WPP Final - Twitter as a Research Tool

The Problem to Address

At Kent Innovation High every student has a computer and therefore access to endless amounts of information. This obviously has is benefits and at the same time creates obstacles. Students often go to the first Google search and/or get side tracked with all of the other possibilities. During my CEP810 course I became, lets say, addicted to Twitter. I realized quickly how much great information and resources Twitter offered while providing the ability to narrow the research. What I appreciated most was the ability to ask questions or share information.

Problem

It was CEP 812 that got me thinking about using Twitter in a fashion that would connect students with ideas and research that related to their projects. Although the WPP project is done in December, I plan to continue with my research on using Twitter as a research tool. In fact I have been given the opportunity to share at MACUL about using Twitter in the classroom to implement the ISTE NETS for students.

The Connection with TPACK

TP - For this project I will be using two different pieces of technology, Google docs and Twitter. Google docs  will be used to create a pre and post survey  so that I can collect information on the students' abilities to research online (in a manner that deepens understanding). This formative assessment will be used to collect data that I can use to determine the impact of using Twitter in class. Google docs was chosen because my students are familiar with it and in a 1-on-1 setting it is a tool that I can use easily without interrupting the daily lesson.  

TC - The second piece of technology is Twitter. Students will be using Twitter as a researching tool; identifying, following, and having conversations with experts, as well as, looking for links to articles and research that is pertinent to their projects. This is the basis of my research, using the NETS-s (www.iste.org) as a guide I hope to see an improvement in the ability of the students to find information, analyze the information, and to ask questions or look for feedback on their own conclusions. I could not do this as a sole expert but Twitter provides access to many experts.

PC - My project may be a bit different because it is not looking at one lesson but rather a skill that I would like to facilitate the growth of within my students. In a PBL classroom there is a focus on turning the learning over to the students and with that in mind I have challenged myself to change my overall pedagogical approach from being a teacher to becoming a facilitator. I believe that building skills; such as researching, communication within the content, and asking for feedback will give the student deeper and more enjoyable learning experience.

Prezi Presentation (to see the presentation without the voice over go here)

Professional Learning Plan

My Professional Learning Plan, I created this using Powerpoint and Camtasia. The idea was inspired by ignite talks and my goal was to use no printed text.

Group Leadership Project

For the MSU MAET Program we were asked to work in small groups to create a stand alone PD course for teachers who wish to implement technology into their classroom. Our goal was to make a PD that was relative to today's teachers, short enough for teachers to complete, and would provide a take away that can be used by the teacher.

In today's teaching there are a lot of buzz words; flipping, workshops, differentiation, etc. In the end, we need to find multiple ways to reach students at their individual needs and level. Technology, such as flip cameras, smart phones, laptops, and apps assist teachers in their attempt to accomplish this. Educreations is an app that falls within this category. Educreations, although limited compared to powerful editing programs like Camtasia, it is a tool that can be used on the laptop or Ipad to create and edit short lessons quickly. These lesson then can be shared via the internet using a "class" feature, shared link, social media, or email. Our team created the PD using Educreations so that teachers could see the simplicity of it. 

We created a PD that a teacher could receive in a short period allowing them time to apply what they learned. So in making our final product we tried to keep it around 10 minutes. This was a challenge becasue we had to show how to get started and how to use it, what it could be used for and provide a classroom example. The other challenge was merging the three parts into one lesson. Educreation has many strengths but lacks a collaboration piece that allowed each of us, working at a distance from one another, to edit the same lesson. To overcome this, we created three separate lessons and them merged them using Camtasia. Although this was an extra step, Camtasia provided some tools that Educreations does not, allowing us to create a more enhanced PD. 

It is important to point out that Educreation has limitations if you are  making a high quality production, but it is excellent for making quick web based lessons. I hope to use it to create an audio/visual instructions to go along with the written instructions for each of my assignments. This will address UDL needs for ELL students and others who struggle with reading comprehension.

If we were to do this project again, I would like to have each of us do voice-overs periodically throughout the lesson. As it is now, Melissa talks during the first third, Mark the second third, and I wrap it up. I think the quality of the video may improve if we mixed it up more. This was an oversight when making the storyboard, but it is also part of the issue with distant collaboration. Even with Camtasia we would not have been able to collaborate at the same time but instead we would had to mail projects or audio recordings back and forth. 

Mobile Learning Lab

After joining Classroom 2.0 I replied to two ongoing conversations. These are the first two screen shots. My interactions inspired me to create my own discussion, this is the third screenshot.

This past Friday I started class with a fun poll, using Poll Everywhere. I asked my students what there favorite social media tool was. Here are the results, they include my vote and that of my co-teacher.

It seems as though Facebook continues to hang on to their superiority, but a shocking result for me was the popularity of Grooveshark (and that Spotify, a paid service that is similar to Grooveshark and used by many adults, was zero).

In addition to Classroom Web 2.0 and Poll Everywhere I have tried flip cameras, cell phones, and  laptops in the classroom. I have had my students use the flip cameras to make videos for end products, snap pictures for VoiceThread, and to record answers for summative assessments. Although we still have flip cameras and we still use them, more and more students have Smart Phones which shoot video just as easy and many students are choosing this option over the flip camera. Because the phone is connected to the Wifi, it is easy to edit the video and then transfer it to Vimeo or another hosting site. My Students also use their phones to Tweet, take pictures of notes on the board, and one student even livecasted our class on Ustream. As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, I teach at a 1-on-1 school so we utilize the power and resources of laptops all of the time; researching the Internet, producing videos and other end products, using Google Docs, and Skyping into class (when they are sick) just to name a few uses.

I would like to start using more podcast as support lessons and even have the students begin to create podcast. Perhaps we could make a series of Biology podcast made by students for students. I would also like to begin creating and having my students create "video problems" as seen at Ben Rimes Vimeo Channel Video Story Problems.

In my opinion, the biggest challenge to using mobile devices in the classroom is making sure that the device does not become a distraction or obstacle to the lesson. In other words students need to know how to use them, why they are being used, and what to use them for. By educating the student the device becomes a tool that enhances learning.

WPP Part D Findings and Implications

In an earlier blog titled WPP Part A, I mentioned that this project would continue on for sometime, but as a check point (and for an MAET deadline) I had the students take complete a survey today. I gave the same group of student a survey two plus weeks ago, that survey was about researching skills, habits, and tools that they used. Unlike that survey, this one was only about using Twitter as a research tool.

This was a good time to collect information. So far, the implementation has gone as planned with no major errors, but feedback will help me move forward with this project. From an observation students seem to be embracing it. As a rule, student do not moan and groan when asked to go to Twitter, in fact many seem excited. Of course there is one or two that will say "I hate Twitter", but then they join the rest of their classmates.

I have been surprised at the speed that some of the students have grasped the concept of using the "thick"tweets and in determining the quality of their experts (listen to their words on the podcast of WPP Part C). At the same time there are many who are still becoming comfortable with asking questions of an expert. And many are shocked when an expert does not respond to a question or request of a student. This makes me wonder if providing some more formal workshops on Twitter before we started may have been useful. Either way, I have shared some data below that I believe indicates that implementing Twitter as a research tool has been a success so far.

The snapshot below shows the number of students who have completed this survey. Of that number 51 have made the leap to trying Twitter as a research tool. The bottom graph indicates that of the fifty one students, forty one of them have used it on four different occasions. And twenty one of them have used it 8 or more times.

This next graph indicates how the students found Twitter to be useful or not in their research. It is important to point out that twenty of the twenty eight responses that found "nothing was useful" are probably the twenty who have not used Twitter as a research tool. I believe the other results indicate that Twitter can be used as a research tool. If I were to do this survey again I would like to ask the same question about Google or any other search engine. I don't believe the students could give search engines the same marks as they did Twitter. Especially for  interesting (tweets) "comments" made by others in the field of study. Nor do I believe students can formulate a relationship that allows them to ask questions and get feedback. In fact, I think students will usually find websites rather then current articles or actual people when they use a search engine.

The data below indicates that the students like Twitter as a research, perhaps not all of the time, but they are beginning to recognize it uses. In fact when the data is narrowed to students who have used Twitter 10 times or more, then the likelihood of Twitter being a useful tool increases. As does the number of students who have had two way conversation with an expert. I think this is a sign of growth and becoming comfortable.

I plan to continue to use Twitter as a research tool in class. To enhance it I plan to provide several short work shops that will help students identify who to follow and who not to follow, locating article links, and building professional relationships. While creating these workshops I plan to use the ISTE NETS for students and teachers as a guide. In addition to the NETS I am hoping to get suggestions from individuals such as Dr. Martin Eve (@martin_eve), who has presented on the idea of using Twitter as a research tool.

If you want to implement Twitter as a tool, here are my suggestions to get started:

1. Model use of Twitter in class.
2. Have students load Tweetdeck or Twitterific onto their devices. I personally like Tweetdeck for my laptop but Twitterific for all my mobile devices.
3. Get students using Twitter to share, have them use @ and #.
4. Have them search a topic by placing a # in front of the topic.
5. After becoming comfortable with searching, have students begin to identify individual as experts; number of followers, biography, websites, and number of tweets.
6. Provide regular time several times per week, it only takes 3-5 minutes to do a Tweet Start or a Tweet Ender, student will begin to spend more of their own time once they realize the power of the tool.
7. Encourage the building of networks and or pln's.
8. Use storify or an visual.ly to capture whole class use and to encourage continued use.
9. Share your class' experience with me @marcschulzkih and @kihscience.

WPP Part A

At Kent Innovation High every student has a computer and therefore access to endless amounts of information. This obviously has is benefits and at the same time creates obstacles. Students often go to the first Google search and/or get side tracked with all of the other possibilities. During my CEP810 course I became, lets say, addicted to Twitter. I realized quickly how much great information and resources Twitter offered while providing the ability to narrow the research. What I appreciated most was the ability to ask questions or share information.

This got me thinking about my own classroom and the students that I facilitate. So in the first week I had all of the students make a Twitter account. We then began to use Twitter as a back channel, a source for formative feedback, and a means of sharing student's ideas outside of the classroom. I even started having students look for and follow experts.

It was CEP 812 that got me thinking about using Twitter in a fashion that would connect students with ideas and research that related to their projects. Although the WPP project is done in December, I plan to continue with my research on using Twitter as a research tool. In fact I have been given the opportunity to share at MACUL about using Twitter in the classroom to implement the ISTE NETS for students.

I have found several leads or individuals who are promoting Twitter for research. Martin Paul Eve is a researcher in Sussex. I have tweeted Martin to ask for suggestions. The London School of Economics and Political Science have created a guide to using Twitter for research. There is even a #research that can be followed.

To narrow the focus for the WPP Project I will give a pre-survey to the students regarding their research capabilities. I will then plan to have students do tweet "starts" or "enders" during class four to five times a week; asking them to search the hash-tag of their topic, find experts to follow, and create a post.

I will do a second survey before the 11/30 to gauge students growth, success, and their own thoughts about Twitter. I hope to gather feedback once or twice more before MACUL. Success will rely on the students feedback on surveys, the products that they develop based upon their connections, and the creation of student plns.

WPP Implementation Project Part C

The theory of PBL is that students will be engaged and want to find the answers. As a facilitator I have seen many students frustrated when they realize that we are no longer spoon feeding them. But sometimes this frustration grows to a point where learning no longer takes place. I believe one reason this happens is because the amount of information on the internet can become overwhelming. And reading or gathering information from the Internet is only one way, leaving students with new questions (quite often ones that a teacher may not be able to answer). It is my hope to help students narrow down the amount of information and at the same time provide a means to connect with experts. Twitter's framework is set up to do this. My students have been using Twitter all year, mostly to share out, but now I am asking them use Twitter to receive information and to converse with experts in the field. 

To get started I had the students complete the survey "How Do You Research". Although the survey data speaks volumes it was a student's question about the survey that got me excited, "Do we answer this as we researched before coming to KIH or how we research now?" 

The data suggest that many students are beginning to use Twitter but it also indicates that there is a large area of growth to using Twitter in a way that will create conversations between the student and an expert (and the content).

To encourage 2-way research I used our  Thursday "Tweet Start" to have students find and follow an expert. They did this by searching their topic (with a # in front of it). Students then looked for interesting Tweets, next they checked to see who and how many were following the individual. If it was promising they followed the "expert". 

Students will continue to build their "expert list" as the project moves forward. Using DM (direct message) will be our next step, this will allow students to converse with the expert. Until then they can tweet @<expert>.

By connecting with an expert or experts students will increase their opportunities to ask question and confirm their beliefs or correct their misunderstandings.

Listen to how my MAET Wicked Problem Project is going. Students give their view regarding using Twitter for research.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Wicked Problem Project Part B - TPACK

TPACK Implementation of my current MAET project:

TP - Technology & Pedagogy

For this project I will be using two different pieces of technology, Google docs and Twitter. Google docs  will be used to create a pre and post survey  so that I can collect information on the students' abilities to research online (in a manner that deepens understanding). This formative assessment will be used to collect data that I can use to determine the impact of using Twitter in class. Google docs was chosen because my students are familiar with it and in a 1-on-1 setting it is a tool that I can use easily without interrupting the daily lesson.  

TC - Technology Content

The second piece of technology is Twitter. Students will be using Twitter as a researching tool; identifying, following, and having conversations with experts, as well as, looking for links to articles and research that is pertinent to their projects. This is the basis of my research, using the NETS-s (www.iste.org) as a guide I hope to see an improvement in the ability of the students to find information, analyze the information, and to ask questions or look for feedback on their own conclusions. I could not do this as a sole expert but Twitter provides access to many experts.

PC - Pedagogy Content

My project may be a bit different because it is not looking at one lesson but rather a skill that I would like to facilitate the growth of within my students. In a PBL classroom there is a focus on turning the learning over to the students and with that in mind I have challenged myself to change my overall pedagogical approach from being a teacher to becoming a facilitator. I believe that building skills; such as researching, communication within the content, and asking for feedback will give the student deeper and more enjoyable learning experience.

My part in facilitating this will include weekly "Tweet Starts" and "Tweet Enders". Tweet starts will range from:

• searching your topic as a hashtag in hopes of finding articles or experts
• to searching your "experts tweets/comments"
• to direct messaging your expert. 

Tweet enders will include exit slip style assignments and sharing primary research with the intent of having an expert give feedback.

Visualization Tools

I have, in the past, used infographics and even signed up for visual.ly, but it was not until today that I attempted to make my first infographic. The timing is good as my class begins look at biodiversity and the impact of the human population. I tried several online infograph creators; visual.ly, infogr.am, and easel.ly.

 I spent a lot of time on both infogr.am and visual.ly. I found infogr.am easy to use until my uploaded pictures were blocked because of possible copyright infringement. The program gave me directions on how to show the pictures but  I was not able to make it work.

Visual.ly on the otherhand was very easy to use when applying one of their templates, but not friendly to create my own. Perhaps I missed some directions. Anyhow I did create the infograph to the right which illustrates our Twitter use in class. I plan to use this tool from Viusal.ly periodically to inspire students to utilize Twitter and to celebrate those students who go the extra mile.

Of the three tools I tried I found Easel.ly to be the friendliest for creating infographs from scratch. Using two images from google (both given credit on the infograpgh) as my anchors I then applied the objects and text tools to create meaning. Using the human object and grass object, I was able to add meaning to the original biomes map. The "new" image now shows biomes, relative human population, and relative biodiversity.

With a thinking cloud image I was able to add color/contrast and ask the viewer a question; "So what?".

I believe with minimal text I was able to show students where biodiversity exist and provide a prediction of what our impact may be on biodiversity. A deeper look may reveal that humans need the biodivesity and vice versa, this biological interdependence is another key concept for students to understand.

Here is my info graph on Biodiversity and the Impact of the Human Population:

easel.ly

Group Leadership Project: Part B

Our team used Google presentation to story board our stand alone professional development project. Google presentation allowed us to work simultaneously from our homes, considering we cover both the east and west side of Michigan, as well as Iowa, this was a helpful tool. By using the slides we were able to import screenshots from Educreation and pictures from the internet to represent what our final product may look like. We were also able to move slides around and insert or delete slides as needed. We could have used the "presenters notes" section to discuss  the voice over and other details but we choice instead to place these ideas directly onto the slide. This allows for easy viewing by our peers.

Some obstacles with Google presenter include visual limitations and user habits. With presentations it is not easy to add free hand drawings, nor view each "frame" in a suitable size next to one another. Perhaps the biggest obstacle for me was to remember that the presentation was not my final product but instead a map to create the final product on Educreation.

But in the end the process of storyboarding provided for a means to plan a final product and created a context for our second web conference meeting.

The final plan is to make three individual Educreations, share the links with one another, and then use Camtasia to screen capture them, edit them, and publish a final product. The final product will introduce Educreations, give a tutorial on how to use it's functions, discuss it's application in a PBL classroom and a flipped classroom, and prove an opportunity for the learner to create their first Educreation.

Wicked Problem Project: PART C TPACK

The theory of PBL is that students will be engaged and want to find the answers. As a facilitator I have seen many students frustrated when they realize that we are no longer spoon feeding them. But sometimes this frustration grows to a point where learning no longer takes place. I believe one reason this happens is because the amount of information on the internet can become overwhelming. And reading or gathering information from the Internet is only one way, leaving students with new questions (quite often ones that a teacher may not be able to answer). It is my hope to help students narrow down the amount of information and at the same time provide a means to connect with experts. Twitter's framework is set up to do this. My students have been using Twitter all year, mostly to share out, but now I am asking them use Twitter to receive information and to converse with experts in the field. 

To get started I had the students complete the survey "How Do You Research". Although the survey data speaks volumes it was a student's question about the survey that got me excited, "Do we answer this as we researched before coming to KIH or how we research now?" 

The data suggest that many students are beginning to use Twitter but it also indicates that there is a large area of growth to using Twitter in a way that will create conversations between the student and an expert (and the content).

To encourage 2-way research I used our  Thursday "Tweet Start" to have students find and follow an expert. They did this by searching their topic (with a # in front of it). Students then looked for interesting Tweets, next they checked to see who and how many were following the individual. If it was promising they followed the "expert". 

Students will continue to build their "expert list" as the project moves forward. Using DM (direct message) will be our next step, this will allow students to converse with the expert. Until then they can tweet @<expert>.

By connecting with an expert or experts students will increase their opportunities to ask question and confirm their beliefs or correct their misunderstandings.

Part A - Brainstorming Web Conferencing

Several years ago I participated in my first Skype conversation, it was with my brother in-law and his family who, at that time, lived in France. My memories of it are awkward and painful, I was not use to this typpe of conversation. We had several more Skype conversations over the next couple years, each of which were a little better then the previous, but still not great.
Things changed when we purchased my son an Ipod and he began to Facetime his friends and us. I thought if he can do this the I can as well. So I began to participate in web conferences whenever possible to become more comfortable with the medium. Then the craziest thing happened this year, I started to have students Skype into class when they were home sick or at their home school (it is a daily event now). This led me to try live streaming my class one week when I knew there would be a large number of kids missing do to transportation issues with their home school. We tried Google Hangout Live-stream and although it did not work that day it gave me chance to get familiar with it. So a week later when we had to have a MAET small team web conference I suggested using Google Hangout (not the Livestream but the regular version). My partners were happy to give it a try, as it was new to them too.
I found it easy to use and it had many features including screen share, allowing us to enhance our conversation and share different websites with one another. With the exception of broadcasting myself eating a hamburger as I waited for my teammates to answer the invite (luckily I finished wiping the ketchup off my face just before they answered) the conference went very well.
We used Camtasia to record the conference and then uploaded the video to www.screencast.com to share with one another. The Live-stream function would have done the same but we struggled with getting that to work.
In the end , we decided to create a stand alone professional development using Educreation about how a teacher could use Educreation to enhance their own teaching. We look forward to sharing our final product with you in a few weeks.

Watch below to see how we used Google Hangout

A funny thing happened with technology...

A funny thing happened with technology...to hear the rest go here
(Feed)

CEP812 Introduction

CEP811 Reflection

In reflection of my learning through cep 811, two main topics standout; the STaIR and building a website. Both of these topics were interest of mine before starting the course but I had little experience with either and was excited to get a start. And through facilitator and peer feedback I believe that I have a solid foundation to build upon as I move forward. 

My plan this year is to build mini video lessons to support content learning in my pbl classroom. Using Camtasia I plan to create these lessons following a STaIR/Flip style with interactive quizzes for self assessment and hotspots that encourage "think" time and collaboration. Some of these videos I will make from scrath, utilizing Google presentations or Micorsoft ppt, and then produce them in Camtasia. For other lessons I may use videos already created and shared on YouTube. Recently I contacted Mr. Anderson of Bozeman Biology via Twitter and recieved permission to modify and reuse his videos (adding the interactivity), which are excellent instructional lessons.

To host the video lessons and a basic framework for each unit I have created a website, KIHBiology. We have aschool managmenent system called Google which host calendars, activities, grades, and other information but it lacks the ability to create fluid or smooth transition. The KIH Biology website contains multi week webquests for each unit. These webquest will support the end products of students by keeping them on track and narrowing resources while still providing inquiry and flexibility. I have utilized knowledge from the cep811 webquest evaluation assignment to begin this process. To view this living document, see Matter and Energy in the Ecosystem.

It is and has been my goal to continue to learn how I can utilize technology to improve learning (versus just using techinology in class). I believe that both cep 810 and 811 have had a tremendous impact:

• Exposing me to new resources, such as Merlot, ISTE Standards
• Encouraging use of online PLN: Twitter, Angel
• Getting me to ask "what, why, and how" amd I using a certain piece of technology.
• and building my capacity to use google sites and Camtasia.

I plan to continue working towards my goal this school year. With support of cep812 and my students, I believe that I will move forward and find more ways to have a positive impact on other's learning.

 

Online Teaching - Integrating Tech and Content

Teaching at Kent Innovation High is all about using technology. Our students use their laptops everyday to access assignments and grades, research topics, to collaborate, and to create. Some hurdles that we faced as teahcer included: off task behavior, misuse of social media, and lack of structure during research.

As I have begun planning my first two project based learning units I have done so with intentions of providing more structure on content while expandig student choice. I did this by alowing students to choose from a long list the topic/problem/issue they wish to invest their time in (UDL). Students will also be provided a list of different end products possibilities (but can also request to do something brand new - UDL). Some ideas for end products are: wikis, blogs, live presentations, physical or digital models, games, and short films. Regardless of the end product the students also need to identify and communicate with their intended audience. This all adds up to a lot of student choice and voice which addresses creativity ann innovation. But as I mentioned earlier, lack of sturtcure was an obstacle last year and at times lead to off-task behavior, social chatting versus professional dialogue, and poor end products. So to add sturcture this year I have created a new look to my class ECHO page:

ECHO is our school learning management system and is similar to a moodle. This structure I have used is similar to that of the MAET program. Students can view each weeks assignments and expectations via the roadmap and task (green checkmarks) indicate items that need to be submitted.

The picture above is from the first project. For my second project students have a similar echo page and their learning will also be supported by a webquest. My intent here was to provide guidance while allowing inquiry, so students can focus on their research and information fluency rather then spending time searching the www. The webquest is a multi-week assignment which will serve as a foundation to build their final product from. Here is the intro page to the webquest:

 This webquest also use workshops that follow a STaIR pedagogy approach to support content learning (UDL). Twitter is also used in bothe projects to increase communication and collaboration while building digital citizenry.

PBL style learning is inquiry in nature and for that reason students will have many opportunities to practice critical thinking, problem solving, and decision aming skils through each project. One example I can share is this submitted task:

This task also integrates google docs and online collaboration.

In both of these projects students will be asked to use Diigo, Voicethread, google docs, Skype and many other online tools which will build not only digital citizenry but also provide many opportunites to discuss Technology Operations and Concepts.

One area that I would like to try this year, but I believe will be challenging, is to get experts to skype into the class. One idea I have is to have an expert skype is for one session and screencast it so the other classes will have chance to view it.

Another idea to incorporate experts is to get student using Twitter. This too I will be difficult. Not many use Twitter so they will need to become comfortable with it and then they will have to become comfortable with finding and approaching experts.

I am very excited to get going on this next school year. The best part of all this is that their is flexibility which allows the students to take it new places!

Creating Online Collaborative Spaces

Recently, I was challenged by the MSU MAET program to create two collaborative spaces using a wiki format. I have used wikispaces and pbworks in the past, but this assignment gave me a chance to create something new, as well as, learn how to to contribute to Wikipedia. As you can tell from my screenshot, I had a few problems with my first submission. I have have made several changes and resubmitted the Wikipedia page.

This was a great opportunity to learn new ways to edit, format, and embed using Wikipedia formatting. At times it was a bit frustrating but I hope to continue to edit this page and learn how to contribute to Wikipedia in a more efficient and effective ways. I believe I could use Wikipedia as an option for my students to express their final product. Not only would this allow for content but would be great to meet the ISTE NETS-S.

In creating a wiki of my own I debated using one that I had already created but then decided to try something new. So, I created Facilitating the 21st Century. My intent was to create a wiki that also utilized the skills of facilitation: guide, question, provide opportunity.

The intent of this wiki is to provide a space for other teachers to collaborate and share their experiences and knowledge. To do this a member or visitor would simply choose a topic page from the menu and add to it. Topics include technology tools, concepts, and pedagogy in a 1-on-1 classroom. Think of it as a technology in education library made by teachers for teachers.

There is one obstacle that I have not been able to overcome. And that is the privacy settings will only allow people who are members to edit the website. I have tried to change this in the "Manage Wiki" setting but my account is not letting me do so. I will continue to investigate this, having to request and wait for membership, in my opinion, will stand in the way of this being a successful wiki.

Hopefully I can figure this out in the near future.

UDL Checklist for Photosynthesis/Respiration Lesson

Below is a udl checklist, explanations of each sub-category can be found at National Center of Universal Design Center. This blog represents an assignment that I completed for MAET CEP11. The assignment was to take a lesson that we designed earlier in the course and to analyze it based upon udl standards. Overall, it has been a great experience, recognizing how important it is to take a quick look at each principle. Using this checklist will make lessons/projects stronger, more adaptable, and improve student opportunities.

The second part of the CEP811 assignment will be to improve our original lesson. To do this I will start be focusing on Principle 6; creating a supporting STaIR, offering a workshop, and providing a task list to help students self monitor progress.

UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist
I.    Provide Multiple Means of Representation:	Your notes
1.     Provide options for perception
1.1  Offer ways of customizing the display of information	Barrier
1.2  Offer alternatives for auditory information	Students have Premier Assistive
1.3  Offer alternatives for visual information	Google document with embedded video
2.     Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols
2.1  Clarify vocabulary and symbols	Feature – google docs has a built in definition tool.
2.2  Clarify syntax and structure	Barrier
2.3  Support decoding of text, and mathematical notation, and symbols	Barrier
2.4  Promote understanding across language	Barrier
2.5  Illustrate through multiple media	Feature – Pictures and videos
3.     Provide options for comprehension
3.1  Activate or supply background knowledge	Feature – Facilitator Introduction, separate document assist.
3.2  Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships	Barrier
3.3  Guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation	Feature – students have a google doc to follow and interact with. Students also will think-pair-share throughout.
3.4  Maximize transfer and generalization	Barrier
II.   Provide Multiple Means for Action and Expression:	Your notes
4.     Provide options for physical action
4.1  Vary the methods for response and navigation	Feature – groups can move at their own pace, clear check points need to be added to provide more support.
4.2  Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies	Barrier
5.     Provide options for expression and communication
5.1  Use multiple media for communication	Feature: Twitter, Infogr.am, google docs
5.2  Use multiple tools for construction and composition	Feature – Students have access to spell check, Internet, visuals
5.3  Build fluencies with graduated labels of support for practice and performance	Use of Gradual Release of Responsibility
6.     Provide options for executive functions
6.1  Guide appropriate goal setting	Barrier – as hort STaIR or workshop will be necessary to help students understand infogr.am and provides ideas.
6.2  Support planning and strategy development	Barrier
6.3  Facilitate managing information and resources	Barrier
6.4  Enhance capacity for monitoring progress	Barrier
III.  Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:	Your notes
7.     Provide options for recruiting interest
7.1  Optimize individual choice and autonomy	Feature – Creativity of infogr.am
7.2  Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity	Feature –personal response and active engagement opportunities.
7.3  Minimize threats and distractions	Feature – working collaboratively
8.     Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
8.1  Heighten salience of goals and objectives	Barrier
8.2  Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge	Barrier – could be more transparent
8.3  Foster collaboration and community	Feature - Working in pairs and teams, also twitter for online
8.4  Increase mastery-oriented feedback	Standards based grading – pass/needs more work
9.     Provide options for self-regulation
9.1  Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation	Barrier – table contents exist but a checklist or task list would be helpful
9.2  Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies	Barrier
9.3  Develop self-assessment and reflection	Feature – Students will assess their final product, present it, and comment on others.

© CAST 2011