Excel

Activity Reflection 2

I want to start off by saying I enjoyed working with Excel this week.  I used Excel many years ago when I was teaching to keep track of my student’s averages.  That being said, Excel is a “software application spreadsheet which allows you to organize numeric data in rows and columns” (Gunter 2010).   I feel it is a fantastic tool in a teacher’s toolbox.

Our instructor gave us a real world assignment that evolved completing several task using Excel.   The goal seemed to relate to how Excel could be used to put together a teacher’s grade book.  To start, we used color formatting of the cells to help distinguish columns of homework and test grades for each student.  Instead of choosing random colors, I decided to make all the test score in shades of pink/purple and the homework in blues.  I feel this makes it easier for a teacher when looking for or comparing grades in a large class.

Another objective taught us how to add a new column to the spreadsheet.  We were asked to add new columns to hold each student’s test average and homework average.  We had to add Excel’s formula functions to each cell to compute those same averages.  In order for this to work you need to select the cells you would like to average together and also the cell where you would like the average to be placed in your spreadsheet.  We used this same technique to compute and display the final grade for each student.  I had used all these functions before and was familiar with how to use them, so these steps were pretty straight forward.

We where then asked to sort the students and grades by the final grade we just computed.  This was done to make it easier to identify which students where in trouble, having a grade of a D or lower.  We used our syllabus for EME 5050’s grading guide, which identified what a D or lower was (69.99 or below).  This was a very interesting exercise as I had never sorted by grade before.  The only type of sorting I had done in the past was alphabetical by students last or first name. 

Another new task I learned was the ability to have the names dynamically appear on all worksheets in the spreadsheet when you changed them on the first one.  This was a very powerful feature that I plan to use in the future when I go back to teaching.   Before I added this feature to my tool chest, I use to cut and paste the names to all the pages for each 9 weeks; a much more laborious process if you ask me.

Overall, this was my favorite assignment, so far, for the class.  I’m a hands-on learner.  So, when I went to school you were given a task, asked to complete it and turn it in for a grade.  We were never asked to reflect on our assignments.  But, I have found this to be a very effective learning tool that helps me understand not only the assignment, but the process by which I go through to solve the assignment.  I might take aspects of this process to use in my classroom in the future.

Teachers Discovering Computers: Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom, 6th Ed., Shelly, Cashman, Gunter, and Gunter. Course Technology - Thompson Publishing (2010).

Ethics

Reading Reaction #3

Our reading assignment for this week in class we will be looking at the question “Is it more unethical to allow threats to students/schools (see list above) or to deny students/teachers access to instructionally-relevant Web-based tools and content?”  My initial reaction was oh my yes; schools need to block objectionable material from the students.  I feel if the schools allow the students to search online then it is the schools responsibility to make sure the material the students are looking at is safe and appropriate.  As a teacher is it our responsibility to offer guidance to all the wonderful technology that is available to our students.  At the same time there are plenty of safe and appropriate sites to find the information on whatever the subject you are working on with your class.

After I thought about the question some more, I believe that there is not a black or white answer but rather it lies some where in the middle, in the shades of gray. It is my belief that teachers should have access to relevant content on the web.  However, at the same time they still need to remember that they are the adults and if you give students free rein some will take advantage.  

I believe we need to also look at the question from the perspective of age appropriate material; for example in elementary, middle and high school.  I don’t feel that elementary and middle school aged students are mature enough to handle some sites on the web.  For example; Web 2.0 or participatory web “is a site that allows user to modify web content, provide a means for users to share personal information (social networking), and have application software built into the site for visitors to use” (Gunter 2010). 

However, I can see Web 2.0 being used at a high school level.  To provide this access to their students a high school in Australia has put some of the responsibility on the students and parents by having them sign an Information Technology Access Policy. “This policy is important to the safe operation of information technology at our school for staff, students, and the community. Independent student use of telecommunications and electronic information resources will only be permitted where students and their parents or guardians provide written acknowledgement that students agree to act in accordance with the standards of conduct established in this policy document”(Scribd 2008).

Another area to think about is who is making the decision to block sites, and how are they making that decision? Is the decision made at a school, district or state level? Too much censorship is never a good thing, but where do we draw the line?

I spoke with a 7^th  grade computer technology teacher in Seminole County, where they do block some sites with the use of a filtering software program “which prevents the browser from accepting material from targeted sites or material that contains keywords or phrases”(Gunter 2010).  She, personally, is thankful that they do have a filter in place because she has 35 students in a class and doesn’t have the ability to watch each student all the time.  But she notes that even with the filters in place, the students still find unsuitable material to view on their computers. 

One interesting note was that when she was going through the Master’s Program at UCF she was for 100% for the uncensored usage of technology in the classroom.  Now that she is responsible for 195 kids in her technology classroom, she is 100% for putting some restrictions in place.  It just becomes too difficult to have eyes on all 35 computer screens at the same time.  Having the content filter as that extra little helper makes her feel so much more in control.

As a parent, I monitor very closely what websites my daughters visit.  We have had and will continue to have several talks about what sites are appropriate for them and why I feel some sites aren’t.  I have their Google search settings on “strict filtering” which filter both explicit text and explicit images. Even though they are restricted to what sites they may visit; they have always been able to find material that they need for school.

There are several programs on the market that help you limit the amount of inappropriate material that your children have access to.  One site I found is CyberSafeFamily “recommends using parental controls that filter out inappropriate material and allow you to monitor your kid’s online activities. Filtering programs allow you to manage the content that comes through the internet into your home. In addition, it narrows down your search results and gives you more appropriate results.”(Cyber Safe)

Another product, Norton Online Family (which we use), provides not only the ability to filter content, but provides a slew of other features.  It’s designed to be used by parents to provide assistance in controlling, monitoring and limiting access to inappropriate material and activities.  For example, it provides web site tracking, computer usage, social networking activities, instant messaging, what they search for, and notification directly to the parents when any inappropriate activity is detected (Norton).

To sum up, if everyone would follow computer ethics “the moral guidelines that govern the use of computers, networks, and information systems” (Gunter 2010), we wouldn’t even be having this debate.  Of course, we know that isn’t always the case.  I think the use of strict filters to keep inappropriate material from our elementary students and a little more liberty for middle school students is the best choice.  However, I feel that it’s important to loosen those filter restrictions for the high school students, with the permission of their parents and following school guidelines, allowing them more freedom in the material that they are exposed to.  I believe that this provides a valid middle ground between complete censorship and full access.  After all, what parent wants to hear from their child over the dinner table, “Guess what Johnny showed me today in computer class?”

 

Works Cited:

Gunter, Glenda. (2010) Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom. (6^th Ed.)Boston MA.    

Scribd. January 4, 2008. Parramatta Marist High School, September 20, 2010

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7571227/Acceptable-Use-Policy-for-High-School-IT-Web20

Cybersafamily.com, Cyber Safe Family, September 21, 2010  http://www.cybersafefamily.com/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-inappropriate-material-on-the-internet/

Norton Online Family, Symantec Corporation,  September 21, 2010

http://onlinefamilyinfo.norton.com/

Networked

Reading Reaction #2

Our assignment for this week was to reflect on the video "The Networked Student" by Florida classroom teacher (and University of Florida doctoral student) Wendy Drexler.  As I watched this video all I could think about is how the role of the classroom teacher and the classroom student has changed.  The classroom has changed from a teacher centered to a student center learning environment.

The video explained how a networked student who is taking an online class doesn’t have a book.  They have a teacher who they don’t see and who doesn’t lecture to them. They use email to communicate with the teacher and professionals in the field.   This student learns through a theory called Connectivism.  “Connectivism presumes learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties.” (Drexler 2008)

These 21^st century networked students take control of their learning by using many diverse forms of technology.  They use personal websites, Google Scholar and social networking sites to name a few.  They use weblogs “an informal web site consisting of time-stamped articles, in a diary or journal format” (Gunter 2010) to keep track of their information.  The student builds a knowledge base of his subject by using blog entries where his classmates or anyone on-line can read and comment on.  This is an on going learning project that can be updated as new information becomes available.

The student has many ways to gather information.  I think one great example is the use of an MP3 player to listen to a pod cast; a “free video or audio series that you download and play on your computer, iPod, or  iphone,” (Gunter 2010).  The student can download recorded lectures from professionals all over the world to obtain the information that they need.  They no longer have that dependency of having to have an instructor in the room with them.

I had to stop and think about the role that the teacher takes in this new type of learning environment, particularly when your students might have a better understanding of technology than you do.  I see the teacher as a facilitator of the learning process. The teacher in the 21^st century no longer needs to stand at the front of the class and lecture to the students.  They, instead, can provide the students guidance when needed.  The teachers are there for support to help the student build their learning networks so they can in turn direct their own learning process.

Works Cited

Drexler, W. (2008, November 26). The Networked Student.

Gunter, Glenda. (2010) Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom. (6^th Ed.)Boston MA.    

Searching

Activity Reflection #1

My first activity reflection assignment was to search for online resources that contained educationally relevant materials.  I found out there is a lot of information out there on the internet.  The process of narrowing the search to find correct and appropriate information can take a little more time than expected. 

I have always used Google anytime that I’m looking for a topic on the web.  Google seems able to find anything I’m looking for with very little effort on my part.  I never stopped to think if the information was correct.   I decided to try Google for Educators.  This site contains tools for your classroom, activities, and even classroom posters.  One thing I found on this site a Google for Educations discussion group where you can post questions to other educators around the world.

While using Google, modifying the parameters provided for search criteria can reduce the amount of information you receive.  Using the special characters that are on page 131 in our textbook, Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom (Gunter 2010) when using Yahoo can help limit your search, and I found this to be extremely useful. 

I began my search for educationally relevant materials in math, the field in which I teach.  I started on a quest for “math work sheets”, something every math teacher would have in their classroom.  I would have expected this search to yield a high number of hits, but I never expected this many.  The first search provided over 2,290,000 results.  It quickly became apparent that I needed to narrow the search criteria a tad.  So, I searched using “algebra + worksheets + free +printable - algebra 2”, and the results were a little more reasonable.  I received 465,000 results.  That is 1,825,000 less sites! 

To help me qualify the results of my search, I asked myself some basic questions.  If I was teaching, how would I integrate technology into my classroom today? What would I have available to me that I didn’t have 12 years ago when I taught?  When I was first teaching; the technology that we used was an overhead projector.  Today there is an abundance of integrating technology into all subjects on the web.  These are some of the results that I found.

One of the first things I would set up for my classroom would be a class-dedicated web page.  This page would include all class work and homework assignments, projects, and all information about the class.  I found this free site that allows you to set up your own web page http://www.thehomeworkzone.com/index.php?keywords=websites-for-teachers

I was able to find from the results another site to help integrate technology into your everyday classroom. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech146.shtml .  This site provides 20 different ideas to incorporate technology; some of the ideas are online SAT practice, online math problems, online logic games, provide a URL of the day, and a link to a joke of the week.

Yet another fantastic site was http://www.teachnology.com. This site provides teacher resources, lesson plans, and worksheets for the four academic classes.  I would take advantage of these materials to help supplement my lesson plans, projects and work from my current text book.

I also visited the Florida Department of Education website and found that it has many links for students, parents, educators, and even administrators. There was a lot of information about the rules, policies, and standards for each subject.  However, I didn’t see much information for the classroom teacher, and it didn’t yield any valuable resources for me to include into my classroom.  

After visiting FDOE, I wanted to dive deeper into my local education resources.  So, I went to the site for the specific county that I live in; for me it was Seminole county.  I found the county site had links to several items from Class Size, Employment, Dividends, Certification, all the way down to Where Do I Catch My Bus? 

Finally, I needed a way to keep all the great web sites I found together in one convenient   location so I could return to them later.  So, I set up a Diigo account and bookmarked the above mentioned sites for future use in my classes. 

So in conclusion, depending on what type of educational relevant material you are looking for, there are an over abundance of sites ready and willing to provide that information to you. Using simple techniques like asking basic directed questions about the content, choosing a good search engine, and providing additional search options can help in narrowing your search to appropriate sites to use in your classroom.

 

Here are the websites that I used:

http://www.google.com

http://www.google.com/educators/index.html

http://www.thehomeworkzone.com/index.php?keywords=websites-for-teachers

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech146.shtml

http://www.teachnology.com

http://www.fldoe.org

http://www.scps.k12.fl.us

 Gunter, Glenda. (2010) Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom. (6^th Ed.)Boston MA.