EDLD 5363 Web Conference Week 2

I wasn't in as much of a rush this week, so was able to log in with plenty of time to spare. I'm so thankful that there are plenty of conferences scheduled so that I am able to listen, learn, and participate.  The web conferences are wonderful for answering my questions and calming my nerves.  Knowing that my other colleagues are in the exact same boat as I am is very comforting.

This weeks conference was very informative.  I appreciate the fact that Dr. Abernathy gives us the facts, but she always gives us some background information as well.  One of the comments she made tonight is one I need to remember. She reminded us that the professors are not teaching these courses and grading us on a "gotcha" scale. We are all here to collaborate together, learn together, and make sure we get the right information to our kiddos.

Dr. Abernathy also discussed our assignment for the week.  Our discussion board posts will remain the same. We will need to post one relevant quote and respond to one other quote. I find myself really enjoying the articles that are posted for us to read.  They are a wealth of information! In addition, Dawn has been awesome about emailing additional reading material.  I feel like I am learning so much and will keep these documents to use as personal resources.  Our assignment involves the review of a free video editing software program, and creating a podcast on how to use the software.  Our podcast is audio only, and a good source for recording is www.audacity.com  Since I used audacity for my personal story, I'll be pretty comfortable using it for the podcast.  She emphasized the use of file extensions several times!  Our PSA will be developed over weeks 3-5. We need to have our teams together by tomorrow so that we will be ready to begin.  We must work in teams! Collaboration and teamwork are important for your individual growth.

EDLD 5363: Assignment 1 - Reflection

To be honest, it took a little more work that previous classes to actually get started on this week's assignment. But, once I took the time to read through the assignment, attend the web conference, and decide on my topic, things started rolling rather quickly. As I narrowed down my topic, it was hard to choose between a couple of subjects.  I finally decided to work with a childhood memory and discuss our family move when I was in 1st grade.  I still have vivid memories about the move, which in the end, turned out to be great for our family.  I was also worried that two minutes would be a lot of time to fill. But, when I started to write down ideas, and answer questions from my partner, I realized that two minutes was actually going to be a very short period of time! 

I enjoyed this assignment for many reasons.  I worked with a great partner, Meredith Diebler, who came up with some wonderful questions and suggestions.  I loved looking back at pictures and creating a story about my childhood.  I will definitely be sharing this with family, friends, and most importantly, my two daughters.  I'm also looking forward to working with colleagues for the next four weeks, and collaborating on our group project.

For this project, we used google docs, texts and email to communicate. I was impressed with the ease of use of google.docs.  It worked great as a collaboration tool for us to quickly ask questions and get answers. We also both used Photo Story 3 as our video editing tool.  Again, I was pleased with the ease of navigation of Photo Story 3. I'll definitely be using Photo Story 3 for classroom projects, and have already started setting up a google doc for our campus 3rd grade team collaboration.

EDLD 5363: Assignment 1 - Personal Story Using Photo Story

http://youtu.be/7ZLZZfJ2hW8

EDLD 5363 Week 1 Web Conference 11-13-11

It was a little bit of a rush to attend this conference, but I made it! And, I'm so glad I did. For some reason, the assignments for this course were confusing to me. After listening to Dr. Abernathy and seeing some other students post the same questions that I had, I felt a little more relaxed. My audio didn't work as well as it has in previous conferences, but I was still able to follow along.

Dr. Abernathy discussed the requirements of posting on the discussion board and that we should use it for all conversations and not just quotes about the readings.  She also mentioned that we just need to respond to one quote instead of two, and I'm grateful for this change. Also, a few changes have been made to our digital story.  Instead of 3-4 minutes, it should now be 2 minutes. Which is basically a one page, double spaced, typed page of narration.  The main reason behind this change is the size of the files.  www.Dropbox.com was recommended as a way to share our video files.

During the first two weeks, we will be collaborating with one person in our section. During weeks 3-5, we will be forming groups of up to five students for collaboration and completion of our Public Service Announcement.  Google docs were recommended as an excellent way to collaborate online, with each user typing in a different color.  All members of the group must contribute and be an active part of the project. I'm excited and nervous about getting started. Working with a partner online is going to be very different than working with someone sitting next to you.  We'll need to make use of several online tools, such as www.google.docs.com, www.dropbox.com, as well as texts and email.

EDLD 5301: Week 5 Reflections

As I reflect on the assignments and projects that were part of EDLD 5301, I realize how much I have learned about Action Research planning.  As we began the course, I was unsure about action research and didn't know where to begin.  With the advice of my mentor, I gradually began to formulate a plan for my action research. Reading classroom materials, participating on the discussion board, and watching the weekly videos also helped to clarify my action research process.  As this course ends, I am confident that I have an action research plan that will provide positive results for my classroom and campus.

EDLD 5301 - Week 3 Reflections

As I continue to work on my action research plan, I am making changes to narrow down and really focus on one issue instead of having a broad subject.  I'm anticipating that my results will show that ipod use in the classroom is beneficial, and we can expand the program to other grade levels on our campus.  I have also enjoyed reading other action plans, and am looking forward to following their action research as well. 

Draft Action Research Plan - Week 3 EDLD 5301

Action Planning Template

Goal:  To determine how ipods can be used in a third grade classroom to increase student performance rates in Math.

                       

                                     Person               Timeline:                Needed     

Action Step(s)          Responsible          Start/End              Resources          Evaluation

1.  Create a pre and posttest Math fluency survey/assessment to use to determine individual students Math fluency.	Melanie Starnes Third Grade Team Principal	November 2011	C-scope Aware Internet Resources Math TEKS	n/a
2. Administer a pre-test Math fluency survey/assessment to the 4 third grade classrooms at Davis Elementary (approximately 88 students).  This survey/assessment will include questions aligned to TEKS.	Melanie Starnes Third grade team	November 2011	Pre-test survey/Assessment	Ensure that I have sufficient data before beginning student use of Math apps on ipods.
3. Begin use of selected Math fluency apps with students in my two math classrooms.  These apps will be used daily, by approx. 44 students.	Melanie Starnes Students	November 2011 December 2011 January 2012	Ipods Math apps	Monitor student use of ipods in classroom.
4.  Literature Review	Melanie Starnes Carol Campbell	November 2011- January 2012	Internet Literature	Review current literature and data regarding use of ipods in elementary classrooms in other similar districts.
5. Administer a post-test Math fluency survey/assessment to the 4 third grade classrooms at Davis Elementary (approximately 88 students).  This survey/assessment will include questions aligned to TEKS	Melanie Starnes Third Grade Team	January 2012	Posttest survey/assessment
6.  Compile all completed data and research into an action research plan presentation.	Melanie Starnes Carol Campbell	January/February 2012	Pre-test data Post-test data Literature data Ipod monitoring data	Using pre and post test data, determine if ipod application use by students increased their fluency rates in Math.