Final Project

Moodle is an online course management system that is very much like Blackboard, but much less expensive-it is free to download. Being able to access it anywhere at anytime for both teacher and students is benefitial. The teacher is able to decide how to set up and use the Moodle and make adjustments as the need arises. With the ease of accessibility of the Internet; safety is a major concern, especially for young users. Moodle is designed in that only the teacher and those that enrolled in the class are able to access it with the issue of a user name and password. At anytime the teacher may choose to unenroll a student. Some of the tools that are available for use include: forums, chats, quizzes, lessons, glossaries, wikis, blogs, databases, and surveys. There is also a calendar, but I found this to be unfriendly to use.

My project began very much like Gilligan’s Island. Last year I signed up for a student management course using Moodle through my district. I thought that I understood it well only to discover that I was indeed very lost once I tried to get it up and running with my students. Due to the frustration the project never went anywhere. It was during my ED 632 Internet in Education that I decided to renew my attempt at Moodle and felt that the added pressure was the needed motivation. As the assignment came to create a project that would be used in the classroom that would use many of the tools that was learned through the Internet in Education, I became hopeful.

If we are honest with ourselves we know that yes there is such a thing as a dumb question. What makes it worst is when you discover that it is you who is asking the dumb question. This came about as I was struggling to change the older version of my Moodle, the one never used, to make it functional. All that I needed to do was create new topic labels. Unable to find help on the Moodle site I called our district tech people; Moodle is supported in my district, for help. Brett was the unfortunate one who got my call, after trying to explain it to me for the third time, it dawned on me that I was not listening and therefore asking the same question repeatedly, hence the question became a dumb question. Brett had to come to my school and show me the steps and I was off and running.

Once the frustration was gone and help was obtained in the form of an actual book complete with table of contents and index as opposed to the severely lacking online help from Moodle, I became excited at all of the possibilities. In the end my Moodle site for next year’s students contains headers for each subject along with a welcome and events section. In each section different activities allow students to participate in various forms. For example; students may choose to journal, respond to forums, surveys, follow lesson plans, and follow links for online educational games. At a later time I will be able to record brief, less than two minutes, lessons or step by step procedures and post it for students to retrieve at home for added assistance. This will be done with the recording option on the Promethean board, much like a screencast. I have also posted a materials list and books for the Battle of the Books 2009-2010 school year.

What works well:
-price: free
-easy to download
-accessibility
-student friendly
-wide range of uses / options: post lessons and recordings
-books available for user (administer) help

What needs improvement:
-help at the Moodle site
-some difficulty when setting up for student use
-terms are listed, but not how to set it up
-calendar still needs to be easier to navigate

Overall, the program has a lot offer to both students and teachers. Students are able to access it from home and perhaps catch up on work missed due to absences. The process of setting it up went far smoother once I obtained a copy of Using Moodle: Teaching with the Popular Open Source Course Management System by Jason Cole and Helen Foster. The book was the saving grace, as well as Brett, in this project as it had summaries of resources and applications along with the steps necessary to implement them.
To access my Moodle visit: http://moodle.matsuk12.us/
select elementary classes
select Mrs. Minkler’s Fun Class
You may need to use a password and user name-if so contact Jason Ohler for his password and user name. Please, do not enter any data or respond to the surveys or forums.

Second Life

Second Life is a virtual world in which participants can select their gender, appearance, and worlds to investigate. There was no fee involved and no enforced restrictions. Once your “person” was created you are able to select a world to explore and learn from. I selected the fairy world and before entering I received a warning that no sexual conduct was allowed in the world. This meant that in some worlds it was ok-not long until a child discovers that. This put up red flags for me, but I continued into my “PG” world. It was a bit frustrating to navigate around the world, but this was due to it being new to me. I kept bumping into things and was unable to touch the signs I needed to. It was a very weird experience for me and I did not enjoy it.

Someone had stated that people tend to be more at ease and truer to themselves online rather than in real life. I found this to be untrue. As I followed our class’s forum many found Second Life to be eerie and I posted the thought that perhaps those who are more vocal in real life are less so in a virtual world and vice versa. Many agreed with this. There is definite appeal to the online virtual world that students would gravitate towards. These include:
• graphics
• access
• different worlds
• interactions with real people rather than computer
• altered identity

Second Life would attract those who enjoy online interactions and virtual worlds. As for classroom uses at the elementary level a definite no. There is no way to monitor the use and implications for student use. There are too many risk factors involved for nine and ten year olds.

Social Networking

To be social no longer exists only in the physical world. One can be social without ever coming face to face with another person. How is this possible? By social-networking. Social networking is simply bringing people from all over, quite literally, in contact with one another. Perhaps this might be former schoolmates, teammates, or that long lost love from the past. Many people are now finding spouses on such social networks as eHarmony and others.

But, how is this used to enhance student learning? Teachers are able to search globally to find pen pals, and students are able to find online tutors as well peers with similar interests in different parts of the world. Many who use social networking in a learning environment seem to be high school or college. Not so much with the younger children found in elementary grades. As with most online opportunites ther are isssues that must be considered beroe use itn the classroom:

• ease of access
• high level of student interest
• global
• cost

Cons:
• safety
• many social network sites restricted on school computers
• needs high level of monitoring of what is posted

Since I work with nine and 10 year olds, I do not believe that this technology is for me and my students. I do not believe that it is in the best interest of my students to be logging onto sites in which the teacher or parent has little to no “power” to monitor what is published. Many of us can remember a time when we were much younger and thought “it won’t happen to me. I’m smarter than that.” If we are honest we sheepishly admit that in fact we were not. That still remains to be true, and that is ok; we should get wiser with old age.

As I was teaching my fourth graders about Internet safety I could see their eyes glaze over. So I went off task for a bit and showed them how quickly I could find their school with a map with just a few well thought out questions. This snapped them back to attention; they were amazed and shocked at how quick and easy it was for me. I do think however, that social networking outside of the realms of the elementary classroom is one that I need to explore more.

The Easy Way of a Wiki

A few years ago nobody had heard of a wiki, or if they did chances were that they were teachers who used the plastic colored wiki sticks to highlight words in student reading. Now almost everybody not only knows about wikis, but also uses them to find quick information through services such as Wikipedia. In technology terms a wiki is simply a document that is posted on the Internet that anyone, anywhere, at any time can not only access, but alter as well. It is the ultimate collaboration tool available.

As a digital immigrant I believed that there was only one use for a wiki and that was simply Wikipedia and that it did not have much to offer me in the elementary classroom. I have since than been proven wrong. As I checked around in my district I found multiple ways in which wikis were being used to enhance student learning and collaboration. Most of the projects / ideas listed used Moodle as the source for the wiki.

Ideas for Wiki Use:
• class story
• group editing skills check
• poems with peer responses
• daily or weekly class journaling
• group research project

I found it most helpful to talk to teachers and to find how they were using wikis if at all. I was surprised by their enthusiasm and the options available in the classroom setting. My favorite ideas for wiki use in the classroom are the poem / response and the group research project. When I use wiki in my classroom it will be through Moodle as it offers key requirements: controlled and restricted access, very important when working with children, and it is free.

Podcasting: A New Favorite

I was recently given the assignment to look into podcasts. Prior to this I was vaguely aware of what podcasts are. I have dabbled briefly as a listener, with podcasts with my iPod, but never given much thought as to creating one. Podcasts are used in news casting, interviews, story telling, music, etc..

Basically podcasting use RSS feed (http://www.podcasting-tools.com). Podcasts can vary in length, but I have found it frustrating when a podcast is too lengthy, as it takes a very long time to download. Despite the name of pod in podcasting, one does not need to listen to a podcast using only an iPod - any MP3 will work.

My ah-ha moments:
• may use audio, video, or both
• requires little in the form of equipment
• software easy to acquire
• many website available with how-to’s

I have learned that podcasts can be easy to create. I do plan to implement the use of podcasts in my classroom. My main idea is for the students to create a weekly newsletter that will be used as the script. This script will be used for the reporting of our events, both in the class and within the school as well. I have yet to try this, but it is on the agenda. Perhaps I will have my students show me.

Week 4 Screencasting: Promethean Planet

Promethean Boards are smart boards that allow for interaction with the students and teacher. It all begins with building a flipchart with the use of a computer. Each flipchart contains unlimited pages. There are many tools that are available to create the flipchart; these include sounds and video, math tools, and many more. My students love to use the board and often when I encounter a problem I am met with 26+ experts to help out. I have found when I use the Promethean that student engagement increases.
Important Highlights of Promethean Planet:
• Premade flipcharts
• Easy to follow directions
• Free downloads
• Current up-to-date flipcharts
• Allows for educators to share flipcharts
• Easy to customize downloaded flipcharts
• Able to update easily

We all know that as teachers time is short. With Promethean Planet I am able to
scan through hundreds of flipcharts that have been created by teachers around the world. The fact that these are created by teachers is a bonus; we know kid language, standards, and engagement factors. Once I have downloaded my selections I am able to adjust the pages to fit my students’ needs. Many of the charts that I do not use, I am still ableto get ideas for creating flipcharts on my own. It is also through this process that I learn about functions and actions that are available that I was unaware of before helping me to expand my creative process and technology skills.

minkler's Library

minkler's Library