Saturday, August 30, 2014

EDU 649 Technologies For Teaching & Learning - Week 4 - Webpage Blog






Teaching students who have a limited understanding of the English language can be a daunting task. Since ESL students speak a different language at home, some of them do not know the meanings of simple English words and phrases, and it can be difficult for teachers to communicate with them. Nevertheless, teachers can exercise more patience and try to find the right ways to help to their students become more proficient in the language.
 
Here are a few helpful websites to to find great information and a myriad of ESL lessons.
 
ESL Flow
 
http://www.eslflow.com/


UE Using English.com



http://www.usingenglish.com/

Here is a link to a 10min very helpful pronounciation video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag4qoNzEH4w


Thursday, May 22, 2014

Using A Blog In The Classroom

A blog is much like a very simple version of a website, with a few differences according to the article, How Blogs Work by: Marshall Brain,

  • A blog is normally a single page of entries. There may be archives of older entries, but the "main page" of a blog is all anyone really cares about.
  • A blog is organized in reverse-chronological order, from most recent entry to least recent.
  • A blog is typically public, meaning the whole world can see it and access it.
  • The entries in a blog usually come from a single author.
  • The entries in a blog are usually stream-of-consciousness. There is no particular order to them. For example, if I see a good link, I can throw it in my blog. The tools that most bloggers use make it incredibly easy to add entries to a blog any time they feel like it. (Brain, 2014).
     Using a blog in the field of education is a great technology tool for a variety things. Blogs are a great way to facilitate discussions, replace newsletters by creating a blog publication, you can post videos and documents. Anything that you post to your blog will instantly be accessible by your students from school and from home. What’s more, you can easily manage who gets to access them through passwords and security features.  Students can easily respond to blog posts and discuss topics through comments or in blog forums. You can easily create a custom designed engaging collaborative online publication by your class, with your class or for your class where you can post class information, news, events and the like. You have the ability to embed online videos, multimedia presentations, slideshows and even podcasts.

     You can use comments, forums, or even customized forms to collect feedback, survey data, or ask anyone you’d like to give input or ideas on the blog.
 
 I for one am all for the use of a blog in the classroom!
 
I invite you to view this video on YouTube on how to set up and create a free blog on EduBlog.com, a popular blog hosting site for educators. 
 
 
Now that I have given you a brief overview of what a blog is and how it can be beneficial in the classroom and after you have watched the tutorial above on YouTube I am tasking you with the following:

Create a 1-page blog using EduBlog.com about why you think education is important and use a minimum of 2 online credible references to support your opinions.


1. In this blog I want you to use any other background color but white
2. Use 1 Picture In Your Blog
3. Add a link to  one of your online sources (in addition to citing the reference)
4. Your blog information should be a minimum of 2 paragraphs.
5. Give at least 5 reasons you feel an education is beneficial. Provide answers with critical thought.

If  you have any questions or need any help with this assignment, contact me at least 3 days before the assignment due date by emailing me directly at: xyz@comcast.net or call me during my office hours (Listed in your course syllabus) 1-773-555-5555.


Thank you all and good luck!
 
 

Monday, September 16, 2013

NEW ASSESSMENT & HOLISTIC RUBRIC




Learning Outcome: Sophomore High School History students will remember all the dates that every American war (on American soil) started and show the ability either on paper or verbally express the reasons each of them started.

 

Assessment Strategy: Students are to memorize by analyzing a list of American War dates and their respective reasons for beginning.

 

Assessment Content:
·         By the end of this History Unit, students will be able to identify the year that each American War (took place on American soil) began.

·         By the end of this History unit, students will be able to explain what conflict or reason led to the start of each of these wars.

·         By the end of this History Unit students should be able to engage in a classroom discussion and answer questions from their peers about the History unit we studied.

·         By the end of this History unit, students should be able to identify their own position on the political reasons that each of these wars began or at the very least express whether or not they agree or disagree with the reasoning and explain why.

·         By the end of this History unit, students should be able to work cooperatively in a small group environment.

     

     I will use a combination of assessments to include, multiple choice to assess the memory retained of the years that each American War (on American Soil) began. I will also present essay questions so that the students may explain (in a minimum of a paragraph) why a specific American War began. I will also ask for each student's opinion as to whether or not they agree with the reason for each war and to explain their stance. However, I will also offer a one-on-one performance assessment and a classroom open forum discussion assessment so that I may determine if some students are better able to express their reasoning and opinions verbally rather than in written form. I added the latter assessments after taking this course and realizing the importance of different learning and expressive abilities.

 

Holistic Rubric: (for both essay questions and verbal answers): I chose to use the same rubric for the written assessment as well as the verbal assessment as I will be asking the same questions in both. However, the rubric will include a portion for mechanical and/or misspelling errors for the written portion.

  1. Above Average: The audience demonstrates, either verbally or in written form the ability to easily identify the focus of the work and is engaged by its clear focus and relevant details. Information is presented logically and naturally. There is no disconnection due to mechanical errors and/or misspellings (for the written assessment).

  1. Satisfactory: The audience is easily able to identify, either verbally or in written form, the focus of the student work which is supported by relevant ideas and supporting details. Information is presented in a logical manner that is easily followed. There is minimal disconnection to the work due to misspellings and/or mechanical errors (for the written assessment).

  1. Progressive: The audience can identify, either verbally or in written form, the central purpose of the student work without little difficulty and supporting ideas are present and clear. The information is presented in an orderly fashion that can be followed with little difficulty. There are some misspellings and/or mechanical errors, but they do not seriously distract from the work (for the written assessment).   

  1. Needs Improvement: The audience cannot clearly or easily identify or understand either in written form or verbally, the central ideas or purpose of the student explanations. Information is presented in a disorganized fashion causing the audience to have difficulty following the student's ideas. There are many misspellings and/or mechanical errors that negatively affect the audience's ability to read the work (for the written assessment).

 

Essay test questions:

Question's 1-6. In a minimum of a paragraph each, briefly explain why each of the following American wars took place. The American Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Spanish American War, The Mexican American War, The Civil War & The beginning of WWII (Pearl Harbor attack).

 

Verbal test questions:

Question's 1-6. Spend 2-5 minutes briefly explaining why each of the following American wars began. The American Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Spanish American War, The Mexican American War, The Civil War & The beginning of WWII (Pearl Harbor attack).

 

The American Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Spanish American War, The Mexican American War, The Civil War & The beginning of WWII (Pearl Harbor attack).

The American Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Spanish American War, The Mexican American War, The Civil War & The beginning of WWII (Pearl Harbor attack).

 
Assessment Constraints:

·         The Essay and Verbal portion of this assessment will cover only the specific History Unit that includes the explanations of why each American War began.

·         The Essay portion of this assessment  will allow 20 minutes for each of the 6 questions, allowing a total of 2 hours for the entire essay test.

·         The verbal portion of this assessment  will allow 2-5 minutes for each of the 6 questions, allowing a total of 30 minutes for the entire verbal test.

·         The Essay and Verbal portion of this assessment will be taken following a brief review of all the material and a complete explanation of the assessment expectations and an opportunity for each student to ask any questions prior to the start of the assessment.

·         A bathroom break will be given prior to the start of the essay and verbal test and will not be allowed once test has begun.

·         No talking will be allowed once the test has begun for the essay portion.

·         During the essay portion of the assessment no electronic devices or books or notes will be allowed during the test and only 2 pencils will be allowed on each desk.

 


Monday, August 26, 2013

Why I Choose These Assessment Types...

     For the first learning outcome, I choose a series of visual materials and performance assessments because the learning process and outcome is mainly a visual experience as the students are being taught to access and manuever their personal email accounts online and the only way is to physically and visually do this process.

UPDATED: 082913

However, since I am unable to produce this type of test on this blog, I also choose to present a Matching Test type. I presented the students with seven steps to access their email and they are to put them in numerical order.

     Fot the second learning outcome and assessment I choose a series of objective tests as the students will need to study, learn and need to memorize information, or more specifically the dates of every American war and the reasons they started. I further choose a few different types of tests since all learners are different and may learn or do better on one test over another.

UPDATED: 082913

I presented a Multiple Choice test so the students may choose the correct date that corresponds to the the year an American War began.

I also presented an Essay Question so that the students may exaplain (in a minimum of a paragraph) why a specific American War began.


     Finally, for the last learning outcome and assessments I choose a combination of both performance and objective assessments as the grade level being taught is pre-school and the learning cabability has really yet to be determined in most or all of these children in an educational setting. Both visual aids, learning to write the letters and repetative song may all be needed to help these new learners retain the alphabet. Or perhaps, some strudents will learn to gravitate towards one style of learning over the other.


UPDATED: 082913

I presented a Completion Test, whereas the students need to fill in the missing letters of the alphabet.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Learning Outcomes...


Outcome #1:
Adult students (learning basic computer skills) will learn the basic function of accessing email online.

Assessment Strategy:
Students are to follow a visual step-by-step guide of print-screens from how to turn on a computer to accessing the internet to logging in to a mail server and apply this until they are able to access their email account online.


 
     The type of test to use that would best help me determine if my students have learned how to access their email online would be a performance assessment.
 
1.      I would design a visual aid tutorial packet of simple ‘print screens’ in a step-by-step fashion to allow the student to follow in order to go from turning on their computer to accessing and maneuver their email online by themselves.
2.      I would have sent them each a personal email message with further instructions as to how to reply to my email.
3.      By the end of the class I would then have each student attempt to access their email without any visual aids to determine if they were able to remember how and once again their would be a personal email message in their ‘inbox’ with further instructions in how to ‘reply’ to me.

UPDATED: August 29, 2013
 
Matching test example:

Since I am not able to post print screens of what I would actually provide my students on the blog site or rather this is not acceptable for this assignment, I found an alternative, the matching test type:

 

Write the number on the line next to each set of instructions showing the correct order of each step below to access your email on the internet.

First - 1
_ Click on Internet Explorer icon on desktop
Second - 2
_ Type in user name and password
­­Third - 3
_ Type: www.comcast.net in address bar
Fourth - 4
_ Open email from instructor
Fifth - 5
_ Turn Computer on
Sixth - 6
_ Click on Inbox
Seventh - 7
_ Click on" Email

Outcome #2:
Sophomore High School History students will remember all the dates that every American war started.

Assessment Strategy:
Students are to memorize by analyzing a list of American War dates.



The type of tests to use that would best help me determine if my students have learned or rather memorized the dates of every American war would be objective tests, such as multiple choice, true-or-false, matching and short answer. I would also like to incorporate them learning the reason each war started and would use the same type of tests.

 1.      I would use multiple choice tests to assess if they have memorized the dates correctly, and might I add, memorizing many dates in a subject matter such as this is not as easy as it would seem.

2.      I would give them all a matching test to match up the wars, dates and reasons the war was started.

3.      Finally, at the very end of class, I would expect them to have retained much of this info (hopefully most or all) and I would give a short answer test where they would be required to name the war, the date and the reason it started on their own.

UPDATED: August 29, 2013
 
Multiple Choice test example:

Circle the letter for the correct date for each corresponding American War (a war that started or took place on American soil).

1. The Revolutionary War

a. 1775

b.1865

c.1645

d.1795

2. War of 1812

a. 1801

b. 1712

c. 1812

d. 1925

3. Mexican American War

a. 1846

b. 1848

c. 1912

d. 1812

4. The Spanish American War

a. 1898

b. 1861

c. 1795

d. 1865

5. The Civil War

a. 1961

b. 1861

c. 1795

d. 1865

6. WWII (Attack on Pearl Harbor)

a. 1961

b. 1941

c. 1795

d. 1865

 

Essay test example:

Question 1. In a minimum of a paragraph, briefly explain why The American Revolutionary War began.

Outcome #3:
Preschool students will learn to memorize the alphabet

Assessment Strategy:
The students will be taught the alphabet song and practice singing it until they
have memorized the alphabet


   The type of test to use that would best help me determine if my students have memorized the alphabet would be a combination of performance assessment and objective.

 
1.      I would start by teaching the students the alphabet song and taking period assessment throughout the course of the class by engaging them all in song.

2.      I would also give them a fill-in-the-blank test where the alphabet is laid out but certain letters are missing and the students have to fill in the blanks.

3.      Finally, at the end of the class, i would give the students flash card tests where I would hold up individual flashcards with a letter printed to see if they are able to recognize each letter individually.


UPDATED: August 29, 2013

Completion test example:


Fill in the missing letters of the alphabet.

A B C _ E F G_I J K L _ N O _ Q R S _ U V _ X Y Z