Monday, February 25, 2013

Interactivity #1 Feedback

Scores for Interactivity #1 have been posted in Engrade.  You all truly love your phones and laptops—so do I!  The average scores were high, but I confess, you were lucky.  I didn't post the scoring rubric for this first assignment.  It's below.  But it will show you what I was (and will) look for.  Clear writing.  Reflective thinking.  Following directions...



(click image to enlarge)

The most common point deduction was in the REFLECTION category—specifically the lack of reflection on the negative aspects of your 3 chosen technologies.  Without identifying the negative trade-offs of using a particular technology, you aren't truly being reflective (and arguably in denial about its influence).  I read waxing tributes to technology, but few thoughtful concerns and criticisms.

The second most common reason for point deduction was not comparing your experiences with those of the students in the videos. Remember, you had 750 words (some of you went way over... please don't) to play with to provide evidence that you viewed the videos and were reflectively contemplating your own uses as compared/contrasted to what you viewed. If you only posted around 300 or 400 words, then chances are your post sorely lacked in all areas within the rubric above.

I was surprised that many of you focused on only the fairly recent technologies that you "can't live without" as opposed to thinking about those technologies that have influenced you the most across your entire lifespan. Haven't books, pens and paper, and TV made a major impact on you as well? One of you commented that no interesting technologies developed in the 60's, 70's and 80's.  Really?  I also notice that many of you throw around the word technology without any real meaning attached to it. Hint: Technology does not simply refer to computers. But we'll read more on that topic a bit later.

If you are confused at your score for Interactivity #1, then please do the following (in order):

Review the assignment guidelines for Interactivity #1
Review the general feedback above
Review your own post for Interactivity #1

Your Online Profile

At this point, everyone should have their blogspot set up with a professional profile that includes a photo. (I'm making the presumption that you'll be using this blog as a professional resource in this class... and possibly in your teaching future as well.)  As I mention in the section on Online Professionalism, deciding how to represent yourself visually and literally as a teacher takes some careful consideration. At the same time, there is beauty in simplicity.

Make sure that you are recognizable in your photo.  Some of your photos are too dark, a couple of you are wearing sunglasses. (A potential employer should be able to recognize you from your profile photo). Also, try to obtain as clear (high quality/resolution) of an image as possible. Blurry or low-light photos just don't look professional. And avoid cheerleader/sexy poses.  That's OK for your Facebook page (which your employer will most likely scope out too by the way) but not for here.  When in doubt, just keep it simple and be yourself—as a professional teacher, that is.

If you have not yet posted a photo, what are you waiting for?

2nd Interactivity - Due March 6

Due: 5:00pm EST Wednesday, March 6


A reminder that all of your Interactivities are available on this blog, but I wanted to remind you that Interactivity #2 is next in line for your attention.  Please pay careful attention to the grading rubric below.

The first interactivity asked you to self-reflect on your own relationship to communications technologies—and how that relationship might be similar to and/or different from those of the young people that you will teach. At this point, you should be more aware of those technologies that have most influenced your own life and also aware of their negative as well as positive influences. This second interactivity asks you to look back into history to more deeply understand how communications technologies have influenced (for better and worse) the formalized education process through schooling. The purpose for looking backward is to understand how to move forward in renewing schooling to meet the needs of the 21st century.

  1. View this 9-minute video that presents a visual history of technology in schools from the period 1900-1990. Ask yourself: Which technology influenced education in my particular content area the most during this historical time period?



  2. Read Chapter 2 in Rethinking Technology and Schools and the supplementary article, A Social History of Media and Technology in Schools. Based on your reading of these 2 texts, choose one technology that you think has had the greatest impact (for better or worse) upon formalized schooling in your content area between the years 1820 and 1990. Your chosen technology must be grounded in historical evidence from the assigned readings.

  3. Choose or create an image that visually illustrates the impact of this technology upon schooling in your content area. You may find an image on the internet, take your own picture, or create one using a software program. There is no limit to your creativity with this image, as long as it represents how this chosen technology has realistically impacted schooling in your chosen subject area between the years 1820 and 1990.
     
  4. Upload your image to your blog and create a single line caption or tagline to explain the message of your image. You may use only one sentence or phrase to describe your image. If you use more than that, points will be deducted from your final score.

This interactivity is worth 100 points and assessment will be as follows:

  • Choice of technology (grounded in historical data contained in the assigned readings) (3 points)
  • Graphic representation of technological impact on schooling in your subject area (3 points)
  • Contribution of text/caption to the overall meaning of your message (3 points)
  • Successful upload of image and caption as a blog post (1 point)
  • Recommendation: Search through other blogspots and view your classmates' images. Provide commentary or questions to earn your online participation for the week.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Interactivity #1 Due Feb 20

The directions for your first Interactivity are posted here.  You can also link to all of the Interactivities via the menu above or by clicking here.  The assignment is due by 5:00 pm, February 20.  Please read the assignment thru carefully.

You can add/modify your blog entry up until the deadline. Additionally, there is a formal rubric within Engrade that you can view to see how your final Interactivity #1 will be scored.

Monday, February 4, 2013

More Getting Started...

Hi all,

Thanks for your personal responses.  It really helped get a sense of what you all are looking for.  Here are some clarifying thoughts.

Online classes are discombobulating!  Hang in there—and pay attention to what you're experiencing.  It will inform how you handle online communication with your students.  As a rule, this class is to help you figure out where and how technology will play in your classroom.  It is not a hands-on instructional class in technology.  Which is frustrating, I know.  There are resources on campus to learn the basics (Excel, Powerpoint, etc.).  And many of you inquired about White/Smart boards.  Can't help you there—but any school you eventually work in, should they have them, will provide training.  But the kind of thinking you need to use a Smart board well is what you'll be doing in this class—the thinking, designing, resource management, contextualizing of your content and the technologies you use.  All of the assignments (I'm calling them 'Interactivities' here) build upon each other to culminate in your final project.  Use it to support other classes you are taking, sub work you are doing now, or as a model lesson you'll use in the future when job hunting.  Just make it work for you.


Online classes also presume two things:  First, proactive behavior on your part.   For example, read the blog, syllabus, etc.  I'm getting lots of questions where the answers are easily found here.  Additionally, all of the assignments are listed in the tabs here called "Interactivities" and "Final Project".  By reading ahead, you can get a sense of the project and plan accordingly.  Second, you need organization.  Most of you are pros already in your combining families, multiple jobs, classes, etc.  But digital organization is key as well.  You'll soon be balancing all of the above plus 30 - 120 students, their assignments, resources, email addresses, their parents' contact info, etc.  So take this opportunity to invest in your blog, Google Docs, or any other tools you find that will help you down the road with classroom management.

Tips:  Subscribe to this blog (upper left corner of this page) via email.  You'll then know when you need to check the blog for updates.  And on the note of email: email hygiene is paramount.  Clean out your inbox.  Create folders.  Delete what you don't need.  Separate home from work from school from the classroom.

My Feedback.  Generally, I'll post on this blog weekly and address the major concerns that I see/hear from you as well as any updates about assignments.   If I don't respond to an email right away, it's because it will be addressed as a blog post for everyone soon or I sense that you didn't read the blog/assignments carefully.

Communication with Me.
  Please either use my MSU email (philipsm@mail.montclair.edu) or personal email (maggio2@gmail.com) for general communication (vs. Engrade).   If blog post/assignment-specific, respond to that post directly.  I, or one of you, will be able to answer the question there.

Engrade.  Engrade is similar to Blackboard.  I could post assignments there, do all of my communication with you, track your grades, etc., but I will only be using it to post assessments of your Interactivities and Final Project.  The primary reasons for using Engrade is that it's free and gives you the opportunity to learn the system and consider it for your own students in the future.  But each platform that you add to the mix (googledocs/blogs, blackboard, Engrade, email, WESS, etc.) adds more management on your time.  Always aim for simple and effective.  Thus my primarily using the blog and email.

Blog posts.  The posts that will count for credit are only the ones that you post within your Groups—which you don't have yet.  Groups will be assigned later this week based on your content area.  But feel free to post otherwise if you have good questions, responses, useful information, etc.

Best -

LP