KEYSTONE PROJECT :)

Coaching Plan:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d7s-Sj83DeDQSp_uC0pjCB5SiAHOvg3fJqecax0omG0/edit?usp=sharing

Lesson Plan:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IZXzoy9sbu9gWL_3mu4ZCBePY2EzyFEFR3jHBkJgte4/edit?usp=sharing

Implementation:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AtYeciXiHD9_D2vfCujbzz0XLZ_ejn2M6yi9e4HjZx0/edit?usp=sharing

Rubric:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rVcReo0hyY-YJyVnpR8hmMqoP4Af3mKB9kzOiV75TnI/edit?usp=sharing

Reflection:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11PhdDLs0YkeaKJWMEmte1McNSpuogepd5YOqfD0F7T8/edit?usp=sharing

Week #13-Putting Things Together

1.    Think back to your many experiences with well-designed learning, both in and out of school. What was the most well-designed learning experience you have ever encountered as a learner? What features of the design- not the teacher's style or your interests-made the learning so engaging and effective? (Design elements include challenges posed, sequence of activities, resources provided, assignments, assessments, groupings, site, and teacher's role.) Briefly describe the sign.
Thinking back to my experiences as a learner, I would say that most of my teachers had a similar style of teaching. In my opinion, it wasn't necessarily wrong, but it was far less engaging than the teaching styles of today. 
In elementary school a majority of instruction was teacher directed, with occasional time for collaboration among peers. The teacher would review the previous day's lesson, introduce a new concept, give you time to independently practice concept, then close the lesson only to revisit it the next day if necessary. We often worked out of text books and utilized worksheets to practice newly learned concepts. Most assessments, that I remember, were at the end of the week or unit-there was not a daily assessment to check for student understanding. However, there is always that 1-2 teachers that stood out, and impacted you through their original teaching and attitude. My fifth grade teacher was the one that influenced me and aided in my decision to teach; she believed in me, created lessons/instruction that was student-centered, and integrated collaborative projects into the curriculum. We had a class newspaper, that each student contributed to-I remember feeling so proud and valued, as she made each student feel that his/her contribution was needed and valuable. This same teacher often integrated projects, in which parents and/or volunteers would need to come in and assist in the process. Everything was hands-on and she worked hard at getting parents involved in the educational process-I think that makes a huge difference. Most of my memories of  elementary school are related to experiences in that class-that is a true indication of the effectiveness of her teaching. 
In middle school and high school, instruction was quite similar. However, the lessons were more fast paced and there were times where students would be working together on a collaborative project. During collaboration, students were often not engaged and off-task, working out of a textbook or other resource to locate information for the purpose of answering questions and sharing out. The teachers I remember most during these years are the ones that forced us to think critically and creatively, such as: creating a children's book, and constructing a bridge out of limited resources. Some projects were done independently and some within a group, but the difference with these teachers was their ability to create lessons that required you to expand your thinking and forced you to collaborate and share ideas. 
Unlike in today's educational system, technology was not much of an option and you only saw it in the library-you were lucky to use it a handful of times during the year. I don't recall having small group, differentiated instruction, but do remember feeling uncomfortable and like a failure if I didn't understand certain concepts(one particular teacher that had the "one size fits all approach"). 
2.    In sharing your recollections and analyses with your peers, build a list of generalizations that follow from the accounts. What do well-designed learning experiences have in common? In other words, what must be built in by design for any learning experience to be maximally effective and engaging for students. 

In order for a learning experience to be maximally effective and well-designed, it seems to need to include the following:

• Collaboration
• Exploration (Backwards Design)
• Integration of technology
• Higher-Order Thinking questioning
• Immediate and continual feedback/reinforcement
• Student centered/Teacher guides and facilitates
• Differentiation
• Small group instruction
• Connection to students
• Appeal to a variety of learning styles
• Explicit goals and clear objective
• Assessment

3.    Where in your school or the school that you are observing are the characteristics of best design most likely to be seen in action? In what programs and subject areas would we most expect to see these characteristics, compared with other programs or subjects? Are there any patterns, If so, why?
In the school I teach in you would most likely see the characteristics of best design in the upper elementary grades (4-5), and specifically in math, science, and social studies. I feel like teachers are not aware of the capabilities of the younger students, as far as technology goes, so they avoid implementing it within the classroom. I also think that there is a minimal amount of collaboration time because the younger students (K-3) need more structure and guidance, as opposed to the more mature students. In all grades and across all subjects, teachers make students aware of the objective, provide small group instruction, assess, provide feedback, and ask H.O.T questions. However, the utilization of technology, student centered activities, and collaboration are more seen in classrooms where students are more mature and self-motivated. 
I believe that technology and collaboration is often seen in math, science, and social studies because these subjects appeal to exploratory learning and collaboration. Students are required to work together to explore and understand a given topic/concept and technology is a helpful tool in the process. Since learning about the variety of technological resources available, I have realized that technology is just as good a tool for ELA, as there are an abundance of reading and writing resources available to enhance instruction and engage students.  

4.    After a study of sample units, and one of your own designs, edit or amend your list of characteristics of the best designs, as appropriate.

The best characteristics of instructional design are as follows: 

• Identifying a clear objective 
• Consider the different learning styles of students
• Establish criteria for assessment/ Student awareness of expectations
• Hands-on Collaboration
• Technology integration
• Student-centered: Allow them to be part of the planning process/Instruction based on feedback
• Differentiation
• Social-Constructivist Approach/ How to Learn 
• ICT's for the purpose of research and exploration

Week #12- Edmodo to Enhance Student Learning

Edmodo Code: hb7ii9

How can teachers use Edmodo to enhance instruction?
Edmodo is a social media website that features a wide variety of tools and resources to enhance and promote student learning. Much like Facebook, it appeals to the virtual senses. Some of the features that would be helpful for teachers are the ability to quickly assess using online polls/quizzes, monitoring student growth by tracking a student's progress over time, utilizing tools to promote student collaboration(writing projects, science probes, project based learning, and school clubs). Teachers are also able to follow different subjects(specific and/or general) in order to find resources and ideas. 
Some of the features beneficial to teachers and students, in that they provide clear and focused tasks, easy access, and immediate feedback are the: discussion boards, Edmodo planner, and downloadable apps. The discussion boards allows for students and teacher to collaborate and extend instruction on a given subject; students are able to share their thinking and enhance their understanding through virtually engaging, and non threatening discussions. The Edmodo planner is helpful and efficient, as students are able to access and complete assignments even when they are absent from class. Students are able to stay informed and are aware of deadlines as they are approaching. Teachers can utilize the planner to keep the parents informed as well, and to organize assignments, quizzes, and polls. The apps are downloadable games, videos, and/or media rich content that the teacher can assign to specific groups, or members of a group, to enrich student learning and/or to provide remedial work. 
Overall, Edmodo is an efficient social media site that allows for collaboration among parents, students, and teacher and that alone is reason enough to use it. Edmodo saves time and keeps the students informed and organized, which leads to the enhancement of their learning. Teachers can quickly access progress reports, which allows them to differentiate instruction accordingly. 

Week #12- Google Earth Exemplar

In week #11 we had to create a lesson incorporating Google Earth. I chose to enhance a Westward Expansion lesson I had done, and chose Google Earth for students to trace the route/locations along the Erie Canal.

Here is a Prezi presentation showing students how to utilize Google Earth to complete the assignment.

Google Earth Exemplar:
http://prezi.com/psc11_m3w4h-/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Week #11: Technology Integration and Measuring Effectiveness

Here is the link to my lesson:

I integrated Google Earth into a lesson I did on Westward Expansion: A Boy's Journey on the Erie Canal.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Zwubm5kpuGB28FiSjWNMv2HOqFWEU_Z3QodQVDbK778/edit?usp=sharing

Using Gaming Literacies to Cultivate New Literacies

Assignment #2
For this assignment we had to read the article: Using Gaming Literacies to Cultivate New Literacies. After reading the article we had to choose a game and answer the following questions.

Green Ranch:


1. What gaming elements provide users the learning content and how?

Text: The game had a variety of textual elements that made it easy to understand the rules of the game, as well as navigate your way through each level. In the beginning it gives you a brief tutorial explaining the overall purpose of the game and it allows the player to choose a mode in which they would like to play in (easy/advanced). There is an engaging comic script in the beginning that establishes the crisis of the game and motivates the player to identify a solution. During game play there are several captions, drop down boxes, pop-up words, arrows, and images that guide you through the process of creating a well-preserved farm and save it from becoming a chemical waste plant. Text boxes also display awards, challenges, and a breakdown of things that were harvested and things ready to be sold. 

Visual: The game has colorful and engaging graphics, comic script narratives, and a aerial image/map of the farm that you are attending to. The player is in control of the decisions the character makes, and manipulates them according to the task at hand. Graphics give the player a picture with matching task, so the player understand what needs to be accomplished and a visual image of what that looks like. There are highlighted areas on the map to guide the player, as he/she makes decisions regarding the farm/harvesting. Awards are given when tasks are complete and the player moves on to the next level. 3D images and effects give the player a realistic feel, while they watch the progression of their work and observe the changes on the farm as a result of his/her decisions.

Audio: There is sound throughout the game that changes according to the task and time remaining to complete the task. The player understands when they are successful on a given task based on the rhythm and tone of the music, and they understand when time is running low on a given task due to the changing of the rhythm and tone. The player has the option to turn the music off.Audio prompts signal players when they have completed a task and are ready to move on to the next level, and the realistic atmosphere makes it easy to get lost in the agricultural world of this farming game. 

3. What are rules of playing this game?
The goal of the game is to relinquish the farm by completing a series of realistic farming task, such as: planting, sowing, harvesting, and selling crops in order to save the farm from becoming a chemical waste plant. After completing each task, the player is awarded and is a step closer to saving the farm from its destructive fate. 

 4. Does this game have any scenario design? If yes, is this a fabricated or embedded in curriculum-related content?
I believe this game has a fabricated scenarios design. The player is motivated to complete each task with a clear goal in mind. It relates to the conceptual thinking of the player, in that they must make responsible, critical decisions related to real life problems. It is an entertaining game that takes a lot of practice in order to achieve the desired result. 

Assignment #3
We had to use our creativity and imagination to create a game scenario/script for a game design.

Link to my game: 
http://prezi.com/s3an2hxd0jcs/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Link to my video: 
C:\Users\Erin and Shawn\Documents\spellingbees.swf

5 Technology Integrated Lesson Plans

Lesson 1: Why the West was Best!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16FMc1kXdFPzqUX5EFUvm8lerUJu35eyueawEK7uyQRc/edit?usp=sharing

Lesson 2: Transportation "Prezi" Mobile

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TGl2ypo7Ci1KAX4i27CwGptwKdenBS6UCNk8bECVJnw/edit?usp=sharing

Lesson 3: Hardships on the Trail

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Em9LDRAtEN7pX_11FQugJEiqZsxrAbzVoEH_jB_mC80/edit?usp=sharing

Lesson 4: Pioneer Virtual Diorama/ Jing


Lesson 5: A Day in the Life of a Pioneer