Part A- Brainstorm Session

For our brainstorming session for our leadership project, we used Web Huddle as our conferencing tool. One group member set up a time and conference and emailed us the link to attend. Upon entering the conference I hooked up my microphone and was ready to chat. Unfortunately, we could not figure out how the facilitator of the conference, (Kathy who set it up) could give microphone rights to other members including myself. I could hear her, but she could not hear me. We decided once Scott one of our other group members entered the conference, that we would have to just use the chat feature to conduct business. Kathy who set up the conference was allowed to upload two powerpoints (that could not contain many slides due to allowed space for the free feature. We were still waiting on Sami our final group member to join the conference before we started discussing the details of our project. Sami had difficulty logging on to the chat and called Kathy and Kathy was Sami's voice during the conference. The advantages of using a web conferencing tool are people all over the world can chat at the same time. Also members can give instant feedback in the discussion. Also another advantage is that all members can look at documents or videos at the same time, essentially creating a climate as if we were meeting face to face. A disadvantage are many technical difficulties like our group experienced. Voice and video features not working properly, members  unable to join, or enter the conference. Also a disadvantage is setting up a time for the conference to actually happen. Members must be at a computer with Internet and video and microphone accessories all at the exact same time, which can be difficult in our busy world. Overall when using a web conferencing tool, I would suggest that all members are familiar with how it operates so it can be conducted smoothly.

Part A- Description of Need or Opportunity

An educational need that I have found in my classroom, is a alternative way for students to take notes on lectures or discussions that does not hinder them from concentrating on the lecture or discussion itself. Also a need for an alternative way to allow students to take notes on lecture material on their own and at their own pace. Many times, my lectures have to pause for students to continue taking notes. This leads me to the conclusion, that my students are not paying attention to the content itself, but only concentrating on writing down the notes during my presentation.

By using Google Notebook as an educational tool in my classroom, students will have access to an electronic notebook that they can store and record all classroom notes derived from my lectures or discussions. Each lecture or discussion along with correlating note presentation (ie. PowerPoint) would be recorded and posted daily on my classroom blog. After students participated and listened to the lecture in the classroom, for homework, they would access the lecture and notes from my blog, and take their own notes electronically using Google Notebook.



Each student and teacher in my district has a school GMail account which allows free access and storage to Google Notebook. Students would be able to take notes on the material covered in class at their own pace. This is beneficial for students of all learning capabilities, because they are given access to assistive technologies for note taking, and can work at their own pace to record the pertinent information needed. Using Google Notebook will also allow students to organize and access all their notes from my class from anywhere with Internet access. This will help students to stay organized and have all their notes in one place.

Often I have found that my lecture is slowed down due to students not being able to write notes quick enough, or a concerned about spelling or wording. I have taken a poll in my classroom, and my students feel that using Google Notebook would be a useful tool that they would use in my class. They conveyed to me that this would allow for more time to participate in discussions rather than focus on note taking.



During this course, I will implement students having access to Google Notebook by setting up their Gmail accounts if not already completed. I will also need to be sure that students will have access and knowledge on how to use Google Notebook before expecting them to use it in my class daily. During this course I will implement a Google Notebook tutorial to my class, and explore all its features.

The portion I plan to implement after this class is recording video of my daily lectures and/or presentations and linking it to my blog. Another portion I will implement after this class is incorporating Google Notebook into my students coursework next year.

Video Intro

http://screencast.com/t/TqeEXl5JZu

CEP 811

I have advanced my knowledge on Educational technology during CEP 811. I have found that teachers really must evaluate how they are going to teach with technology, and not just use it to use it. Integrating technology into the classroom has to be useful and affective for learning to actually take place. Teaching with technology must be useful to all learning styles. This can make it difficult to create a lesson that is not only incorporates technology, but address student learning styles and abilities as well. I have learned throughout this course on how to evaluate technology based lessons, by creating my own, receiving feedback, and evaluating others. Also learning about UDL principals has really made me re think how I teach daily, with or without technology. I met a goal that I had during this course to create my own web based lesson. By creating my stAIR, I learned how difficult it can be to create a self contained lesson that reaches all students. This has made me create a new goal for myself, of creating a web based lesson, that reaches all student of various learning abilities, and applying the principals of UDL to it. My long term goal is to continue to work towards my Masters in Educational Technology. I am happy to say that I was recently accepted into the MAET program and will be continuing to learn on how to be an affective teacher, while using technology.

Online Learning

Being a Social Studies teacher, Online Research is a great way to implement online learning in my classroom. I have found that the research MUST be teacher guided, or else students tend to investigate sources that are not necessarily  credible, and therefore unusable.

Online research can be use for any content in my World History class that I want my students to investigate and analyze in depth. For example, next week I am teaching students about proxy wars that contributed to the Cold War. There are 8 wars that I have to cover in a short period of time. Having students engage in Online research for a specific war, and then share what they learned with the class could be a great lesson that incorporates online learning in my classroom.

Pedagogical strategies that students would be using would be inductive reasoning, because I would provide students with an example of what I want them to find in their research, along with a guide for legitimate sources to use in their search. I would also use deductive reasoning, students would have to evaluate research they find online, and decide if it is credible or not. Then students would have to interpret the research in order to share their findings or what they learned to their peers.

I think a specific online learning experience that would be more difficult to use with my students would be podcast, or video casts. Our school district has little to no technology available for students, and a limited amount of computer labs. With the districts lack of technology to create a podcast or video cast, I could probably not use this in my classroom. I also cannot expect my students to have such technology at home to complete such task, thus making it virtually (no pun intended) impossible to use this technology in my classroom at this time. Hopefully in future years, our district will obtain some current technology that will allow students and teachers alike to utilize online learning experiences often.

Using Wiki

Using Wikipedia was easier than I ever thought. I easily could edit my schools Wikipedia page, and create my own for my classroom. To check out the Wiki I created for my World History students click here.

I also added information to Brighton High Schools Wikipedia page. I the wording about Brighton Area Schools, and added that it was located in Livingston County. It only describes that it was in Detroit Metro Area, but to me having the county would provide a better idea of location. I also made sure that Livingston County was a link, so people could also be connected to that Wikipedia page as well.
Check out the screen shot of my changes here.

UDL Checklist

Below is a checklist of all the features and barriers of my lesson plan "New Identities: Defining Nationalism" based on UDL guidelines. Universal Design for Learning is a framework that provides a way for educators to deliever content so that EVERY and ALL students can learn. This is an innovative way for teachers to approach lesson planning, and makes me re-think how I design my lessons. After going through this checklist for just one lesson, I realize how many barriers there are that may prevent students from learning. Barriers and Features of this lesson are below.



UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist
I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation:

Your notes

1. Provide options for perception


1.1 Offer ways of customizing the display of information

Feature: Content is delivered through lecture and visually through PowerPoint

1.2 Offer alternatives for auditory information

Feature: PowerPoint provides visual of lecture material

1.3 Offer alternatives for visual information

Barrier: Content has no illustrations or visual representation. Students would have create their own mental example

2. Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols


2.1 Clarify vocabulary and symbols

Feature: Providing definitions of elements of Nationalism and allowing for students to create personal examples

2.2 Clarify syntax and structure

Feature: Defining each of the 5 elements of Nationalism, and providing example through US National anthem

2.3 Support decoding of text, and mathematical notation, and symbols

Barrier: No text to speech feature for computer research. Students would have to decode

2.4 Promote understanding across language

Barrier: No translation tools in place. Non-English speaking students would have to have a translator

2.5 Illustrate through multiple media

Barrier: No illustrations or visual examples. Non- linguistic learners would suffer

3. Provide options for comprehension


3.1 Activate or supply background knowledge

Feature: Providing example of elements in the US National Anthem

3.2 Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships

Feature: Giving examples of 5 elements of Nationalism and having students give personal definitions

3.3 Guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation

Barrier: No graphic organizer for note taking. Students would have to take notes without a guide.

3.4 Maximize transfer and generalization

Feature: Having students create their own personal Nationalistic speech incorporating elements

II. Provide Multiple Means for Action and Expression:

Your notes

4. Provide options for physical action


4.1 Vary the methods for response and navigation

Barrier: No alternative options for typing. Students with motor weakness would not be able participate in research and presentation development

4.2 Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies

Barrier: No assistive technology for computer use

5. Provide options for expression and communication


5.1 Use multiple media for communication

Barrier: No options for alternative methods of presentation. Students who have not used a computer based presentation application would not be able to contribute to group work.

5.2 Use multiple tools for construction and composition

Feature: Spell Check

5.3 Build fluencies with graduated labels of support for practice and performance

Feature: Defining 5 elements through personal examples and as a class

6. Provide options for executive functions


6.1 Guide appropriate goal setting

Barrier: No goal setting in place

6.2 Support planning and strategy development

Barrier: No planning guide for research and presentation in place such as a template. Students who cannot plan or organize thoughts well would be lost

6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources

Barrier: No note guide or template for presentation. Students would be required to note take and plan presentation on their own.

6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress

Barrier: No daily progress graph or assessment in place. Students would have to keep their own pace without knowledge of expectations

III. Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:

Your notes

7. Provide options for recruiting interest


7.1 Optimize individual choice and autonomy

Barrier: Only one form of presentation allowed. Students would have to conform to only one way to present

7.2 Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity

Feature: Creation of personal speech or quote using elements along with example of US National Anthem as model

7.3 Minimize threats and distractions

Feature: Keeping students focused in classroom and computer lab by overseeing constantly

8. Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence

8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives

Barrier: No rubric provided for presentation. Students would have to guess on what I was going to assess them on

8.2 Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge

Barrier: No option for alternative presentation. Students would have to conform to one presentation method

8.3 Foster collaboration and community

Feature: Group discussion and group work for presentation

8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback

Barrier: No feedback provided to individuals. Students would be graded based on group presentation

9. Provide options for self-regulation


9.1 Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation

Barrier: No personal goal setting in place. Students would have to set goals individually to complete assignment

9.2 Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies

Barrier: No guidelines for group work. Groups would have to decide tasks for individuals and deal with frustrations individually

9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection

Barrier: No peer or personal review. Students would have to rely on my grading to assess their learning

© CAST 2011