INTASC

This is the criteria I needed to meet for my web2.0 tools and multimedia project for the INSTAC 4.13 & 6.35.

Multimedia Project

The tool I used was called Voice Thread. It's a tool that allows you to upload videos, pictures, voice data and you can comment yourself and as a visitor. The comments can be made by either web cam, phone, typing, voice comments, or Audio comment. You can zoom in on pictures and move around to get a full look at what is posted. You can add captions as the creator and explain what is going on at the beginning. It is fairly quick and easy to do. I enjoyed doing this but without a web cam I feel I missed out on some fun tools. I do feel that when I become more familiar with this tool I will be able to jazz up and make things more interesting.




http://voicethread.com/share/754980/

I think this tool would be great in a classroom. I am going to be a chemistry teacher and with that I can explain experiments step by step for those students who are more visual through pictures and commenting with doddle or voice to show the students the critical parts and steps. If I am going to be absent one day it is a great tool for me to be involved with my students almost like I've never left and it can really make things easier for a substitute having the plans mapped out, where they can just hit play and the students are getting direct instruction from me without me actually being there. This tool also can allow students to comment on projects outside of the classroom, for example if homework is posted through voice thread they can comment on what is wrong, what is right, or what they think should happen next. This is a great tool to use in a classroom and it can allow for some variety and interaction for the students without just being a video for students to watch.

Analyzing Student Data in a Spreadsheet

Using Google Docs spreadsheet was fairly easy for me as I have used excel a lot over the years. What I found to be difficult was when trying to filter out the above average students to graph, the graph would include all students if the above average students were hid. I then made a new sheet and deleted the other students so my chart would work. It did not take me very long to do the assignment so that was nice.



As for an analysis of the data, almost every student who was below average did better on their last test than they did on test 6. Many of the students also did better on every test than they did the test before from test 6 to 10. This is what you would expect as the students have a better idea as to what the test format will look like and they could have a better grasp about what information the teacher may place on the tests. As an instructor I would be pleased that the students improved, but I would ask these students what they did differently to gain a better idea as to why they improved. This will help me know what student habits help them so I can try to help them not be below average in the class in test scores. I would really concentrate on the students who had a small improvement from test to test because their improvement was smaller than their fellow classmates. These students would be Walter and Queen. I would talk to Katherine as well to see why her test scores very so much from test to test. Once I understood how the students learned best I would try to teach my classes towards those students a little more to try and help them in the everyday class topics, which will help them prepare for future tests.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArCsEZq1EAp4dENpVVNXeXQ5czdjVWViSVpaVHNNRXc&hl=en

Reflection of Skype

I skyped with my brother who is in Eastern Oregon. We just talked for a second. It was cool to see him and hear him as opposed to just typing to him over facebook. It made the experience feel more personal and I liked that. This tool would be great for students to use if they were working on group projects and they aren't able to get together they can skype to each other and it's almost like they are in the same room together. Also if students have questions about their homework they can skype with each other to talk about it, or they can even skype with their teacher. The teacher can show examples over the internet and it is a lot easier to explain information and understand information when you can see and hear it. As a teacher you can also skype with your fellow teachers about ideas in the classroom about discipline, or just interesting topics to teach.

Web2.0 Tool Demo

The project I worked on was explaining a web2.0 so my classmates and myself will understand the different tools that are available. Vimeo.com is a web tool that allows you to upload videos and share them with whomever you choose. Within the presentation there are the features of Vimeo.com and how it can be used within a classroom.