(Not) The End

Once you take the final exam, the class is over. I do have to grade any questions that have essay or short answers, and once I do that, you should see your score in My Grades in WebCT. You can use the syllabus to determine your final grade using your total points.

I've posted some final thoughts for you on the last page of the class wiki. It's interactive, with video, audio, animation and more!

While you're there, you can click on a link near the top of that page (or click here) to write and leave a sticky-note with positive suggestions or comments on the eme2040 wall.



Go forth and TEACH! (and use technology wisely to do it well!)

Dr. B

Goodbye PBWiki - Hello PBWorks

PBWiki has announced a name change to PBWorks.


If you created a wiki in PBWiki, it has a new name and address. See the FAQs. Yes, your old address should work, but you might want to make note of the change--especially if you are linking to it from your portfolio.

I'm glad they waited until your final project was due and graded!

FETC Virtual Conference


Right NOW I'm attending the FETC Virtual Conference. It's entirely online--including speakers, presentations, communication with other participants, exhibits and even prizes! How cool is that?


I'm listening to Dr. Steven L. Paine – State Superintendent – West Virginia Department of Education. He's talking about what they are doing for teachers, for students and with technology to improve outcomes in education. He first talked about how teachers are VALUED in Finland, Singapore, Korea and China. He's also talking about building a "back porch" for teachers--where they can collaborate, share, plan, work and learn together online. He believes teachers should be better trained, more respected, and better paid....and that we need better teachers! I can't disagree! Did you know in Finland, only 1 in 10 trained teachers are actually selected to work in school classrooms? They only take the cream of the crop!

I like him. He thinks that retirees (like me!) have something to offer! Paine also thinks we'll be looking at more online learning for both students and teachers and much hybrid instruction as well. Aren't you glad you took this course online? And you were introduced to FLVS? Online learning and teaching may indeed be part of your future!

See the program here. I'm hoping that the presentations will be available later for you (and me) to view and hear later, too.

Back to my learning....!

Another Look at Your Future with Technology

Happy Earth Day!

Final Project Example


I've posted a new example of a final project. It includes notes from the course about each part of the assignment. See it here.

This was created in PBWiki, but you may also use Wikispaces or WetPaint.

ABCD Rubric

I just found this rubric online for assessing instructional objectives:

Rubric: Instructional Objective Statement

You can also build your own rubric at this site--or modify one--or put a whole course online.

Other rubric generators mentioned in your project overview and in Module 7:


And you can learn a LOT more about rubrics here:
If you use the final project rubric as a guide, you will see how it can help students as well as teachers!

Final Exam Resources

I've compiled 10 resources for you to help review for the final exam including some already mentioned in this blog so you have them all in one place. You can see them here:

http://1link.in/dstth

Click on OPEN and it open all the links.

Have fun! You'll be ready!

Word Search Puzzle

Like finding those hidden words? Here's a link to a word search puzzle using terms from our work this semester. Print it out and go to it!

(No fair doing it while in another class!)


Can't find them? Here's the answer key!

New Review Game

In addition to the review quiz posted earlier, Larry Ferlazzo's blog alerted me to some new "make your own game" sites. So here's another one for you created in W2L (What 2 Learn) and based on the final exam questions.


Click here to play:
Penquins in Peril: Introduction to Technology in Education

See Larry's "Best" lists here! You'll find some new favorites! And you might want to bookmark or subscribe to his blog!

BTW, I made at least one error in putting this game together....10 bonus points if you are the first to post it in a comment below!

Here are some other games created by others on W2L that will help you review and show you what else you might create using the free game-creator tool:
You might want to consider creating an online game or quiz for your final project. "Given ten random questions in an online game about ____________, the student will answer 90% of them or more correctly." What better way to meet that objective? This would be the knowledge level in Bloom's taxonomy.

New Research on Virtual Schools

Several research studies by Florida professors and others indicate: "Online classes may be a relatively young instructional practice for K-12 schools, but experts already generally agree on one point: Research shows that virtual schooling can be as good as, or better than, classes taught in person in brick-and-mortar schools."

Items on a school teachers desk  Color


Read more in this Education Week article (outlined in the overview)...then talk with the experts from Florida Virtual Schools next week. One teacher will be online each evening, Monday through Thursday (April 6-9)@ 7pm to answer your questions. Who knows? You may become a virtual teacher!


Details about the chat and how to prepare are in the class wiki. Deadline for next week's assignment has been extended to Friday, 4/10 at 11:55 p.m. to allow you to participate and get credit (or extra credit). See your course mail and Instructor Updates discussion for details.

Another Free Teacher Website Builder


ClassJump.com provides teachers web sites free of charge, where multiple classes can be managed and updated using an easy to understand interface. No knowledge of web site programming is needed to get your class or classes set up and quickly providing up-to-date information for your students and parents.
Post homework
Upload Documents to share with the class
Post upcoming events to your calendar
Post articles of interest and links to resources
Receive documents uploaded by students
Start a class message board, just for you and your students
Create unlimited numbers of photo albums

Students can create pages, too! Try it out!

PBWiki Enhancements

PBWiki announced some enhancements to their wiki software today:

  • Starred Pages- Bookmark all important wiki pages and create a personal list of information that is important to you.
  • Send a Link- Tell other members of your team that you’ve updated the workspace, or to call them to review, comment, or edit the page.
  • Navigator- Quickly navigate to any folder, and browse all pages on your wiki. Also a quick way to view your Starred Pages.
  • Threaded Comments (Premium Feature)- Now you can reply to comments!
Enjoy!

Looking Back at the Semester

It seems like a good time to begin review the course...with technology (of course!) So let's take a look back....

What do you remember?
What did you miss?

First, I created a Powerpoint presentation and uploaded it to SlideShare. Slideshare let me add some YouTube videos I thought fit nicely! Cool! When finished, I embedded it in a wiki page.

What else can I do with this review presentation? Once it's in Powerpoint, I have lots of options. I saved the presentation as jpg images. That turns each slide into a separate image.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: 2040 Review!
  • The slideshow above is in Smilebox.
  • I also created a VoiceThread. Click on the link and you can comment on any slide or memory by typing, using a microphone or webcam, or even calling a toll-free number! (Comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.)
  • I used the slides to create a video in Animoto, one of my favorite tools:




  • I saved it as a movie and uploaded it to YouTube:


  • I created a new presentation in Prezi. (Watch out! Prezi may make you dizzy! But it is a cool presentation system!)
These are just a few of the many multimedia alternatives to Powerpoint or for delivering a presentation in a different way. For more presentation tools, check out this page in the WebTools4U2Use wiki.

I hope it serves as a good visual review of where we've been and what we've accomplished in a short time!

Which is your favorite way to view the review?
Leave a comment to let me know!