Digital Blog Post J-Chapter 11

When I was reading this chapter, I did not realize how important assessment was as a teacher.  I recently just had my first assessment as a paraprofessional, where I had to write observations of the teachers I worked with and discuss what I would implement and what I wouldn't.  It was a great experience because I could reflect on my first year and start keeping notes on how I want to be as a future teacher.  It also seems beneficial in my college career presently.

My digital teaching portfolio has just recently been started because I had my first evaluation.  I have also been saving all of my certificates and different topics my students have covered and lessons I have helped with when working with the teachers.

The last topic I found interesting was reflection.  Many of the classes that I took through the school board talk about reflection and discuss how to reflect on the decisions we have made in the classroom.  I am learning that reflection is key in being a great teacher!  And I like to pride myself in being someone who reflects on life and works hard to be better as a teacher.

Below is my PowerPoint on these topics as PowerPoint is virtually the best invention ever created for people who hate technology (like myself) :) .

References

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post I-Chapter 4

In Chapter 4, what I took away most from it was the different kinds of assessments students receive throughout the year by either their teacher or by the state.  Children at school are constantly bombarded with different versions of tests, and all of them offer a different perspective.  The first kind was the Norm-referenced tests, which compares students to other students.  I personally do not like norm-referenced tests as I feel many students, especially mine, are mentally not on the same level as others and these do not accurately reflect what they know or what they have learned.

The second is criterion-referenced tests which I like slightly better because they are based on certain objectives, and students aren't compared to other students.  It's strictly based on what they know as a a student!

The last one is standards-based assessments.  These are in the middle for me, as while they depict what a student knows, not all students can go through all of the objectives that are needed, and end up not doing well on a test because they do not know it all.  For me, no test is perfect, and quite frankly I would prefer not constantly testing children.

Below is my link to my first emaze I've ever done!!! I think I like it more than PowerPoint!!

http://app.emaze.com/@AOTWTRQT/presentation-name#1



References

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post H-Chapter 9

 Chapter 9 discusses multimedia in the classroom, and includes talking about visual and text representations.  I created a Powerpoint that covers all of the topics I enjoyed from this chapter, and will explain each in more detail below.

PowerPoint for me is a past-time that I remember using in many of my courses throughout the years.  It was easy, there were always templates that you could create from, and you just had to insert your information and pictures.  It was good for organizing and gave the group you were presenting to the most important information,

Graphic design is something that I am constantly using, not just in technology but even throughout the day.  My students respond well to visual and text that is organized and can be legible.  They love to use this as a way to remember information for future use.

Next-generation presentation tools are things that I am already starting to use.  For example, Animoto and Prezi are two that I have been practicing with to  better use throughout my time as a teacher.  They will be great for me in the future when I am a full-time teacher who wants to present information in a new way.

Resources:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post G-Chapter 10

Chapter 10 discusses a topic I had never heard of before.  Universal design for learning states that the design of the curriculum should be based on accomodating all students' needs.  This includes having multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement.  I found this idea to be interesting because I feel like it would be hard to find a way to engage all students.  Yet, this will be a task that I must complete when I become a teacher.

The next topic was accomodations and modifications.  These topics are ones that I am familiar with as my students have both modifications and accomodations throughout school each day.  My students have modifications when they test or complete work in class.  My students have accomodations such as preferred seating in class, having two times the amount on a test, and being able to ask for directions read to them on an assignment.  

The last topic that I found interesting was the interactive electronic stroybooks.  I wish I could read every single book that I own and be able to have graphic animations, sound effects, and user interactions to make the book come to life.  For my students, I would absolutely love this to let my kids enjoy reading and have fun with it.  They would enjoy reading stories so much more if they could have the interaction necessary to keep their brains engaged in what they were reading.

Below is a Prezi that I created to go along with the topics discussed in this blog.  I absolutely love Prezi!  It is fantastic and so engaging.


http://prezi.com/kcw3aagdkeus/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share


Resources

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Pepitone, Morgan (2015).  Copy of Chapter Ten.  Found on: http://prezi.com/kcw3aagdkeus/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Digital Blog Post F- Chapter 8

Created by Me on Wordle

After reading Chapter 8, much of the chapter talked about using electronic communication between teachers and students.  One of the first ideas I liked reading about was textspeak or digitalk.  This was interesting as I am an avid texter, but I do not know many of the collection of symbols and letters that are used during texting.  My reason being is that the phone I have spell checks what I text, and it also is hard to go between letters and numbers, preventing me from using the shorthand version of certain words.

In the book it also discussed Wikis, which wouldn't you know it is what we created as a group this week!  I liked some of the ideas that book suggested to use a Wiki for, and as a teacher I would like to use them in my classroom.  Literature circles would be a fun way for students to read a book and then post about it.  It would get them discussing different components of the content they are reading.  

The last topic I found was an interesting term to use for when teachers create websites, and that was homegrown.  It was a great word to use for what great teachers like to do, and that is make something from scratch and let it become something that is familiar and understandable.  Homegrown is an old term that refers to the integration of new with old.  I absolutely loved this term from this chapter.

References

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post E-Chapter 7

Chapter 7 talked about visual thinking and concept mapping software, something I absolutely love to do!  I do it with all of my projects and papers, as a way to organize myself and for others to see my thinking process.  Below I created a organization map that is colorful, fun and gives information, the most important part!  I created it on Piktochart.  I found this to be an awesome tool to create these visual-thinking concepts with software that is free, or you can upgrade to make even more visual concepts!

Mapping visual created by Morgan Pepitone on Piktochart

Computer games was the next concept that I enjoyed that the book discussed.  My students use many games at school to help enhance the material they are learning, and it has become a way for them to find different subjects in school fun.  Computer games allow for students to use at school and at home.  My students even get free-time in their math class, with their math skills still being tested with their choice of either coolmath.com or hoodamath.com.  Both of these give you the standards the students are using when playing the game and also allow for it be engaging.  That is something I enjoy about these games.  They look so fun I want to play with them!!!

Simulation games are a topic that I wish schools were able to use more often, as they do not seem to integrate this into classroom instruction as much as I think students need.  Students I believe need real-world experience to apply the information they learn, and I think it would also allow for students to remember the information more often if the information was presented in a simulation.  Only one of my students plays a simulation game, and that is while at home.  It is called Sim City (the book also discusses this).  One out of thirty students I know uses a simulation game of some type.  I think if more students used this they would hold onto information longer.

Resources

Coolmath (2015).  Coolmath. http://coolmath.com/aboutus.htm

Hoodamath (2015).  Hoodamath.  http://www.hoodamath.com/

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Pepitone, Morgan (2015).  Visual Thinking/ Concept-Mapping.  Created on PiktoChart.

Digital Blog Post D-Chapter 5

This chapter, Chapter 5, was the most fun for me thus far!  First, there was what is called the "Google A Day", and I had never heard of this until now.  I decided to try it out.  It was quite fun and unfortunately the clock beat me before I could find the correct answer.  This would be awesome to use in class to help students learn how to use a search engine.  It is a way for it to be fun and yet also interactive and giving them the real-life skill of doing research.  Here is a cool video by Google that explains how to use it in the classroom, which was awesome for people like me!!!

The next topic that I liked was e-books or the use of reading on-line or on a tablet.  Right now my students use for their language arts class a program called Achieve3000.  They use Teenbiz on this program, and it lets them read a passage (non-fiction) that relates to something they are discussing in class.  The student can assign which passages he/she wants read.  Then they are asked questions at the end of the passage for comprehension.  I find that this relates to my students and all students because many have access to tablets to be able to read e-books or different news articles.  Schools have been gaining more access to technology such as buying tablets for students to use in the classroom.  I think this could be beneficial in adding text that can only be found as a book, and creating assignments from those books.  I even think students might read more if they give them books they are interested in or can relate to.

The last topic that the book discussed that was something I often use, is Wikipedia.  I think all students should know how to use this properly.  No, it should not be used in any academic writing, but yes, it can be used as a starting point for further research.  I use Wikipedia as my starting point whenever I start a paper.  With every paper I do, I start at Wikipedia to find general information, and based on what I find, I do more critical research based on possible facts that I found on Wikipedia.  For me, Wikipedia is a small reference that expands to more thorough research.  

I loved this chapter, specifically the point about "Google A Day." That was so much fun!!!

References

Google. (2012, May 2).  A Google A Day in the classroom. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9X2iFKn01c

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.