Michael+Stuart+Portfolio

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= = ===**Goal 1:** Investigate resources which students can use to collaborate with each other and people outside the classroom to solve a real-world problem (I’m thinking something along the lines of a virtual Student UN) presented to them during class. ===

This goal is one that I’ve spent a great deal of time upon throughout the course. My main objective of finding ways to allow students to collaborate online was accomplished several times and I first realized it during my first Google Hangout.

I had never used Google Hangout before, but the ability to use the tool to have a video conference with up to 10 people is a fantastic resource. Especially since it is free! I’ve also looked into Skype, and a technology called GoToMeeting. Skype is a great communication tool, and it does allow you to video conference from a variety of devices (phones, computers, tvs, etc.), but it does necessitate that the software be installed on the computer, which is a hassle to some school districts.

[|GoToMeeting] is another tool that I discovered. You can have a video conference while at the same time allowing someone to share a desktop. This would enable teachers and students to see each other, while also being able to share a presentation that has been created. In addition, GoToMeeting also provides the option of a person taking control of another person’s desktop to control it virtually. This would be excellent for planning sessions that are done virtually, because if someone would like to add something they could directly take control and add it in without having to wait to get the document first, edit, then send it back.

I would say that I have accomplished this goal and have succeeded by finding tools that would enable a student to work with and communicate with someone who is not directly next to them.


 * Grade:** A

**Goal 2:** I would like to find a way to use an easy-to-use technology – like Google Calendars and Google Docs – to allow students to develop a Self-Regulated Learning strategy.
This goal I worked on diligently until I got the hang of it. I realized that instead of using Google Docs, I would rather use either Dropbox or Skydrive to manage a student’s working documents. But I recognized that Google Calendar is a great way to keep track of SRL goals for students. I started using my Google Calendar early in the semester and I even began including my work schedule in the calendar.



If you set the sharing permissions, you can let specific people look at your calendar, which is great as a teacher. You could allow students to keep track online of what assignments are due, while also giving them a visual representation of what the next unit is going to be. I know that I am a very visual learner when it comes to planning, so having an interactive calendar that I can select and get more information on would be great if I were a student.

The reason I decided against Google Docs is because through my Personal Use Project, I discovered that I really did not enjoy using the tool. The Presentation and Word Processing tools were – to be quite frank – unpleasant to use. I found the interface limiting (especially in the Presentation tool) and I was never happy with my finished product.

While the tool is great for allowing others to see your documents, having a cloud storage tool like Dropbox or Skydrive are just as good for that, not to mention the finished product is more polished if you have Microsoft Word or Pages from Apple. I really enjoy Skydrive – I like the interface on its products more than I do the Dropbox tools. Skydrive has applications on the iPad and several phone OSes that I believe are both visually and technically superior.

As you can see, I keep many of my course documents in my personal Skydrive. As a teacher, I could easily gain access to my student’s account and review what they have set their goals to be, and what they have created so far for the course. Google Calendar and Skydrive/Dropbox are great tools for SRL.


 * Grade:** A- (because I stopped trying to use Google Docs)

**Goal 3:** By the end of this course I want to develop a strategy (create a blog, or interactive newsletter) that would enable me to communicate easily with parents directly using online tools.
Although I haven’t created a sample blog to demonstrate how I would do this, this is one of my goals that I am most comfortable with. I have decided that using a Wiki would be the best tool for communicating with parents. I debated for a while between a blog and a wiki, but I ultimately came to the conclusion that a wiki would be far superior. One of the main reasons I came to this conclusion was from stumbling upon a classroom wiki that a middle school is using to communicate with parents: USM Middle School Wiki



The wiki shows how a teacher is communicating directly with parents and allowing them to sign up for duties, and to RSVP for certain class meetings. When reading this wiki I saw an opportunity to get parents to respond to parent-teacher conference invitations. I could ask if there were any topics they wanted to discuss as a group, or if they would be unable to attend the meeting outright.

If parents see other parents using a wiki in a regular fashion, it would encourage others to get more involved. Not only would I be able to include parents in the communication process, but I could also give them access to the exact same materials that I am providing to their kids: a syllabus, homework assignments, the Google Calendar with the dates for exams and homework assignments, etc. This would give me quite a lot of defense in case a student says they were unaware that a test was a certain day, or that a homework assignment was due.

I thought a lot about using a wiki throughout the course of the semester in my classroom, and it began with the Richardson article. I would say that I was successful in accomplishing my goal of finding a tool that I could use to communicate with parents, and I really am looking forward to putting a classroom wiki at my disposal.


 * Grade:** A-

===**Goal 4:** Knowing that a lot of schools are shutting off access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., I would like to have strategy going into a school where I can advocate using popular technologies for students while stressing that our job is to teach them how to be digital citizens in a digital age. ===

In my Statement on Digital Literacy, I advocated for the use of Facebook, Twitter, and other popular technologies in the classroom. The reason for doing so was because it is our job as educators to prepare our students for the future, and since many companies are moving toward using these tools, it is vital that we teach our students how to use them respectfully and usefully. My missive has sources that I could point administrators toward when they want to look up why it should be allowed in the classroom. In the debate.fm module, I also discussed how important it is that we utilize these social media tools in the classroom because new technologies are simply an evolution of old technologies.



And with Hobbs’s book on copyright, it would be difficult for an administrator to say no based upon claims of copyright abuse. I could share with the administrators a revised edition of my [|Copyright Clarity ePoster] that I created on Glogster as well as a “sparknotes version.” The only challenge would be privacy concerns, which are something that I do not have a solution for and is something I need to do in the future. I would say this goal is mostly complete, but I still have a little work to do in countering any privacy complaints that an administrator would have when deciding whether or not to block the technologies from the classroom.


 * Grade:** A-

===**Goal 5:** I would like to have a strategy in place for myself, at the end of the course, which details how I should go about learning a new technology and how I should think about using it in the classroom. ===

This goal is the only goal that I am not happy with the final result. Although I have a subconscious idea of how to go about learning new tools, I don’t have a step-by-step process for the undertaking. I think the work that would demonstrate that I have this intuitive way of going about learning a new technology is my Idea Share.

For my Idea Share, [|I shared Prezi] – the online presentation tool – and I did so by introducing it, then sharing YouTube videos of Prezi both in action, and in a marketing campaign. I then introduced Prezi’s tool for teachers where you can view any public Prezi in the education sphere – the one I chose the the Martin Luther King, Jr. Prezi.



So subconsciously I went looking for online instructional manuals, then I went in search of it actually being demonstrated. This would be the best example of how I go about learning a new tool, and I am frustrated that I never came up with a formal plan for myself.


 * Grade:** B

Who am I as a technology user?
I would consider myself a lover of technology, and I crave to use it in nearly all aspects of my life. I use it in my job to conduct meetings via teleconference. I have used it in the classroom to do presentations. I use it at home and have even dabbled in learning some programming language in the past. I use collaboration technologies every day for work. We have our own internal company wikis, and our own site to manage documentation and revisions. So although I have no brought my skills into the classroom setting as a formal teacher, I look forward to doing so in the near future.



How can technology improve teaching and learning?
I believe that technology is vital to engaging with today’s student body. For so long students and teachers have been at odds because students have always been more technical, and more hip. But if teachers learn to use these technologies that students are using every day of their lives, it will allow them to become more interested in what they are doing in class rather than sitting taking notes from a simple lecture.

Technology can make teaching more interactive. It can bring outsiders into the classroom. A teacher no longer has to rely only on their own voice to teach a subject. They can turn to YouTube and TED videos, they can visit websites, and they can display a flashy presentation rather than a deck of PowerPoint slides.

They can allow for communication outside of the classroom as well. Teachers can better talk with their students and parents when they have an instant way to do so that is of little hassle to everyone involved. We all know that students see school as a chore, something that has to be done during the day. But technology can change that and make it so learning is as exciting and thrilling as that video game that they’re addicted to is.

What digital skills must students develop to succeed in school and beyond?
This question I answered incredibly thoroughly in my Statement on Digital Literacy. The four main categories I identified were:

- //Students must be able to collaborate clearly and succinctly with others in an online environment// - //Students must be able to aggregate information and judge the accuracy and reliability of what they find on the Internet// - //Students must understand copyright laws and their own rights when working online// - //Students must know how to create and share digital content//

These skills will enable a student to succeed not only in their post-secondary studies, but also upon entering the workforce that is now praising digital skills very highly.

Future Goals:

 * Create a classroom wiki** I need a tool that will enable me to communicate with my students and with their parents in an effective manner. A wiki holds the best promise for me as I can incorporate a lot of different technologies into one central source.


 * Create a social media defense presentation** I need to show my administrators how and why I will use social media in the classroom. Not only because it’s an accessible communication tool, but because it is important for students to learn to use online collaboration tools responsibly and early.