Assignments

Blog Assignment
Set up a Blog. You will use this blog to answer reflection questions for class. You will be assigned reflection questions throughout the semester to answer. You will answer your question, and respond to one other student's blogs. I suggest you follow other's blogs on your dashboard.

Wiki Assignment
Set up a classroom Wiki for one of your classes or a fictional future class.

The wiki must have at least 5 pages. The wiki must have at least 4 different embedded video or widget. One page must be rules for use of the Wiki both at home and at school. The wiki can have a theme (recycling, math, language arts, etc..) or it can be a general wiki for classroom management.

= Classroom Needs Analysis =

One of the important parts of designing a learning activity for a classroom is to identify a need. A needs analysis is a description that is rich and thorough that decribes a need in your classroom. What evidence is there to justify that its a need, what has been done to address it, and what are the ramifications of this need. (ie.. does it interrupt student learning?) etc.. You are to write a 2 to 3 page paper outlining a need that you see in a class that you think a technology might help you address. Include in your description at least a half a page description of the classroom, the teacher, and the students. //Think - Could I identify this classroom if I was wandering down the hallway?// This will lead up to either the teach yourself a technology project or a unit plan where you will plan to teach with a technology..

= Smartboard Assignment = Using the 30 day free trial of the Smartboard Software, choose 2 to 4 PASS Standards (or write 4 learing objectives if in a non-teaching environment) and create 4 different activities using the Smartboard.

One activity must use an interactive website, ,one activity must utilize materials in the gallery, and the other two are your choice. This assignment is due April 4th, 2011.

=Choose Either Unit Plan Project or Teach Yourself a Technology Project=


 * Unit Plan Project **

· A description of your class and resources available. · A clearly defined need that exists in your teaching setting in 1 or 2 paragraphs.
 * The unit must have: **

Design a teaching unit that uses at least 2 kinds of technology that you do not already use everyday. (ie.. I want you to stretch yourself and your skill level). The unit could be several days or class periods long – you will only be expected to teach one lesson.

· A stated objective that is measurable. · A plan for amount of time it will take you to teach the unit. · A use of technology to improve student learning. · A clear explanation of what will happen in the lesson (It should have enough detail so that a qualified educator could teach it in your absence). · Materials created to guide students in the use of technology. · Materials created to assess the objective of the lesson. · Technology materials created for the lesson. · The students actually touching the technology – not just a teacher centered lecture model.
 * Each lesson must have: **

One lesson must be taught in a classroom before April 11. On April 11th you will present your materials and initial reflections to another student in class.

Write a two page single spaced reflection which should address: · The appropriateness of the technology. · The appropriateness of the assessment. (i.e. how the assessment matched the stated objective). · How you would improve the lesson in the future. · How you might improve your teaching skills to have the lesson go better in the future. You will be graded on: The unit plan and details of the individual lesson plans that you plan to teach. The materials that you create for the lessons · Age appropriateness. · Clear directions. · Quality of materials. Your reflection on the teaching of the lesson and what you learned from the process.
 * For that one lesson, you must: **

In the real world, no one teaches you technology, you need to learn it yourself and often you have to teach it to someone else. In class on April 11th, you will take a technology that you had to teach yourself and teach that technology to someone else. If it is something that you cannot bring with you, you should use your video skills to video tape it. Your instruction should include: · Instruction on the basics of how to use the technology. · A handout, cheat sheet, or video – basically something the user can take away to use the product or software in the future. · Please add them to your wiki so that other students can learn too. Rules: · You can use premade materials that you find on the Internet as part of your instruction, **however you need to create something yourself** to use to teach the technology/product to another person. · You will be evaluated by two students on April 11 and Dr. Cullen · Students will rate you on: o How clear your instruction is. o If they could complete the task. o If they could follow your instructions. o If they would be able to start using the product or software on their own. o If they had something they could use on their own. (video, handout) · You will then write a 1 to 2 page reflection on what you learned from creating the materials and how you would do it different in the future. · I will grade you on: o The handout or video and how well you explain the technology. o How well you teach it to someone else (my observations in class) o Your use of examples of why this would be useful to someone else. o How well you provide additional resources to encourage their future learning.
 * Teach yourself a Technology Project **

** Professional Development Plan Project **


 * Task:** You are to create a professional development plan related to your technology skills using the ISTE Standards for Teachers as a Model.

Under each category include the following sections: · Skills I already have in this category. · Issues in my classroom or daily work or my general skills as a teacher that relate to this category. (I.e. why do I need skills in this area) · Short-term professional development plans to address the needs. (include a due date or time line for addressing the concern) · Long- term professional development to address these needs. (Include a due date or timeline for addressing the concern.) · Self-Assessment or goal – How will you measure that you successfully achieved a goal. o Some suggestions could be: § Plan to do a collaborative project with another teacher and ask them for feedback. § Set a goal of what you will be able to do by a certain time. § Identify resources and how often you will use them.
 * Format**: Take each of the major categories of the ISTE standards for teachers.

Here might be a rough example: Under Standard V - Professional Practice · Need: You need to better communicate with parents. · Goal: You want to use a Wiki to improve parent communication. · Create something that you can measure: By this time next year, I will have been able to create 4 different Wiki pages and will feel comfortable updating it weekly. · Short term Plan: I will make a wiki and play around with it. · Long Term Plan: I will find and watch as least 4 videos, subscribe to a master teacher’s wiki, or participate in a learning community about wiki by checking it weekly or subscribing to their RSS feed. · Assessment: First you would see if you have 4 pages and you could survey parents to see if they use it.


 * Possible questions you might have: **

A short term professional development plan would be something like – I will watch a video on wikis so that I know enough in order to set one up. A long term professional development goal is that you will read a book on Wikis or participate in a professional development community to learn more about wikis and develop expertise.
 * What is the difference between long term and short term plans?**

The reason for naming both – you are very busy – when you have a problem that you can identify in your classroom the first step is learning enough to fix it immediately and develop a work around – but that is not truly professional development, it’s a band aid to a problem. If there is a real problem in your classroom or a deficit in your training – you need to think about how you will fix over time and commit to doing that.

It is possible that you may not have a need in one area, but we can always learn more and make plans for more learning. If you find this in more than one category – feel free to ask for suggestions, it means that you might be taking the technology category too literally or may not be thinking about ways you can both improve your classroom and your general teaching skill.
 * What if I don’t have a need in a category?**

Yes, if you still have classes coming that you would like to explore your technology use – beyond perhaps what the teacher suggests – That would be great! For example, if you had a science methods course, you might include in your plan that you will incorporate an article search that involves the use of technology in science as part of your plan. The idea is that a personal professional development plan goes above and beyond coursework you were already intending to take. However, it could include a plan to take an elective. For example, If you were a special education teacher and sought out a course in assistive technology.
 * Can you use your masters program classes – i.e.. can you plan to “double dip”?**

No, in fact, a professional development plan should be something you can achieve in a reasonable amount of time. More goals does not mean better. In fact, the better professional development plan is something that matches your identified needs.
 * Do I need something for every bullet under each standard?**

Use ideas from Chapters 5 and 6 on Web 2.0 and use the extensive resources and sites from the ELL book to establish resources you will use to meet your goals. Pay special attention to the ideas of community that are mentioned in both books – how will you use your fellow teachers, both inside and outside of your graduate program as resources.
 * How do the readings relate to this professional development plan?**

First, if you ever want to obtain a National Teacher Certification, this kind of reflective professional development plan would be useful to you. Also, some districts require or reward this type of plan. Third, it will help you show both parents and administrators that you are staying on top of new techniques in your teaching.
 * Why is it important to do a professional development plan?**


 * Grading:**

This assignment will be worth 50 points.

o Meaningful assessment of your classroom or personal needs. o Short term plans included. o Long term plans included. o Plans have an outcome that can be measured. o Outcome would foster self-assessment and improvement of teaching skills and strategies. o Plan incorporates (and cites) resources from textbooks or other articles.
 * Criteria:**