Middle Age Webquest in Review 04/25/2011
 Mike and I finished the middle age webquest a few weeks back. Today we Skyped and talked about the success, weakness and how we will change this for next year. We talked about the webquest a few months back before we started it, click here for that post and podcast. So today's discussion was really about how much the kids enjoyed and engaged in curriculum through this webquest. In total, students put in about 12 weeks worth of work on their journals, blogs, questions/answers, Voki's, Xtranormals, etc. I have to admit by the end I was growing a bit bored with the Webquest, but students were still engaged. Both Garth and I agree that the amount of writing and reflecting students did far exceeded anything up to this point this year. Students enjoyed the independence and creative freedom of the WebQuest. Some of the things we are looking at editing for next year are the quizzes, some of the Quests themselves and the format of the entire WebQuest. This year the entire WebQuest was hosted on a single web page. We think that this got a bit confusing and clustered. Next year each Quest will have its own page. This will also allow us to put the essential questions, Computer-side chats and any videos we may have at the top of the Quest. Students will be required to listen to the Computer-side chats and answer a few reflection questions before moving on to complete the Quest. We are also planning on consolidating some of the Quests; combining similar elements and revising our quizzes. As Garth and I were grading quizzes we noticed that the students whom were struggling (remember they had to re-take the quizzes for mastery before they could move on) had some great short answer responses and their journal/blogs showed great insight. The reason, as we see it, is that we have them doing this great WebQuest where they are using higher-level thinking skills to master information and then show how that information would effect the life of their fictional feudal person; while the quizzes were multiple choice. The assessment did not fit the project. The quizzes were really just their to "prove" through data that students were learning. Next year few, if any, multiple choice and a few short-answer questions. As we have moved onto the Renaissance and the Reformation, some of Garth's students commented that they would have loved to follow their feudal person into these new time periods. We are thinking about giving each student a "past-self" to follow throughout the entire course. Garth and I want students to really gain an empathetic understanding of the story of history. We want the students to create their past-self's history and thus explain the journey of us. Big goals, but totally attainable and this new focus have Garth and myself determined to implement some ground-breaking projects for next year. As always, any comments or ideas please do not hesitate to leave us a comment. -Mike 5 Comments  Tonight we talked with Ed Bernetich (ebernetich@yahoo.com) former principal at Beachwood Middle School and then Director of Teacher Education at Case Western Reserve University. Ed was one of the architects of Beachwood’s 1-to-1 laptop initiative, the first in Ohio. This is the second of three podcasts with Ed concerning: 1) 21st century skills; 2) the changing role of teachers and student learning; 3) teacher education and the role of administration. Tonight Garth, Ed and I talked about "digital natives", role of culture, and skills needed in the 21st Century. This podcast is 25 minutes.  Tonight we talked with Ed Bernetich (ebernetich@yahoo.com) former principal at Beachwood Middle School and then Director of Teacher Education at Case Western Reserve University. Ed was one of the architects of Beachwood’s 1-to-1 laptop initiative, the first in Ohio. This is the first of three podcasts with Ed concerning: 1) 21st century skills; 2) the changing role of teachers and student learning; 3) teacher education and the role of administration. Tonight Garth, Ed and I talked about the states first one to one laptop initiative, 21st century skills, standardized testing, state-based assessments and implementing technology within curriculum. This podcast is 18 minutes. 
 Dublin, Ohio: tonight we spoke with Scott Sibberson, technology specialist at Dublin Jerome High School. Scott's bio is below the podcast. Garth and Scott met via Twitter and Garth was interested in Scott's Tweets and what was going on at Jerome High. Scott talked about how listening to Alan November's BLC 10 conference motivated him to find new ways to use technology to create PLNs (Personal Learning Networks). Scott discussed the plans for rolling out Twitter in his building. We will talk with Scott in a few months to see how it is going as well as talking about some of the technology projects teachers in his building are doing. Scott Sibberson Technology Specialist Dublin Jerome High School Dublin, Ohio sibberson_scott@dublinschools.net (work) ssibberson@mac.com (personal) twitter.com/ssibberson http://scottsibberson.blogspot.com As technology specialist at Jerome High School, I work with teachers and students to implement technology in classrooms. My responsibilities include basic troubleshooting, training, and implementation of new programs. It is my hope to make technology a seamless part of the education process. Webshow: Tonight it's a podcast 08/03/2010
Tonight we talked about a few things, in ESPN "rapid-fire" format. We discussed web filtering in schools, the use of Facebook in the classroom, a great website called Answer Garden, and the use of cell phones with students. Below is the Wiffiti wall that we created. Wiffiti, which we have discussed, allows you to post messages to a live web page via the computer or your cell phone. Please text the number below and add your comments about the technologies we discussed. Text this number: 87884 Start your text message with: @wif33872 Then just type your answer Fourth Web Show: Just the two of us 07/27/2010
Websites mentioned in this show: NorthWest Ohio Educational Technology Conference--watch the live webshow from the conference on Aug 10 and 11. State Standard Student Created Textbook, In wikispaces Wiffiti Send texts to your classroom computer Wallwisher add post-it notes for homework help? Mosaickr: Cool for Open House images. At the end we shared how we start the first day of school. What do you do? And who knows, we could have missed some. Garth and Mike  Our webshow was canceled tonight...Mike explains in our podcast. However, the guest was ready, so the show went on via skype and GarageBand. The topic for tonight was Social Networking in the State of Ohio. Abby created a Ning site called "Ohio Educational Technology Network" for teachers in Ohio to share ideas, lessons, podcasts, the list goes on and on. Tonight we discussed the future of this site and the possible directions the site will take. Please visit the site at www.oetn.org. Abby Thaker's bio is below. Enjoy the podcast. Abby Thaker manages Professional Development for Smart Solutions K-12 (www.ssik12.com) where she works with school districts throughout Ohio to support effective classroom technology integration. Prior to joining Smart Solutions Abby taught elementary school, first as a Teach for America corps member in North Carolina, and later at a charter school in downtown Cleveland. Abby has served as an Ohio Education Policy Fellow through the Institute for Educational Leadership and Cleveland State University, and 21st Century Learning Fellow with the Powerful Learning Practice. Tonight we spoke with Linda LoGalbo, principal at Beachwood Middle School. Her bio is below. Mike and I would like to thank her for taking the time to talk with us. Linda LoGalbo has Bachelors of Science in Education from Bowling Green State University in Mathematics, Masters of Education from John Carroll University in Educational Administration, and currently is working on her Superintendent Licensure from Ashland University. She taught mathematics at the high school level for 7 years and is about to begin her 10th year of middle school administration. Under her direction, Beachwood Middle School has been named a National School to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades. Beachwood Middle School also successfully expanded the one to one laptop program to include grade six in 2007. Mike still drank a lot of coffee, but I did not look so mad. I will get Todd's information and details up tomorrow. Have a good night. First Web show 06/30/2010
Here is our first web show. Feel free to watch and comment. What did you like, what would you like to see, should Mike drink less coffee and could Garth look any more angry? |  Teachers For Tomorrow CategoriesAll ArchivesFebruary 2012 | ||
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