Week Twelve

Video Story and Listserv

The video project was very time-consuming for me. I had trouble coming up with content for my story. After running into a few dead ends, I found the website of a National Board Certified Math Teacher, Tricia Apel. She seems like a fantastic teacher. On her website she had photos of middle school math students working on various projects. So, I decided to use those photos for my story. Also, I spent some time trying to use the Movie Maker feature for titles, but I didn't like the way they looked on top of the pictures, and you could only do very plain titles without graphics. So I decided to use some PowerPoint slides instead. The audio was pretty straightforward. However, it took a while to find a peppy song to start and end the video. I finally found one on the Microsoft website and downloaded it. All in all this was one of the most challenging assignments for me. Click below to access my movie.



Creating the listserv was very easy. Just follow the directions from Google, and invite the members of your group. If the majority of the parents in a class have email accounts, this would be a great way to communicate with them. My listserv is called
panthers-math@google.groups.com

Week Eleven

Chapters Nine & Ten

Question 2
Why is it important to preview and evaluate videos? What tools should you use to be sure a video is communicating the intended message to your students? What are alternative learning systems? How might they enhance traditional education?

Why is it important to preview and evaluate videos?
Video can be a valid choice of instructional medium if it supports the objectives of the lesson plan. But even then, the implementation of any medium requires careful preparation. One important aspect of implementing video in a lesson is the necessity to preview and evaluate each video before it is used in class. By nature, watching a video is more a passive than an active experience. So, if the program is boring, confusing, or not well-done, learners will lose focus and not benefit from the content. However, if a video exploits the full potential of the medium – motion, color, sound, storyline, affect – it can truly enhance learning.

The text offers a comprehensive rubric for evaluating videos for classroom application. Videos are rated on a 5-point scale from poor to excellent. The rating criteria are

• Relevance to curriculum – Does the video focus upon key concepts and learning objectives?
• Currency and accuracy – Is the content up-to-date? Are the facts accurate?
• Engagement – Will it hold learners’ attention? Will it interest students and motivate them to keep watching?
• Support materials – Are there relevant materials to accompany the video?
• Technical quality – Are the picture, sound, and production values of high quality?

This rubric will help teachers ensure that videos will effectively contribute to the goals of instruction and not detract from those goals.

What tools should you use to be sure a video is communicating the intended message to your students?
All instances of communication convey messages – intentional or unintentional. With a rich, sensory medium such as video, it is very important that teachers take steps to ensure that intended messages are conveyed. Video can be a powerful medium. Often facts are intermixed with content that stirs the emotions or may cause students to question their beliefs. Therefore, teachers must try to anticipate student reactions on a variety of levels and be able to address the affective as well as the cognitive substance of the piece. Teachers must be absolutely sure the content on all levels is appropriate for students. Once the teacher is aware of the many messages that may be present in a video, he or she can take other steps to ensure that the desired message is delivered.

First the physical variables should be adjusted. The video should be tested in the classroom prior to presentation to make sure the sound and picture are clear. The room should be arranged so all students can see the screen and the lights should be dimmed just enough for ease of viewing.

Next, the instructor should take steps to engage the learner in the viewing experience. Good ways to prepare the learners for a video include reviewing the concepts leading up to the video, previewing the key points in the video, or discussing the subject of the video to activate background knowledge. A video study guide that students fill out during the program can facilitate active learning. Another strategy is to pause the video at key points to question, reinforce, or discuss important concepts. For example, when viewing a historical drama, the teacher may want to stop at several scene changes and discuss the implications of the action or have students reflect on their understanding.

To make sure the message was received, students can engage in follow-up activities. For example, a class discussion is one way a teacher can discern if students obtained the intended message. Other activities include essay, group projects, or extended research.

What are alternative learning systems? How might they enhance traditional education?
This question was a real eye-opener for me. I understand what traditional instruction is because 95% of my education was done that way. I also understand what distance education is because I have taken a variety of online courses and participated in synchronous and asynchronous professional development training. Traditional instruction offers the personal connection with a teacher providing direct instruction as well as spontaneous peer interaction. Distance learning requires that students take some of the responsibility of managing their own learning which demands good organizational and time management skills. However, by incorporating some aspects of distance learning into a traditional classroom, students get the best of both worlds.

Alternative delivery systems are programs in which elements of distance education are adapted and integrated with traditional educational practices. Creative educators who have implemented this exciting new format are finding that the combination of instructional delivery methods yields a more stimulating, flexible, and engaging learning environment. Asynchronous methods in particular can effectively augment and enhance traditional teaching. For example, teachers can post the PowerPoint presentation that was used in a classroom lesson along with a supplemental worksheet on a class website. Then, students who need extra time for mastery or who were absent can access the material from home. I recall another example of this concept when I taught developmental math courses at a community college. All of my lessons were cross-referenced with a set of video tapes of supplemental instruction. Students who needed extra help or who missed class could either check out the tapes from the library or request the media center to make a copy of the entire set. This was in 1998, prior to all the advances in distance learning, but the idea is the same. The use of asynchronous learning methods promotes active learners who take initiative for their learning. Other ways of enhancing traditional instruction with asynchronous techniques include schedules posted on a class website, discussion boards for small group projects, email and voice mail for parent-teacher communication, list-serve for class reminders and announcements, and web-based assignments.

I believe one of the most beneficial aspects of alternative delivery systems is the increased opportunity for all learners to interact and participate within their comfort level. Many learners are hesitant (or even petrified) to speak up in a large group setting. They simply find it very difficult to participate. Consequently, their ideas and opinions remain unheard. When given the opportunity to post on a discussion board, use a chat room, or send an email, these same students have a more comfortable opportunity to interact. Conversely, the students who are extremely verbally active in class will learn how to thoughtfully and patiently express their ideas in writing.

Week Ten

Class Website

I created a website for a hypothetical 6th grade math class. Class websites facilitate active involvement of parents in their child's school activities, and this is one key for student success. A website is a wonderful way to share information among students, parents, and teachers. Google makes it easy for anyone to make their own website. Granted, one must accept the limitations of the Google tool, but for making a very basic website it works well.

I wanted to create a simple, easy-to-use design where students and parents could go for class updates, assignments, resources, and basic information. I did not have any major problems with the project. The hardest part was making up the mock content for the site: homework schedule, introduction, faq, etc. I decided to use a graphic from my PowerPoint quiz for the logo. I simply changed the color scheme to match the lavender of the Google template I chose. I decided to go with all lower case for the main heading and page titles because I think it contributes to the sleek, modern look which I was going for.

Google's text editor is very crude. You can only do a little formatting of text. Also, it was somewhat awkward to add pictures, and the sizing and placement of pictures is very limited. However, these drawbacks are understandable when you consider that this is a free resource designed to be usable by anyone. The more bells and whistles, the more complicated it all gets.

The name of my website is Math Matters.

Week Eight

Puzzle
I enjoyed creating a crossword puzzle of geometry vocabulary. I think vocabulary in math is often overlooked, but it is important that students use proper mathematical terms in their communication about math just as in any other subject. Crossword puzzles are a fun way for students to review vocabulary. I have used other crossword puzzle makers in the past; however, the APTE tool was easy to use and produced a nice-looking puzzle. I like that the program generates all possible permutations while displaying the number of clues used although it was slightly awkward to “catch” the variations with the most clues.

Test
I really loved the Easy Testmaker website. It is versatile and easy to use. I chose to make a matching test, and I had no trouble with it. A wonderful feature is that you can generate alternate versions for each test for security purposes. Another great feature is that you can store your tests and edit them. Creating a key was also very easy. The process of extracting our test and key to turn in was confusing, but that would not be an issue with a paid subscription. For the busy teacher who likes to create her how evaluation tools, Easy Testmaker would be well worth the cost.

Rubric
Of the web tools in this assignment, I thought Rubistar was the most challenging to get the hang of. First of all, I don’t normally think of using rubrics for scoring math. So, I decided to devise a rubric for scoring a group project where students solve a multi-step application problem and create a poster describing the problem and solution. That way there is more to the score than a right-or-wrong answer. Once I got my mind on the right track, the process flowed smoothly. I think Rubistar is a good tool for creating rubrics and keeping them consistent within a class. It would be more valuable for subjects that lend themselves to holistic scoring such as writing or social studies.

Trackstar
Trackstar was fun to use. I am always finding and using various resources from the web, but I never had a good way to keep up with all my treasures. Trackstar is perfect for that. In fact, I plan on using it in my GED class. When we study for the science part of the GED, I have students choose from a list of interactive websites to explore and report to the class. Now, I can have them go to a Trackstar track where they can read a summary and see a preview before making their choice.

Website Evaluation
I thought this exercise was useful because it spelled out many of the criteria to be considered in choosing web resources for classroom use. For a beginning teacher, it might be desirable to do such a formal evaluation for websites under consideration. However, an experienced teacher who knows her students and is knowledgeable about the web and what is available on it can size up a website relatively quickly without the need for documents such as these. Of course, that is just my opinion.
NOTE: To view the Web Evaluation properly you must download it. The preview provided by Google Docs is not accurate.