Liuzzo+Portfolio

=** Goals **=

1. **Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity** Goal: Learn how to use different technological resources (such as Glogster, which I have heard of, but have not used) that will encourage and inspire students’ creativity and learning.

Throughout the semester, I spent a good amount of time on this goal and I enjoyed doing these projects more than the others. I chose to share my idea share project with Jing, which I did not even know existed before a classmate shared it. In my other summer course, we were required to create a book trailer and a podcast book review. With this goal in mind, I chose to use iMovie, garage band, and PodOmatic for these assignments. Until creating the book trailer, I had no idea how much time and effort it takes to choose the images, add the text and audio, and then upload it to YouTube. I think all four of the projects posted below will be useful to show as examples to students or other teachers when demonstrating how to utilize these tools. After experimenting with these tools and having fun being creative, I believe that all four of them will both encourage and inspire students’ creativity and learning.

[|Glogster] [|PodOmatic] [|Jing] [|iMovie and Youtube] (below) [|Wordle] (shown on the right) media type="youtube" key="U3CB-xE8tLY" height="315" width="560" align="center"
 * Evidence of Learning: **


 * Grade:** A

2. **Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments** Goal: Explore and create accounts on programs that can be used for students to digitally monitor their own learning (Class Dojo or something similar).

I achieved this goal, but I could have focused on it more than I did. The tools posted below are those that I found and think will be useful for students to digitally monitor their own learning. Engrade is essentially the teacher’s grade book online. Students can see their grades and missing assignments as soon as the teacher posts them. Students can use the NoteCards on NoteStar to record their learning. They can use these virtual index cards to track what they have read and their thoughts on the topics. On GoodReads, students can record and share the books they are reading. They can see what their friends, classmates, and teachers are reading as well. They can rate their books on a 1 to 5 scale and write reviews. Although this does not particularly focus on what is learned in school, I think this tool may create lifelong readers; requiring students to track their reading during the school year may lead to the students using GoodReads independently and on a personal level. ClassDojo can be used to monitor behaviors in the classroom. This site, however, seems to be more teacher driven whereas the other tools are student driven.

[|NoteStar] [|Class Dojo] [|Engrade] [|GoodReads]
 * Evidence of Learning: **


 * Grade:** A-

3. **Model Digital-Age Work and Learning** Goal: Create a wiki page, blog, or twitter that could be used in my future classroom to communicate with students, parents, and other teachers.

I did not create a blog or a wiki because I realized that I would need to know what grade level I was teaching and the curriculum. I have an Associate Teaching position in the fall, and I will need to work with the lead teacher in regards to the curriculum. I decided to use this wiki for my portfolio in order to have a better understanding of how to use it. I chose to participate in the Blogs expert page. I spent a lot of time reading about how to create a blog and exploring other blogs. Although I did not create one for this class, I have a better understanding of how to use blogs in the classroom, and if I am able to use them in the future, will feel more confident in the implementation. For my personal use project, however, I created a twitter, explored other teacher’s twitter feeds, and read news articles about Twitter in the classroom. I reflected on this in my personal use journal, and am still unsure of whether I will actually use a Twitter in my classroom. I think a blog or wiki can be more useful in the classroom and think I am more likely to use one of those as opposed to a Twitter.

Blogs and Wikis [|Twitter]
 * Evidence of Learning: **


 * Grade:** B+

4. **Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility** Goal: Learn about copyright laws regarding the Internet and create a lesson plan or activity that will teach students about copyright laws as well as future implications (college applications and future job prospects) of posting questionable material on the Internet.

I partially completed this goal because I did not create a lesson plan or activity, and instead I created a poster that can teach students the basic of copyright and fair use with Glogster. I think the Glog below would be a good introduction of copyright and fair use for students, It can also be uploaded to a class blog or wiki so that students can refer to it whenever they feel the need. I was mindful while creating it in that, other than the video clip, it can become a physical poster for the classroom wall.

[|Copyright and Fair Use Poster]
 * Evidence of Learning: **


 * Grade:** B+

5. **Engage in Professtional Growth and Leadership** Goal: Explore other class blogs, wikis, and twitter accounts to get ideas and inspirations for my own class blog.

This goal was one that could have been easily forgotten because it did not include a product that I created, but I made an effort to work to work on it throughout the semester. There are so many websites and articles about using blogs, wikis, and twitter in the classroom to sift through and my judgement skills were put to the test. Technology has made it extremely easy to independently grow professionally and deepen one's knowledge of specific materail. Below is a list of the sources that I found to be particularly helpful.


 * Evidence of Learning: **


 * Blogs:**
 *  [|Mr. C's Class Blog] This blog is maintained by a fifth grade teacher who uses it to connect his students to the world.
 *  [|Mr. Toffolo's Blog] This is a ninth grade English teacher's blog. This is a good example of how to share course documents and homework with students and parents via blogs.
 * [|Will Richardson's Site]
 * [|Adolescent Literacy in a Multicultural Society (Graduate class at Fordham Blog)]
 * [|Media Literacy and Technology (Our Class) Blog]


 * Wikis:**
 * Classroom Wiki
 * Summer Reading Wiki
 * [|Book Review & Podcasts for Students]


 * Twitter:**
 * Twitter Tips
 * [|50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom]
 * [|Teachers on Twitter]


 * Grade:** A-

=** Reflection on Essential Questions: **=

1. Who am I as a technology user?
I think I underestimated myself as a technology user. I had never thought outside of the box when it came to using technology in the classroom or in my personal life; I used to think showing a 2 minute video or audio clip or using a powerpoint presentation was considered implementing technology. As the semester went on, I actually became interested in using new tools for school. For example, in my other summer course, we were required to create a book trailer. I spent well over the amount of time that I expected to while creating the book trailer, but I found myself enjoying the process. I have now become more open to and comfortable with using technology.

2. How can technology improve teaching and learning? [[image:Screen shot 2012-08-04 at 1.58.42 PM.png width="461" height="374" align="right"]]
Technology can improve teaching and learning in a number of ways. As we all know and have repeated numerous times this semester, in the 21st century, students as well as teachers need to learn how to be digitally literate in order to succeed. Technology allows us to connect with and share ideas with people from the classroom down the hall, across the United States, or elsewhere in the world. Tools such as Glogster, Storybird, Pezi, and Jing are more engaging than simply standing in front of students for 40 minutes. The ability for students to become authors and contributors, share ideas, create something, and read others’ ideas is, to me, by far the best improvement that can be made by implementing technology in the classroom.

While technology can improve teaching and learning, it is important that we do not simply use technology for the sake of using it in the classroom; there should be a purpose. I added the screenshots of some of the discussions that affected my thinking throughout the semester. I included the two below specifically because they revolve around the importance of using technology in a meaningful way, and not, as Chris wrote, “abandon traditional methods altogether.”



3. What digital skills must students develop to succeed in school and beyond?
I have included my final statement on digital literacy below because I believe it begins to answer this question. In order for students to succeed in school and beyond, students need to learn how to utilize technology to collaborate, share ideas, and discover new ideas. They need to learn how to navigate and be comfortable using tools such as blogs, wikis, Glogster, etc. before they can even begin to think critically or share ideas.

=** Future Learning Goals: **=

1. **Create a blog or wiki for my classroom.** As posted above, I decided not to create a blog or wiki for my future classroom because I did not know what would need to be included based on my position. It would have just been a basic background on the blog. Once I am in a classroom in which this type of technology is available, I plan to implement this type of technology.

2. **Utilize an RSS feed.** In order to store the websites I posted above, I had either saved them to my ‘reading list’ on my Mac or copy and pasted the link and saved it to a word document. In the future, I think utilizing an RSS feed may be helpful.

3. **Create a lesson plan focused on digital citizenship and Internet etiquette.** Students should understand the future implications (college applications, job prospects, etc.) of posting questionable material on the Internet and know how to present themselves to the world via the Internet.