Evaluate

Evaluate 1.1.2 Quality Feedback Quest:

http://becomingvirtual.blogspot.com/2016/07/evaluate1.html

Evaluate 1.1.3 The Summative Assessment Quest:

http://becomingvirtual.blogspot.com/2016/07/evaluate1_25.html

Evaluate 2.1.1 Data Driven Instruction, Analytics, Reporting Tools Quest:

http://becomingvirtual.blogspot.com/2016/07/evaluate2.html

Evaluate 3.1.1 Differentiation Quest:

http://becomingvirtual.blogspot.com/2016/07/evaluate3.html

Evaluation drives instruction. Formative assessment is so important to guiding students down the right path. This module provided excellent examples of ways to use formative assessment online. I think it is very important to use these in any class, but in an online environment it is essential so you have a true picture of the online learner. Carefully planning summative assessments is important as well. Your standards should drive your assessment. The feedback that the teachers provide should be thoughtful and clear guided by data. I enjoyed practicing giving feedback and reading fellow classmates. I think goal setting and self-evaluation is also important. It is important to teach our students these skills, but it is equally important that we teachers reflect. I enjoyed reading the other participants blogs and learned from them. It is nice to see different perspectives, see how they approach assignments, and checkout the cool Web 2.0 tools they are using. 

Evaluate 3.1.2 – Self-Reflection on Teaching Abilities Quest

I was interested in becoming an online teacher because I think technology is transforming education, and I have always used technology to enhance my lessons. Throughout the modules, I have learned that there is a lot more than just the technology. I am proud of myself for completing this class, it was comprehensive and I have a nice grasp on how the online world works.

In the past, I have created online portfolios and kept blogs to showcase my creativity which is definitely a strength. 

http://www.chesstemsational.com/

http://www.siembiedatag.com/

It is noted in these comments on my TKES evaluation.

Area that I think I need to continue to research is differentiating instruction and communicating. These are very different from the regular classroom, and they will require a change in thinking. When a child is in front of you it seems easier to see what they need, but in the online environment, communication skills and careful review of data is required. 

Evaluate 3.1.1 – Differentiation Quest

First Name	Natural Disasters	Cloud Review	Weather Instruments	Weather Map	AVG
Anna	83	80	95	87	86.25
Rahil	95	65	85	86	82.75
Grace	25	65	79	65	58.5
Romir	-	88	82	-	85
Nitya	78	97	80	90	86.25
Mayssam	98	100	95	99	98
Akhil	78	76	100	70	81
Jen-si	90	67	87	96	85
	78.14285714	79.75	87.875	84.71428571

This data analyzes students in a 4^th grade weather unit. These represent grades before the unit test. My job is to help students get ready for the final assessment which will be a choice product. All students are in a gifted class. I color coded the data.

Blue: 90 and above

Green: 80s

Yellow: 70s

Red: Below 70

I first looked at overall performance. I noticed that most students are doing well but not exceptional.  The first two assignments had the lowest average. The reason may be they were just getting used to assessments, but the assessments should be looked at to determine if they need revision.

Grace is doing very poorly and needs remediation. I would offer her some time to chat or video conference with me one on one. In addition, I would talk to her parents to see if we could get her some tutorials. I may relook at her learning style to see if I am personalizing her instruction to meet her needs.

 In addition, Romir is missing two assignments so that needs to be addressed. I need to send his parents an email to address this issue.   

Mayssam is exceeding on all the assignments, so she may need some enrichment. I need to pre-assess her on the next standard and see if she needs to move ahead.

When grouping students, I would put Akhil and Grace in a small group, so I can give them more individual time, and perhaps scaffold the assignment.

Since the majority of students are scoring in Bs, I would have them do some goal setting and co-planning of learning to move them to the next level. In addition, I would offer them more choice in how they demonstrate learning. 

Evaluate 2.1.2 – Rubrics and Competencies Quest

I designed this course as an introduction to lab safety. It is based on a standard that would need to be taught at the beginning of a unit.

S3CS3. Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and manipulating objects in scientific activities utilizing safe laboratory procedures.

c. Identify and practice accepted safety procedures in manipulating science materials and equipment.

The learning objectives would be

•             Ability to identify tools and knowledge of how to use them properly

•             Knowledge of what to do and not to in the science lab

•             Ability to synthesize knowledge and give examples of proper and improper use

•             Ability to present knowledge

The lesson would be sequenced to review and teach basic safety to students. Students would have a choice in how they learned. I offer a game and a video or they may do both. After they were taught, it would test them on the concepts. Finally, the class would have them create a poster showing how they applied the rules.

 It would be assessed with a rubric based on their test and product.

The rubric could be structured around areas to determine if they met the learning objective.

Students would need to have a sufficient score in each of the four areas of the rubric to demonstrate competency.

·         Ability to identify tools and knowledge of how to use them properly

·         Knowledge of what to do and not to in the science lab

·         Ability to synthesize knowledge and give examples of proper and improper use

·         Ability to present knowledge

Making sure the assessment correlates to the standards and that students are critically thinking is essential to designing competencies. In this assignment the pathways can be different, the students can choose to present information. Students can use their learning style.

Evaluate 2.1.1 – Data Driven Instruction, Analytics, Reporting Tools Quest

Enrollment:

The LMS show the teacher’s current classes from January to May.  The teacher is currently teaching AP Microeconomics with 23 enrolled, Economics with 49 students enrolled, and American Government with 43 enrolled. This will help the teacher keep track of the number of students enrolled, the dates of the class, and the numbers may help with formulating class groups.

In enrollment, you can also see if a student has taken the orientation. This is important to making sure the student understands the class. You can also see the student type. This will help the teacher plan for enrichment or remediation. It also contains data on whether they plan are test, if they dropped the course. Apparently it also has some demographics. This is a great to do a quick check on a student or information to contact the students’ patents. Currently, all students are testing and no one has dropped.

Communication:

The communication log nicely tracks the teacher’s communication. In this case the teacher has made a welcome email and 2 emails indicating poor grades. This is a way to ensure parents are aware when a problem has arisen. In addition, the teacher has indicated positive to feedback to commend a student for excellent work. I think it is important to communicate when there is a problem, but it is also necessary to let students know when they are doing well.

Data and Analytics:

Tracking activity in a course will help the teachers see a picture of the amount of time the student is online. It is important though that just because a person is logged on does not mean they are necessary working. Some LMS systems have an idle time feature that monitors this. If a student appears to be logging on and not idle but still is having difficulties some interventions may need to be put in place. If a student is not online or idle for too long and not performing, it is important to contact parents to ensure students are completing the work.

Student Monitoring Their Own Learning:

In the LMS, the student is able to see how they are doing. They can review feedback, see grades, and see missed answers on tests. The feedback section is so important because it allows the user to use it to improve in the future. I think it would be valuable to have students discuss their progress and set goals.

If a teacher was using this data to adjust ion the future, he or she could encourage more online participation from the students who are struggling, a review and analysis of feedback, and a goal setting session after each graded assignment is returned. 

Evaluate 1.1.3 – The Summative Assessment Quest

While teaching 1^st grade research skills in my gifted class, I wanted to use the science to correlate to my research unit. This is a simple assessment, but they are 1^st graders, so I am just beginning to introduce research.

This is the science standard I used to correlate to my gifted standard: 

S1L1. Students will investigate the characteristics and basic needs of plants and animals.

b. Identify the basic needs of an animal.

1. Air

2. Water

3. Food

4. Shelter

d. Compare and describe various animals—appearance, motion, growth, basic needs.

I chose to give students a choice product, so he or she could use their learning style to create a product that demonstrated their ability to research. I was assessing the gifted standards:

1. Uses a variety of print and non-print resources to investigate a topic of interest.

6. Develops and uses systematic procedures for recording and organizing information.

10. Defends research findings in a presentation or exhibit

11. Applies ethical standards to research and analyses.

Student Choices:

Verbal Write an acrostic poem about penguins and record it on the iPad.	1.     The acrostic spells the animal’s name 2.     Information in the poem ______Name of animal ______ Habitat ______ Predator ______ Diet ______ Physical Features             ______What makes this animal            special
Kinesthetic Design a diorama of a penguins habitat in its natural environment	1.     Animal looks like it is in the Arctic 2.     Information on notecard: ______Name of animal ______ Habitat ______ Predator ______ Diet ______ Physical Features ______What makes this animal            special
Mathematical Survey the class to find out the favorite penguin. Create a graph.	1.        Graph of class’s favorite 2.        Information on notecard: ______Name of animal ______ Habitat ______ Predator ______ Diet ______ Physical Features ______What makes this animal            special

The students would need to research and present their information. They would begin by using a graphic organizer and a bibliography card. They would write information in their own words, and put information into their product.

.

Validity: I am measuring research standards. Before giving the assessment, I give a scavenger hunt to see if students can locate information, put it in their own words, and cite sources. If they can do that already, I skip this assignment. Although, I have never had a student that did not need to be taught these standards in first grade.  I teach methods of locating information, how to use a graphic organizer, how to use a bibliography card and summarizing information in mini lessons before the assessment is given. I can judge from my formative assessments when a student is ready for the summative assessment.

Reliability: I use a rubric to grade this assignment. Sometimes rubrics are tricky because they box you in if you are too specific. I will give partial points or consult another teacher if I am unsure of placement on the rubric. In addition, I look at the overall results to make sure that the assessment is fair and measuring what I am teaching.'

 Security: This is tricky in elementary school. First graders need a lot of support. I need to make sure student work is their own. I would check each portion of the assessment before he or she could go on to the next section. In addition, I would make sure the assessment results align with my mini lesson results. 

Evaluate 1.1.2 – Quality Feedback Quest

Feedback is so important to improving student achievement. I used one of my students old journals to demonstrate how I would give authentic feedback. I usually have students journal at the end of the day so they can reflect on their learning. In an online environment, they could have the choice to journal at anytime. In my feedback, I customized the response to the learner encouraging him to push himself and delve deeper. I tried to concentrate on getting this student to add more critical thinking into his thought process. I also used previous data, to encourage him in areas that he needed to grow. In addition, I tried to promote continuous learning. Offering this feedback, allows him to use the knowledge to meet and exceed class expectations.

I retyped some of the responses since the photo was a little blurry.

1.       If you were a soldier at Valley Forge, would you stay or go home? Why?

Student response: I would stay because I will help my country move forth and also I would be remembered but not like a traitor.

Teacher Feedback: Interesting ideas! Expand on your thinking. How would staying help your country? What would you like to be remembered as and why?

2.       How would the United States of America be different if Lewis and Clark had never gone on their expedition? Why?

Student Response: It would have been different because then they wouldn’t have know about the west side of the United States.

Teacher feedback: Explaining how this would change the United states would make your answer more complete. For example: We would have less room to expand, so we may have close our borders to immigration. Would we a better country? What resources would we not have?

3.       Evaluate Yourself. What did you do well today?

Student Response: In the Scamper activity, I worked well with my partner.

Teacher Response: You are an excellent partner. Why is it important to collaborate well?

4.       Value your weaknesses.What could you do better next time?

Student Response: I might have worked harder on the Jefferson Code because it was really tricky.

Teacher Response:I am glad to see you recognize that perseverance is important. Try to problem solve through tough situations.

5.       Only Connections are written here and you MUST write one. Think about your day, what you learned, and how it connects to something you already learned.

Student Response: I knew they went on the missions. This was in the Scamper activity.

Teacher Response: Great, have you personally ever gone on a mission?

6.       Let me know something you wished you learned today? What did you WANT to know about the topic we learned that I did not tell you?

Student Response: Which Native American tribes helped them along their journey to the Pacific Ocean?

Teacher Response: Great question! Check out this article https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/lewisandclark/indians.htm

7.       Tell me anything you want to tell me that we did not have time to discuss.

Student Response: What is the specific amount of people that survived Valley Forge?

Teacher Response: Here is an interesting video I think you will enjoy on this topic.

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history/videos/surviving-valley-forge

Evaluate 1.1.1 – Formative Assessment Quest

The importance of formative assessment is huge. It guides the teacher and the learner towards their goals. If carefully monitored, the teacher and student should know if they are progressing. There are plenty of ways to use formative assessment. In my classroom I have employed a variety of strategies shown in this module. I believe that they also fit nicely in online learning.

The assignment I chose addresses the common core standard:

Common Core Standards

SS2CG4 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the state and national capitol buildings by identifying them from pictures and capitals of the United States of America (Washington, D.C.) and the state of Georgia (Atlanta) by locating them on appropriate maps.

I would introduce the lesson by having students review symbolism and take an online tour of the building. The students will use online content (which I would probably hyperlink for the students) to explore. As a formative assessment, I would use Six Hats strategy developed by Kathy Balsam to assess what students grasped from this initial assessment. After this initial assessment, I would use the data I collected to adjust my assessment. I may have to remediate or enrich based on individual results.

Here is the Link

US CAPITOL

Create

Create 1.1.2 Creating a Content Map Quest:

http://becomingvirtual.blogspot.com/2016/07/create1_11.html

Create 2.1.2 Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Teacher Instruction Quest:

http://becomingvirtual.blogspot.com/2016/07/create2_19.html

Create 3.1.3 Locating Resources Quest:

http://becomingvirtual.blogspot.com/2016/07/create3_5.html

Create 4.1.2 Principles of Building Portable Learning Objects Quest:

http://becomingvirtual.blogspot.com/2016/07/create4.html

I enjoyed the Create module the best. I liked learning about all the Web 2.O tools. This module helped me fill my toolbox. I truly believe that engaging and personalizing learning is the most important way to ensure student success. It was fun to explore all that is out there in the virtual world. It is nice that this module connected to previous modules. Reminding us of the importance of Fair Use is beneficial. Often times, I am working quickly and having tools such as the Google Advanced search is helpful. Another reminder in this module was the importance of having a good LMS. I liked ending by looking at an LMS and considering the advantages and disadvantages it has when trying to create an engaging learning environment. I thought the module did a nice job of presenting clear, concrete examples of work. This inspired me to try new things.

Create 4.1.3 – Aggregating Lesson Material Quest

Blackboard Learn: I have played around with this LMS, and I find it very user friendly. I think that the training they offer would answer any questions that I still have. When searching around, I noticed many higher education institutes are using Blackboard Learn. They have many features and ways to engage the learner. They also offer nice analytics. You are able to continually monitor progress.

Cost: Sounds expensive, but you need to contact them for a price. You can start for free.

Moodle:

Moodle is an open sourced learning platform. They have been around for 10 years, so they have grown with online learning. They have an easy to use platform with many features. You can drag and drop easily on their interface. It is available on all platforms and is scalable to any size.   

Cost: Free

Google Course Builder

I think that Google Course Builder is only get better as the online community grows. I find it relatively easy to use, but I had to watch a few videos. The videos are helpful and extensive. They have many features, but it requires some coursework to get it up and running. It does seem to have everything you need in an LMS.  

Cost: Free

Create 4.1.2 – Principles of Building Portable Learning Objects Quest

The first object created was by using Quizziz. It is a great place to create quizzes for games, review or assessments. They create beautiful spreadsheets of the data collected. You can use other questions in their bank or edit other tests. It allows you to even add fun memes!

http://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5793c0c9567e770f463e4332

The next object I created used Class Tools. It was easy to create, but you have limited options. You can change the design or formatting. I think it would be engaging to play though!

http://www.classtools.net/widgets/dustbin_8/GpjCD.htm

Create 4.1.1 – Define and Explain Learning Object Authoring Tools Quest

It is important to engage students and get them excited about learning. Finding the right 2.0 Tools is essential. I have include a list of tools that I have used or that seem interesting to me.

Free:

Scratch: Scratch is a free program designed by MIT to teach computer programming. It allows you to create animated stories, games, and animations. It could be used to gamify learning, introduce concepts, a presentation tool, or a way to show knowledge. One of the great things is you can see and play other programs and share programs. I have used it as a hook to Revolutionary War Spy codes, by allowing students to play other people’s spy codes. Some students chose to create their own codes.

Easygenerator: This tool is wonderful for creating a full online curriculum. I have not used it yet, but I am excited to try it. You can use easygenerator to create engaging material with a multitude of features to engage students. Students can take quizzes, watch videos, and interact with materials.

 Free to $59 a month

Class Tools: This tool allows you to make and play games, quizzes and diagrams. I have used it for several projects. One of my favorite project was using Twister. I had students read about squads since it is hip with the kids (think Taylor Swift’s squad). There was a great article in the New Yorker on squads. The students had to pretend they were a soldier at Valley Forge and tweet a Squad goal. The cool thing is if you put in a real name, a picture of that person comes up with your tweet. This tool could be used for anything to presenting, review, or final products. The possibilities are endless.

Dipity: Timeline creator that allows you create, share, embed and collaborate on interactive, visually engaging timelines that integrate video, audio, images, text, links, social media, location and timestamps. This could be used to introduce topics, review or create.

Free to $99 a month

Subscription:

Brainpop: One of my favorite tools! It has animated movies, learning games, interactive quizzes, primary source activities, concept mapping, and more. I use it as review, to introduce or to assess knowledge.

Raptivity: This allows you to create courses quickly. It includes artwork. It can be published as standalone learning interactions or link them together. It has lots of engaging features for all kinds of learning styles. It could be used to hook students in, introduce content and as a review tool. It has more than190 different interactions, such as games and virtual worlds. You can use templates to add in your content.

Create 3.1.3 – Locating Resources Quest

Topic: Rock Cycle

Image: This is a diagram of the rock cycle found at

https://rock-water-cycles-atmosphere-diagram.wikispaces.com/Rock+Cycle

Text: This is text from BC Open Textbooks found at

https://opentextbc.ca/geology/chapter/3-1-the-rock-cycle/

3.1 THE ROCK CYCLE

PreviousNext

The rock components of the crust are slowly but constantly being changed from one form to another and the processes involved are summarized in the rock cycle (Figure 3.2). The rock cycle is driven by two forces: (1) Earth’s internal heat engine, which moves material around in the core and the mantle and leads to slow but significant changes within the crust, and (2) the hydrological cycle, which is the movement of water, ice, and air at the surface, and is powered by the sun.

The rock cycle is still active on Earth because our core is hot enough to keep the mantle moving, our atmosphere is relatively thick, and we have liquid water. On some other planets or their satellites, such as the Moon, the rock cycle is virtually dead because the core is no longer hot enough to drive mantle convection and there is no atmosphere or liquid water.

Figure 3.2 A schematic view of the rock cycle. [SE]

In describing the rock cycle, we can start anywhere we like, although it’s convenient to start with magma. As we’ll see in more detail below, magma is rock that is hot to the point of being entirely molten. This happens at between about 800° and 1300°C, depending on the composition and the pressure, onto the surface and cool quickly (within seconds to years) — forming extrusive igneous rock (Figure 3.3).

Figure 3.3 Magma forming pahoehoe basalt at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii [SE]

Magma can either cool slowly within the crust (over centuries to millions of years) — forming intrusiveigneous rock, or erupt onto the surface and cool quickly (within seconds to years) — forming extrusive igneous rock. Intrusive igneous rock typically crystallizes at depths of hundreds of metres to tens of kilometres below the surface. To change its position in the rock cycle, intrusive igneous rock has to be uplifted and exposed by the erosion of the overlying rocks.

Through the various plate-tectonics-related processes of mountain building, all types of rocks are uplifted and exposed at the surface. Once exposed, they are weathered, both physically (by mechanical breaking of the rock) and chemically (by weathering of the minerals), and the weathering products — mostly small rock and mineral fragments — are eroded, transported, and then deposited as sediments. Transportation and deposition occur through the action of glaciers, streams, waves, wind, and other agents, and sediments are deposited in rivers, lakes, deserts, and the ocean.

EXERCISES

Exercise 3.1 Rock around the Rock-Cycle clock

Referring to the rock cycle (Figure 3.2), list the steps that are necessary to cycle some geological material starting with a sedimentary rock, which then gets converted into a metamorphic rock, and eventually a new sedimentary rock.

A conservative estimate is that each of these steps would take approximately 20 million years (some may be less, others would be more, and some could be much more). How long might it take for this entire process to be completed?

Figure 3.4 Cretaceous-aged marine sandstone overlying mudstone, Gabriola Island, B.C. [SE]

Unless they are re-eroded and moved along, sediments will eventually be buried by more sediments. At depths of hundreds of metres or more, they become compressed and cemented into sedimentary rock. Again through various means, largely resulting from plate-tectonic forces, different kinds of rocks are either uplifted, to be re-eroded, or buried deeper within the crust where they are heated up, squeezed, and changed into metamorphic rock.

Figure 3.5 Metamorphosed and folded Triassic-aged limestone, Quadra Island, B.C. [SE

Video: This is a video on the rock cycle uploaded from Youtube found at 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAAeFB7Tv5A

The author Dan Perez created the video on Powtoon.