WPP D - FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

As planned, I created a trial account on Quia.com.  I created a class account for which students were given instructions on how to register.  I also created two timed reading activities and assigned them on the class page.  All students who registered for the class were able to see the assigned activities that they needed to complete.  At first, not many students registered and did the activities, but after discussing the issue with their teacher, he talked to the students again and was able to motivate more to participate. 

Because we are only in the middle of Phase 1 of this project (scheduled to end in June 2012), we really only wanted to determine if the website is something the students could and would access, the ease of use of the website for the students, the ease of use of the website for the teacher(s), and the effectiveness of the automatic evaluation of the activities.  I monitored the class webpage and found that a total of 16 students (out of 19) registered for the online class.  One student double registered, made evident by a repeated email address and similar name.  Of the 16 students who registered, 11 students completed both timed reading activities.  I believe that with enough encouragement, or perhaps the pressure of the activity being a requirement to graduate, a near 100% participation rate could be reached. 

Ideally, I would be able to interview each student to determine his/her reasons for registering or not registering and also to receive feedback about the website and the activities. However, distance works against me in this case and I decided to simply do a class survey.  As of the writing of this report, only six students have completed the survey.  I am hopeful that more students will complete the survey in the next two weeks.  From the survey responses, I found that the students had no trouble registering on or using the website.  The readings were just a little too easy for the level of the students and the allotted time for the readings was more than enough.  (Part of this is due to the fact that we originally planned to use an intermediate class for the trial run, but in the end chose an Advanced class to complete the trial run.  The readings were more appropriate for students at the Intermediate level.)  As Phase 1 continues and Phase 2 is implemented, I will increase the difficulty of the reading selections just slightly and decrease the amount of time to complete the readings to better accommodate the needs of the Advanced students participating in the trial run.  

One of the reading activities was followed by a series of true/false questions.  Overall, the students did quite well with this type of activity and the automated system accurately graded the activities and sent the results to the teacher.  The other reading was followed by a series of short response questions. In order to grade this type of activity, the teacher must create a series of possible answers to each question.  For example, for the question “Who told him the good news?” the possible answers could be “the New York City Police department,” “the New York City Police,” “New York City Police,” “the police in New York City,” etc.  Trying to determine EVERY possible correct answer that students may write is nearly impossible.  Though the system graded this activity automatically based on the responses I had created, I found that I had to go back and re-grade the activity because some answers were marked wrong because they did not exactly match the pre-determined answers that I had created even though they were actually correct.

For the continuation of this project and the implementation of the additional phases, I have decided to change from the Quia platform to the Canvas platform.  Canvas can do all that we need it to do, and there is no cost to the individual teachers nor the institution as a whole as there is with Quia.  The tech support for Canvas is great, and the overall platform has a cleaner look and feel to it.  Though Quia worked, I would recommend Canvas to others simply because of the cost factor.

After implementing this trial run, I believe that it would definitely be feasible for the CBA students to access and participate in online learning in order to increase their exposure to English outside of class time and build fluency by doing the timed readings and other activities.  I am excited to continue working toward a long-term solution as we continue to move forward on this project. 

Quia Gradebook

Survey

CEP882 - NDCE Top 10

10. - Compelling experiences begin with a PROPOSAL.  Sometimes it is the idea itself, and not the details, that  can be the hard part.  Once the idea comes, many times the details start falling into place.

9. - Compelling experiences are often PLANNED.  Perhaps we would like to think that they happen spontaneously, but many times experiences that move us have been planned to do just that.  For my WOA project, the storyboard was a great planning tool that I depended on heavily when it came to making the final version of my project.

8. - Compelling experiences follow a PATTERN.  There are certain forms one can follow to make a kind of experience more compelling.  For example, think about lighting, rule of thirds, and depth of field when taking a photograph to make it more compelling.  In time, the form will become second-nature (like driving a manual transmission), and the finesse of experience will come into play.

7. - Compelling experiences are PROGRESSIVE.  They are dynamic.  They change.  What was compelling yesterday may not necessarily be compelling tomorrow.  (Though there are some things that seem to remain compelling in spite of time that passes.)

6. - Compelling experiences are often formed under PRESSURE.  Sometimes time constraints, as unfair as they seem, can actually help in the creation of a compelling experience.  At times, my ideas would not start really flowing until just a couple days before an assignment due date.  It caused me major stress at times, but for whatever reason also helped me to create decent work.

5. - Compelling experiences can depend on one’s PERCEPTION.  I think about the video my classmate did about going for a walk.  The “compellingness” was there all along, but it wasn’t until she took the time to really observe her surroundings that the “compellingness” became apparent to her.

4. - Compelling experiences are PERTINENT.  Experiences are most often compelling when they are relevant to us in some way.  I think of the project another classmate did on the art of Chris Jordan.  The reason that his art is compelling is because it is pertinent to each of us in some way or another.

3. - Compelling experiences can depend on our POSITION in life.  By that I mean that circumstances can greatly affect what we may or may not find compelling.  I am going through one of the most difficult times in my life right now, a crisis if you will.  At times, I couldn’t see past the pain into the “compellingness.”

2. - Experiences are made compelling because of PASSION.  When we are passionate about something, we naturally give it our all.  It is easy to try to show and share the “compellingness” with others.

1. - Compelling experiences are PERSONAL.  No matter how great an idea, what is compelling to one person may not be compelling to the next.  We all have unique past experiences that have shaped us into who we are now.  We have individual styles and tastes, and these things play a huge role in what we do or don’t find compelling. 

CEP812 - Mobile Learning

I created a poll using Polleverywhere.com.  I posted my poll on Facebook since I am not currently teaching in the classroom.  Participation was low, but I can see how it would be interesting to use in a classroom setting. 

I also participated in one of the Classroom 2.0 conversations about cell phones in the classroom.  The website seems to have some good ideas and commentaries from many teachers. 

I spent some time looking at the website for iPads/iPods in education.  Admittedly, I am still quite divided on the issue of cell phones in the classroom.  I think they can be a great resource, and at the very same time, a huge distraction.  I think many of us as mature, working adults could admit to having used our cell phones in less than appropriate ways from time to time.  It would be unrealistic to think that by making the cell phone a learning tool all inappropriate use will suddenly disappear because the students are having so much fun learning.

Everything we teach our students in school should be preparing them for life after school.  This is going to require more than playing with a gimmicky new technology.  It will require a lot of thought and dedication to integrating the technology to serve a real and not invented purpose.   It should be the same with any educational tool. 

I spent some time looking at the e-readers.  I am not that old (just 32), but I guess I am “old-school” in many ways.  I like to read books, not computer screens.  When I read a book, I can remember where something is written, the color of ink used to highlight it, what side of the page it is on and how far into the book it is.  I can’t do that with a computer screen and even less so with a teeny tiny cell phone screen.  I like my smartphone, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not going to read any books on it anytime soon.  Of course I can see the advantage to have a plethora of current materials available on an iPad or Kindle.  That certainly would be better than 20-year old World Book Encyclopedias.  

We all learn differently and have different strengths and weaknesses.  Hopefully someday the whole system will change.  Education will hopefully become more individualized and students will be able to help choose what works best for them when it comes to learning.

IB - Fashion Module

I got so carried away with my WOA project that I completely forgot about this blog.  And not because I don't appreciate fashion :)  So for the last six years I worked in Bolivia at a secondary boarding school.  In Bolivia, all students in all schools wear uniforms.  There is no debate as there is here in the States, because it is simply what is done. On Independence Day parade all students from all schools march in the parades in their communities.  As the director of the school, I had a version of the school uniform that I wore on parade days.   It was the only time I put on that uniform.  The students loved it...and I loved it.  Since we all lived together at the boarding school, we already felt like a family, but there was something about wearing our uniforms in the parade in town that created a sense of pride and belonging like no other day.  There was just something about dressing up in fresh uniforms for parade day.  I think it is similar to the feelings I feel when I see a man in a Navy or Marine uniform.  My dad was in the Navy and my grandfather was a Marine.  I see a group of men in their dress blues and it actually makes me tear up.  I just don't think it would have the same effect, no matter how straight they were standing, if they were all wearing jeans and different t-shirts.  Some argue that uniforms take away individuality, but I think they create a sense of belonging and family.  It's amazing that something as simple as clothing can have that effect.

WPP C - IMPLEMENTATION

We've talked theory up until now.  This is where the "rubber meets the road."  Does theory work in practice?  Listen to find out!


WPP Part C - Implementation PODCAST

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Teacher Homepage in Quia

Assigned quizzes for CBA students

Quia grade book

Canvas platform

CEP812 - Part B - STORYBOARD AND SCRIPT

My group members and I each worked on our sections of the project as we had planned.  On Wednesday, we came together once again to put the pieces of the puzzle together.  We held a web conference using Vyew to communicate with one another, and worked on pulling our three storyboards into one Google Doc.  


Using Jing, each of us will record our part.  We will have them recorded and sent to Rachel by the 18th.  Rachel volunteered to combine the three recordings into one using iMovie.  We will meet again on the 25th to finalize the project.
Group 3 Storyboard and Script

WPP B - APPLICATION OF TPACK

Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK)
At CBA, in addition to the level tests, each student will be required to complete a certain number of timed readings successfully in order to advance to the next level of English at the institution.  By using the Quia platform, students will be able to easily access a variety of timed reading materials which will help them to build fluency.  Because the reading materials will be available online, the students will have access to them anytime they have access to the internet, not like a book or other material that must be used only in the classroom during school hours and shared with other students.  This will allow them to complete the necessary number of timed readings to build their fluency and advance to the next level of English.


Technological Content Knowledge (TCK)
Students learning a foreign language need frequent exposure to that language outside of the classroom setting.  In Bolivia, students learning English at CBA have little exposure to English apart from the 1.5 hours they spend in English class each day.  By using the Quia platform, students will be able to access English reading materials at appropriate levels of difficulty any time they have access to the internet.


Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)
When students read L2 materials word by word, the larger meaning is often lost or forgotten as students decode each word.  By using timed readings, students are “forced” to read at a more rapid pace.  This pace allows the reader to read for better overall comprehension even if he is unable to decode each and every word.  The readings available on the Quia platform have a timer built into the webpage.  Students are able to see the timer and pace themselves accordingly.  They are also given multiple opportunities to read each text combining the extensive reading (ER) and repeated reading (RR) methods for building fluency in L2 learners.