Tuesday, October 26, 2010

A blog in a Blog. . .Creepy. . . .

Week 9: It's Spooky how Much You are Learning!


Ooky Spooky
Originally uploaded by The Fox and the Polar Bear
As the semester eerily passes, I am amazed at how much everyone has accomplished so far.  Take a few minutes to look at all you have created and embedded on your blog: surveys, Prezis, newsletters, and all those journal entries!  Impressive!

This Week:  Creating your PLN and the CSUSM Web 2.0 Tools for Educators Wiki. . .You will be adding people to your PLN and reflecting on some of the process.  You will also investigate a web 2.0 tool, create something, and then share your results on your very own wiki page.  The PLN assignment will also count as journal 7, so you got that going for you, which is nice!

Journal 7:  This will be the Creating Your PLN assignment.  The instructions are on this blog (Look at the tabs above!)

I will be catching up on grading this week.  If you are behind, please talk to me.  If you assignment is not submitted when I grade, there will be a penalty in the points earned.  I am flexible, but not ridiculously so. . .

This Week's Question: What is something you have learned well without formal teaching?  How did you learn it?  This could be a sport, hobby, musical instrument, etc. .

Monday, October 18, 2010

Week 8: Is the Semester Half Empty or Half Full?

It is hard to believe we are half way through the semester already.  I imagine that some of you are painfully aware of where we are. . . but either way, I hope you are all learning a lot!

Tonight:  We will revisit the TaskStream narratives in GoogleDocs and have you copy and paste them into TaskStream.  I gave feedback again to those who made revisions. . .there are some of you who did not revise after my comments last week (This should have been completed).  Don't forget that I added links to a couple student narratives in GoogleDocs in last week's journal entry. I will introduce the Excel assignment in class (bring headphones if you have some readily available), and give you some time to work on your Google Sites.  If we have time, I would also like to take a look at your blogs to ensure you are able to embed your assignments, add your links, manage your pages, etc.

201/365 [2010]: Optimist/Pessimist
Originally uploaded by Qasim MirzaI

Journal 6:  I realize you may be having some difficulties with ISTE, so I will offer a new source for the first of the second half of your journal assignments.  "Change Agent," an interview with Will Richardson is from the Education Week's website.  Remember to do your best to use the Citation Machine to generate the necessary APA citation.

NOTE:  I just want to remind everyone that the comments on the weekly blog are part of your attendance/participation grade, even if you are not in class.

This Week's Question: Who has been your favorite/most memorable teacher and why?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Week 7: Are You Ready to PreZENt this Evening?


Zen Morning
Originally uploaded by h.koppdelaney
I am cautiously optimistic that you all have your presentations ready for tonight.  I was expecting some emails regarding the presentations but I have only received one.  At the beginning of class tonight I will go over how to take your assessment and embed it on your blog. . .I will also show you how to embed your presentation on your blog depending on the tool that you used.

This Week/Tonight:  We will be doing our presentations and subsequent assessments.  I will also go over a new assignment: the collaborative CyberSafety resource using Google Sites!  These last two assignments have been new versions of old assignments.  I am excited to see the results I get from you all!

TaskStream:  I have given feedback to all of the TaskStream narratives that were submitted.  Some were awesome and some were. . .ah, um, had great personalities.  I expect that you will take a look at the comments and revise accordingly.  There are also a few student groups who stood out and I hope to make those samples available to the rest of the class (with their permission).
Kayla & Jordan
Arlynn & Brittani


Journal 1-5: These are due next Tuesday, Oct 19 (thanks Juanita).  I will only accept journal 5 from those who submit it on time.  All you have to submit in Cougar Courses is a link to your blog!

This Week's Question:  What should every teacher know about you?

 



Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Week 6: So, I had a Great Idea. . .


Orange
Originally uploaded by oliverwinconek
You all did such a great job last week figuring out how to customize your blogs, wade into TaskStream, and even collaborate using Google Docs, that I have decided you need more responsibility. . .

This Week: Okay, so I was thinking. Don't laugh, it happens sometimes.  We are set to do a presentation project, which was traditionally only completed with PowerPoint, and for a small group of students, Prezi. . .  I am going to give you the option of three tools: PowerPoint, Google Presentation, or Prezi.  Although PowerPoint is so last century, it is still one of the only ways that most people present information to large groups (click here and push play!). . . Many of you may not have seen Prezi before, so I will use it to introduce the entire assignment.  I think you just might like it.  We will also be using Google Docs, and specifically, Google Forms, to create an assessment for your peers based on your presentation!  When it comes to how to learn the tool, I want you to try and figure out how to use the Internet as a resource to learn the tool. . .as I demonstrated for you last week, the Internet, with sites like Delicious and YouTube are a wealth of information to figure out how to do just about anything. . .I am going to test your ability to do just this. . . .I will, however, show you how to use Google Forms to create an assessment for your presentation!

Yea, so ISTE has a new website. . .Great, right?  Well, not so great.  They are requiring that each member create a new password to enter the site.  For those of you who are a bit techno-sketchy, this isn't a good thing.  Alas, even their built-in method of acquiring a new log-in doesn't work so well.  Some of you will probably have to contact their customer service: 1.800.336.5191 .  They do have live chat, but that ends at 4pm. . .and class begins at 5:30. . .hey, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right . . .right?

What should be completed by now:  The newsletter, Delicious.com, School 2.0, scan, IntroLetter, and some of those journals. . .I told you not to wait ;-)

Journal 5:  Go to Twitter and search for ed422.  Find the retweet that lists Twitter for Learning - 55 great articles.  Click on the link, read one of the articles for your Journal 5.  Don't forget to use the Citation Machine so I can trace the article and perhaps read it myself. . . And this is extra credit, btw.

This week's Question:  If this class were pass/fail instead of letter grade, would you try just as hard?  Explain.