Portfolio

In this assignment, Portfolio, I created a portfolio to showcase my created projects and completed activities and how they relate to all five of the NETS. These educational technology standards are the road map to teaching effectively and growing professionally in an increasingly digital world. My portfolio page stated the national educational technology standard and official description, my personal interpretation, one example of an activity and one project that illustrated the completion of the standard, and my reflection on all projects that illustrated the given standard. I had five pages, one for each standard.

I believe this activity illustrated the following NETS:

-Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance students learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.

-Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. They communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

-Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others. They evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.

This project illustrates a reflection using collaborative tools (blogs, definitions, reflections, etc.) to clarify others understanding of the standards. I also communicated relevant information and ideas effectively to all who would view my website. The relevant information and ideas being the standards. The portfolio used the website I created, the blog I created, and the projects I have created. The blog portion of my portfolio contains statements of evaluation and reflection on my created projects. As I reflected, I thought of ways I could improve the project and how I could improve myself as a future teacher all to the end goal of improving students’ learning.

From this experience of created the portfolio I have a greater appreciation for the technology standards. Had I not completed this portfolio, I would not have remembered what the objectives for this class were. It was great to see all that I had accomplished during this 16-week course and all the new skills I have attained. Going into this class I felt confident in my technology skills. I quickly learned that I had a lot left to learn. While I still have a lot left to learn, I feel confident in my problem solving abilities when it comes to technology. I am also aware of all the resources that are available to aid my understanding and my teaching.

In the future, I would like to continue adding to my website and portfolio. I would like to continue pushing my abilities to create new projects. I am so pleased with the ease of Google Sites that I would like to incorporate them into my own teaching if I end up teaching upper grades. I would like to continue documenting completed projects in the portfolio and in my reflection blog.

Video

In this assignment, Video, I created a video to use in my future classroom that models writing poetry for my students. I wanted to model for my students that poetry doesn’t have to rhyme and it can be inspired by anything. The video consists of photographs either taken by myself or Stephen Veihl, an original poem created by myself, and a guitar instrumental created by Stephen Veihl. I chose the direct instruction teaching strategy and used the guided and shared method where students are listening, viewing, and thinking.

I believe this activity illustrated the following NETS:

-Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance students learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness. They engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

-Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS. Teachers design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. They develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress. Teachers provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

-Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. They communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

-Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

In this product I used technology and teaching strategies and methods to facilitate an experience to advance my student learning and creativity in a both face-to-face and virtual environments. While my video is a virtual environment, my students would then create a poem in a face-to-face environment with the possibility of creating a product in a virtual environment. I chose the teaching strategy direct instruction and the method guided and shared using the digital photostory3 to create the example for the students. I am glad that I used a video for this introduction because if I were to read the poem aloud to students it would not have the same impact as the poem with the pictures and even more so with the guitar instrumental. Students are listening, viewing, and thinking! Photostory3 is very easy to use and it would be great for students to narrate their own poem with images and instrumentals. The idea of pushing on and finding inspiration in something are undertones to the poem. As I created this video, I created an original poem, used my own photographs along with my best friend, Stephen Veihl’s photography and original instrumental song. I made sure to cite our original works.

From developing this product I have learned how much easier it is when it comes to citing when you use your original works and your best friends. There is no question about how you can use it or how to cite it. A simple statement giving credit where credit is due is all that is necessary when you are using original works. I now feel confident using Photostory3. I had a few issues that came up but I resolved them and this problem solving gave me more confidence in my ability to use Photostory3. I became aware of how to record and edit instrumentals. It is definitely a monotonous task that I was happy to allow Mr. Veihl to do. 

I would like to try out other video making software. I am pleased with Photostory3 but I remember programs used in the past had been easier to edit and combine audio. When I was adjusting my online lesson I could not find any videos on temperature, pressure, and light as one descends into the ocean. I was disappointed, but quickly realized that I could make the video myself. This empowerment has opened the doors to technology use in my own classroom. If I can’t find it, I am confident that I can make it. Even if it isn’t created by a professional, it is better than the alternative, which is nothing. If I were to do it again I would have chosen a different video making software. Photostory3 did not have the editing abilities I was hoping for. However, this very basic video maker would be great for students to use in their own video making ventures.

Online Lesson Plan

In this assignment, Online Lesson Plan, I selected a lesson plan from an online resource, analyzed it, and added technology into the lesson. I chose a lesson that looked at animal adaptations in the three main ocean zones: intertidal pool, open ocean, and the abyss. I included technology in the introduction, the instruction, and the assessment.

I believe this activity illustrated the following NETS:

-Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.

-Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating temporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS. Teachers design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

-Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats. They model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

In this product I used my knowledge of the subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to select, analyze, and modify a lesson plan on animal adaptations. The lesson gave students a modified authentic experience to make predictions and then research using online resources to compare their findings to their predictions. For the assessment portion of the lesson the students created Jeopardy questions using an internet resource that created a Jeopardy game on flash player.

In this product I used my knowledge of the subject matter and technology to facilitate experiences that advanced students learning in a virtual environment. I supported the student’s creative and innovated thinking by giving them a set of characteristics to judge fairy tales by. The product gave students the tools to discover whether a story was a fairy tale or not. As I designed this learning experience I incorporated digital tools and other web resources to promote my students learning and communicate relevant information and ideas to my students in a digital format. I included in the lesson current digital tools to analyze and evaluate the distances talked about during the lesson about the depth of the ocean. I included

Google documents, Google map, a youtube.com video, and the Jeopardy flash player.

From participating in this experience I have learned that there are a plethora of usable resources for lesson planning, some that include technology and some that do not. When analyzing the lesson plan and fitting it within the grid, I was prompted to think about things that I might not necessarily have thought about when selecting a lesson plan. This activity has given me the confidence in selecting and modifying lesson plans. I was surprised at how many resources there were out there that could be included in the lesson. While there were some things that I was unable to find, from my other projects I know that I could create the resource I was looking for if needed.

After getting my feedback from the instructor I realized that there were many other ways I could have included technology that I hadn’t even thought of. I would like to improve my ability to infuse technology in my lessons and I believe that will only happen if I continue to seek out new digital tools and resources. This activity was great to give me preparation for my own classroom. If I end up teaching fifth grade, I would love to actually execute this lesson. In the future I think I would create a video to explain the change in temperature, pressure, and light as you go deeper into the ocean because I could not find a video resource on the internet.

Narrated PowerPoint

In this assignment, Narrated PowerPoint, I created a stand-alone instructional presentation using a narrated PowerPoint about Fairy Tales for my future students. I actually used the final product with a group of 3^rd graders I was teaching as part of my methods program in college to introduce them to the topic of fairy tales. They loved it! I created a PowerPoint that explained the basic elements of fairy tales and at the end looked at two familiar fairy tales to compare how they measure up to the elements of fairy tales.

I believe this activity illustrated the following NETS:

-Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.

-Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the NETS. Teachers design and adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

-Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a glob and digital society. Teachers communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

In this product I used my knowledge of the subject matter and technology to facilitate experiences that advanced students learning in a virtual environment. I supported the student’s creative and innovated thinking by giving them a set of characteristics to judge fairy tales by. The product gave students the tools to discover whether a story was a fairy tale or not. As I designed this learning experience I incorporated digital tools and other web resources to promote my students learning and communicate relevant information and ideas to my students in a digital format.

From developing this product I have learned how to use Prezi, since I originally made a project using Prezi. In the end I decided to use the PowerPoint to communicate the relevant information because I wanted it to be something that was completely stand-alone. I also wanted to convey quite a bit of information. So from this project I learned how to choose digital tools to most effectively complete the task that you want completed. This narrated PowerPoint is special because it incorporated both visual and verbal learning. If a student was deaf or auditory-impaired they would still have gotten the basic information presented. If a student were blind or visual-impaired they would still have gotten the information presented. A multi-sensory learning experience is more effective than merely relying on visual or verbal instruction. I feel very competent using both Prezi and PowerPoint.

I would like to dabble in Prezi more so that I can make more effective presentations. I have seen very effective Prezis but at the current level I am at I am dissatisfied with my end products. However before this assignment I had never created a Prezi before, so I have learned a lot about how to create and navigate around a Prezi. When I used this PowerPoint product with students I was teaching, they received it very well. Perhaps I would use more animation throughout the slide instead of just at the end when I didn’t want information visually presented until it was verbally addressed. This could have engaged students even more.

Virtual Field Trip

In this assignment, Virtual Field Trip, I created a collage of web resources for students to explore. This digital-age learning experience, brought students to various websites about different places and events in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Students explored these site with a sheet to mark whether they have seen these places before and one neat fact about each place. This was used to assess the student’s level of engagement in the activity and the new knowledge they came away from it with.

I believe this activity illustrated the following NETS:

-Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. They model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.

-Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS. Teachers design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. They develop technology-enriched learning environments tha tenable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress. Teachers customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources. They provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teacher.

-Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats. They model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

Using the collage of web links I made available relevant subject matter effectively to students. The websites were previously viewed for interest and relevant information. Students were engaged in virtual learning. They explored real world features of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Feature Fact Sheet was used to assess students. I made sure to use a variety of websites. Some websites were merely live camera feed; others were rich in images, while others were more rich in text. I made the virtual trip so that students would not have to view all the sites for all the features. There were nine features and students were responsible for five. However if a student had an educational goal of filling out the information for all of them, there was room under the table to continue on engaging in virtual learning. This activity is unique because students get to explore and engage in this learning experience at their own pace in their own learning style. Students love using computers and technology. This is an excellent way to familiarize students with information you want them to learn.

 From this experience, I have learned that there are many great websites for students to explore about the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This activity did not take an enormously large amount of time to create once I chose a subject. I believe students would really enjoy these virtual field trip activities. I now am familiar with the advance search application on Google that allows me to view only information at different reading levels. This is a great addition to my digital tool belt.

I definitely plan on using this in the future. Perhaps if I need to teach my students some background information on a topic, this activity would fit in perfectly. I love that students would enjoy it and that there is an assessment sheet included that helps the students remember and chart their newly learned information. In the future I will make use of previously created virtual trips to introduce topics. However if I don’t find a previously created virtual trip, I will not pause in creating one myself.