HSA Recap...

May 27, 2009

It has been a week since my LSN students took the Government HSA. Since the exam, I have had students write reflections about what was hard/easy about the exam. Students also had to write about whether the wiki helped them prepare for the HSA. Students responded that the technology resources were a great help to them—one student wanted his other teachers to up their review materials on a wiki too.

One of my favorite comments came from a girl who said that while she was taking the HSA, she could hear my voice explaining items to her. I laughed when she said this, but it is great that the voicethreads were able to help my students retain information.

This summer, I plan to record my AP PowerPoints into a Voicethread format. With the downtime this summer, I will try to get a head start for next year. Many of my AP students saw how my LSN students were preparing and they were jealous.

HSA Prep Update

May 7, 2009

The last three days have gone by very quickly. I have been having my LSN students use my Government HSA Review wiki to prepare for their HSA exam on May 19th. So far, the students have responded very well to the different resources on the wiki. They particularly get a kick out hearing me explain the PowerPoint slides—some of them giggle when they hear me talk because I tried to use a variety of voices to keep the explanations from becoming mundane. This learning experience is a great example of individualized learning since each student can go at their own pace. Even some of my ‘toughest’ students are responding well to the different activities.

With anything new, I have come across some minor errors, though I am fixing them as I go. There have only been minor technical problems, though our mobile laptops can be very slow when they turn on—keeping the students focused during this period has been challenging, but we have been doing practice multiple-choice questions during this wait time.

I am looking forward to see how the students respond to the HSA after spending the next few weeks using this wiki.

Update...

May 4, 2009

I have not written in a while because I have not had anything new to say. Today I begin using my wiki to help my students review for the Government HSA. I am eager to see how all of the students respond to the different resources.

I have been having trouble with www.voicethread.com recently. When I attempt to record audio, the site often is inconsistent with picking up my speech. I have uploaded some commentaries using Audacity, though I am unable to use the scribbling application when I do this. I know it is not just my computer, rather I have tried Voicethread.com with a few different computers and it is definitely a problem with their site.

This morning I applied for this Dream Classroom contest. Carol Fraser sent out an email notifying us about it, and I spent some time last night working on the essay. It was hard keeping the essay under 200 words, but I am pleased with my final product. It would be great to win all a smartboard and other great tech tools.

IPOD Touch

I found it very interesting that the IPOD Touch has the capability of being used in the classroom. The MICCA conference was very beneficial in opening my eyes to the many possibilities and opportunities that we have with integrating technology in the classroom. Since I have an IPOD Touch, I will spend my summer transforming my mind to become a Tech Savvy teacher. My students have IPODs that they attempt to listen to with or without permission in my class. I think it would be great to allow my students the opportunity to use these devices in an educational way.

Paperless Classroom

After attending MICCA 2009, I have sooo many ideas on how to create a paperless classroom.

My hope is that the county will use Moodle.com as a means to grade papers electronically.

Wiki's will be way for me to create an online classroom that is accessible to both students and their parents.

Blogging with be a way for students to demonstrate what they have learned through creative writing.

Podcasting will be a means of teaching my class without standing in front of the whiteboard.

Smartboards in PG

One of the things that I liked about the MICCA Conference were the free demonstrations of the SMART / Promethean Boards. This is high tech, state-of-the-art technology that we really need to be using in the 21st century.

How can schools get SMART/Promethean Boards in their school? Howard, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel County Public Schools are already using these invaluable tools! There should be one in every classroom!

Cybersecurity, Cyberethics, and Cybersafety Seminar

I learned a lot of valuable information that aspiring administrators need to know about Cybersecurity, Cyberethics, and Cybersafety. I learned how to test all of my passwords for free, and how to turn on Microsoft's free firewall to my personal home computer for extra virus and spyware protection too.

I have a lot more to say, but I'll end it here for now.