My work in EDT 422
Online Tool Review (assignment 1)
Instructional objective / problem identification
The instructional problem that I’m addressing in this assignment is some teachers’ inability to know the strengths and weaknesses of each student in the classroom particularly in math classes. In math classes it is significant that each student understands and masters each lesson before moving on to the next lesson. This could be a big problem in a math class because a great majority of lessons are connected, and understanding a new lesson will require students to master previous lessons. For example, for students to be able to solve equations and find the values of variables x or y, students must be able to factor polynomials because students might need to factor before solving for x or y. Therefore, math teachers should know the strengths and weaknesses of each student in the classroom to make sure that no students are falling behind. This could be a problem for many teachers because it could be complicated to know what each student in the classroom is struggling with just based on students tests and homework. As a result, many students could fall behind and perform poorly throughout the school year.
Identification of relevant online tool
To address this problem, math teachers could use helpful websites that could help teachers evaluate their students’ strengths and weaknesses by making students do many assessments both in school and at home. The website I found very helpful for elementary and middle school math teachers was prodigygame.com. This website is supportive for both teachers and students because teachers can keep track of students’ performance and know the topics students have mastered and the topics that students still need to improve.
Review of the online tool
Prodigygames.com is a website that allows teachers to evaluate students’ performance and know students daily and weekly progress. When I first reviewed this website, I made two accounts.
First, I made an account in prodigygames.com as a teacher, and I was able to create different classes for different grade levels. First, I pressed on the plus sign to create a class, and I was asked to name the class and pick the class’s grade level. After, I picked grade level I had to pick what topic I wanted my students to practice. Also, I had to pick the location to specify what curriculum students needed to cover. After creating a class, I noticed that there was a class code on the class dashboard. The class code is for students to use when they first login to connect them to the online course.
On the prodigy game website students practice their math lessons that they study in school through gaming. This website helps students master math lessons through video games. For example, when I created a student account, I had to pick a character and then I had to defeat some creatures and collect pets by doing 8th grade math. After doing a few problems in my student account I went back to my teacher account and I could view a full report on how much my student had practiced (in this case the student was me). The student report presented detailed information like what were the problems that had been answered right or wrong. Moreover, the prodigy game website enables teachers to view how much time each student spends practicing both in school and at home. Lastly, through this website teachers can create a weekly or monthly schedule for students to cover certain assignments.
Recommendations for tool use
Prodigygame.com could be used by elementary and middle school math teachers to track students’ performances and their understanding of the lessons that are covered in the classroom. This website will make it possible for math teachers to know the strengths and weaknesses of each student in the classroom. Moreover, this website will help teachers know what areas each student has mastered and what areas each student still need to work on. That way, teachers will be able to customize different assignments for different students online through prodigygame.com, where students can practice their math lessons through gaming. Therefore, students are not learning in the typical way; rather students are being active participants in their learning process. Using this website, elementary and middle school math teachers can make sure that most of their students are mastering the lessons covered before moving to another lesson. In a math class, it is significant that students master previous lessons to master upcoming lessons. As a result, prodigygame.com can help to improve students’ performances in math classes during elementary and middle school.
Accessible online learning tool (assignment 2)
Learning objectives:
Describe the activity:
2. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and pick the game that is titled Sickle Cell DNA.
2. The completion of building DNA molecule = 5 points
3. Matching DNA molecule with amino acids= 5 points
Accessible online learning tool (assignment 3)
Learning objectives:
Assessment Plan:
The total grade of this assignment is 80 points.
Criteria
Possible points
The student followed all the literary analysis steps that are presented in the video
10
A good critical and argumentative thesis is present
10
The argument is supported by citations from the novel
10
Analysis of all the four elements of the novel is present
(theme, characters, plot, and point of view)
10
Few to no grammatical mistakes
10
Reviewing and commenting on the work of two other students
20
Theme font (times new roman), font (12) and spacing (double space)
10
Resources
Windows Accessibility Options for People Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision. (n.d.). Retrieved May 28, 2017, from http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/using-technology/using-a-computer/part-ii-for-the-experienced-computer-user-with-a-new-visual-impairment/windows-accessibility-options/12345
Online Learning Experience Review (Assignment 4)
Assignment: Online Learning Experience Review
Instructional objective / problem identification
The instructional problem that I’m addressing in this assignment is some teachers’ inability to know the strengths and weaknesses of each student in the classroom particularly in math classes. In math classes it is significant that each student understands and masters each lesson before moving on to the next lesson. This could be a big problem in a math class because a great majority of lessons are connected, and understanding a new lesson will require students to master previous lessons. For example, for students to be able to solve equations and find the values of variables x or y, students must be able to factor polynomials because students might need to factor before solving for x or y. Therefore, math teachers should know the strengths and weaknesses of each student in the classroom to make sure that no students are falling behind. This could be a problem for many teachers because it could be complicated to know what each student in the classroom is struggling with just based on students tests and homework. As a result, many students could fall behind and perform poorly throughout the school year.
Identification of relevant online tool
To address this problem, math teachers could use helpful websites that could help teachers evaluate their students’ strengths and weaknesses by making students do many assessments both in school and at home. The website I found very helpful for elementary and middle school math teachers was prodigygame.com. This website is supportive for both teachers and students because teachers can keep track of students’ performance and know the topics students have mastered and the topics that students still need to improve.
Review of the online tool
Prodigygames.com is a website that allows teachers to evaluate students’ performance and know students daily and weekly progress. When I first reviewed this website, I made two accounts.
First, I made an account in prodigygames.com as a teacher, and I was able to create different classes for different grade levels. First, I pressed on the plus sign to create a class, and I was asked to name the class and pick the class’s grade level. After, I picked grade level I had to pick what topic I wanted my students to practice. Also, I had to pick the location to specify what curriculum students needed to cover. After creating a class, I noticed that there was a class code on the class dashboard. The class code is for students to use when they first login to connect them to the online course.
On the prodigy game website students practice their math lessons that they study in school through gaming. This website helps students master math lessons through video games. For example, when I created a student account, I had to pick a character and then I had to defeat some creatures and collect pets by doing 8th grade math. After doing a few problems in my student account I went back to my teacher account and I could view a full report on how much my student had practiced (in this case the student was me). The student report presented detailed information like what were the problems that had been answered right or wrong. Moreover, the prodigy game website enables teachers to view how much time each student spends practicing both in school and at home. Lastly, through this website teachers can create a weekly or monthly schedule for students to cover certain assignments.
Recommendations for tool use
Prodigygame.com could be used by elementary and middle school math teachers to track students’ performances and their understanding of the lessons that are covered in the classroom. This website will make it possible for math teachers to know the strengths and weaknesses of each student in the classroom. Moreover, this website will help teachers know what areas each student has mastered and what areas each student still need to work on. That way, teachers will be able to customize different assignments for different students online through prodigygame.com, where students can practice their math lessons through gaming. Therefore, students are not learning in the typical way; rather students are being active participants in their learning process. Using this website, elementary and middle school math teachers can make sure that most of their students are mastering the lessons covered before moving to another lesson. In a math class, it is significant that students master previous lessons to master upcoming lessons. As a result, prodigygame.com can help to improve students’ performances in math classes during elementary and middle school.
Accessible online learning tool (assignment 2)
Learning objectives:
- This online learning activity is for 9th graders, science class (biology).
- During this activity students will review some recently studied material in the unit of genetics. The lessons that will be covered in this learning activity are what is DNA is made of? How do you to build a DNA molecule? What is the relationship between DNA molecules and amino acids? And what it means to be a carrier of a certain disorder or a disease. The purpose of this activity is to scaffold students’ knowledge about the recently studied unite (genetics).
- Michigan State Board of Education: standards B4 Genetics
Describe the activity:
- During this activity students will be asked to follow those two steps:
2. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and pick the game that is titled Sickle Cell DNA.
- During this activity students will play a game, where they will do some genetic counselling. First, students will look at some genograms of families that are carriers of the sickle cell disease and will be asked if their offspring will be affected by sickle cell anemia.
- Second, students review what is DNA is made of? And what are the four bases of DNA, and their relationship.? Then, students will be asked to connect each DNA base with its corresponding base to build a DNA molecule.
- Third, students will review how the sequence of DNA molecules codes for different proteins. Students will be asked to match DNA molecules with their correspondent amino acids. Through this exercise, students will learn how can a mutation in DNA could cause disease like sickle cell anemia.
- Lastly, students will examine a protein (hemoglobin) and what DNA mutation that could cause sickle cell anemia.
- The support that students need to successfully complete this activity is the gained knowledge from the passed class sessions and students’ notes.
- I will facilitate the process of students online learning by planning this online activity to be done in the classroom to make sure that I could answer each student’s questions.
- Before the class session ends, I will ask students to review the website edheads.org. by answering this question: was edheads.org helpful and Why? or was this website unhelpful and why? Then students will be asked to submit their review through remind.com as a homework assignment.
- The web 2.0 technology that will be used in this learning activity is remind.com to provide me with students’ feedback and thoughts about edheads.org and if this website was helpful or not.
- Remind.com will provide me with students’ thoughts about how successful was the use of edheads.org was to review what was recently covered in the last unit about genetics.
- This activity is accessible to learners with different physical disabilities like auditory impairments because there are captions on the bottom of the screen during the whole activity. Therefore, even if students with auditory impairments can’t hear the directions for the activity they can just read the captions.
- This learning activity meets the needs of students with different learning styles like auditory learners, visual learners, and kinesthetic learners. First, this activity is helpful for auditory learners because there was a voice over throughout the whole activity. Second, this activity is helpful for visual learners because the whole activity consists of visual aids from beginning to end. Lastly, this activity is helpful for kinesthetic learners because throughout the whole activity students are being active learners by doing hands- on online activities.
- In this activity, I will assess students through the completion of the activity.
2. The completion of building DNA molecule = 5 points
3. Matching DNA molecule with amino acids= 5 points
- What determines that I have successfully met my learning objectives is students’’ correct completion of the three exercises listed above.
Accessible online learning tool (assignment 3)
Learning objectives:
- This online learning activity is for 7th graders, English language arts class.
- This is a writing analysis assignment that is based on the novel Anne of Green Gables. This assignment will be assigned to students, after we as a class have finish reading the book.
- Michigan Common Core State Standards: reading standards for literature grade 7 students: key ideas and details.
- This activity will be assigned to students after reading the novel Anne of Green Gables. This is a writing analysis paper, where students will analyze both the development of the novel and the novel’s four key elements. Also, students will be asked to support their analysis by using direct quotes from the Anne of Green Gables novel. In this activity, students will use Microsoft Word to do their assignment and they will be required to use certain Microsoft Word features. Some of the Microsoft Word features that will be used in this assignment is theme font (Times New Roman), font size (12), spacing (double space). Another example of Microsoft features that will be used in this writing activity is the Ease of Access Center, which is helpful for students who are visually impaired.
- Student will be asked to go to Edmodo.com, then click on files. Under files there will be a podcast with captions that contains a detailed description of the assignment, two examples of how the assignment can be done, and a video about literary analysis.
- Students will be asked to upload their assignment to Edmodo.com by Friday 11:59 pm.
- After the due date has passed, students will be put in groups in Edmodo.com where each student will review the work of two other students. Then, students will comment on each other’s work and give suggestions on how to improve their papers.
- The web 2.0 technology that will be used in this learning activity is Edmodo.com, which will be used by the teacher to upload files and video that will help students on their analysis paper. Also, students will be able to read each other’s work and comment with suggestions that will help them improve their papers.
- Edmodo.com will help teachers provide students with instant feedback and improve student teacher communication beyond the classroom.
- This activity is a combination of both online and in class face to face interactions between the teacher and students. When the assignment is first assigned the teacher will explain the assignment in depth in class. The teacher will use the overhead projector to show how to access Edmodo.com, and how-to login using the teacher’s code. During class time interaction or face to face interaction, students will be able to ask any questions and the teacher will be able to give extra attention for some students who need further explanation.
- The online interaction between the teacher and students will be done through Edmodo.com, where students can send group or personal messages to the teacher. Students can message the teacher regarding any questions they have or for any further help beyond the classroom. Also, the teacher will provide students with helpful resources under files in Edmodo.com. These files are a podcast with captions, a video about literary analysis, and two examples of two good literary analysis papers.
- Student Accommodations:
- Learning disabled students: In class interaction will help the learning-disabled students because the teacher will be able to work with them as much as possible in class. Also, students will be able to reach the teacher outside of class time by sending the teacher messages regarding any questions or for any further explanation. That way the learning-disabled students will be able to seek help from the teacher in and out of class time. Also, the resources under files in edmodo.com will be available to support students’ learning.
- Visually impaired students: students with visual impairments will be able to use a Microsoft feature called Ease of Access Center, which will make computer use easier. According to afb.org Ease of Access Center has features like “always read this section aloud, always scan this section, start Magnifier Alt-G, start Narrator Alt-N, start On-Screen Keyboard Alt-K, set up High Contrast Alt-U” [Windows Options for Blind and Low Vision people, n.d.]. Other sources for students who are visually impaired are the video about literary analysis, and the podcast. Both the video and the podcast has a voiceover and captions as will
- Auditory impaired students: students with auditory impairments will benefit from the captions on the video and the podcast. Also, they will be able to benefit from the two examples of literary analysis papers. Moreover, auditory impaired students will be able to benefit from class interactions, since the teacher will use the overhead projector.
- auditory learners:
- visual learners:
- kinesthetic learners:
Assessment Plan:
The total grade of this assignment is 80 points.
Criteria
Possible points
The student followed all the literary analysis steps that are presented in the video
10
A good critical and argumentative thesis is present
10
The argument is supported by citations from the novel
10
Analysis of all the four elements of the novel is present
(theme, characters, plot, and point of view)
10
Few to no grammatical mistakes
10
Reviewing and commenting on the work of two other students
20
Theme font (times new roman), font (12) and spacing (double space)
10
Resources
Windows Accessibility Options for People Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision. (n.d.). Retrieved May 28, 2017, from http://www.afb.org/info/living-with-vision-loss/using-technology/using-a-computer/part-ii-for-the-experienced-computer-user-with-a-new-visual-impairment/windows-accessibility-options/12345
Online Learning Experience Review (Assignment 4)
Assignment: Online Learning Experience Review
- Overview of experience:
- The online learning experience I was engaged in was PBL Math webinar. The host of this webinar was Mr. Karim (last name wasn’t mentioned), who is a former middle school math teacher and coach in Alexandria, Virginia. In PBL Math webinar, Mr. Karim discussed a way on how math teachers can engage their students in math lessons through using real life situations as part of students’ learning. He explained the importance of connecting math lessons to real world experiences to make students connect what they learn in a math class to their lives. In PBL Math webinar, Karim introduced the webinar participants to http://www.mathalicious.com/. In this website, Karim and other educators come up with mathematical projects based on real life scenarios to help students connect math lessons to their lives. Karim used a powerpoint to present PBL Math webinar; the webinar duration was 48 minutes and 47 seconds.
- In PBL Math webinar, Mr. Karim presented an example that math teachers can use that connect a math lesson to real life scenarios. Mr. Karim explained how challenging to connect math lessons to real life situations because math had always been taught in a procedural way. In the webinar, Mr. Karim mentioned a math project as an example for teachers on how to engage students to find the equation of the line, and connect the lesson to real life situation. The example that Karim introduced was at Domino's pizza website, “a two-topping medium pizza cost $14 dollars and four topping medium pizza cost $17 dollars. How much domino's pizza charge for pizza? How much domino's pizza charge for each topping and how much do they charge for the pizza without any toppings?” [PBL Math, 2013]. As presented in the webinar, this example will help students find the slope and equation of the line by exploring this real life based example. As Mr. Karim mentioned in the webinar, there are many real-life scenarios math projects available in mathalicious.com. One of the participants in the webinar asked through the group live chat if subscription to mathalicious.com was free? Mr. Karim said that there is an annual subscription fee of $320, if the school was to pay for the subscription. However, if teachers were to pay for the annual subscription, then a teacher got to choose how much would he/she would like to pay for it.
- Presentation of Instruction/Information:
- The information was presented in real time; this webinar was analogous to a PowerPoint presentation. During the webinar, participants couldn’t see the host or anything other than the power point presentation. The multimedia that was used in this webinar was a slideshow; it was a power point slide show. There was an opportunity to interact directly with the host of the webinar, Mr. Karim, through a group live chat. Participants participated in the discussion, answered questions, and asked questions throughout the webinar. There were around twenty participants in the PBL Math webinar; both the host and the participants were engaged in discussions throughout the webinar through a group live chat.
- Opportunities for Interaction:
- The only opportunity to interact with other participants and the instructor was through the group live chat. The group live chat made it possible for each participant to interact with the presenter, Mr. Karim, and other participants of the webinar.
- In this webinar, I was forced to be a passive recipient of information because I didn’t get to watch the webinar live; it was an archived webinar. Since I didn’t attend the webinar live; I missed the opportunity of being engaged in the live group chat between the presenter and the participants. The learning experience of the webinar would have been more useful to me if I got the chance to watch the webinar live to be an active learner and participant in the group live chat with the presenter and webinar participants.
- Feedback and Assessment:
- Participants were asking questions through the group live chat, and Mr. Karim was answering participants’ questions live. The webinar was similar to live class discussions, where the presenter and participants were asking and answering each other’s questions live during the webinar. There were no assignments or tasks that participants were asked to complete.
- Assessment of Online Experience:
- Yes, I do feel that I had learned what the presenter, Mr. Karim, wanted me to learn from the webinar, which is to understand the importance of making math lessons connected to real life scenarios and engage students in critical thinking Mr. Karim provided a website called http://www.mathalicious.com/, where he and other educators design math projects that are based on real life scenarios for teachers