Moodle - I Get It!

 Out of all the projects I have had to complete for the course Instructional Applications of the Internet, the CMS project has been by far the most challenging.  I do realize that we learn more and grow more when we are challenged verses doing things that are easy.  Yes, completing things that are easy certainly help with our self-efficacy.  However, when we face challenging tasks and are able to work through and learn, the internal reward of accomplishing the task is far greater than the boost of self-efficacy from completing easy tasks.

Moodle is new to me.  And I am grateful for the opportunity to learn Moodle despite the frustration and stress that it might have caused me.  Moodle is a free server that enables people to design and create course management systems.  Blackboard Learn is another server for CMS.  All of my online graduate courses are through Blackboard and are examples of using CMS.  The biggest struggle for me initially with the Moodle project was simply seeing the purpose of using it in my current curriculum.  After playing around with the tools, I learned how to set-up tasks, folders, assignments, upload files and links, crate pages, quizzes, forums, chats, wikis, and include tools for RSS feeds, glossary of science terms, assignment calendar, viewing online participants, and creating the grade book.  The most positive aspect of Moodle is that it enables an educator or person to organize a variety of materials to be accessed and provides opportunities for people to interact and communicate.  Although I focused my Moodle for 5th grade science, CMS can certainly be used in the business realm as well.

In the future, I can see using Moodle in my teaching.  It would be great to be able to incorporate Moodle as part of stations in science.  If I had a  few computers, laptops, tablets, or iPads available for my students to use, I could include weekly assignments at a computer station on Moodle.  Although I do not have that current set-up, I have considered using Moodle to upload the internet resources, assignments, and projects I currently have my students complete throughout their 5th grade year in science.  I could design it specifically for topics and then have students access the materials through Moodle as we begin and work on a task.  This would be a great place for  me to organize my entire curriculum rather than having files saved individually on my school's server.  As with any new technology or tool, I must learn it first before I see the benefits of using it in my teaching.  I certainly see a purpose for Moodle and am excited to begin using it this next school year.

Good Instructional Websites Take Time

All planning of units and lessons take time to create.  The first part is identifying the audience and standards that the unit will aim to meet.  Then it is important to establish specific learning goals and targets that the students will achieve at the end of the unit.  Afterwards comes the designing of assessments (formative and summative) along with the instructions and activities to which student will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to meet the learning goals and targets. 

I have done a couple instructional websites prior to the assignment in the course instructional applications of the internet.  Although each instructional website is unique in structure and learning experience, one thing remains constant for all: it takes time to create a good instructional website.  The planning and designing phase certainly takes time as with any good unit and lesson.  However, instructional websites have an additional element that units and lessons with out technology do not have.  Instructional websites require time to create the actual website as well as all of the resources and materials to be used and uploaded onto the website.  It takes time to create the materials to be uploaded and then to organize the website so it is easy to navigate and access the materials.  If students struggle to navigate and access materials, then there is a greater risk of students not learning the information defeating the purpose of the instructional website.

I strongly feel that instructional websites have their place in education at all grade levels.  For younger students, the website could focus on developing reading skills and learning math concepts.  Then, as students get older the instructional website would provide opportunities to acquire more depth of knowledge pertaining to the learning goals and targets.  Additionally, instructional websites promote growth in 21st century knowledge and skills.  Of course the instructional website has to be designed and implemented in a means to achieve certain 21st century skills.  From my experience of using instructional websites in my classrooms, the results are worth it!  My students showed tremendous growth especially in 21st century knowledge and skills that I believe otherwise they would not have gained.  Although instructional websites take time, I am all in favor of using them.

Wikis - Keeping an Open Mind

I have to admit out of all the technologies I have learned and used thus far in my Master's program, Wikis are my least favorite.  Although Wikis are not my favorite, they do have a place and purpose in education.  For this reason, I try to keep an open mind about Wikis. 

The reasons I do not care for Wikis is partially due to the design of the project correlated to using the Wikis.  Both experiences have been for collaboration purposes, which means group projects.  Group projects are important because they promote experience to develop 21st century skills in communicating, working with others, and producing a product.  Working in groups presents challenges of their own.  Typically one person dominates and several others do not participate much.  Additionally, everyone in the group has their own schedules and pace at which they work to complete a project.  In the end the work does get done, but not without some good stress and frustration.

So far, my Wiki experience for Instructional Applications of the Internet has not been too overwhelming.  The most challenging aspect is finding good research for my section of the Wiki.  The topic is on Instructional Websites and I am to focus on the "purpose of instructional websites."  Although there is research on using technologies in education, we are still on the cutting edge of implementing and using these technologies.  This has made it difficult to find good resources that discuss purposes of instructional websites.  Thankfully, I have a good, hard working small group, so I know we will complete are section of the Wiki and meet the goals of the group project.

Podcasts

Podcasts do have a place in education.  Podcasts can be used as archives for teacher instructions or information for lessons, projects, or a form of assistive technology for special needs.  For my podcast project I focused on giving directions for a lab.  To relate the podcast to my overall topic of safety and the scientific method, I focused on guiding students through the Show Classification Lab.  The lab focuses on making good observations and the reason for a classification system in science.

I used the program Audacity to create my podcast.  Last semester I had to download the program for a graduate course, so I was already familiar with the editing software.  In recording my podcast, I found I stumbled on my words while giving directions.  For this reason I found it easier to record in sections, which also created smaller sections for when I edited the voice recordings later.  The first time I recorded my voice, the microphone volume was too loud.  The second time I made sure to lower the microphone volume, but then later normalized the sound level when editing.  The music I selected for the introduction, transition, and conclusion had to be mp3 format.   I was not able to use any music I purchased through i-tunes.  For the music I found I had to lower the sound level by using the Auto Duck effect.  Additionally, I used the Fade In and Fade Out effects to make the transitions better.  

The podcast was fun to produce.  I was able to use creativity while constructing an educational resource.  Being able to be creative while designing units and lessons is an aspect of my profession I enjoy.

WebQuest vs. Instructional Website

As this week progressed, I learned my initial idea of a WebQuest was not entirely accurate.  My impression of a WebQuest was more along the lines of an instructional website.  A WebQuest poses a problem or purposes which informs the audience of their role.  For example, students are finding waste polluting the environment around them, such as lakes, water, and streams as well as parks and playgrounds.  The students could be challenged to write a letter to the towns mayor addressing the environmental issue and posing a possible solution in order to improve the current issues as well as prevent further environmental damage.  The WebQuest would then have students work through a process of researching environmental issues, learning how to write a formal letter, and then having the students complete the assignment.  

An instructional website focuses more on developing a certain concept or idea through connections and interactions of information and materials.  The instructional website should apply more of Bloom's taxonomy in developing a deeper understanding of a specific concept.  Like the WebQuest, it is appropriate to engage the students by challenging them to take on a specific role.  My confusion between the WebQuest and the instructional website was that the WebQuest has a defined role or purpose, where as the instructional website focuses more on developing the knowledge and skills through step by step information and interaction.  The instructional website should introduce a concept, have the students practice a concept, and then apply the concept in an interactive assignment.  Instructional websites can take on many forms and purposes depending on the learning goal where as a WebQuest should always have a purpose or problem to be solved or completed.

  As the class continue to progress I know that I will continue to learn and better understand the use and purpose of each tool in the classroom.  That is the point and purpose of the courses in my Master's program.   The more we are challenged, the better we learn and retain the information and skills taught.  I am grateful  for those opportunities because it helps me grow as a professional educator and I am better able to provide my students with an adequate education that provides them with the necessary knowledge and tools to be successful in the 21st century.

WebQuest...making progress!

One of my favorite parts of teaching is being able to design and implement lessons for my students to gain knowledge and understanding of concepts.  I have found in my Master's courses that I have been challenged to create lessons and units that effectively integrate technologies.  This has encouraged me to redesign my current curriculum and improve upon what I already do in the classroom.

 The WebQuest assignment has been a great distraction from the overwhelming discussions because it forces me to get back to what I enjoy doing.  My focus for the WebQuest is the Scientific Method.  Ironically, this is one of my weakest units in my curriculum.  Yet it is one of the most important units in science because it creates the foundation of scientific inquiry, which is the premises of science.  After writing my WebQuest proposal, I was ready to dive into the project full force.  I did use QuestGarden.com to help guide me through building my WebQuest.  The only previous experience I had with WebQuests was back in undergrad and I do not remember taking much from the lesson.  Probably mostly due to the fact that I had no real application for the WebQuest.  However, this has been a much different experience and much better considering I am able to work on improving my Scientific Method unit. 

QuestGarden is an excellent template for designing WebQuests.  While designing your WebQuest, Quest Garden periodically has you stop to reflect to ensure you are proceeding in the right direction with your design.  The most challenging aspect of the WebQuest was finding good online resources that were grade level appropriate.  QuestGarden attempts to help with this process.  However, I did find that I had to search the internet myself in order to find my resources.  Some of the better resources available are through educational sites such as Glencoe McGraw-Hill and Ohio Resource Center.  There are other great sites with resources, but those are two that I found to be useful for my WebQuest.

I'd like to end this blog on a more positive note than last weeks.  I do feel like I am finally making progress in this class and feeling less overwhelmed by focusing on the task at hand.  I cannot control the discussion boards and the overwhelming number of postings.  But I can focus on completing my work with the big projects and making sure I am learning as I need to in this course. 

Self-efficacy and Perseverance

As I sit to write my 2nd Blog, I am attempting to relax and not feel stressed by the numerous conversations I am following in Blackboard Learn, RSS feeds (classmates Blogs and professional sites), and Twitter.  Every time I log on to Blackboard Learn, Blogger, or Twitter I am overwhelmed by the number of postings I have to read.  It is to the point that every time I log on I feel that I am already behind in the course, but in reality I am not.  This is not my first rodeo, so I know it will get better.  In my psychology class today with Dr. Was, we discussed self-efficacy or self-concept.  People who have a higher self-efficacy are more successful because they persevere through challenges and learn.  Please do not take this as an egotistical statement, but I am determined to be successful in this class.  That being said, I will figure out a way to simplify the conversations in Blackboard Learn, Blogger, and Twitter so I can spend more time having fun with the in-depth projects.

I am really excited about creating the WebQuest as well as the Instructional Website.  My favorite thing about my Master's courses is that I learn how to use new tools and technologies effectively within my curriculum.  I teach 5th grade science, so my projects are focused on the standards or new common core pertaining to the concepts that I teach.  I find the projects to be practical and meaningful in that I am then able to use them within my classroom and see first hand the benefits of designing lessons and units that effectively integrate technologies.  The overall focus I chose for my projects is scientific investigations and laboratory safety techniques.  In more simpler terms it is the scientific method and safety rules.

To end today's blog, I want to note that I am looking forward to working on the Wiki project with the class.  I have only had one experience with working in groups for an online course.  With the diverse backgrounds of my classmates, I have a feeling this will be a positive experience.

1st time Blogger

I am familiar with blogs. In fact, some of my friends and family have their own blogs which I follow. However, I've never created my own blog before. I like to think of myself as tech savvy, but I have to admit learning Blogger has been somewhat challenging. Learning Blogger reminds me of the first time I learned Google Sites. It can be overwhelming at first, but once I start playing around with the tool and exploring all I can do, it becomes much easier. After it becomes easier, then I can start to see the benefits of using the tool and then begin to design and plan how to integrate the tool into my curriculum. That is one of my favorite parts about teaching is being able to design and plan learning experiences for my students and then to watch them grow and succeed.

 After reading over the course assignments for Instructional Apps of the Internet, I feel this course will be challenging due to the fact that I am not as familiar with the technologies we will be using. However, I am excited to learn how to use and apply the new technologies. The challenges I will face through this course will be opportunities for me to learn and grow as an educator. This is going to be a great course!