Here is a podcast of me reading the book, The Meanest Thing to Say, by Bill Cosby. I will use this book with my students to introduce the topic of bullying in hopes that open dialogue will be created about bullying. We will talk about how little Bill copes with a bully at school and problem solves. This podcast was created using the website Yodio, which allows you to add pictures to voice. You can either use a recorder from your computer or use your telephone to record your voice. It was very easy to navigate and to create.
Beaty's Blog
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Technology Module 3: Video
This video is a How to video that shows my students how to open the internet, log into our class wiki, navigate to their student writing pages, and edit their writing. This will be used in class as a visual to show the students the steps on how to log into our class wiki and edit pages. The software applications that were used were QuickTime Player to make a screencast and Youtube to transfer the screencast into a movie.
Here is a direct link if you would like to see the video larger.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
RSA 4: Skype in the Classroom
RSA 4: Skype in
the Classroom
Online learning communities are a
great place for building group collaboration. Students learn to work together
and depend on one another to reach their learning goals and to elevate their
learning experiences (Palloff & Pratt, 2007). One example of this is
learning through the Internet because it allows groups of people to connect
from all over the world and it provides a more thorough understanding of the
content they are studying. Teacher can assign their students to search the Internet
for articles about the content and use that knowledge in assignments. Instructors
can also create collaborative connections with others learning the same topic
in other universities around the world. Classes could communicate with other
instructors, specialists, and students in the same field. This type of
collaborative online learning provides limitless possibilities and “can greatly
enhance the educational experience” (Palloff & Pratt, 2007).
“Internet connectivity in
educational settings provides opportunities for interactive exchange and
collaboration between students living on other sides of town or the other side
of the planet, states Wesley Fryer, author of Skype in the Classroom (2005). Skype is free software on the
Intranet that allows real-time discussions through high-quality audio calls to
others on Skype (Fryer, 2005). This authentic learning engages students in
collaborative group work by talking with others through video. Skype is an
educational and motivational tool that expands outside of traditional education
settings. As education is evolving so is the way students learn. Skype is an
active way to gain information from the Internet through group collaboration
that will be converted into knowledge (Fryer, 2005).
Group collaboration with online
communities promotes interdependence, which is critical for online learning.
Instructors who do not promote collaborative learning in online communities
create an environment where there is little participation and less engagement
in learning (Palloff & Pratt, 2007). Skype is a technology tool that
motivates students to communicate with authentic learning opportunities.
Students can conference online with communities globally. This is a
extraordinary teaching tool that expands student learning and knowledge though
a group environment.
References
Fryer, Wesley A.
(2005). Skype in the Classroom. Retrieved from
Palloff, R.,
& Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective
strategies for the virtual classroom,
(2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN:
978-0-7879-8825-8.
Friday, February 3, 2012
RSA 3: Creating an Online Learning Community: Is it Possible?
RSA 3: Creating
an Online Learning Community: Is it Possible?
In
the book, Building Online Learning Communities, Palloff and Pratt state that “learning in the
distance education environment cannot be passive” (2007). It is important to
create a sense of community with shared goals so that students can present
themselves as a “real” person in an online course (Palloff and Pratt, 2007).
Online classes offer the opportunity for a different environment for learning.
The traditional lecture model, that doesn’t work for all students, is
disregarded. Because of this, more active learners can interact within their
collaborative groups, which is very valuable in their learning process.
Introvert students can open up more and share their ideas in a safe
environment. The interaction among the students creates knowledge and meaning,
which is what makes online learning communities work. Also, the facilitation of
the instructor is very important in helping to create a strong community in
online communities. The key elements that Palloff and Pratt state should be
present in an online community are “organized into three groupings – people, purpose, and process – and
believe that the outcome of a well-constructed, community-oriented online
course is reflective/transformative
learning” (2007).
Online
learning communities face the challenge of creating an environment that builds
a community between the students and staff. The instructor shares the responsibilities
in assisting the online community to nurture interactive learning. “The sense
of community in an educational environment encourages collaboration, sharing,
and relationships to enhance student learning outcomes” (Murdock and Williams,
2011). Murdock and Williams state there is research that shows that
establishing learning communities strengthens student learning (2011). “The
building of relationships in an online learning community enables the
development of a supportive peer network, brings together the social and
academic roles of students, and facilitates collaborative and interactive
learning (Murdock and Williams, 2011). In this article, Murdock and Williams
conducted a study to see if there was a difference in student perceptions of
learning communities in an online and on-campus setting. The results stated
that students felt no significant difference between an online or on-campus
learning community (Murdock and Williams, 2011).
Both
readings proclaim that it is challenging to create a strong sense of community in
an online community, unlike the ease of creating on-campus communities.
Instructors should be innovative and adaptive (Murdock and Williams, 2011;
Palloff and Pratt, 2007). “Instructors of online courses can facilitate the
development of an online learning community by adapting instructional techniques
to promote students’ sense of connection, engagement, and responsibility
(Murdock and Williams, 2011; Palloff and Pratt, 2007). When this occurs,
student satisfaction rates are high, dropout rates are lower, and learning
online is successful. Within the last decade, the educational system is
changing because of the advancement of technology. Education models are
changing with time and are allowing students a new innovative and collaborative
way of learning in online communities. When online instructors are able to
create a safe atmosphere and community, online learning is just as successful
as face-to-face learning model (Palloff and Pratt, 2007).
References
Murdock,
J. L., & Williams, A. M. (2011). Creating an Online Learning Community: Is It
Possible?. Innovative Higher
Education, 36(5), 305-315.
Palloff, R.,
& Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective
strategies for the virtual classroom,
(2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN:
978-0-7879-8825-8.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
RSA 2: Critical and Transformative Practices in Professional Learning Communities
RSA 2: Critical and Transformative Practices in Professional
Learning Communities
This weeks readings from DuFour focus
on PLC goals, assessment results and using relevant information to improve
results. One of the most effective
strategies for schools to incorporate district goals is for the schools to link
school goals with district goals. There is a beneficial acronym, SMART, that
helps schools accomplish this task. SMART goals are: “Strategic, Measurable,
Attainable, Results oriented, and Time bound” (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, &
Many, 2010). These goals will help teachers to focus on the results, rather
than the activity. Improved results are the very reason why schools are being a
professional learning community. Analyzing assessment results is key for
examining evidence for student learning. Dufour et al. (2010) states “a PLC is
designed to continuously improve the collective capacity of a group to achieve
intended results.”
In
a professional learning community, “teachers work collaboratively to reflect on
practice, examine evidence about the relationship between practice and student
outcomes, and make changes that improve teaching and learning for the
particular students in their classes” (Servage, 2008). However, there is no
assurance that these changes indicate that teachers comprehend the philosophies
behind them (Servage, 2008). Therefore, there is doubt in maintaining this
change. Servage suggests the idea of a transformative learning theory, which is
“a deep and profound altering of one’s world view” (2008). Transformative
learning for teachers requires that they be willing and able to critically
explore, articulate, negotiate, and revise their beliefs about themselves,
their students, their colleagues, and their schools” (Servage, 2008). Only then
will teachers in professional learning communities be able to understand and
critically evaluate best practices, the philosophies behind them, and any
consequences that accompany them (Servage, 2008).
One of DuFour’s elements in a
professional learning community is that “improved professional practice will
require educators to change many of their traditional practices” (2010). Servage
advocates that professional learning communities won’t be as complex to
initiate and maintain with the transformative learning theory, which emphasizes
“the psychology of profound personal change” (2008). This theory helps teachers
recognize that learning is threatening and difficult. Servage states that
knowing this “liberates us from the strategic blindness and defensiveness that
keeps us, as organizations and individuals, stuck in self-perpetuating,
dysfunctional patterns that actively work against change” (2008).
References
DuFour, R.,
DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook
for professional learning
communities at work (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN:
Solution
Tree Press.
Servage,
L. (2008). Critical and Transformative Practices in Professional Learning
Communities. Teacher Education
Quarterly, 35(1), 63-77.
Friday, January 20, 2012
RSA 1- Professional Learning Communities: Developing a School-Level Readiness Instrument
RSA 1- Professional Learning Communities: Developing a
School-Level Readiness Instrument
Module 2 states that a Professional
Learning Community (PLC) is “when everyone works collectively to seek and share
learning and act on that learning to improve their effectiveness as
professionals so that students benefit” (Mid-continent Research for Education
and Learning, 2003). In order for a PLC
to initiate this process, there must be a shared mission, shared vision,
collective commitments, and common school goals (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, &
Many, 2010). The key elements to help
the school collaborate as a team and become acclimated to change are having a
shared vision, shared leadership and decision making, and shared practice and
collective inquiry (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, 2003). Having a shared vision that was created by the
staff’s collective decision making helps teachers commit to becoming a PLC
school because they are making the decisions.
It’s a sense of ownership. Teachers are constantly reflecting to make
sure that their teaching practice and assessments demonstrate the schools goals
and values. Also, collaborative leadership aids in maintaining an effective PLC
because it “results in increased morale, ownership, understanding about the
direction and processes of change, shared responsibility for student learning,
and a sense of professionalism (Mid-continent Research for Education and
Learning, 2003). But the most essential
element of a PLC is sharing practices and collective inquiry to match the needs
of their students. This is also guided by their shared vision. When this occurs, it strengthens
communication and improves best practices so that school goals are met and
students are successful.
In education today, there are more
demands for school improvement and educational reforms. However, these reforms
are embedded in a bureaucratic system that do not encourage and maintain
improvements in teachers or in student learning. In an attempt to answer this
problem, school improvement plans have “shifted from centrally mandated,
standards-based reforms toward a more collaborative site-based model”
(Williams, Brien, Sprague, & Sullivan, 2008). This is the view of a school
as a professional learning community. Williams et al. (2008) states that the
five key components are: “shared values and vision, collective responsibility,
reflective professional inquiry, professional collaboration, and promotion of
group and individual learning.” When these components are utilized in schools,
they are effective in maintaining student growth. The purpose of this article
was to conduct an action research study that measures the school’s readiness to
become a PLC, which used an instrument to monitor readiness. The instrument determined
any barriers that interfered with the schools readiness to become a PLC. The
four major areas that were questioned by the school instrument to measure
readiness were: culture, leadership, teaching, and professional growth and
development (Williams et al., 2008). The final report showed quantitative and
qualitative data that confirmed barriers that interfered with the readiness of
implementing the PLC model in the school.
The article by Williams et al.
(2008) directly correlated with this weeks Module Two reading. In order to
implement and sustain a PLC in a school, the school culture must exhibit a
readiness to become a professional learning community because the
implementation of this model should be long term. Both readings expressed the
importance of shared values and vision, collaboration, shared practice, and
collective inquiry (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, 2003; Williams
et al., 2008). These key elements must be a priority in schools that wish to
become a professional learning community because these elements are the gateway
to a successful transition from a bureaucratic system to the collaborative
model of professional learning communities.
References
DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Many, T. (2010). Learning
by doing: A handbook
for professional learning communities at work
(2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN:
Solution Tree Press.
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL).
(2003). Sustaining
school
improvement: Professional learning community, 1-4. Retrieved from
Williams, R., Brien, K., Sprague, C., & Sullivan, G.
(2008). Professional Learning
Communities:
Developing a School-Level Readiness Instrument. Canadian
Journal Of Educational
Administration And Policy, (74), 1-17.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Trip to Brazil
I thought I'd try to become more comfortable with creating and using Blogger. So here's my story about my upcoming trip to Brazil. My older brother Derek works for Global Environment Fund and travels all over the world for work. Two years ago, he was in Brazil for work and was lucky enough to be there at the same time as the wedding of some close friends of his when the girl of his dreams found him. Derek claims to have been merely enjoying time with friends at the wedding, not particularly looking for anyone special. Erica's story goes like this...
Erica: "Who is the cute Gringo over there with those Thriller dance moves ?"
Groom's mom: "Oh I'll introduce you." (Mom grabs her arm and drags her over to cute Gringo.)
Groom's mom to cute Gringo: "Hello, my name is Elza. I'd like to introduce you to Erica." (Groom's mom departs and leaves Erica and cute Gringo to chat)
The rest is history!
A little less than a year later, Erica and her Yorkie, Jimi Hendrix, move to the states to live with Derek. Seven months later, he proposes. A month later, they have a civil wedding at our home in Havana, IL. Now awaits a church wedding in her hometown of Aracatuba a few hours plane ride from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
My trip to Brazil will be at the end of June and I hope it will be the first of many trips down there to visit family, learn Portuguese, and site see!
Erica: "Who is the cute Gringo over there with those Thriller dance moves ?"
Groom's mom: "Oh I'll introduce you." (Mom grabs her arm and drags her over to cute Gringo.)
Groom's mom to cute Gringo: "Hello, my name is Elza. I'd like to introduce you to Erica." (Groom's mom departs and leaves Erica and cute Gringo to chat)
The rest is history!
A little less than a year later, Erica and her Yorkie, Jimi Hendrix, move to the states to live with Derek. Seven months later, he proposes. A month later, they have a civil wedding at our home in Havana, IL. Now awaits a church wedding in her hometown of Aracatuba a few hours plane ride from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
My trip to Brazil will be at the end of June and I hope it will be the first of many trips down there to visit family, learn Portuguese, and site see!
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