfdmpDWJQ7grqAc/edit

Here is part of that document that says who will be teaching what parts of weebly:
1. Karla:adding blog and new pages
2. Trista: Set up Weebly site for group use, design, editors, social media links
3. Jennifer: Basic inserting text, pictures, embedding custom HTML (wordles, glogster)
4. Johanna: Multimedia feature
5. Xiaochen:content and how to publish it and settings, how to register

Going forward, each group member has their storyboard complete for their portions. We will use jing to upload short videos to teach weebly on our weebly site. We will all take part in altering the website as needed and uploading our own videos. If anybody runs into any problems, we will contact each other to find a solution.

I am looking forward to seeing our final weebly site! Our group has worked very hard and good together, so I have high expectations for our final project.

PART B - Application of TPACK

What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)

Raz-kids differentiates instruction to meet the individual needs of each student. My goal is to get appropriate reading level books in the hands (or eyes) of my students. Using technology, I am able to do this through the Raz-kids program. The teaching strategies I have chosen is that students listen to books, practice reading them, take comprehension quizzes, and record their own voice while reading. Raz-kids supports all of these, while motivate the students to continue on by offering raz rockets points for the students to purchase items in the store for their own rockets.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)

Raz-kids makes the content of my problem more accessible by providing a “one shop stop” to meet all of the teaching strategies I mentioned above. The problems we had in the classroom ranged from not having books at the needed reading levels, students not knowing which books were appropriate for them, the temptation to talk to their friends, and simply were not motivated to read. Once enrolled in Raz-kids, the students are placed at a reading level by the teacher and offered many books at that reading level that need to be listened to, read silently, read aloud, and quizzed on  before they can move onto the next reading level. Students are encouraged through the raz-rocket to get as much done as possible. My goal is that students read to become better readers, as research as proven that the best way to become better readers is to practice. Raz-kids offers a great technological alternative to silent reading time.

 

What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?)

Matthew Koehler wrote, “At the heart of PCK is the manner in which subject matter is transformed for teaching. This occurs when the teacher interprets the subject matter, finding different ways to represent it and make it accessible to learners.” Which is found on the www.tpck.org website.

In this case, reading is the subject matter. I’ve already discussed that to become better at something, it takes practice. Adding in this information, practicing reading in different ways and making it accessible to learners should make them better readers. My students have had books in the classroom, we visit the library regularly, I read aloud to them; in other words they have experience with physical books in multiple ways. I am adding a new way for reading to be represented to them and making it accessible through technology in a program called Raz-kids which is a product of learning A-Z of Cambium Learning (http://www.learninga-z.com/).  Students will have plenty of opportunity through Raz-kids to read a large number of books that are appropriate to their reading level and are designed to increase their reading ability, and using a positive motivation technique (raz-rocket) perfect for the elementary age group.

I look forward to the impact Raz-kids will have in my classroom. Stay tuned for details!

PART A - Description of need or opportunity

Well, in education changes happen regularly depending on the needs of the students. In my case, the need I discussed originally for PART A of my Wicked Problem Project has been addressed by the school. Good thing, but I need to regroup and start over with a new wicked problem.

So, here it is!

The educational need in my classroom is a way to monitor student progress in reading, access to the correct level reading texts, and a way for students to record their own reading with as little transition as possible. I give my students 30 minutes of independent reading time. I have noticed in this time that students have difficulty picking out books, rarely finish a complete book, grab books that are too difficult for themselves, spend too much time finding a book, and of course the temptation to sit next to or talk to their buddies is always there. This has become an unproductive chunk of time that has strayed away from my original intent. My goal is to find a technological program that allows me to monitor students progress, choose a reading level for them to start at based of the DRA or NWEA scores, and also allows an opportunity for them to record their reading for my running record review.

I plan to address this issue with technology by enrolling my students in a program called raz-kids. (www.raz-kids.com) Students will be given their own individual login which is already set up at their designated reading level. Students will be given a tutorial of how to use raz-kids and the expectations for this program. We will be replacing out 30 minutes daily of independent reading time with 30 minutes of Raz-kids time in either the computer lab or on the netbook computers in the classroom. I will be able to track the students progress, see anytime they do something (listen, read, or record a story), view their quiz scores, complete a running record on their recordings, view minutes logged on, and I can always manually move them up or down on the reading levels based on observations or other assessments I make. Otherwise, the students will move up to the next reading level when they have completed all of the parts of the reading level they begin on.

The cost for the program is $90 for a one year subscription. I receive a $100 allowance each semester from our parent organization that I am using to fund this program. My hopes are that it successfully engages the students for a chunk of time daily and that the students reading levels will increase at a steady rate.

The scope of the project: Students will use Raz-kids daily from 2:35-3:00, replacing the independent reading time. The students will be either in the computer lab or using netbook computers in the classroom. There is an app available, which means the programs can be downloaded onto the schools iPad's as well.

Research indicates that students need practice reading in order to become better readers. My goal is that students will spend more time engaged in reading using Raz-kids as opposed to their countless minutes selected a book to read, changing books, finding a spot to sit, etc. http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/in_read1.html

Indicators of a successful project:
My observable data will be a short term indicator of success. Are the students more engaged with the Raz-kids reading then they were independent reading?

A longer term indicator of success is the student's actual reading scores. Students are tested on the reading levels using the DRA at the beginning and end of the year. Students are also tested using the NWEA test at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. Are the students showing an upward trend in the reading levels?

Another indicator is my own observation of students individually. Listening to them read and listening to their recorded books. I will make observations of whether this program is benefitting them or not.

Wish me luck as I begin this new technological project of meeting the diverse reading needs of my students using Raz-kids.

MACUL Tips and Tricks Post

The following is a recent post I made on the EDUTECH discussion forum on MACUL Space. Visit here to see more technology tips and tricks posted by MSU EDUTECH students. http://maculspace.ning.com/group/msuedutech/forum/topics/sharing-tips-and-tricks-of?commentId=612492%3AComment%3A122805&groupId=612492%3AGroup%3A20244

PART A - Brainstorm Session

The following is a youtube link to a recent group conference using Google Hangout with my group in CEP 812.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og6wMmiwjv8&feature=youtu.be

1. What web conferencing tool did your group use? Google Hangout
2. What were the advantages to using the web conferencing tool to discuss this project? There were many advantages to using this web conferencing tool. The first is that we already began using a google doc for our sharing of ideas. We all already had gmail accounts so being invited to use google hangout by one of our members was a simple process. Another benefit was that we all were able to visually see each other, whoever would be talking would become the bigger image on everyone's screen. Google hangout, and all google applications are free which is a huge advantage.
3. What were the disadvantages to using the web conferencing tool to discuss this project? I honestly can't think of many disadvantages of using a web conferencing tool. We weren't able to record it easily. One of our group members recorded using another program, and uploaded to youtube in order to share with the rest of the group. I believe this process could be a little simpler if wanted to record through google hangout itself. Because google hangout is free, it may not have some of the features that some of the other conferencing tools have. But in my experience so far I am unaware of what these features could even be. I was extremely satisfied using Google Hangout. 

Trista Teuscher

Web-Conferencing

Recently, my group in CEP 812 of MSU's MAET program conducted a meeting using Google Hangout. This is the first meeting in which we are discussing an upcoming group project.

Link to video conference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og6wMmiwjv8&feature=youtu.be

The conference went really well. It did take a while for a few of our group members to get logged into the conference. It was the first time using google hangout for many of our group members and they weren't really sure where to accept the request at. Once we all were logged it, it seemed to work really smoothly. I really liked the ability to mute my end so that background noise wasn't heard while I wasn't talking, (I have a 3 year old). We were also able to work on our shared google document that had the details of our project while we were talking in google hangout.

I can't think of many things we could do differently next time using google hangout. Although, I did not explore some of the options during our conference because I didn't want to mess anything up. I was interested in the screen sharing, uploading to youtube, and the chat function. We were all able to talk to each other so the chat feature didn't really apply to the purpose we were using it for. So possibly if a teacher was instruction, students could ask questions using chat and the teacher could respond when able to.


All in all, it was a great experience using Google Hangout and fit perfectly into our group's project since we were already using other Google applications for our project. Google is a miracle worker for online students!

PART A - DESCRIPTION OF NEED OR OPPORTUNITY

In my classroom, I have 8 students in a combined 3rd and 4th grade classroom. Sounds wonderful, right? Well, well two of the students are severely autistic (one has a full-time aide) and a few others have IEP's, and some others qualify for Title 1 services... there is never a dull moment!

A need that I have in my diverse classroom is being able to have an activity for my one autistic student to work on while I am working with the rest of the students. My class is set up so that I work with a group at a time. My autistic student will work with me in a group but when he is not with me, he is not able to do much. This is usually when he will act out, get angry, become bored and want to go home, etc. My specific need is that I use technology, the IPAD, for this student to keep him focused on something when I am not able to work directly with him.

According to Rhonda McEwen, a Canadian Professor, in this CBS interview http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7385702n, she is asked the question if these tools are actually teaching. Rhonda replies that their is not a significant amount of data available yet because the IPAD's are fairly new and that the rate of change in autistic learning is fairly slow. She is an advocate that the IPAD's are helping students communicate and that they are autistic students are able to stay engaged through the touching, sliding, listening, etc. that the IPAD offers.

 Although there may not be a lot of scientifc data to support the IPAD's yet, there are a number of testimonials on autismspeaks.org, http://www.autismspeaks.org/family-services//technology/ipad-testimonials/1. Through reading these testimonials by autistic students and/or their families, students are engaged in IPADs, they are learning, and they are enjoying it. The opportunities are endless and new apps are available continuously for just a small price.

 What is my plan for this project?
Educational Need: To engaged my autistic student in a way that he is still learning and exploring during a time when I am not able to directly work with him.

The plan: The student will have approximately 30-40 minutes daily to explore the IPAD using approved apps while the teacher is reading a teacher read aloud book to the students. The school has 3 IPADs available, one being available at this time everyday for my student. The goal of this plan is that the student will be engaged and not having so much down time that has in the past become a problem for this student.

I actually began this process this past week after beginning to research ideas for this project. It has already become something that this student looks forward to after lunch and he has shown excitement rather than begging to go home, call mom, use the bathroom numerous times, make himself sick, etc.

 Indicators of a successful project: I am hoping that this tool is not simply used as a babysitter while I work with other students. I am hoping to use apps that encourage learning and exploration. This student it in 4th grade with a low reading level. My main goal is to use this as a tool for engagement rather than the student trying to get out of class. Secondly, I hope this student will use approved language arts apps that will help with his reading ability. However, this may be a hard goal to measure because of other factors. (We can test his reading ability but cannot be certain was is all contributing to his gains in reading levels) For this particular student, being engaged is most of the battle.

 Stay tuned for updates on how this project goes!

Trista Teuscher