Course Contract Review

1. I am doing well on the exams, completing assignments and participating actively in class.

2. I am not keeping up with assignments as well as I could and so some assignment quality may suffer due to procrastination.

3. I am making sufficient progress. Keeping up with the content helps me perform well on exams.

4. I needed to have updated my blog with more regularity, so as to not get behind.
I should have prepared more specifically for the final exam taking care to consider names of theoreticians.

5. I really enjoy concepts behind psychology. I enjoy discussing them in class to gain better understanding. I have more trouble being motivated to continue learning about them on my own. As I teach I should review psychological theory on occasion and adjust my teaching practice in accordance with new found knowledge. It would also be helpful to join educator book reading groups to stay motivated in progressing as a teacher.

Copyright Reflection

What?

Most of what we find online in copyrighted material. That means that we need specific permission to use that material in such settings as our class website and projects that students complete.

So What?

It is important to model and expect appropriate, ethical and legal use of online materials to our students. They must learn to be responsible cyber citezens in our growing information age. We can potentially keep out of trouble as well as give them the confidence of contributing in a meaningful, ethical manner.

Now What?

As a teacher I will take even subtle evidence of plagiarism seriously and direct students to create their own content. I will also make sure that the manner in which my art students use online art images is legal and appropriate. I would like to form a class website for which student can contribute relevant links to online material. By linking to the information they can preserve it in the original fashion it was intended to be viewed.

Google Tools Reflection

The following Google Tools are available for educational purposes.

Documents: Allow for collaboration in group or class work. Instructors can also contribute and offer feedback directly in the document.

Presentations: Help students and teachers prepare information in an impactful manner.

Spreadsheets: Assist groups or individuals in organizing information in logical ways.

Forms: Within Google Documents, Forms can be added and shared with others.

Calendar: Useful for informing students of course schedules. Flexible, so that changes can be made but can also be viewed by any at any time. Can link to Gmail to make notifications of calendar items.

iGoogle: Synthesizes myriad tools, gadgets and links onto one page that can navigate through common uses a teacher or student may have of the Internet.

Blogger: Good way for students to journal and reflect. Others, including the teacher can gain access.

Reader: Can notify students of new readings or postings they should read. It also keeps track of what they actually have read.

Google Maps: Can lend authenticity to assignments by allowing students to map out trips that relate to the content area.

Google Earth: Allows students to understand landscape from a variety of perspectives, including satelite views and topography.

Groups: Allows for group collaboration on-line. Good for 'community of learners' activities.

Google Search Engine: Most common use of Google. This allows students to search the web for content. Specifications may be made for specific types of media including images.

Notebook: Might help students record information found on the web that contributes to specific research.

Scholar: Allows you to limit web searches to scholarly, research based content.


Some of the tools that are of particular interest to me include Calendar and Groups. These can help me organize the course schedule and promote collaborative student work. Google Search Engine will be vital to finding reference images for art projects. Blogger and Documents would be a good way to invite students to reflect in a way that is easily accessible to the instructor.

Publisher Reflection

What? How will you use Publisher in your future teaching?

I will use Publisher for authentic assessment projects. They will produce a product that helps them rehearse, apply and analyze the content.

So What? Why? What are the benefits?

Students will benefit from differentiation. A publisher assignment allows for visual expression, authentic application of the knowledge and analysis of the subject in order to condense it to a concise, comprehensible format.
Authentic assessments allow the students to imagine using the knowledge outside of paper and pencil tests. They can tailor the content to their personal expression.

Now What? What do you need to learn/do to prepare to implement your ideas?

I should practice using a greater variety of the tools. I should look at my specific curriculum and complete several different projects. Then I can choose which ideas work the best and assign those to the students. In that way I will not only have example to show them but also the experience from which to guide them through the process.

Website, Turley Art

sites.google.com/site/amturleyart

UEN- using it in the classroom

UEN is a comprehensive resource for teachers, students and to my surprise, even parents. This will be a valuable tool to use with my students. It can direct their online learning activities in a manner that is safe and relevant.

I will use various help tools found on UEN in my classroom. The Pioneer Library is an excellent source for student research. Interactives enhance the classroom experience.

Lesson plans and Core Curriculum are accessible for the aid of curriculum development. From within the site I can access various helps for teaching. It only makes sense that teachers post successful lesson plans for others to use and or modify.

I appreciate how broad UEN is. Its reach is global yet much of the content is still tailored for Utah education. We need this considering the world wide interactivity of the digital world our students inhabit. Yet at the same time the site acknowledges particular needs of children and their teacher right here in our state.

Why we should use the Internet in Education

• We should use the Internet because our students already use it. It dictates how they receive and distribute information outside of the class room.
• We need to evaluate the sites we use because anyone can post information on the Internet. Thus information may be erroneous, misleading or hurtful.
• To keep my students safe while surfing-

1. Prompt them to use specific, predetermined sites
2. Have them review Internet safety sites and play the games
3. Have them and their parents sign a contract as to safe Internet practices.