Wicked Problem Project Final

Here is the link to my Presentation!: wicked_problem_project

As a world language teacher, many teachers face the problem of the most important component of language acquisition also being the weakest for their students. This component that I am talking about is speaking. In research from Georgia State University, 2/3 of students thought that speaking was the most important component of language acquisition, but only ½ felt comfortable to do so. The problem that teachers face is that students are not comfortable speaking in the target language with an authentic accent in front of their classmates.  Students cannot become fluent the language unless they are proficient at all components of language acquisition: speaking, reading writing and listening. The other problem is that the teacher does not have enough time in a 40 minute class period to individually ask each student to have a meaningful conversation that can be graded.

In order to solve this problem and maximize instruction time as well as increase oral proficiency, I have researched tools and found tools that allow teachers to create web-based assignments as well as submissions that students can make in the comfort of their own home. These tools allows for teachers to re-create conversation as well as give students an opportunity to speak more in the target language since many students only speak in the target language during class time. 

In order to implement this plan, I created a wikispace that served as a resource for teachers. I was able to share my wikispace with friends who went to school to become a language teacher as well as current world language teachers. On my wikispace, I identified the 7 resources that I used : Voicethread, Audio Dropbox, Conversations, Lingt Language, Vocaroo, Voki and Blabberize. I was able to create separate pages for each tool. I gave the teachers a brief description about the resource, how it could be used effectively in the world language classroom, provided an example of the tool being used as well as a start-up sheet on how to use the resource.  

I created a survey on survey monkey to infer about the success of my project. I asked teachers to answer questions about language acquisition, the resources that I shared with them and the components of my wikispace. All the teachers strongly agreed that the tools would make the students more comfortable speaking, which was one of the main goals of my project.

In regards to the TPACK model, I believe that the interaction of technology, pedagogy and content makes the solution to my problem promising because the technology is enhancing the content as well as creating a safe environment for students to be successful in. Students will better succeed in an environment that allows for them to feel safe to express themselves and think openly.  In relation to technology and pedagogy, the resources allow teachers to create authentic and meaningful speaking situations for the students that allow for personalized responses. In regards to the technology and pedagogy in my implementation, I was able to model for the teachers how to effectively create an assignment for students using the technology.  In relation to technology and content, the tools allow for the resources to increase the rigor by having students speak outside of the classroom, giving them a deeper understanding of the content. In regards to the teachers, the content becomes more accessible and the teachers can better understand more about selecting the proper technology for each goal by reading about the resource and viewing the start-up sheet.  In regards to pedagogy and content, students have multiple ways and tools to represent their knowledge and teachers have multiple meanings to give a speaking assignment. Through the tools students can take part in a simulated conversation with the teacher, create an avatar or photo that speaks using the students’ voices, submit an online assignment that uses oral responses or submit a recording of themselves. Teachers are able to select the resource that they would like to use based on the goals that they have.

If I were to complete this project again under the same circumstances, I would have asked the teachers to complete a Google doc as well. I would want the teachers to be able to give me opinions about each resource as well as ideas for how they would use it in their classrooms. I would also want to have the project be extended longer so that I could ask teachers to implement it into their lesson plans and help them to do so effectively. Overall, I think that my wikispace is a worthwhile resource to look into. The tools that I have found allow for teachers to grade each student on their oral proficiency, increase oral proficiency, create a safe environment for students to speak in, allow teachers and students to reflect on their oral progress, extend language use beyond the school setting and provide opportunity for personalization. The start-up sheets are a convenient resource that allow for all teachers to learn how to use each tool. In regards to what this project did for me for me, the wikispace helped to build a foundation of resources that I can share with my colleagues at my new long term sub job.

Professional Learning Plan

I took 810 earlier in the semester along with 811. My major goals of my personal growth plan were to: implement technology 3 times a week in my future classroom, learn more about cutting-edge strategies such as flipping the classroom, learning more about web 2.0 tools and share these tools via blogging or a website. 

I was not able to meet the goal of implementing technology 3 times a week because I still do not have a teaching job. I have a few interviews next week for long-term sub positions, so hopefully something can come of that. I am also applying to an area high school to be a technology integration specialist! I have learning more about flipping the classroom through my group leadership project and web 2.0 tools through my SIG project from 810 and my WPP from 812.  I have been able to blog a lot in 812 and I also created a website resource for 812. I have also been updating my online portfolio from 811.

Here is the link to my Prezi: My Professional Learning Plan 

Professional Learning Plan on Prezi

Group Leadership Project

Our group's specialty was flipping the classroom. We used the resource WatchKnowLearn.org as the resource that we would create our professional development tutorial. To create our tutorial, we used the resource Adobe Presenter. We used this resource because it allowed us to easily add voice narration over a pre-existing powerpoint. It is very user-friendly for the creator and those who are watching the presentation.

Through working on this project I learned about two new technology tools. I learned about Adobe Presenter as well as Popplet. Popplet is a great mind-mapping tool and it is something that I would use with students. It allows users to easily organize and color coordinate different popples as well as connect the popples. It reminds me of Prezi, except you are able to see everything at once. We used Google Docs to create our script and this was an easy tool to use to collaborate and share the script.

Overall, the project was great for learning and I think that our presentation came together really well. My group worked so well today, it was such a pleasure to work with Heidi and Jamin. We were able to meet all of our deadlines, meet online and communicate effectively. In regards to the presentation  Heidi did all of the editing and she was the leader in organizing everything and giving our individual deadlines. I created the powerpoint presentation and Jamin put it into Adobe Presenter and did the voice narration as well as the final production. Working with Heidi and Jamin gave me the feel of the Personal Learning Community that I am missing by not having a teaching job. We were so supportive and helpful to each other, it was fantastic!

During the project, I learned more about working with a group. This was the first time that I worked with classmates, that I had never met face-to-face in real life, online and that were not in my content area. We were all at different points in our teaching careers, but we were all able to make it work. I learned that it was very important to have an overall idea of what we would like to accomplish as a group in a reasonable time frame. It really helped by having a group timeline so that we could give each other enough time to complete our parts. I also learned that it is important to keep in close contact via text, email and google hangout. We texted Heidi and Jamin almost daily and I would talk to Jamin on the phone a lot. I have never met my group members but I had to trust them and support them to effectively and collaboratively meet our goals.

If I had to do a similar project again, I would not change much if I were working with the same people because we worked so well together. By having the timeline, it really pushed me not to procrastinate because I had to finish my part so my group members could finish theirs. I would like the project to not be as long because I felt as though it was longer that it needed to be, but I am only in 812 during this session and I do not have a teaching job. I felt that Part A and Part B and all the work leading up to the final presentation was very spread out and then the presentation creation was not as long. Aside from that, I do not have any complaints about the project. We were able to learn about a great resource, WatchKnowLearn, that is in an area of Educational Technology that interests us. It was a great project!


Here is the link to our presentation, using adobe presenter: Group 4 Project

Mobile Learning Lab

Classroom 2.0

I have been following classroom 2.0 on twitter for about 9 months now. They are one of the first people that I followed on my student teaching twitter and they always tweet great resource, especially during #edchat.

This is what I posted in the group on the site:

I think that we obviously need to adapt our teaching to the students that we are teaching. Young people are attached to their phones and their whole lives are on their phones. While I was a technology intern at a high school outside of Pittsburgh, they were on board with using personal devices as much as possible in the classroom. Not every single school is as supportive as this school. I think that using cell phones in school depends on the school culture and how it is educationally beneficial as well as if it is properly implemented. The school that I student taught at was not a school that I would want to use cellphones in the classroom a lot with. The high school students would take calls during teachers' classes and be on their phones all the time in other teachers' classes. The teachers never said anything and could not control it. I was lucky and was able to talk to them and set boundaries with repercussions before I started teaching. The worries of many are that the students aren't actually doing something productive because you can not see their screens, they are doing inappropriate things during class time and it is a distraction. I was able to do an activity with my students and their phones using google maps and they really liked it. While I was a technology intern the teachers and students liked using their personal devices and the students respected the limitations of using the phone in class. There also needs to be thought that not every student has a smart phone that is capable of accessing the internet. I think that if it is implemented appropriately, cell phones are a good thing to use in classrooms. There are many educationally friendly applications and web-based resources.

Survey-Poll Everywhere

For my survey, I asked people what their favorite season was. It was a survey that anyone would be able to take. I posted it to my facebook and twitter and I had 11 participants. 5 people said their favorite season was summer, 5 for fall and 1 for winter. 

I think that poll everywhere is a great tool to use in schools. I would use it to check comprehension as well as get feedback from students of things they are struggling with. It does not tell you who the text is from so students can feel comfortable sharing their opinions without their names. I know that it is something that many teachers are beginning to use and I think it is great! I do not think that it is something that should be used all the time, but maybe one of two times per unit.

PART D - Findings and Implications

Formative:  I think that my project was implemented as well as it could have been under the circumstances that I do not have a teaching job and have never had a teaching job.  I created a wikispace that I shared with world language teachers and my friends who went to school to be world language teachers. On the wikispace, I created individual pages for each resource. On each page there was a description of the resources, ways that it can be used in the world language classroom, an example of the resource being used and a start-up sheet. The start-up sheet was a “how to” use the resource for any content area teacher. I then created a survey that gave me feedback about the specific tools in regards to their friendliness as well as teachers’ opinions about language acquisition and the resources on the wikispace. I hopefully addressed a problem that I know many world language teachers face. I hope that I was able to give ideas for teachers to give more opportunities in safe environments for their students to speak in.

Summative: The survey helped me to get the opinions of the teachers. In regards to the resources, the teachers ranked Lingt Language, VoiceThread, Audio Dropbox and Conversations to be the most student-friendly. I agree with these rankings. The students do not have to email anything or send it like they would in resources like Vocaroo, everything goes to the teacher through the tool. The teachers ranked Conversation, Audio Dropbox, Lingt Language and VoiceThread the most teacher-friendly resources. I definitely agree because while I think VoiceThread is a good resource, it can be difficult for some to create a presentation. Tools like Voki and Blabberize do not allow the teacher to come up with too many creative ideas that are very rigorous. All of the participatnts would definitely use some of the resources in the classroom and they would also share the wikispace with their colleagues. All of the teachers agreed that the start-up sheets helped, which is something that gives me gratification because I may not be there to help teach them the resource, but I was able to help them to understand it better. 

It was also gratifying to see that the teachers agreed that the resource would increase oral proficiency and that the resources would help to extend the language use outside of the classroom. The teachers strongly agreed that the resources would help make students more comfortable speaking in the target language, better assess oral proficiency, monitor student growth and increase the rigor of the class. In regards to students, it is very important to me that they feel comfortable speaking in the target language. Not all classroom environment are "safe" and many teachers can be discouraging. After being a very comfortable speak in high school and the beginning of college, I had a professor like this and I eventually stopped speaking in class. I think it is something that many students struggle with, especially trying to speak in a near native accent. It was important that the teachers could assess oral competency, monitor student growth as well as increase oral proficiency.  

I am glad that I asked this question and I was surprised to see that the description of the resource was the most helpful component, followed by how to use the resource and then the start-up sheets and examples earned the same ranking. I know that I learn best by giving a description of the activity, what is expected and then seeing an example of it. I am sure that the description helped because the teachers were able to see what the resource was about briefly and then it intrigued them. They were probably more interested once they saw the ways to use it and then the start-up sheets and example helped to tie everything together. 

I think that if I were to complete the project again, I would try to figure out a project that would be more conducive to not having a job. I am not sure how realistic this is, so I would want to be more focused and specific with my project from the beginning. I think that my project did not gain specificity until Part C and I was not able to explain everything as clear as I would have liked to, especially in Part B.

I think that trying to help teachers was the best route for me since I do not have students to work with so if I were put into the same situation in my current situation, I would have done the same thing. I would want to address my problem and solution completely at teachers of not necessarily one content area. I would like to find a problem that many different content teachers have and figure out a solution that would help more teachers.

I think that there were many lessons learned. I think that the more specific and concrete you can be in your vision for the project and the steps along the way, the better the project will turn out. I think that I was able to find a variety or resources that shared some similarities, but I do not think that seven was too overwhelming of a number. I think that it was better to find fewer resources and go more in depth with them than finding many resources and being too brief. If I had 20 resources, I would be very overwhelmed as a teacher looking at them, especially if I wasn't familiar with any. The teachers were able to get a feel and understanding for the resources because of the examples, description, ways it can be implemented and the start-up sheets. I know that teachers do not have all the time in the world and they would not be able to sit down and look at 20 tools with all of the supplemental resources and be able to make sense of it all.

PART C - Implementation

Transcript of My Podcast: 

I first researched tools that could increase oral proficiency by giving students more opportunities to speak outside of the classroom. I wanted to try to re-create opportunities that would allow for the teacher to access the assignment and tools that would save the assignment so the teacher could review it and the student could reflect on it. During my research I found that the following tools would be suitable for the solution to my problem: VoiceThread, Lingt Language, Audio Dropbox, Conversations, Voki, Blabberize and Vocaroo 

I then decided that to implement my WPP, I would create a wikispace that would house all of the information about the resources. I shared the wikispace with world language teachers and friends who went to school to be a world language teacher. For each resource I wrote a brief description about the resources, gave some ideas on how world language teachers could use the resource in their classroom, created a start-up sheet which was a “how to use the resource” ,

(Screenshot of Start-Up Sheet)

gave an example, if it was possible, about how to use the resource in the world language classroom and gave links to any other helpful resources about the tool, if I found it suitable. I thought that creating a wikispace was a good idea because it would allow me to have a good foundation of tools to share and would give me a starting point to add more tools. 

(Screenshot of VoiceThread page on Wikispace)

I then created a survey on surveymonkey .I asked 10 questions about the wikispace, tools that I found and opinions of the components of language acquisition. I was very surprised to see that all 7 participants strongly agree that speaking was the weakest component of language acquisition  and 6/7 deemed it as the most important component.

There were also a few more surprises. It was difficult at times to create start-up sheets for all of the tools because tools like VoiceThread have many different components. I tried to create start-up sheets that would allow any content area teacher to be able to use the resource.  

There were also some things that I would revise.  While I thought that the survey was a good idea to get feedback and have the teachers rate the tools on their friendliness, I think that it would be beneficial to also have teachers fill out a google doc about their likes and dislikes in regards to specific tools. I would also ask them how they would use the tools in their classroom so I would be able to acquire more ideas. If a teacher had a strong opinion about a tool or a lot of experience with a tool, I would be made aware of it through the use of a google doc.

While I would revise this part of my Wicked Problem Project, I do think that there were some things that went well.  I think that creating a wikispace was a good idea. The wikispace helped me to better organize the information for myself as well as the teachers. It allowed the teachers to easily navigate through the pages and it is compatible with embedding, adding links and pictures.  The wikispace allowed me to better organize the information for myself as well as the teachers. The teachers knew what to expect: a description, ways to use the tool in the world language classroom, an example (if applicable and possible) and a start-up sheet that teaches the basics about how to use the resource for any teacher.

I think that the project would have been better for me if I had a teaching job and my own classroom. While it was good to be exposed to and to learn about many resources that I could share, I think I would have benefited more if I could have seen some of these tools to put into action with students. I would also be able to experiment with the resources with my colleagues and share the sources with them. It would have been more meaningful to implement the resources with actual students and see how it helped their confidence in the target language as well as oral proficiency. 

Link to podcast: https://www.msu.edu/~slifersa/partcwpp.mp3

Link to wikispace: http://senoritatecnologia.wikispaces.com/

Link to survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/L35QVD3

Recording and Editing Lab

To implement my project, I created a wikispace that housed information about the resources that I used as well as start-up sheets. I then shared the wikispace with my friends who went to school to be language teachers as well as language teachers that I knew. I then had the teachers take a survey. This is the link to my podcast:  https://www.msu.edu/~slifersa/implementation.mp3

I had trouble in session 1 to have my podcast come up on my itunes. I subscribed and tried all the tips that my professor gave me and I was still not able to hear my podcasts. For some reason information from 2 random blog posts come up.  I am not sure why this is happening. 

I also have my feedburner in my blog to enhance to RSS feed. The screen shot shows that it is my feedburner. 

Part B - Storyboard and Script

Our group has been working together very well and progressing nicely. Our topic is flipping the classroom and we chose to complete a tutorial about using WatchKnowLearn.org. We have each completed our individual research portions of the project and we created our Popplet.  Heidi worked on the Common Core and Classroom, Jamin did the Introduction, How to Add a Video and the Vision/ Conclusion and I worked on the Editors Tools and How to Review, Approve and Assign Videos to Appropriate Categories. Below is a snapshot of our Popplet that we created. 

We chose to use Google Docs to create our script. We were about to create an outline that includes what we would like Jamin to say when she records the audio narration. The Google Doc is a work and progress, but it is done for the most part and we just need to finish our final individual editing. This is the link to our Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HsWh4yPYhdSIAsaBHHIjQGgwoacD6QglyP1svBtqkmA/edit. Below is a screen shot of the script for one of my portions of the project. 

Originally we decided that each of us would record our individual parts. We realized that this would be a lot harder than we thought. We weren’t sure how we would merge all of the Jing videos together. We decided that it would be easier and flow better if one person recoreded the entire presentation. We broke up the last part into individual sections. Heidi did the final edit of the Popplet/script and was able to color coordinate the Popplet so it looks a lot nicer. I am responsible for creating the presentation. I will be creating it using Prezi and my due date is December 1^st.  Jamin will record over the Prezi, using Jing, and will record the entire presentation. 

Data Visualization Lab

I really enjoyed browsing and looking at the resources on Karl Gude’s wikispace.  This is definitely a website that is worth bookmarking because I know that it will continue to grow! I thought that it was set up really nice and was organized well by specific categories. It was nice that he was able to make such specific categories and give some of the capabilities many of the tools. I was able to look at sharing tools such as Cincopa, Portfolio tools such as Wix and Dropmocks and other tools such as Celtx, Dipity and Tagxedo. It was good to be able to explore more sharing tools because we are currently sharing everything on the internet with the push of a button. I also liked to be able to explore different portfolio tools because there was a group in my 811 class that did their presentation about online portfolios. I especially liked Wix because I felt that there were many templates for students to use so they did not have to spend time editing the colors and fonts on their portfolio, but were still able to keep part of themselves on the site. I thought that Celtx was a great website for creating storyboard and being able to create scripts and edit them. The site was very information and provided a lot of background about the use of the tool, its “story” as well an embedded feed of people who tweet about them. I think that it is more appealing because it has cloud features. I also liked Taxgedo. I have seen Wordle used before in a few classrooms for things such as a vocabulary wall or the names of all the students, but I have not seen Tagxedo before or heard of it.  I thought it was really cool that you would be able to put your world cloud on items such as t-shirts and mugs. Many of the tools that he had on the lab were ones that I have used or seen before such as Prezi, Glogster, Jing, Flickr and Picasa.  It was comforting to see that there were many tools and apps on the Wikispace that we have talked about in the certificate classes because this allows me to see that the content and tools that we are learning about is relevant since I do not have my own classroom.

For the lab I created a visualization using Dipity. I created a timeline for the main events of the Spanish War of Independence. This is something that is relevant to my content area because it is the war that gave Spain its independence from Napoleon and the French and it is depicted in many paintings by Spanish artists such as Goya.  

I wish that I would have had known about this when I was student teaching! I created a timeline for the 6^th grade students in relation of the ancient civilizations that we learned about in our Spanish with the ones they were learning about in their World Cultures class. This really helped the students to compare the time periods and it helped them to see the overlaps in the empires. I really liked how you are about to add things such as photos and because it was help the students to better visualize the events.  I think that this is a fantastic tool for creating timelines. When I think of timelines, I am easily bored and I think of really old pictures in a textbook. My ah-ha moment was when I was able to create a meaningful connection between the growing up online reading and digital nation videos and Dipity. We need to cater to our students and the way that they are currently learning. When I saw the teacher drawing the triangle on the board and the students being bored, it reminded me of looking at boring timelines in history textbooks. The interactive timelines allow the students to become more engaged with the material and the supplemental things such as pictures, videos and documents. 
Here is the link to my timeline: http://www.dipity.com/sslifer/Spanish-War-of-Independence/?s=t

PART B - Application of TPACK

TPACK was inspired by Lee Shulman's TPACK. MSU's Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler added the technology component to create a more meaningful learning experience. For a successful TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) framework, an understanding of content and creativity is necessary. The teachers are the designers of technology, content and pedagogy. For this portion of the Wicked Problem Plan I will apply the framework of TPACK to the solution for my problem.

In terms of the Technology and Pedagogy, the resources that I have chosen are supportive in a teaching environment. Many of the resources can create authentic, personalized speaking moments for students as well conversations. In tools such as VoiceThread, Conversations 2.0 and Lingt Language, conversation between teacher and student can be simulated. In VoiceThread, conversation can occur between teacher and student as well as student and student. The technology also allows the users to be interactive. Students who use Voki are able to record multiple characters with multiple voices. In VoiceThread users are able to comment on each other’s responses and ideas.

In terms of Technology and Content, these resources make the problem more intellectually accessible. These tools are easily accessible. VoiceThread and Blabberize have applications that students can download for free on their smartphone. Students can also call in responses on VoiceThread. The students will be able to increase the rigor by speaking outside of class and increase amount they are speaking. They are able to increase their oral proficiency and fluency by speaking more in the target language in meaningful environments. By using a wikispace and creating start-up sheets, the teachers are able to access all the materials. Eventually I will be able to model how to use the tool when I create tutorials with Jing after the course is over.

In terms of Pedagogy and Content, the resources allow the students to access higher order thinking skills. Students are able to be creative with some of the resources such as Voki and Blabberize. The students are able to create short films in Voki and are able to “speak” through the pictures on Blabberize. They are able to analyze and evaluate how to respond in resources such as Lingt Language, VoiceThread and Conversations 2.0. In Lingt Language the teacher can input videos, mp3 files, pictures, voice narration and text. The teacher can make it so the students answer in text or voice narration. In VoiceThread the teacher can have the students respond to the presentation or they could have them respond based on their classmates’ responses. In Conversations the teacher can ask the student questions and the students are able to give personalized responses based on the questions.

Overall, I think that my solution to my WPP is suitable for the TPACK framework. 

PART A - Brainstorm Session

For our group leadership project I am working with Heidi Embury and Jamin Jones. Our group specialty is flipping the classroom. We have decided that our technology tool iswatchknowlearn.org. WatchKnowLearn is a website that houses videos or tutorials, lessons and classroom flips. The videos are organized by content area, grade levels (based on common core standards) and classrooms (different groups of professionals). You are also able to search for videos based on the age of your target student. WatchKnowLearn is very user-friendly, navigable and organized.

In our adobe connect session we were able to vote on our presentation tool, mindmap tool and script tool. It was an unanimous decision that we would use Jing as our presentation tool, Poplet as our mindmap tool and GoogleDocs as our script too. We have all used Jing before and enjoy using it. We have also used GoogleDocs and it is a very group-friendly collaborative tool. Jamin and I have not used Poplet, but I am looking forward to being able to learn more about it as a technology tool. We were able to assign out roles as well. I am completing the Editor's Tools, and "How to review, approve, and assign the videos to appropriate categories", Heidi is working on Common Core and Classrooms and Jamin is taking care of Intro, Conclusion & "How to add a video". We also worked on our timeline and have been working on the project since our meeting. Our group is meeting again on Monday November 19th. We would like to have everything finished so we can record and not have to worry about the project post-Thanksgiving. We did not go over how we will do the presentation and if everyone will talk. While I think that it would be more meaningful if everyone presented their portion, I think it may be more difficult and may not come out as clean and clear as it would if one person presented. If we create our script it really should not matter who presents. 

I really liked using adobe connect in this meeting. It was very realistic because Heidi was able to put an agenda in the sidenotes as well as insert polls. We were able to vote on our presentation tool, mindmap tool and script tool. We were also able to use the webcam feature to see everyone. I was struggling a bit because I could see myself but then I realized that had to hit preview for them to see me (embarrassing). The disadvantages of using this tool were that I was having trouble hearing my groupmates sometimes, especially while using google chrome as my browser. Sometimes the group was cutting in and out, but it all worked out in the end. 
This is the recording to our adobe connect session: http://meet30409137.adobeconnect.com/p65886f39kh/

Web-Conferencing

Our group held two web conference sessions. The first session we used google hangout. This was the first time that I used google hangout. I really like google hangout because it is really user friendly. Heidi was able to share her screen with us and show us the web-page we are using for our project. Google hangout can be useful in the world language classroom to meet with native speakers of  a Spanish-speaking country. The teacher could share screens with the other teacher and all of the students, in both classes, could reflect and comment, in the target language, on the same thing like an art piece. Teachers could also meet with other language teachers within your district and  students could use it to be able to connect with members of their group outside of class. Students could also connect with students in other classes who have Spanish at the same time as them. They could google hangout to connect and speak in the target language.

In the second session we used adobe connect. At first I was using google chrome as my web browser. I was having trouble connecting and hearing my groupmates so I switched to internet explorer. I do not think that adobe connect is compatible with google chrome because I could not listen to old sessions of adobe in google chrome. We were able to use the poll features to pick and vote on the different tools we will be using for our project. I think that adobe connect would be more user friendly to teach online classes because of all the features and you can have students answer questions to check for understanding. A teacher could use adobe connect in the classroom and use the poll feature to get feedback from students about a lecture. It could also be used in the classroom to present a powerpoint by sharing the screen and allowing students to use the chat feature to ask the teacher questions if they are confused. I also really like the note feature because the teacher could post a key concept to keep in mind during a lecture or activity. 

I would not do anything different for the next session. As a group, we have decided that we will use google hangout because we think it is more convenient. I really like being able to web conference with my groupmates because I am in PA and they are in MI. It allows me to have a more personal connect with the people that I am working with!

PART A - Description of Need or Opportunity

The problem that I am trying to solve for my WPP is a problem that many world language teachers face. World Teachers face the problem of oral proficiency in the target language and assessing oral competency. Students usually struggle the most with speaking because they are not always talking in the target language and they are conscious of speaking in the target language with an authentic accent. World language teachers do not have the time to give oral interviews to students for tests because there are so many students in a class. I would like to find resources to increase oral proficiency as well as tools that teachers can use to have students submit assignments orally. I would also like to find resources where students can keep these exercises so they are review student growth. 

I plan to find resources that are web-based and/or applications that help to increase oral proficiency of language learners and help teachers assess oral language skills. I believe that these resources will be beneficial not only for the teacher, but the students as well. Teachers will be able to better assess oral proficiency of students who do not always speak in class in a private matter, students will be able to speak in the target language in a safe environment and the teacher can monitor and evaluate student growth. Finding free and/or cheap apps that are user-friendly will allow teachers to extend language use outside of the classroom, increase the rigor of the course and increase language acquisition.

I have found some tools that are worth investigating during my research thus far. Some tools that I have found to increase oral proficiency VoiceThread, Lingt Language, Rich Internet Language Learning Resources from MSU such as Audio Dropbox and Conversations, Voki, Blabberize and Vocaroo All of these resources are free and there are applications for blabberize and VoiceThread. VoiceThread is a resource that is similar to a powerpoint, but allows users to comment via text, voice, webcam or through phone. This is a good resource because teachers and students can create conversation via the comments or students can answer a question that the teacher poses. Lingt Language is a resource that allows teachers to create online assignments that teachers can embed text, video, voice narration, mp3 files and photos into the assignment and students can respond in text or voice narration. This is a good resource because the assignment gets sent the teacher so it is a more comfortable environment for the students. Audio Dropbox is a resource that allows students to record themselves completing a task and the file gets sent to the teacher. This is also a safe environment and the information gets sent to the teacher right away. Conversations is a tool that allows the teacher to record themselves via voice narration or webcam and they can simulate a conversation with a student. The teacher speaks and then the student will speak. Once the student is finishing answering, the teacher will speak again. Once the assignment is complete, the student will be able to submit the assignment to the teacher. Voki is a resource that allows students to create “small productions” with avatars. Students record or type in the story line and can control the general movements of the characters. The students can then produce the movie and share it with their teacher. Blabberize is a tool where the students can record their voices over a picture and they can make the person or things lips move. This is a good tool because it is fun for the students and they are given creative control by picking the picture that they want to use. Vocaroo is a tool that students can use on their computer that allows them to record themselves and send it to their teacher. This is a widget that teachers can embed into their class site or blog.

One helpful link that I found was about research at Georgia State University:Assessing Student Oral Language Proficiency:Cost-Conscious Tools, Practices & Outcomes on the International Association of Language Learning Technology. The research included learners of Spanish and Japanese. The results indicate that close to half the students were more comfortable speaking in the setting. Students focused more on pronunciation as well as grammar and vocabulary. Over 2/3 ranked speaking as the most important component of language acquisition, which is why it is so important to increase oral fluency and proficiency.  

I currently do not have a full-time teaching job so I will not be able to implement this project to students in the classroom setting. Instead, I will be sharing the resources with friends that went to school to be a world language teacher (some are working and some are not), my cooperating teacher from student teaching as well as the instructional coach from the high school that I worked as a technology intern at. During the timeline of the project, I am planning on creating a wikispace to use as a resource for the teachers. I will create start-up sheets on how to use each of these tools. For the tools that you can create examples, I will create examples. I will write a description of the tool and how it can be used. To measure the success of the project, I will have teachers take a survery using survey monkey. After the project, I will look into creating presentations of me presenting the features of the resource and how to use it. I will also look into upload start-up sheets for other web 2.0 tools that I have found that are good resources for world language teachers as well as the tools that we used in our SIG project from 810. 

811 Final Reflection

As I am ending my 810 and 811 classes at Michigan State, it is an appropriate time to reflect upon my coursework and growth. This is my reflection specifically for my 811 class. These are some questions to think about:

1. What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology? In session 6 we learned about online learning and session 7 we learned about face-to-face instructional strategies. In The Guidelines: Online Experience Document, I was able to learn about the many different types of online teaching strategies such as learning management systems, podcasting, electronic portfolio, etc. In the Online Experience Guideline, I was able to learn about specific resources for these strategies such as blackboard, moodle and wordpress. I only worked with wikispaces, wordpress and blackboard so it was nice to learn about many other resources and tools that I can use in my future classroom. Many professors say that students will be learning online in the near future and I know that some of my classmates teach online or in a blended classroom. By having class with them, I am able to learn more about their experiences and by reading their blogs. The guideline was also helpful because it said which kind of characteristics each strategy was such as collaborative. In session 7, the videos were very informative and it was nice to be able to learn about the different technologies for teaching strategies such as lectures, discussions, explaining and demonstrating. I was able to learn about more resources that I can use and explore when I have a classroom. These sessions were very helpful because it addressed all types of teaching situations that teachers will face. 
2. How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?  In session 2 we learned about evaluating materials and we evaluated a material in MERLOT. I learned about to evaluate materials based on curriculum standards, technolog standards and information literacy standards. It is easiest, practical and we get the best evaluations by using standards because they never changed and are not biased. We also should evaluate the material/ resource based on the quality of content, potential effectiveness as a teaching-learning tool and ease of use. I believe that is the best if a teacher who is familiar with the content is evaluating it for quality and effectiveness. It was harder for me to evaluate a resource when I was not familiar with the content and an expert in the area. The best evaluations will come when the teacher is familiar with the content and will know its effectiveness. This will help out other teachers who are thinking about using the source. By integrating these web-based technologies, I was able to be more reflective and think more as a student and how these technologies and tools would help me learn. As teachers, we need to think about how it will help us to teach but more importantly, how it will help our students to learn. While I like things such as prezis, a wikispace may be more helpful for students because they are able to see and navigate through the information on their own. 
3. How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration? I think that I have met my goals. I do not have the same goals as my classmates because I am not able to practice what I learn since I am not a full-time teacher. My goal was to be able to learn as much as I good about technologies and I learned a lot. I learned about MERLOT, rss feeders, different sites to create websites, wikis, filezilla, TPACK, online learning tools, assistive technology and so much more. I was able to learn more about web 2.0 tools which are one of my interests. 
4. Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over? My new goals are to be able to update my portfolio on weebly so I can showcase my work and it will allow me to become more reflective. I am starting the 812 class until the end of this semester so hopefully I will have more work to contribute to my online portfolio. My long-term goal is to still get a full-time teaching job or atleast a long-term sub position. I am hoping that I can have my own classroom for the 2013-2014 school year. 

Overall, I was able to grow a lot this course. I was able to learn about MERLOT, which is a fantastic resource for teachers. I think that I was more inhibited to grow as much as my fellow classmates because I do not have my own classroom. It is frustrating at times because I am learned so much in my certificate classes, but I am not able to apply what I am learned and try it with students. I think that I would have grown more as a learner if I were able to experiment what I learned with a class of students as well as educate fellow teachers about the new things I learned about. I am eager to be able to get a full-time teacher job so I can employ these awesome tools and strategies. Hopefully I will become more marketable by having this knowledge and the ability to share it with others. Until then, I will have to continue to work hard to be the best student and hopeful teacher that I can be. 

Internet-based learning environments

This week in my CEP 811 class we learned about online learning. There was a reading that was assigned: Michigan Merit Curriculum Online Experience Guideline Companion Document. This PDF explained the core principles of online learning as well as the different types of online experiences, their quality characteristics and specific resources for each experience such as webquests, electronic portfolio, online field trips and simulations, etc. I don't have my own classroom but one that interested me that I have been hearing in my CEP classes was moodle. Many schools are looking into blended learning and there are many cyber schools. I have worked with learning management software such as blackboard while I was an undergrad at Duquesne and while I was student teaching at Chartiers Valley High School. Through looking at the moodle website and examples on the site, I was able to learn about the capabilities of moodle for online learning. The quality characteristics that most learning management software have are integration, sustainability  life-long skills and teacher involvement. With moodle, there is also collaboration through forums and wikis. The website gave a very clean appearance and I think that it is more user-friendly than Blackboard.

When looking at and evaluating moodle, there are a few key topics that should be addressed.
1. What content could this help you teach? Moodle could help me teach most Spanish classes. For me personally, I would want to use online learning in high school classes, when the students have a foundation for the language. In particular, I would like to teach more about culture through moodle. There are 21 Spanish-speaking countries and they all have different cultures and are located in different regions of the world. I would not be able to teach things about the culture of each country during the year due to curriculum. Through moodle, I would be able to have a page for each country which would have links to videos on youtube, pictures and information about the country's culture.

2. What type of pedagogical strategies might you use with your students? I would want to use direct instruction to teach the information. I would want to be able to relate grammar concepts and vocabulary to the information that I would be teaching in conjunction with the culture. Since learning is not face to face, students would need structured practice, guided practice and independent practice with the new concepts. The students would need to be able to differentiate between the different cultures and I would want to scaffold the learning by building upon previous concepts. I would also want the students to keep a journal and/or blog about the interesting information that they are learning so they could share it with me and their classmates.

3.What technologies do you think would be harder to use with your students? Why? As a world language teacher I think the hardest technology to use with the students would be online gaming. I have not been able to find many "games" except for ones on quia. They are not really games and I don't think they are very engaging unless the learner has a love for the content. They are good practice for the students, but after a while they can become boring. I would love to be able to find good games for world language learners since many students enjoy playing games on their phones, video games and computer games.

Podcasting Lab

Link to mp3 file for podcasting lab. The mp3 files is about when I was student teaching and opened my laptop for the first time. I didn't know my username and password for the laptop and my mp3 is about what happened after.
mp3 for recording and editing lab

A Funny Thing Happened with Technology

Here is a link to the mp3 file that I created using audacity and lame mp3 encoder.

https://www.msu.edu/~slifersa/funnyabouttech.mp3

It is about something funny that happened to me in the beginning of my student teaching experience. When  I was student teaching the school gave me a laptop. When I started up my computer there was a log in screen to get onto the server. I typed in my cooperating teacher’s username and password and it did not work. After visiting the tech guys, I learned that I did not need a log in and just had to hit enter.
 

CEP 812 Personal Introduction

I created a screencast using jing and powerpoint in kiosk mode for my personal introduction for my CEP 812 course and Michigan State.

Here is the link to my screencast: http://www.screencast.com/t/hHTrg2Zf

Web Lab

During the web lab I worked with wikispaces. I have worked with wikispaces before while I was a technology intern. I helped to manage www.thedigitalshift.wikispaces.com. It is a resources for teachers at Hampton Township School District. I managed the world language ideas page. I also created a wikispace during student teaching for my 7th grade project www.exploramundoinc.wikispaces.com. I embedded their videos, documents, powerpoints and lessons. I also edited the Pennridge School District wikipedia site, where I went to school.

I really enjoy working with wikis and specifically with wikispaces. Wikis are a great collaborative tool and a great way to organize material for students. I created a wikispace and  uploaded information that I used for my project-based learning project while I was student teaching. I uploaded and embedded the calendar as well as powerpoints, vocabulary sheets and examples for the geography portion of the project.
I tweeted the link to my wikispace and shared it with teachers at Hampton Township and Chartiers Valley.

UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist

UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist
I.      Provide Multiple Means of Representation:	Your notes
1.     Provide options for perception
1.1  Customize the display of information	Feature: The information on the board is very organized as well as on the handout.
1.2  Provide alternatives for auditory information	Barrier: The directions are spoken and they listen to a video as well. While there are directions on the handout, the students may not grasp the information. A text-to-speech could help the students as well as a tutorial that is completely written with captioning.
1.3  Provide alternatives for visual information	Feature: There are pictures of the students and planets on the board. The planets are in the correct order and the class completes a written example on the board together.
2.     Provide options for language and symbols
2.1  Define vocabulary and symbols	Feature: Planets pictures are symbols for the planets. There is also a symbol that the students know for the ordinal numbers in Spanish.
2.2  Clarify syntax and structure	Feature: Examples of correct syntax are written on the handout, are spoken and are written on the board during the lesson.
2.3  Decode text and mathematical notation	Barrier: The examples are written in Spanish, with directions in English. The lesson is taught completely in Spanish.
2.4  Promote cross-linguistic understanding	Feature: Two languages are used an many components of a language such as speaking, writing, listening and some reading.
2.5  Illustrate key concepts non-linguistically	Feature: Students can see the pictures of their classmates on the pictures as well as visualize the order of the planets.
3.     Provide options for comprehension
3.1  Provide or activate background knowledge	Feature: Students view a video and all vocabulary from the unit is incorporated as well as grammar from the past unit.
3.2  Highlight critical features, big ideas, and relationships	Feature: Students can visualize the order as well as who is on which planet.
3.3  Guide information processing	Feature: The students first hear the example, then they see it written, then they write it, then they speak it. This is how language is learned.
3.4  Support memory and transfer	Feature: The student’s pictures provide meaning as well as the repetition and use of the verb Estar.
II.    Provide Multiple Means for Action and Expression:	Your notes
4.     Provide options for physical actions
4.1  Provide varied ways to respond	Feature: Students are responding through speech as well as in writing.
4.2  Provide varied ways to interact with materials	Barrier: The students cannot really build upon the material.  They interact with each other and their teaching in various ways. This is a barrier because the students are structured in the creation of their sentences and only one answer is correct.
4.3  Integrate assistive technologies	Barrier: No assistive technologies are integrated in the lesson.
5.     Provide options for expressive skills and fluency
5.1  Allow choices of media for communication	Barrier: The students are only able to communicate by writing down their answer, sharing it and writing the response. Students are not able to “create anything” so it is a barrier.
5.2  Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving	Barrier: Students are only able to “plug and chug” the information into a sentence on the handout. It is a barrier because there are no means for creative expression .
5.3  Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance	Feature: Students are building upon material that they learned in previous units (Estar).
6.     Provide options for executive functions
6.1  Guide effective goal setting	Feature: The students want to finish and be correct so the teacher can “save them” off of the planet.
6.2  Support planning and strategy development	Feature: The lesson is built up by having an engaging video of a dog traveling to the planets and then the students are left there. There is a build up to the end when the teacher “saves them” off of the planets.
6.3  Facilitate managing information and resources	Feature: There is not a lot of information or resources besides the video, handout and pictures of the planets/ students.
6.4  Enhance capacity for monitoring progress	Barrier: The students can only be monitored by the teacher walking around. If the class has 30 students, it will be difficult to effectively monitor progress so it is a barrier.
III.   Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:	Your notes
7.     Provide options for recruiting interest
7.1  Increase individual choice and autonomy	Barrier: The only individual choice is to write which planet they are on. All the answers will be exactly the same except for that one between all the students.
7.2  Enhance relevance, value, and authenticity	Feature: Actual pictures of all students are included on the planets. All of the students’ names are to be written in the answer, not just “the girls”.
7.3  Reduce threats and distractions	Barrier: The students will want to come up and see the pictures. They will be excited to see the pictures and may comment on their appearances instead of worrying about completing the assignment.
8.     Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
8.1  Heighten salience of goals and objectives	Barrier: The lesson does not address the higher order thinking skills and the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. This is a barrier because critical thinking skills are not being used.
8.2  Vary levels of challenge and support	Barrier: There is no differentiation between the learners. There is no enrichment in the lesson either.
8.3  Foster collaboration and communication	Feature: The students have to work together to tell the teacher and write the sentences on the board so they can be “saved” by the teacher.
8.4  Increase mastery-oriented feedback	Feature: The students are able to practice constructing the sentences using the correct syntax of the target language. They have to use correct noun and verb usage.
9.     Provide options for self-regulation
9.1  Guide personal goal-setting and expectations	Feature: The students are expected to finish and have a goal to so that they can be rescued from the planet.
9.2  Scaffold coping skills and strategies	Barrier: There is no high level of problem solving. The lesson is very basic and there are not many strategies that are able to be employed to complete the lesson.
9.3  Develop self-assessment and reflection	Barrier: They are only able to reflect if their answers were correct. There is no extension of the lesson.

© CAST 2009

While going through the checklist I realized that my lesson is "fun" and engaging. While that is good to have in a lesson, there is no differentiation, places of support, enrichment or many ways for the students to interact with the material. There is no extension of the lesson beyond itself. I created the lesson knowing my learners, but the lesson was not designed so that every teacher could use the exact same lesson and be successful  The lesson was not created for universal learners. There was not an overwhelming amount of barriers in any section but only a few had overwhelming features. While looking at the primary principles of UDL, not all are met. There are not multiple means of expression. The students are expected to be able to say and write the answer. All answers are expected to be the same except for one. I think that the means of engagement are substantial because they are engaged by the pictures of them and the planets, the video as well as the concept of being rescued and the personalization at the end. For the means of representation, the information is presented through the pictures and in the handout that includes the questions. The information is not presented in many ways for the students since the same information is only presented in one way. This lesson does not meet enough of the checklist of be considered UDL.