Self Grading Form

I was very pleased after learning how to create a Google Form in the previous assignment.  For this specific assignment, I created a small quiz on the Civil War that I could give to my 5th grade students next year.  There is only 5 questions so it could even be used as an exit slip or I could extend it and make it into the unit assessment. Google Forms are automatically connected to a spreadsheet where the responses are sent.  However, can they be graded?  Well, the answer is yes!  By watching the detailed YouTube video, Easy way to create a self-correcting Google Form, included in the assignment details I found how you can set up formulas to correct and average student responses into a grade.  The only downfall I see is that it would be difficult to include essay questions since they could not be scored within the Google spreadsheet.

Link to Form!

Link to Self Graded Spreadsheet!

Summary of Results!

Using this in my classroom would be very beneficial for me.  How many hours do teachers spent grading papers every day?  Too many is what I think.  Therefore, utilizing Google Forms and the spreadsheets with the correct formulas would eliminate paper grading time and be my new best friend!  Plus, the students would love being able to use technology to take a quiz or test.

Once again, this activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.  This standard is about designing, developing, and evaluating assessment and and digital age tools.  This activity allows you to create quizzes, surveys, and questionnaires that will help you to acquire and assess data on a frequent basis from students, staff, or parents. The best part about this particular tool is that it saves teachers paper grading time through making formulas on the spreadsheet.  Even though formulas can get confusing, students could be taught to use formulas in their own Google Forms that they might create.

Google Forms

Google Forms are a great user friendly tool for any teacher to incorporate in and out of the classroom.  A form made in Google allows you to give multiple question quizzes, collect surveys, plan events, or other questionnaires.  Another cool feature is that it is then connected to a spreadsheet where the responses are sent.  The spreadsheets are very clean and easy to read.  I would definitely recommend Google Forms to all educators.  I chose to create a quiz on slavery for this assignment.  

Click Here to view the form!

Click Here to view the spreadsheet!

Click Here to view the summary!

Click Here to view the summary!




I tried to embed my form, but it was way too large for the screen and cut off more than half of the form.  However, I saw that others in this class had successfully embedded.  Therefore, worked hard until I figured it out.  I simply adjusted the custom size when I clicked to embed!  There are many ways to share Google Forms: link, email, embedding, as well as social media like Twitter and Google+.  Plus, you don't have to have a Google account to get access to the form if you create it publicly.


Using Google Forms would be a great, easy way to incorporate technology in my classroom, not only for student use but also for parents, staff, etc.  Another advantage is that this type of quiz or survey would help eliminate paper grading since the responses are sent to a spreadsheet where you can then analyze in the next assignment.  Students can also create their own quiz or survey for the class to partake in.

This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.  This standard about assessment and and digital age tools.  This activity allows you to create quizzes, surveys, and questionnaires that will help you to acquire and assess data on a frequent basis from students, staff, or parents. This can be done by simply creating and publishing a form.  Students could create a form to share data for science fair projects, research projects, and personal interests of their peers.

Presentation 3 - Prezi

Prezi is a fun and free presentation tool that helps you organize and share your ideas.  To me Prezi is about creativity and I like trying to branch out and be creative.  Prezi is awesome because I can use it as a teaching tool which emphasizes the power of presentation.  I also feel it is beneficial because it allows my students to see, understand, and remember ideas or content.  Personally, I believe that Prezi is better than PowerPoint because it is different.  Students aren't use to seeing a Prezi in comparison to the same old, same old PowerPoint presentations.  The two presentation tools are similar in the way that they both present information. However, one disadvantage is that I am not as familiar with it, but with more practice I would choose creating Prezi presentations over PowerPoint presentations.  
For this assignment, I almost used a presentation I had already created and then transferred it into Prezi.  However, I decided that I should create a new presentation on a topic that I could use in my classroom in the future on the Moon.  The only difficulty I had was getting my YouTube video to work.  I tried deleting it and re-uploading it, but the video still wouldn't work so I had to result to a backup video that  successfully played.  I like how I could choose from a template; I found a template that gave my presentation the perfect touch.  I enjoy that students and educators can access Prezi online, as well as saved to a computer and view it a speed that is appropriate for the instructor and each students learning style.  

Click Here to get the link to my Moon Prezi or check it out below!





This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.  This standard states the importance of communicating relevant info and ideas using a variety of digital media.  Teachers can use Prezi as a digital teaching tool to introduce knowledge in a technological manner.  As a teacher, you could model Prezi and then use it with the students to further enhance their creativity and design skills.  This presentation tool is not only great to relay information to students, but also parents, and peers.  Students can create their own Prezi to present a topic they are studying or the teacher can create a presentation to introduce a concept. 

Presentation 2 - PechaKucha

PechaKucha 20x20 is a presentation format that is simple.  You show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically and you talk along to the images.  The website informed that there are actually PechaKucha Night gatherings.  These gatherings are “informal and fun where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, thoughts, holiday snaps -- just about anything, really -- in the PechaKucha 20x20 format.”  I did not upload my presentation onto the site.  And I won’t be attending a gathering :), but still this is a neat way to introduce and teach content to students.

For this assignment, I created a life cycle PowerPoint Presentation with headings and pictures, as well as a few songs.  I worked hard to not fill my PowerPoint with text.  I saved my PowerPoint slides as JPEG’s which allowed me to upload them into iMovie which is already on my Mac computer.  It was a learning experience in many ways because I have never created a PowerPoint without text, used iMovie, and also talked during a presentation.  Even though I may have complained a little bit while working on this project, I am truly glad I am knowledge about these presentation formats for future use in my classroom. 

Click Here or view the embedded video below!

This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 1: Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.  It said in the description of PechaKucha that it is informal and fun and for creative people. This tool is a great opportunity for educators, as well as students to be creative in their instruction and learning.  Students can interpret the presentation and create their own unique work to share.

Presentation 1 - PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a classic tool that has been around for a long time now.  It was launched on May 22, 1990!  It is hard to believe that it has been around for that many years. This presentation program is great for many people and areas.  Teachers can incorporate Microsoft PowerPoint into meaningful teaching projects for multiple subjects if done correctly.   

The PowerPoint I have attached can be incorporated into young classrooms like kindergarten and 1st grade.  For this age level, I felt that a 50 slide PowerPoint would be a "Death by PowerPoint" experience for students with a minimal attention span. Therefore, I feel that this 23 slide presentation was plenty to get the point across without boring them. This presentation will help students learn about insects in a meaningful composition.  CLICK HERE to view!


This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 1: Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.  It relates to this standard because when teachers produce a meaningful PowerPoint it also teaches the students the concept as well as inspires the students to look further and learn more about the topics.  Students can interpret the PowerPoints and create their own unique work to share.

Jing Screencast

What a wonderful tool to be introduced to!  I was excited about the Jing Image and now I am even more so about the Jing Video.  Jing video allows you to record what you see and do.  You select the area that you want to record and Jing will capture everything that happens in that area for up to 5 minutes.  For this assignment, I decided to use the Jing video tool to create a Wordle.

Click Here to see my Jing Video!

How do you determine and control the recording area of your screen capture? 

Once you click on the sun and capture the image, the lines will appear on the page.  Then you move the lines and click to size the image you want to capture. 

What are the options for saving a screen capture?  The options for saving a screen capture include saving it to your computer as an image (PNG) or video (SWF) or you could save it as a screencast to the web.

Where is the screencapture on your computer and how do you retrieve it? i.e. what is the address to it on your local machine?  The screencapture is found in the top right corner of the computer screen.  Scroll your cursor over the sun and click on the + sign to capture an image.

How do you push it to the internet? and share it with others?  To push the image or video to the internet, you need to click on the little symbol that says share.  It is then made into a screencast which gives you a link to share on the internet with others.  

What file type is a Jing screencast movie?  A Jing screencast movie is a SWF video file.

The Jing 'Sun'  has 3 prongs. What does each prong do? The three prongs each have a different task.  The one on the left that looks like a + sign allows you to capture the image.  The middle prong with photos on it navigates you to your Jing history. The right prong says more, which when opened gives you the option of done, send feedback, preferences, help, and quit.

This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.  It relates to this standard because teachers can use Jing video as a teaching tool that is digital. This is a great tool to incorporate into teaching because it is a technology rich activity. I could see myself making a Jing video to teach technology tools my student will need to develop.  I believe this will be great way to show students how to do some TechStep skills and lessons for next year.

Jing Image

Two thumbs up to Jing!  Once again, this is a program that I have never used.  I think I must have been hiding under a rock from all of these great technology tools.  I easily downloaded Jing and created an account.  Jing is a free feature that allows users to capture images and even record videos on computers (haven't experimented with this feature yet).  While doing this, you can customize by adding text, shapes, highlights, and arrows.  Plus, you can send your images and videos throughout the internet by saving them to your computer or getting a screencast that is sent to screencast.com for a direct link.  I have found that this will be a great teaching tool to use in my classroom because I can be more specific and detailed in notes and even directions.

I decided to create a graphic that I could use to teach the life cycle in science class.  I searched through Google images to find a perfect image of a frog life cycle.  I used Jing to capture the image and to edit it by using features such as the text tool, the shape tool, and the arrow/line tools. I saved the image to my computer and then uploaded it below. I also took a screencast of the image. Click here to see it!

Learning Outcomes

1. What file types come out of Jing?
   After saving and editing my image in Jing, the file type was a PNG image file.
   
   
2. How / where do you save images on your computer?
   I clicked on the save button while editing my image and saved it to my desktop because it is easy for me to find. However, after I uploaded it, I then transferred it to my EDUC 6305 folder which is located inside my Graduate School folder. There were other options to save to other than my desktop.
   
   
3. How do you access your Jing history?
   To access my Jing history, I ran my cursor over the Jing "sun-like" feature in the top right corner and then clicked on history feature.
   
   
4. What happens if you screencast an item in your history?
   If you screencast an item from your history then it begins to upload to screencast.com and allows you to click on the link to transfer you to the screencast.
   
   
5. How to import Jing objects into your blog posts?
   It was very easy to import a Jing object into my blogpost. All I did was click on insert an image in my blog tool bar. I searched for the saved Jing image on my computer and uploaded.
   
   
6. How do you publish your artifact?
   I published my artifact by screen casting my image and getting the link. I linked my screencast to my blog to publish. I could also upload it to Google Docs or Diigo.
   
   
   7. How do you share your artifact with others?
   I shared my artifacts with others by adding my image and link to my blog. Another way to share the artifact is through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
   
   This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.  It relates to this standard because teachers can use Jing as a digital teaching tool to introduce knowledge in a new, inviting manner.  The neat features allow teachers and even students to put more emphasis on their current learning and technology.

Bookmarking

Diigo, Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff, is a free social bookmarking site that I have never heard of until today!  I actually had a difficult time with this bookmarking site at first.  I do believe that I was making it harder than what it actually was.  Even though I am still learning, this website is handy because it lets you find articles, tag, and highlight specific sections of the page that catch your eye.  Plus, you can add sticky notes to the page; I am a sticky note fanatic, so this extra is right up my alley.  The bookmarks are also added to a personal library for easy access and you can share your findings with friends and others in a virtual community.

After I signed up for a Diigo account, I then added the Diigolet to my web browser.  The URL for my Diigo account is https://www.diigo.com/user/akelley13.   I began browsing for articles that go hand-in-hand with my action research project.  I bookmarked 2 articles on phonemic awareness, specifically dealing with rhyming to help give me information and ideas for this project implementation.  I also bookmarked 2 technology sites to become more familiarized at how I can incorporate  technology in my classroom.  I shared one of these articles from my Diigo library to Twitter.  I experienced a difficult time highlighting with two of my bookmarks.  To keep from getting extremely stressed, I am going to shut down my computer and try again in the morning and hope for better luck!

I have used many various web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.  However, with the purchase of my new Mac Book, the web browser that I used today was Safari.  A browser add-on is programs that improve and add to your experience on a website.  They are also sometimes called browser extension or plug-ins.  As of now, this is the only add-on that I am using on my computer.  However, after learning that this add-on is very beneficial, I am now open to finding out and using others.  


Diigo could easily be implemented into my classroom next year.  Often students do not like to read and do specific assignments.  However, with Diigo, I could create social reading experiences that would attract students.  I like how Diigo makes it easy for teachers to create a classroom within the website where the students can only see articles bookmarked by the teacher and peers, rather than the whole Diigo community.

This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.  It relates to this standard because teachers can use Diigo as a digital teaching tool to introduce knowledge in a technological manner.  As a teacher, you could save articles and information in your library and easily have access to it for a teaching tool.  Plus, you can gather information from the Diigo community and allow students to create their own.

Prezume

Making my resume into a Prezi template was actually very fun and user friendly!  It is attractive and much more appealing in comparison to my other resume.  I made my resume stand out in the crowd due to creating a Prezume. I like how I did not have to design a model, but rather choose from the whiteboard, desktop, or timeline template.  I chose the desktop template because it was engaging to me and "provided an intuitive visual metaphor to illustrate you skills and experience."  After choosing the template, I pulled up my resume and started filling in my education, interests, experience, references, and skills.  Below is a screen shot of my Prezume.

Click here to go to my finalized Prezume!  

Even though most of the students I am eligible to teach are younger, this activity would be great to introduce them to.  I could show them my Prezume and discuss the uses of a resume.  I could also use a prezi presentation to teach content knowledge, which would be much more engaging in comparison to lecture, lecture, lecture! It would even be wonderful to incorporate this digital age media into their learning by having them create a Prezi as a project instead of using the basic presentation options like PowerPoint.

This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.  It relates to this standard because teachers can use Prezi as a digital teaching tool to introduce knowledge in a technological manner.  As a teacher, you could model Prezi and then use it with the students to further enhance their creativity and design skills.  I think this also relates to standard 5 because of the professional development aspect.  By displaying all of your knowledge and accomplishments on a resume that is digital, it shows your future employers why it is important and beneficial to hire you. 

 

Resume Revision

Today I used a free service to get feedback about my resume. To be honest, I did not have a clue that there were even such things available.  This program allows you to submit your resume and it will tell you simple, to the point ways to improve your resume.  I was pretty excited about getting a score until after I uploaded mine to RezScore.  I found that my resume stinks or in their words it is weak! I got a D!!  

I was given feedback that assisted me in my weaknesses.  "Your resume needs some improvement. A good resume tells your employer a powerful story about why you would be valuable to their company. This resume needs some improvement before anybody will be wowed."  Some additional advice I was given was to remove my objective section and try a professional headline instead, don't mention or list references (that seems odd), and don't use first person.  

After addressing the advice given to help improve  my resume, my grade slightly raised.  I can't even count on both hands how many edits and resubmissions I have done.  However, I raised my score to a C+ and for now am satisfied.  I might go crazy if I continue editing tonight, but hey there is always a new day tomorrow!

This activity best relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 5: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.  It relates to this standard because it is in regards to professional development. It is important to update your resume to gain a professional stance in a school system.  Professional development is important to becoming a  teacher that is successful and a lifelong learner.  Displaying all of your knowledge on a resume shows your future employers why it is  important to hire you. 

 

Self Portrait

This assignment was by far the most entertaining activity I have completed thus far in EDUC 6305! The self portrait in the style of Pablo Picasso was engaging and fun!  Plus, the site was user friendly!  What could be better?  I told my husband about this assignment; he decided he wanted to create me first.  Of course he was goofy to begin with, but then did his best job.  After he created me, I critiqued my features slightly.  To my surprise, I actually liked his portrait of myself better than my own!  Even though they are very similar, he did a better job matching up my features - big blue eyes, dark hair, narrow face, red lips, etc. However, on my self portrait my eyes look overly large and scary.  I will post both and let you all decide.  I feel like I could get very creative with this now that I have played around.  Next time I would add abstracts like the gallery pictures.

Andrew's portrait of me - Click here to go to the link!

My self portrait of myself - Click here to go to the link!

I feel like this digital age media could easily be integrated into my classroom.  I have seen many fellow teachers have their students create self portraits in art class using paint or other materials.  Incorporating the Pablo Picasso  website to create a digital self portrait is a great activity to use to allow more technology use!  You could also use Picasso Head to incorporate into other subjects such as reading or history.

These activities relate to the ISTE NETS T standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity.  It relates to this standard because students are able to be creative outside of their normal box by using a digital tool in a virtual environment.

Snipping

I was getting a little nervous as I was reading through this assignment.  I have loved the snipping tool since Dr. Pierce introduced it to my class in EDUC 2201.  However, after my Dell crashed, I switched over to an Apple and I didn't figure they would have a snipping tool.  Luckily, they have a similar tool called Grab which is found in applications under the utilities folder.  There are also keyboard shortcuts to use.  Shift Command 3 - captures the whole screen.  Shift Command 4 - captures the area you select with the cross hair cursor.  Shift Command 4, space bar, and click - captures the active window.   

This grab tool is not as user friendly as the Microsoft Window's snipping tool.  But it got the job done.  I included the following snip of geometry angles.  This past year I taught reading and math intervention for students who needed extra practice.  Angles was a skill that was difficult for my students to remember.  I believe visually seeing a picture while using their own arms to create the angles would be beneficial and help them remember each attribute.  Plus, seeing an image through a computer or ELMO might strike interest more so than what a boring textbook would.

This activity relates to the ISTE NETS T standard 5, Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership.  This is because a teacher can utilize creative access of digital tools, snipping tool/screen shot, to improve student learning.