Mrs. LaRichs’ Question and Answer for Activity 3 on Ocean Biomes

Please make sure you completed the Ocean Biome power point before completing this assessment.

Below please answer the following questions by hitting reply:

Further thinking…
1. How can we prevent our Oceans from becoming so polluted?

2. What can you do at home to prevent our oceans from becoming polluted?

3. What do you think the punishment should be if someone is caught polluting our oceans?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. Please comment on at least 2 other classmates responses as well.

Mrs. LaRichs’ Discussion Board for Activity 2 on Biomes

After you have explored the Biomes, please reiterate what you’ve learned about each.

1. List the name of the Biome, what vegetation grows, and what animals there are in that biome.

2. Then please tell me what Biome you would want to visit or live in and why.

Just add your discussion to this discussion board and please comment on at least 2 of your classmates posts.

Have fun!

Reflection Week 4 – Real-Time Chat Cont… EDTECH 521

I really like the idea of text chats. I think this allows for a conversation except it’s in text and not face-to-face or actual talking to each other. But it does grasp the idea of a real conversation. Voice and text chat, in addition to instant messaging, are becoming preferred ways of communicating with others online. For language learners, these forms of communication allow users to share ideas about themselves and the world in almost real-time, and students can establish friendships with people from around the globe, and thus, it can be an easy way to learn languages and world cultures.

However, care and consideration should be given when finding friends on the Internet because you really don’t know who the person is at the other end unless you are setting up a chat with a friend or classmate. These are a great way to stay in touch easily with the ones you love and classmates for a project. It is so easy to say. “hey, get online!” and then just start talking about the project or assignment. I do this all the time, especially in my classes now. We are working with partners. My partner is 2 time zones away from me so we chat online all the time instead of calling or face timing. It is just easier and efficient for us.

Some disadvantages of text chat are: If you are shy you are far more vulnerable to being hurt by someone on the Internet and may slip up giving them too much information which they could use against you and cause all sort of problems for you. Cyberbullying is another problem. This is where one, two or more people pick on another person and constantly calls them names. Being young and stupid they don’t realize what they have done and the suicide rate connected with this is going up in leaps and bounds.

I am glad that more people use the text chat because it is the generation and how the world is becoming. It is sometimes impersonal, but it really is the way of the generation now.

Reflection Week 6 – Self Assessment on my Asynchronous Lesson EDTECH 521

This was such a challenging lesson for me. The first lesson I turned in was completely wrong and I received a zero out of 100! But thankfully we have such an amazing teacher she is letting me re-do the lesson with no points off. I am very thankful for this because hopefully I will graduate with a 4.0 in my Master’s program. I only have 2 classes left!

As I was working on my new lesson, I did see how different this one was than the one I created earlier. I think I did a wonderful job on my lesson. I created a weebly.com website and had many different ways to learn the lesson on my website. I also had many different assessments that would track where my students were with their learning of Biomes.

As for the rubric:
Content: Including ACET Standards –
◦Title
◦Staff information
◦Clearly stated lesson objectives.
◦Introduction
◦Associated assignments
◦Links to resources
I think I did a great job on this! 20 points. My information is easy to find and I provide my email on almost every other site or homepage. The standards also go great with my lesson which cover the ACET standards.

Learning Style: Addresses a variety of learning styles. Includes multiple representations of material – including visual and audio components. I think I earned a 20 for this. I did multiple audio and visual representations of the lesson on Biomes.

Engagements:  High. Dynamic display (use of transitions, screen shots, quizzes with feedback, etc.) of material with many engaging or interactive features. (This can include but is not limited to message boards, Internet integration activities, live chats, etc..)

I think I earned an 18 on this part. Just because I didn’t know how to interpret screen shots into weebly.com.  I could see using them if I choose Adobe, but I am more familiar with weebly.com and enjoy using this website.  I did, however, use many quizzes from Surveymonkey and think these were a great addition to my lesson.

Adaptive/Assistive Technologies:  Content is accessible to students with a wide variety of disabilities.

I again think I earned an 18 for this section. I do have multiple ways to learn my lesson…audio for the vision impaired, visually for the hearing impaired and so on…

But there is always more you can do for people with disabilities!

Assessment:  Both formative and summative assessments are included. The assessments are tied directly to the lesson objectives.

I think I received a 20 out 20 on this.  I had both formative and summative assessments in my lesson and think they will gather what my students know, want to know, and what they learned throughout the lesson.

I gave myself a 96/100. I think I worked really hard on this lesson and learned many new ways to educate my students in many different ways.  I think this will work really well in my classroom and am so excited to find out this year when I use it!

Reflection Week 7 – Teacher Centered VS. Lecture Driven Classrooms EDTECH 521

As I was researching, I found out that I run my classroom more teacher centered than lecture driven. I do not do many notes in my classroom because growing up, I did not like this kind of learning and was bored with it. I try to do interactive activities where I introduce the topic with a video or a game of some sort and then we talk about the topic at hand. I am always walking around my classroom throughout the lesson, making sure my class in on task. I am a constructivist learner – meaning I learn better by doing hands-on activities. I do not learn by taking notes for 45 minutes and listening to my instructor talk and talk and talk….I always told my self I would never teach like this! Do not get me wrong, there are some days that I have to lecture about the topic because that is all you can do with some topics. But I do not lecture everyday and I also always have activities to go with my lectures or guided notes…just something to keep my students focused and not bored!

Strategies that may be suitable for live lessons are any lessons that are quick and to the point and test the students knowledge. I really liked using Blackboard Collaborative trail because you upload your lesson and as you are teaching the lesson to your students, you can make all kinds of marks and write all over the lesson, just as you would if you were at the whiteboard in your classroom. Blackboard also lets you create quizzes to assess the students knowledge. I really liked Blackboard because it is interactive and teaches the students in the same way you would teaching them face-to-face.

Reflection Week 6 – EDTECH 542

One of the greatest challenges for an instructor in a PBL unit is to adapt to the role of facilitator. Reflect on the following:

Will my role in the teaching/learning process change?

• Role will change, but not disappear
• Doesn’t mean that the teacher quits teaching
• Role becomes more supportive in nature during PBL
• Students will still need guidance and assistance, but the learning takes place in a construction of knowledge, not direct instruction

What are the skills of effective facilitation?

• A facilitator is a guide to help people move through a process together, not the seat of wisdom and knowledge.
• That means a facilitator isn’t there to give opinions, but to draw out opinions and ideas of the group members.
• Facilitation focuses on HOW people participate in the process of learning or planning, not just on WHAT gets achieved.
• A facilitator is neutral and never takes sides.
• Effective facilitation also requires a specific goal or vision for the outcome.
• An instructor may need to guide certain students more than others.

 

Will the students develop the competencies and skills needed to be successful?

• They will develop skills and competences to be successful in learning
• PBL occurs when students construct knowledge and self-directed learning
• It’s easy for students to memorize facts and regurgitate information for a test.
• Our PBL provides students the ability to make real-world connections and see these concepts displayed in a virtual, visual, and purposeful manner.’
• The ultimate goal is the understanding.
• This project lets students explore these concepts as to know and to understand.

What changes will you need to make in order to become an effective facilitator in your PBL unit?

• In order to be a more effective facilitator, I will meet with all the groups, not just struggling ones, to ensure they are understanding the concepts.
• Just because a student does well on formative assessment(s) does not mean they can make the connections they need to with the software program they should use for their final presentation.
• If students can explain not just what they know, but how they know it, this will be a good indicator if they know the material or not.

Reflection Week 5 – Learning Styles EDTECH 521

Learning strategies and styles are described in a range of ways. In the reading there are variations in different learning style “model”, there are also similarities.

Types of Learning Styles: Visual, auditory, kinesthetic learning styles

Visual Learning Style – This means you learn by seeing and looking

You will:

• Take detailed notes rather than get involved in discussions
• Tend to sit in the front so you can see clearly
• Benefit from illustrations and presentations, and especially those in color
• Make comments like:  “How do you see the situation?”
•                                     “What do you see stopping you?”
•                                    “Do you see what I am showing you?”

Four learning strategies that will best fit visual learners are:

1. Write your own flashcards – Look at them often and write out the main points, then check.
2. Write out/illustrate steps in a sequence
3. Use color highlighters
4. Look through charts, graphs and pictures

Auditory Learning Style – This means you learn by hearing and listening

You will:

• Enjoy discussion and talking things through and listening to others
• Acquire knowledge by reading aloud
• Hum and/or talk to yourself’
• Make comments like: “I hear you clearly.”
•                                    “I’m wanting you to listen.”
•                                    “This sounds good.”

Four learning strategies that will best fit auditory learners are:

1. Podcasts
2. Story-telling and re-telling
3. Debates
4. Mobile phones, voice recorders, iPods
5. Drama performances

Kinesthetic Learning Style – this means you learn by touching and doing.

You will:

• Need lots of breaks and will want to move around
• Speak with you hands and gestures
• Remember what was done, but have difficulty with what was said or seen
• Learn through doing things
• Make comments like: “How do you feel about this?”
•                                    “Let’s move forward together.”
•                                    “Are you in touch with what I am saying?”

Four learning strategies that will best fit kinesthetic learners are:

1. Modeling clay
2. blocks and cubes
3. computers
4. Globes and maps
5. Experiments
6. Field Trips

Out of the three learning style I feel that I am a bit of each.  I learn best by doing hands-on activities….definitely NOT note taking and lectures.  So this would be kinesthetic learning. When I am seeing an example being done, I like to see it the first time and then follow along and perform the experiment with the professor the second time.  This is more auditory learning and visual learning.  I do not know if you can be all three learning styles, but in my opinion I am a little of each.  This is why I am taking the online courses instead of sitting in a lecture hall being lectured. I have to be actually doing something and not just being talked to.  I was happy to find out that I am all three learning styles…I feel this makes me unique!

Reflection Week 4 – EDTECH 542

Discuss how your planned assessments meet the key requirements for effective assessments. Reflect on how you might adjust your teaching during this project to allow more student input in the evaluation process.

Here is the link to our assessment page of our PBL project. I feel that my partner Mark and I were right on with our assessments. The assessments held the students accountable on their terms. We have two different kinds of assessments: Formative and Summative.

Formative Assessments:

Our formative assessment starts with a Collaborative Learning Log: The students will be separated into groups of mixed abilities. They will then create a learning log Google Document that will be shared between the group. The group will then respond to different prompts and build a learning log for the group. The groups will also be given the opportunity to do
Learning Log Prompts

The Learning Log entries will be assessed using the following rubric.
Learning Log Rubric

Critiquing/Commenting on Learning Log Entries: The groups will share their learning logs with one other group in the class. The groups will then comment and critique the other group’s learning log entries on the differences, similarities, and changes that they think should be made. The critiques/comments will be assessed using the following rubric.

Commenting/Critiquing Rubric(need to create)

Online Quizzes: The students will also participate in online quizzes using a LMS like MOODLE or Google Sheets. These quizzes will provide the students with opportunities to be able to see how well they are actually understanding the material.

Concept Maps: The groups will also work on creating concept maps to aid in their understanding different ecosystems and the interactions that happen in them as well as the impact that humans have on them. Their maps will be assessed using the following rubric.

Concept Map Rubric(need to create rubric)

Summative Assessment

Multimedia Project: This is the culminating project. The groups will choose one ecosystem of the ones that have been researched and create a presentation or informational commercial on an ecosystem in an attempt to entice travels to visit an ecosystem. In their project, they will also discuss how humans have impacted the ecosystem and what attempts are being made to preserve it. 

Rubric for Multimedia Project(need to create a rubric)

For both of these assessments, they meet the key requirements for effective assessments.  Our assessments are made for the students, meaning they have personal relevance for students, the students can become more confident and articulate about what they know.  Our assessments guide them to success and have the students know exactly what they are researching.  The learning logs are wonderful because it can track their progress and it gets the students on track with researching and recording certain information.  The students assessment will also be public. They will have to complete a presentation or an informational commercial on their Ecosystem.  These will be assessed by a their students and teacher.

I may adjust my teaching during this project to allow more student input in the evaluation process by having the students critique themselves and their fellow classmates.  I feel that the students opinions on their fellow classmates projects are crucial because they will be honest and forthcoming with their critiquing.

Reflection Week 3 – EDTECH 542

This week my partner Mark and I decided that we were going to complete our PBL lesson plan on Ecosystems. We both teach some kind of Science and decided on this topic. This week was the start of our project. We had to come up with a solid driving question and a graphic organizer, organizing all our concepts for the lesson plan.

Our strong driving question is: What impact is the increasing human population having on the different ecosystems of the world and what can we do reduce the impact we are having?   How can accurate information about an ecosystem be portrayed effectively and creatively and inspire people to travel there?

We thought that this is a creative driving question along with an in-depth question.  The students will eventually have to create a pamphlet or a YouTube video of why their ecosystem is outstanding and is THE place to go visit.  Students have to use their creative and intellectual thoughts to complete this project.

Below is a link to our Ecosystem website. I feel that we have a very good concept going so far and a thorough lesson plan idea. I am excited to see our end project!

Reflection – Week 3 Real-Time Chat EDTECH 521

This week we were asked to facilitate a real-time chat with one or more people in our group. Catherine Howlett and I struggled for about 2 hours to try to accomplish this. We tried to create a “hangout” in Google+ and when I was trying to call her she was not picking up the line. Her internet kept booting her off. I kept asking Catherine to chat and for some reason she never saw my calls or invites to chat. Come to find out, I was asking a different Catherine Howlett to chat with me! Oops! The Catherine in my group did not even have a Google+ account! Once we figured this issue out, she registered for an account and then we were FINALLY able to talk through a hangout. Well, you would think our issues were resolved, but not so much! Once we were able to get into the “hangout,” we could see each other, BUT she could not hear me…I could only hear her. I really like the idea of “face-time” chat and the opportunity to see your partners face-to-face and to communicate as if you were sitting right next to each other.

With many obstacles that technology brings us, it is always exciting when you can figure those issues out and accomplish what you were meant to, but sometimes that is just not in the cards. Unfortunately, Catherine and I could not hear each other, but we could see each other and message each other. So we accomplished what we set out to do, just took us a bit longer to do and we were able to chat instead of video chat!