Final Portfolio

This is the link to my group's Final Portfolio. 

Shakespeare WebQuest & Reflection

This WebQuest challenges students to pick a stance on the popular debate behind Shakespeare and present their claim creatively using online sources. 



This WebQuest can be considered a "real" WebQuest because students are using essential web tools for educational purposes. "Real WebQuests facilitate meaningful use of the Web for educational ends. Activities that point students only to encyclopedic briefs, textbook digests, or worse—word searches and coloring books—do not take advantage of Internet resources that are interactive, media-rich, contemporary, contextualized, or of varied perspectives."

This helps students not only become more familiar with the resources available to them but prepares them for the future of work. They begin to learn in ways that are fun and creative but also useful. Our WebQuest challenges students to look at news articles as well as scholarly articles to do research for their claim. By creating an attractive and technology-based presentation, students are presenting their findings to their peers in a persuasive manner which will inevitably help them in the future. 

According to the article, WebQuest's should have authentic tasks that motivate students. "Real WebQuests should pass the ARCS filter: Does the activity get students’ Attention? Is it Relevant to their needs, interests, or motives? Does the task inspire learners’ Confidence in achieving success? Finally, would completing the activity leave students with a sense of Satisfaction in their accomplishment?" This WebQuest does have that. Most students are fairly competitive so to make a mock trial allows students to strive to win. Students gain satisfaction in that but also presenting a good case with their peers. 

A good WebQuest should also create, "Open-ended questions [that] activate students’ prior knowledge and create a personal curiosity that inspires investigation and brings about a more robust understanding of the material." The structure of this WebQuest does just that. It makes students investigate the material in a new and creative way. This idea of open-ended questions makes learning less stiff and promotes an atmosphere of new ideas and critical thinking. 

WebQuest Worksheet

WebQuest about WebQuests Worksheet

Your Role

___Efficiency Expert

___Affiliator

___Altitudinist

___Technophile

I was absent from class because I was sick, therefore I was not in a group. 


Your Impressions

WebQuest	Strengths	Weaknesses
Grow School Greens	Everything was clear and theme appropriate.	Almost too much information and questionable age appropriateness.
Where is My Hero?	Interesting and creative ideas.	Not as detailed.
Underground Railroad	Very clear and creative while still being constructive.	I have nothing negative to say.
Ice Cream	Love this idea and theme for this age group.	The choice of colors and presentation was not my favorite.
Ancient Egypt	Assignment is clear.	Not visually appealing.

The two best Webquests in my opinion were Ungerground Railroad and Ice Cream. They were creative, age appropriate, and made learning more fun. 

Best in this case means that I liked it above the others because it was appealing, clear, and I would like to do it. Worst means that it is lacking the those things. 

Collaborative Learning with Technology

 Storybird collaboration between sparrish and brittanyrimmer

ISTE NETS-T Standard 3 for Model Digital Age Work and Learning:

        b. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.

This Storybird project allows students in different school, that are different ages, and have different ideas to collaborate on one story, then publish it for the community online to see and comment. Teachers can use this method of collaboration with Storybird in multiple approaches to collaboration. Whether a group of students in one class huddle around a computer and create a story, individual students from different classes pair up and work on a story, or students who don't even know each other from different school share the experience of writing a virtual story together.

Since Storybird is online, the community can view and comment on students work. This allows the community to be involved and support the students creating a positive atmosphere of learning and appreciation of hard work. Parents and family members can also make stories with students and view them whenever they are available. Teachers could assign students to create a Storybird story with a family member who does not live close by. If a student does not have a family who could collaborate with them, those students could be paired ith another teacher at the school. This allows the family or another caring adult to be involved and support students.

This form of collaboration is effective because it is online. Writing a story online while collaborating with someone else allows students to experience teamwork, creative thinking, and enjoyment using digital tools, making writing a simple story infinitely more exciting because they are students in technologically savvy generations.

Copyright Video

After watching this video, I learned that they (the copyright business/company/program thing) can identify a match or a copy even if it is just a fragment of a video, if it is in slow motion or fast forward, there are one hundred years worth of video this system knows and when a copy is identified, the owner has the option to allow it which usually in turn allows them to benefit from the publicity.
I agree with allowing the owner to have the right to choose, not just to have the access and republishing automatically denied and that the copyrighting business is very complicated and messy.

One question that I had is... Can the owner(s) see who and how their work is being reproduced and how it could benefit them before making their decision.

When I Become a Teacher

This is my video of when I become a teacher.

Digital storytelling is a really neat way to incorporate media into the classroom while still intellectually stimulating students. This actually allows students to be much more creative, rather than writing a 5 page research paper. They can express themselves, visually, musically, and creatively using the tools that are fun and interesting to them. 

The article entitled "The World of Digital Storytelling" explains, "Through creating electronic personal narratives, students become active creators, rather than passive consumers, or multimedia." Students consume so much media, but most of the time it is never used in a positive way. By assigning students projects using media, like digital storytelling, these students get to hand-craft their own piece of what they are consuming which is infinitely more rewarding. Not only does this allow students to be creative in a way that is modern and fun, but they also are attracted and engaged by the work they are doing. This advances critical thinking and creativity. The article says, "Digital stories need to be used to strengthen students' critical thinking, report writing, and media literacy skills." Media is everywhere in our lives. We are practically forced to use it in the society we live in. Every corner, business, or corporation uses new technology and media products, so why not teach our students how to use these things to their advantage? These things are a hindrance to students' education when they are banded and avoided, but if we can use them to make learning the material not only more exciting, but also fresh and new, students will inevitably broaden their thinking and creativity in ways that are unimaginable. 

As an English teacher this could be really useful in my classroom. Here is an example of performing and creating poetry as a digital story. 

WebQuest Evaluation

WebQuest

Was Shakespeare Really Shakespeare? 

	Beginning	Developing	Accomplished	Score
Overall Aesthetics (This refers to the WebQuest page itself, not the external resources linked to it.)
Overall Visual Appeal	0 points There are few or no graphic elements. No variation in layout or typography. OR Color is garish and/or typographic variations are overused and legibility suffers. Background interferes with the readability.	2 points Graphic elements sometimes, but not always, contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships. There is some variation in type size, color, and layout.	4 points Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships. Differences in type size and/or color are used well and consistently.  See Fine Points Checklist.	2  Visual appearance  is lacking. A more interesting font with different colors and sizes along with more pictures would make this  more engagin and appealing.
Navigation & Flow	0 points Getting through the lesson is confusing and unconventional. Pages can't be found easily and/or the way back isn't clear.	2 points There are a few places where the learner can get lost and not know where to go next.	4 points Navigation is seamless. It is always clear to the learner what all the pieces are and how to get to them.	4 Navigation is clear and easy to follow.
Mechanical Aspects	0 points There are more than 5 broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	1 point There are some broken links, misplaced or missing images, badly sized tables, misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	2 points No mechanical problems noted.  See Fine Points Checklist.	2 There are no mechanical problems indicated.
Introduction
Motivational Effectiveness of Introduction	0 points The introduction is purely factual, with no appeal to relevance or social importance OR The scenario posed is transparently bogus and doesn't respect the media literacy of today's learners.	1 point The introduction relates somewhat to the learner's interests and/or describes a compelling question or problem.	2 points The introduction draws the reader into the lesson by relating to the learner's interests or goals and/or engagingly describing a compelling question or problem.	2  The introduction is clear, interesting, and engaging, therefore making the introduction very effective.
Cognitive Effectiveness of the Introduction	0 points The introduction doesn't prepare the reader for what is to come, or build on what the learner already knows.	1 point The introduction makes some reference to learner's prior knowledge and previews to some extent what the lesson is about.	2 points The introduction builds on learner's prior knowledge and effectively prepares the learner by foreshadowing what the lesson is about.	2 The introduction  does build on former knowledge and initiates an interesting new perspective.
Task (The task is the end result of student efforts... not the steps involved in getting there.)
Connection of Task to Standards	0 points The task is not related to standards.	2 point The task is referenced to standards but is not clearly connected to what students must know and be able to do to achieve proficiency of those standards.	4 points The task is referenced to standards and is clearly connected to what students must know and be able to do to achieve proficiency of those standards.	4 The task is very clear and direct, providing students with a direction and expectations they must meet.
Cognitive Level of the Task	0 points Task requires simply comprehending or retelling of information found on web pages and answering factual questions.	3 points Task is doable but is limited in its significance to students' lives. The task requires analysis of information and/or putting together information from several sources.	6 points Task is doable and engaging, and elicits thinking that goes beyond rote comprehension. The task requires synthesis of multiple sources of information, and/or taking a position, and/or going beyond the data given and making a generalization or creative product. See WebQuest Taskonomy.	6 The Task is doable and engaging, while allowing students to be creative. Students do take a position and use multiple sources to make a claim.
Process (The process is the step-by-step description of how students will accomplish the task.)
Clarity of Process	0 points Process is not clearly stated. Students would not know exactly what they were supposed to do just from reading this.	2 points Some directions are given, but there is missing information. Students might be confused.	4 points Every step is clearly stated. Most students would know exactly where they are at each step of the process and know what to do next.	4  The process is clear and very organized. Students know what thety are to do.
Scaffolding of Process	0 points The process lacks strategies and organizational tools needed for students to gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Activities are of little significance to one another and/or to the accomplishment of the task.	3 points Strategies and organizational tools embedded in the process are insufficient to ensure that all students will gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Some of the activities do not relate specifically to the accomplishment of the task.	6 points The process provides students coming in at different entry levels with strategies and organizational tools to access and gain the knowledge needed to complete the task. Activities are clearly related and designed to take the students from basic knowledge to higher level thinking. Checks for understanding are built in to assess whether students are getting it. See: Process Guides A Taxonomy of Information Patterns Language Arts Standards and Technology WebQuest Enhancement Tools Reception, Transformation & Production Scaffolds	6 The process is extremely thorough and allows students to access all the information then need to complete the assignment effectively. The process is organized and challenges students critical thinking.
Richness of Process	0 points Few steps, no separate roles assigned.	1 points Some separate tasks or roles assigned. More complex activities required.	2 points Different roles are assigned to help students understand different perspectives and/or share responsibility in accomplishing the task.	1  The different tasks for each person are not clear.
Resources (Note: you should evaluate all resources linked to the page, even if they are in sections other than the Process block. Also note that books, video and other off-line resources can and should be used where appropriate.)
Relevance & Quantity of Resources	0 points Resources provided are not sufficient for students to accomplish the task. OR There are too many resources for learners to look at in a reasonable time.	2 point There is some connection between the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Some resources don't add anything new.	4 points There is a clear and meaningful connection between all the resources and the information needed for students to accomplish the task. Every resource carries its weight.	4  There are clear, meaningful, and helpful resources.
Quality of Resources	0 points Links are mundane. They lead to information that could be found in a classroom encyclopedia.	2 points Some links carry information not ordinarily found in a classroom.	4 points Links make excellent use of the Web's timeliness and colorfulness. Varied resources provide enough meaningful information for students to think deeply.	4 The quality of the resources was very well done.
Evaluation
Clarity of Evaluation Criteria	0 points Criteria for success are not described.	3 points Criteria for success are at least partially described.	6 points Criteria for success are clearly stated in the form of a rubric. Criteria include qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors. The evaluation instrument clearly measures what students must know and be able to do to accomplish the task. See Creating a Rubric.	6  The Evaluation was very clear and direct of the expectations and requirements.
Total Score				47/50

Lesson Plan using Google Apps

Scratch Assignment

My Scratch Project 

Scratch promotes 21st century ideas because it allows students to think creatively and problem-solve in a ways that interests them. "Empowering Kids to Create and Share Programmable Media" explains, "People interact with Web-based animations and games all the time, but few people can create and share their own interactive content." This is so true. Although many people use different types of media, not many know how to create it. Students will be intrigued by not only making their own media project, but sharing it with others.

Scratch could easily be incorporated in the class room as a take home activity or even an in class activity during computer time. This meets the ISTE NET Standard 1a which states, "promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness." Scratch allows students to think creatively but encourages them to learn by trial and error in a way that they enjoy. Since Scratch is an online program, it automatically attracts today's students, and it challenges students in the creation of their Scratch.

While perusing Scratch, I discovered this English Project on the Odyssey. This student was assign a Scratch project and she made a game based on her reading of the Odyssey.

Content Standard Ojectives for a tenth grade WV English Language Arts class:

RLA.S.10.1Reading


Students will apply reading skills and strategies to inform, to perform a task and to read for literacy experience by

• identifying and using grade appropriate essential reading components (phonemic awareness, -phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, written application) and
• selecting a wide variety of literature and diverse media to develop independence as readers.

This Standard in Reading is accomplished through Scratch by the example above of the English Project. Reading a work of literature out loud in class completes the first point, but Scratch is a great way to allow literature to be translated and developed in a new and independent, creative way by students. 

Multiple Intelligence

Picasso Head inspired by the Multiple Intelligence quiz.

My scores for Multiple Intelligence were (1) Kinesthetic Learning, (2) Intrapersonal Learning, and (3) Interpersonal Learning. Kinesthetic deals with body and movement  Intrapersonal deals with self, and Interpersonal deals with people. This Picasso Head is inspired by those three aspects of my Multiple Intelligence.

Learning styles are important to be aware of as a teacher, but they shouldn't be controlling the classroom. In an article entitled "Learning Styles," Don Clark, the author, explains, "Thus, learning styles are not really concerned with what learners learn, but rather how they prefer to learn (Clark, 2000)." Yes it is true that different students prefer to learn different ways, but it is also true that you can't change the content of the information you are teaching to best cater to the audience. For example, you cannot visually teach a student how to pronounce a French word, that is an audible lesson. I do firmly believe that as a teacher, I should be as creative as possible in how I present lessons and information, but that does not necessarily mean that every student will be taught the way that is easiest and most comfortable for them to learn. 

David Glenn, author of "Matching Teaching Style to Learning Style Might Not Work" highlights an interesting point, "Instead, teachers should worry about matching their instruction to the content they are teaching (Glenn, 2009)." Teachers should be more focused on how to present the information the best way possible, that way every learning style will be able to grasp and understand the material. As a future teacher, I want to do just that. I want to be able to stimulate every type of learning style by presenting the information the best way for the information's sake. For example, if  I am teaching new vocabulary words, I need to audibly tell my students how to pronounce the words. I can do this multiple ways, and still be creative in my teaching. 

My Multiple Intelligence, as previously stated, were (1) Kinesthetic Learning, (2) Intrapersonal Learning, and (3) Interpersonal Learning. Upon research I discovered ways in which students like me would connect to information well and retain it. Kinesthetic is very hands-on and active. In this article, Kelly O'Connor explains that kinesthetic learners should use all five senses. She suggests that games are great tools to stimulate kinesthetic learners. Online gaming could therefore be used not only as a fun use of technology but also a way to engage students (O'Connor, 2013). Steve Johnson explains different ways to use technology for different types of Multiple Intelligence. For Bodily-Kinesthetic Johnson suggests skype, schooltube, and American Sign Language Vocab which is described as "video illustrations of many words and phrases (Johnson, 2011)."  The suggestions for Intrapersonal Intelligence include blogging, screen recording, and podcasting. Interpersonal Intelligence would benefit from collaborative white boards such as Scribblar, Dimdim, and Flockdraw, along with Epals and Ning. 

References 

Clark, D. (2000, May 29). Learning styles and preferences . Retrieved from http://nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles.html

Glenn, D. (2009, December 15). Matching teaching style to learning style may not help students. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Matching-Teaching-Style-to-/49497/

Johnson, S. (2011, March 31). Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence . Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/techwithmi/bodily-kinesthetic-intelligence

Johnson, S. (2011, March 31). Intrapersonal intelligence . Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/techwithmi/intrapersonal-intelligence

Johnson, S. (2011, March 31). Interpersonal intelligence . Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/techwithmi/interpersonal-intelligence

O'Connor, K. (2013, March 1). Kinesthetic learners. Retrieved from http://www.studyguidezone.com/kinestheticlearners.htm

Learning Styles

Learning Styles Don't Exist
Daniel Willingham 

Thoughts and Observations:

Types of Learners
1. Visual
2. Auditory
3. Kinestetic 

• Most teachers want students to learn meaning rather than visually, auditory, and kinesteticly. 

• The question determines the way in which the information is learned.

• Good teaching is good teaching, and teachers don't need to adjust teaching to specific learning styles. 

• There should be a variety of presentation of styles because of the questions that are being asked.

The Multiple Intelligence Theory
Howard Gardner

Thoughts and Observations:

Students have different strengths in the area of intelligence. 
Therefore, treating all students the same is not fair. 

Everything can be taught in more than one way. 
Are we reaching every child? Are there other ways to present information? 

Since students learn differently, students should also have the opportunity to be tested differently. 



How is the Multiple Intelligence Theory different from the Theory of Learning Styles?

The Theory of Learning styles focuses on how students prefer to concentrate and retain information while Multiple Intelligence Theory focuses on understanding, defining, and assessing unique intelligence factors. Multiple Intelligence promotes the idea of different ways to learn therefore there show be multiple ways present and tested. Learning Styles also agrees that there should be multiple ways being presented but that "good teaching is good teaching." 

Magazine Cover

Photo Analysis - Obama

Caption: President Obama meets with National Incident Commander US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen for a briefing on the BP oil spill at Coast Guard Station Gulfport in Gulfport, Mississippi, on Monday.

This image of Obama during the BP oil spill gives me the most confidence in his leadership abilities because of the basic assumptions based upon connotation and denotation. 

Observations
President Obama's posture is attentive and responsive. His hands are being used as he's talking, but they are not tense. His hands are not clenched but yet active. His head is tilted towards his audience. His face is calm yet concerned. His eyes are direct but relaxed. His mouth shows that he is responding. The shot is far enough away to include the surroundings but not close enough to make me wonder what parts of the picture I am missing. There are maps and a flag on the wall behind him all pertaining to the topic of discussion. Clothing colors are in the blue family. Obama is obviously depicted and he is African American, middle-aged man, but to his left is a Caucasian male who seems to be slightly older than Obama. This Coast Guard Admiral is listening to Obama very attentively. The camera is angled straight at eye level, but it cuts off at the table which is also waist level.

Meaning
I believe that this photograph is spontaneous. The message behind the photograph seems to be that Obama is talking about the issues at hand in a calm yet concerned manner. Questions this photo raises: What are they talking about? The caption of this picture gives a tremendous amount of detail. If I were to write a new one then not as much clearly presented information would be given. 

This image makes me more confident in the President's leadership abilities because he is presenting himself well. He comes across very genuine, real, calm, cool, and collected in this photograph. 

ThinkAloud and ISTE NETS Standard

Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning
and Creativity.


B: Engage students in exploring real-world issues
and solving authentic problems using digital tools
and resources


This ThinkAloud shows that I am able to look at real world issues and examine them creatively with technology. It also shows that I am able to look online at various resources and find reputable resources and identify biased ones. By detecting credibility through online sources, students will be able to discover accurate and useful information to explore real world issues. I will use this to show how there is useful information online, as well as biased and unreliable sources. I will use to to have students find current issues that interest them, and show them how to find accurate information and be informed on the subject.

Website Analysis

This article is in support of arming teachers in  schools. I could only find one decent article relating to the subject that was mostly qualified.

Article 1 - http://news.discovery.com/human/could-arming-teachers-work-20130102.htm

1. Is there an author? Is the page signed?

Yes, Eric Niiler

2. Is the author qualified and/or reputable? An expert?

He is a reporter who researches topics, including this one. He is not an expert, but he asks people who know more than him. 

3. Who is the sponsor?

Discovery News

4. Is the sponsor of the page reputable? How reputable?

Yes, very. 

5. If the page includes neither a signature nor a sponsor, is there any other way to determine its origin?

N/A

6. Are there links that take you outside of the site?

Yes

7. Is the information reliable and error-free?

Yes

8. Is there an editor or someone who verifies/checks the information?

Yes

9. Where doubt exists, can the information be cross-checked with a reliable source?

Yes

10. Does the information show a minimum of bias?

Yes

11. Is the page designed to sway opinion?

To some extent, yes

12. Is there any advertising on the page?

To other articles on the site, yes 

13. Is the page dated?

Yes

14. If so, when was the last update?

January 3, 2013

15. How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?

Very current

16. Is there an indication that the page has been completed, and is not still under construction?

The topic of discussion is still in debate, but the article ends without need for additional construction.

17. If there is a print equivalent to the Web page, is there a clear indication of whether the entire work is available on the Web or only parts of it?

Entire work is posted.

18. What topics are covered? How in-depth is the material?

"Could Arming Teachers Work?" "Can Gun Laws Save Lives?" "US Guns by the Numbers" "Where the Gun Laws are Most Lenient"

If all the links are followed, the information can be very detailed. 

Wikipedia Quiz

Belief Comic

This comic shows a teachers attempt to incorporate social media, 

but it doesn't seem to work out in this case. 

Wordle

Balance is Key

Since I am an English major, I have always been aware concerned with grammar. I have, for some odd reason, always enjoyed it. Reading this article gave me a fresh perspective on the world or grammar verses expression.

The article explains, "Gradually, we have become less obsessed with correctness and more focused on tolerance and personal expression." I completely agree with this statement. Personal ideas and expressions need to be encouraged in order for students to think for themselves and critically. Self-reflection gives way to empowerment and more advanced and develop ideas. Students shouldn't be afraid to express themselves because they are fearful of "Grammar Police." 

While expression and personal ideas are extremely important, grammar also plays a significant role in the English language. Grammar should not be the top criteria for writing by any means, but it does have it's place. The following image gives a basic example of what I mean: 

Although this example is somewhat exaggerated and drastic, grammar does have a purpose. Meaning of sentences in the English language can be changed based upon the grammar present, or not present. 

In this posting, Kristin Brammell expresses her feelings about the importance of grammar in her blog. 

Unfortunate Future Norms

While watching "The Future of Work," I noticed a couple of things that were very interesting to me. 

Well for starters, I want to teach in Africa so technology is not my main concern because their students need food not computers. 

These students are lucky to have benches to sit on and supplies to learn.

The video said that, "Work used to be considered a place." I feel saddened by this. I don't know about you, but I want my job to be my passion. Work should be more than a place regardless of technology. 

We are so concerned with our newest technology and Skype calls, but maybe we should put money or more focus towards serious problems around the world whether that be world hunger, human trafficking, national debt, lack of clean water, or homelessness. 

The video also says, "There is no longer a reason not to know." This frustrates me because in America we have a ridiculous amount of opportunities and technology, but there are people who do not have the opportunities or access that we have. 

Teaching will always be needed. In order for someone to become a professional at something, they need to be taught. The way people learn and even the way teachers teach may change, but teaching in and of itself will always be necessary. 

I think by being privileged enough to have an education allows me to see the importance of an education. Everyone deserves an education. The freedom to learn and grow intellectually in order to have independence and support oneself and their family is crucial. 

Poll Everywhere - Computer Response

Click here to take the poll.

Poll Question

Why I Do What I Do

Greetings! For starters, my name is Brittany Rimmer, and I am originally from Martinsburg, WV. I currently live in Fairmont, WV while I attend Fairmont State University majoring in Secondary English Education. I want to teach English in Africa because I visited Africa when I was 16 years old and I fell in love with the people and the countries. I want to give them hope by giving them an education so that they can get jobs and support their families. In Africa, children will not be able to learn unless their basic needs are met first. The hierarchy of needs is essential in this environment because until their basic needs are met, children will not successfully learn, so I would first want to do my best to meet their basic needs by providing whatever food the school system has to offer along with a safe environment. I want to teach my students by doing hands-on activities and teaching them how they learn. I want learning to be fun for my students, so I will try to incorporate games as much as possible. 


Freedom Writers is an extremely inspirational movie which depicts the type of love and perseverance that I seek to have for my students. 

This is the kind of teacher that I want to be. 

I have a heart for people, and I firmly believe that teaching is much more than a career, it's a calling.