Web Conferences

The first web conference I attended was necessary as everyone was confused to the group assignment.  It turns out we made it much harder than expected.  It was funny to how five group members got five different interpertations to what was to be done.  I had some group members making the assignment a little too difficult. I was relieved after tuning into the conference that my gut on what to do was correct and in deed it was not that hard.

The second web conference I attended I was truly just a bystander. I had finished my part of the assignment BEFORE attending the conference.  ( WEEK 4)  I was tuning in for any additional announcements and to ensure that I had done it correctly.  Again some classmates were making the assignment way harder than it needed to be. I appreciated how our professor gave us reasoning for all our assignments. She was also very refreshing when telling us that we had no readings because of being summer.

I did tune in on a Sunday or Monday  night for a conference which I guess had been postponed but I never saw the annoucement . Our professor was gone at a funeral I later found out. But I had someone watch my son while I sat there and waited. That was a little frustrating. 

The last web conference was just involving last minute questions. I do wish on the web conferences we could actually talk to each other instead of just typing.

Action Projects for Classrooms

http://wveis.k12.wv.us/teach21/public/project/Guide.cfm?upid=3372&tsele1=4&tsele2=104


In this project 4th grade students in my Social Studies class will create a brochure for new students and visitors. Students must first scale the building and gather data on how many bathrooms, the number of classrooms,  exit doors and so forth.  Students will make a rough draft on a poster size. Later the final drafts will be scaled smaller to make a brochure. There must be a labeled map on the inside of the brochure telling visitors and the community where everything in the school is located.

Standards: RLA 4.3.04     MO 4.4.1  4.4.3   SS 4.04.05  

This task will be difficult for some and for others not.  Students who are not good at drawing or being able to scale items will struggle.  Those who can picture things and can draw will exceed.  In my classroom I would make five groups of four people in each group and allow each group to come up with their own brochure.  

http://www.explorerelementary.org/timetravel.php

I would adjust this project to be about the different Indian tribes covered in our Social Studies book. Students would read about the tribes that came to Texas.  We would then divide into groups, assigning each group a tribe.  Students in groups would research their tribe using the internet and library sources. The groups are focusing on four areas:  geographical location, how they get their food, government, and gender roles. Each group must also contain three other facts about their tribe.  Students will make a poster about their tribe and present it to the class. As a whole class we will then look for similarities and differences among the tribes and make a venn diagram. All material will be posted in the room. To integrate the writing standards students will then write a personal narrative pretending they were part of the tribe and taking us through daily routines and describing life. Once the writings are completed students will be able to make their writing into a storybook adding illustrations.

This will be a long and perhaps difficult task for many as writing does not come naturally. Our students are not familiar with research and taking notes.  Many students will try to plagiarize and not include enough facts.

Standards: ELA 4.7 4.10 a-d 4.13b  4.15a-d 4.16ab 4.23
Social Studies 4.1 a-d 4.7bc 4.10a 4.15


http://wveis.k12.wv.us/teach21/public/project/Guide.cfm?upid=3464&tsele1=141&tsele2=105

In this project students will pick a historian or public figure that made an impact on Texas History. Students will do research on their figures in library class after reading about the historians in Social Studies class.  The art teacher will assist by doing a lesson on drawing others. Students will be required to print a picture of their figure and take the picture to art class to work on a sketch. All final work will be displayed in the hallways for parent teacher conference and gallery walks by other school personnel.

This task will not be difficult as students will have all the facts about their person in front of them. The student will have to organize the information to write an essay about their person. For non drawers the sketch will be difficult.

Standards: ELA 4.15a-d  4.23
Social Studies 4.2 a-e  4.3bc  4.5bc  4.10b
Jessica Sherwood

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Hello everybody. Here are my three project based learning projects.
Project number 1 will be on science. The project will be to learn several different things about bees such as: how long do they live, how do they make honey, and the most interesting part is how do they communicate with each other?

To begin we must find out what type of animal is a bee? Is it an mammal, insect, what? Then find out about its body and the body parts. Then, see how long they live, as well as, what type of society do they have inside of the hive and what is each individual bee’s work. From there we will go to see how does the honey making process take place and how communication between the bees influences the honey making process as well.

Standards: science SC.O.2.2.01
identify that plants and animals have different structures.

SC.O.2.2.02
identify the structures of living things including their systems, and explain their functions (e.g. wings for flying).

The link to access the project is the following:
Honey making process - 2nd grade science.

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For the second project we will do it on language arts and science. This project is done around the concept of recycling. For the language arts part the students using the internet will find pictures of things that can be recycled with the help of the their teacher. After that step is done while working in teams each student in their science notebook will paste a picture of something recyclable and write a paragraph about it. In the paragraph they need to write they will explain what does the recycling number inside the recycling logo mean.

For the science part of this project the student will bring in a recyclable bottle in which they will cut out a part of it to turn the bottle into a flower pot where they will grow a flower.

standards: reading language arts: RLA.O.2.2.11
use a variety of sources to gather information to communicate with others (e.g., dictionaries, informational books, pictures, charts, indexes, videos, television programs, guest speakers, graphic organizers).

science: SC.O.2.1.1
interpret science as the human’s search for an understanding of the world by asking questions about themselves and their world.

The link to access the project is the following:
Language arts and science project - RECYCLING.

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My third and final project will be on mathematics. I found this great project about saving money and how to spend it. Independently of that the project itself gave me an idea of how to apply it to my own students at my school and it will be the following. The students in my class will learn what a savings account in a bank is and how to manage it.


In the following paragraph are the instruction on how the students can earn money to put into their savings account.

Every time a student brings in their homework done in a clean manner and scores at least an 90 or more they will get money for it in the form of play money. Then every two weeks they will get an opportunity to check their savings account balance and see if they want to buy a nice candy. In addition to that, there will be additional incentives to earn money such as cleaning tables, sharpening pencils, helping to clean the classroom, or even help someone in an area they do not understand clearly - kind of being a little tutor.

Additionally there will be a time slot during math class that will cover the basic of buying things in a store. Here they will be able to add, subtract, multiply and probably even divide! We will be doing word problems that relate to the real world thus they can feel how money works just like their parents think about it. For example, here is a simple problem to work out. John’s father earns 6 dollars an hour if he works for 10 hours can he buy a radio at walmart that sells for 28 dlls?

The link for the idea of the project that gave the base to design my own project is this one:
Math - savings account and real world money problems.

Standards: N/A from link above.
SE2.3D Determine the value of a collection of coins up to one dollar
Jesus Aldape
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My first project will be the Bridges Project for high school students. The students have to write a bridge proposal addressed to the governing body. The proposal has to include information about the bridge and design plans.  This is where the students can get English credit.  Another part of the project is to build scale models of the bridges they proposed.  This is their Physics credit.

http://www.virtualschoolhouse.net/b_o.htm

Standards 5.G.2

My second project is Crime Scene Investigation for secondary students. This project pertains to many required core classes. Students have to read information, create reports, complete experiments, and solve problems.  It really incorporates collaborative learning also.  It can be done with a group of “investigators” working together to solve a mystery.  The Biology classes at my school actually did something similar but not as deeply involved with other classes.

http://connectedcalifornia.org/curriculum/integrated_units

Standards: 11-12.RI.3, 11-12.SL.3, 11-12.L.6
My third project is Watts in your House for Secondary students. In this project students pick some of their appliances and record the amount of time each is used for one month.  Then they calculate the watt-hours and kilowatt-hours the machine is used.  Multiply by the rate per kwh and they get an estimated cost of using the appliance.  The second part of this project is using what they learned and determining a way they can save energy. This uses mostly math and some science to accomplish the tasks.

http://www.salvadori.org/curriculum/wattsinyourhouse.pdf

Standards: 6.SP.5

Jeremy Schrodt

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My first project is built for a large age range of students, however, I will be using it for High School age students in my World Geography class.  In this project students will learn about food and culture.  They will be able to learn about both culture, nature, gardening, nutrition from all around the world.  

http://www.21stCenturySchools.com/Food_and_Culture.htm

TEKS:  9.A

My second project is a continuation of the nutrition around the world.  Students will reflect on their own diet and health status.  They will connect this to the impact of nutrition and welfare of societies around the world.

http://connectedcalifornia.org/downloads/curriculum/GoodEats_CA.pdf

Standards:  S.ID.3, F.IF.3, F.IF.6, 11-12.RI.7, 11-12.SL.1, 11-12.L.6

In my third project, I will be using it in both my health and History classes.  The students will research the influence of tobacco throughout history.  They will research it as an economic factor, and also its global impact of individual and public health.

http://connectedcalifornia.org/downloads/curriculum/WaitingtoInhale_CA.pdf

Standards:  8.EE.8, 9-10.W.8, 9-10.W.9

Resource Tools: Nabble and Animoto

Nabble.
 It creates free forums and embeddable apps.  I can create a blog, newspaper, mailing lists, or photo gallery.  Blogs have become so prominent in this technology run time and here is an easy site to create one.  Being embeddable is nice because you can add it to your website or webpage and all the functions work. This would be helpful in adding more information to a website or allowing others to add comments to something you have posted. This is just another way for teachers to supply material in another format that varying students can learn from.

My second Web 2.0 tool is Animoto.  You can create 30 second videos using still images and add in music or voice over.  This could be used for a student to present a small project or for teachers to present small bits of information. I see this as being used as a bell ringer where I play the quick clip and the students respond to the prompt or free write their input/opinion on the topic.

Technology Resources

Exploring technology is very important and keeping up with the latest tools is imperative for students to be successful. There are so many free resources at our fingertips. Teachers must take their time to educate themselves and become familiar with these resources.  Students must be able to explore and learn on their own in the classroom while enjoying class. For these reasons I chose two tools to share with other educators.

https://cramberry.com


This site allows students to make their own flash cards or use pre made flash cards in the system.  Students can create a free account and browse flash cards.  Cramberry analyzes students progress and shows cards that students need help with more frequently. Flash cards can be stored with all users of cramberry. Thus classmates can study and share together.  Cramberry is on ipod, ipad, and the i phone.  I chose this site because flash cards were an important part of my learning. Flash cards allow students to learn and memorize terms. A lot of the time with my students the trouble begins with a lack of exposure to the word and being unfamiliar with the terms.

www.academicskillbuilders.com

Educational video games that are aligned with standards and researched base.  Students can play with others in the class or as individuals. Students set their own password and can give it out to other students to join their game.  Students are allowed to play games by grade level allowing students to work on their academic level.  Students are required to make rapid responses while using strategy.  Four academic areas are addressed on this site: math, language arts, vocabulary, and thinking skills.  Therefore, all parts of math are present, typing, spelling, geography, and word relationships.  My students love to play games on the computer, they view that as a reward.  I am always looking for sites that are not blocked by my district and that allow students to think critically while having fun.  

As a principal of the school I would encourage teachers to allow students to have computer time daily to engage in one of these sites, even for 15min.  I think students need to see that learning can occur in all faucets and can be enjoyable.  My students at my school do not have computers at home or internet access, therefore, any time allowed on the computer is treasured. The boys really enjoy playing games against each other and tracking scores. Both these sites report progress to the teacher which allows teachers to have more data students and to assess students’ needs.

READWRITETHINK Resource

A Web 2.0 tool that I have never used before is the READWRITETHINK Printing Press. This is an interactive tool that helps you create a newspaper, brochure, flyer, or booklet. After researching this tool, I realized it is very easy and simple to use. You simply click on the type of document desired, choose the layout, and you let the printing begin. As the principal of my school, I would definitely encourage all the staff to introduce this tool to the students. Because Writing is one of our focus subjects, and this tool can be adapted to all grade levels, everyone can use it to increase students’ writing skills. I would begin with the 4th grade teachers and the Academic Team and have them familiarize themselves with this tool, have their students use it in the classroom, and then have the team introduce the READTHINKWRITE Printing Press to the rest of the staff during one of the vertical planning sessions. I believe the students would be engaged and would surely improve their language and writing skills. Check it out!
(information retrieved from: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listweb20s.html)

draft action research

Steps to follow in Action Research == Discipline Plan
Describe the problem and area of focus.	4th grade gen ed students at LS are receiving too many referrals. It is imperative that the faculty develop and implement a consistent plan for discipline. This plan must include rewards and consequences.
Define the factors involved in your area of focus * curriculum *student outcomes *instructional strategies *class	There are many factors that affect how a student learns or behaves.  Rewards and consequences will be a factor.  As well as the class size. I must take into account the student-teacher relationship.  A student’s home life is also important.  Ability in academics is a determining factor.
Develop research questions.	How can we help improve the student/teacher relationship? What are ways to increase the student’s academic ability?  How can we identify struggling learners earlier?  How can we reward those for positive behavior?
Describe the intervention/innovation to be implemented.	Using data from behavior issues to classroom data we must identify if a relationship exists between a struggling learner and behavior? Also, how does SES affect behavior?  Once we use the data we must implement rewards for positive behavior and then also put into place a school wide reward/consequence plan.
Develop a timeline for implementation.	Review all referrals from the beginning of the school year for 4th grade.  May make a reference to all referrals school wide. Review data thru mid Nov of 2011.  Form a committee in Nov to develop a school wide plan and put into place after winter break.
Describe stakeholders.	Stakeholders are the 4th grade gen ed teachers, myself, and both principals, As well as students, parents, and the behavior committee. Counselor too.
Develop a list of resources to implement the plan.	Have students make rules that are consistent throughout the building.  Hold assemblies to honor Commended Cavaliers (those showing good behavior).  Have a monthly Commended Cavalier from each class.  Make consequences and rewards the same in each classroom.  Make sure each behavior offense is treated the same.  Have a teacher mentor for behavior students and for struggling students.  The counselor will form groups to work with these students.
Describe the data to be collected.	Student academic data will be collected to identify strugglers and to see if there is a correspondence with negative behavior. Referrals will be collected for repeated offenders. All behavior logs from 4th grade teachers will be reviewed for incidents and the person committing the incident.  Backgrounds of students will be examined.
Develop a data collection plan.	A journal and excel spreadsheet will be used to correlate backgrounds/academics to negative behavior.  This will help us intervene immediately and assist those who are constantly showing bad behavior.
Develop an analysis plan.	Comparisons from referrals at the beginning of the year will be used with the end of the year.  Academic performance will be analyzed also to see if improvements were made.
Carry out the plan.	Make sure each teacher is abiding by the plan and being consistent.
Report the results.	The committee will meet biweekly to make adjustments and to review results. Shared data and results will be given at a staff development at the end of May.

Chapter 2_ dana text

I wasn't familiar with the term action research before this class. However, now I am gaining perspective on action research, and I realize as teachers and administrators the process is used frequently. However, I am skeptical on just how much the WHOLE process is used or just steps of action research. Most decisions that occur at a school have had research done to determine the best solution.   As we learned in the text, action research is used in every degree of education. From school performance, to staff development action research exists. 

I highly recommend teachers and administrators who are not familiar with action research to become comfortable with it and implement action research in their school.