Thing 8 Wordle & Visualization

I strongly believe that the use of visuals is extremely important for many of our learners in school today.  Research supports the statement that the brain processes and retrieves information quicker than plain  text – 60,000 times faster than text.  A large portion of my vocabulary and elements of narrative instruction is in context. Students do a lot with connotative meaning based on what the text tells them.  This is a good indicator of what they visualize when they read which leads to what they understand, thus, retain for future use.  I therefore integrate a plethora of visuals via technology, so students can “see” what the author or text is describing for them, or how the vocabulary is used in context.  Vocabulary images and visuals of the story’s setting and any historical or cultural information are displayed as we read the text and take a moment for reflection.  Students are then able to go back and correct any misconceptions and re- visualize by synthesizing all of the information they have gathered by all of the modes of information input.  Moreover, visuals engage the reluctant learners and allow them to make connections that they otherwise would not make.  The visual organizers further allow learners to visualize the information they take from the text or that they are taking notes on; they see a connection between concepts and how information of the text relates as a whole.  Using Wordle further allows student to focus on the most important concepts and terms in definitions and academic content.  They need to be able to decipher between relevant and irrelevant information in narrative and expository test structures.  

The image above is from a site called "Big Huge Labs" that was part Ron Houtman's online web meeting for Thing 8.  He attached the URL to the chat list:http://copyrightfriendly.wikispaces.com/   This "Pocket Album" will be great for the elements of narrative when we break our novel into the elements.  This folds up and can fit in a back pocket.  :)   Students will also be creating their own flow charts as formative assessment for figurative language . . . parts of speech will work well with this as well.   

Thing 8 Gliffy Visual Image with CC

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/88x31.png" /></a><br /><span xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" property="dct:title">Figurative Language Flow Chart</span> is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License</a>.

I cannot get the CC icon to show up no matter what I do.  I do not think that you want to see the license text on a website . . . help.   I did, however, get the icon for the above link info to copy to my webpage where I inserted the graphic organizer above.  The site is -  http://laurakriegl.weebly.com  If you click on the "Figurative Langauge" page link, you will see the cc icon at the bottom of the web. 

More of my reflection is on my first "Thing 8" post with the Wordle and Visualization reflections. 

Thing 7 - Cyber Lesson Plans

STOP Cyber Bullying - http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/tweens

1. K-W-L  on the topic of bullying and cyberbullying including the definitions of the following words: harassing, deceiving, flaming, hate speech. I always begin my lessons with the students writing down or discussing their connotative definitions of vocabulary terms. 
2.Survey to see if the students are cyber bullies and do not even know it. 
3. Use of one of the lesson plans from this website - Lesson: Cyberbullying: Crossing the Line (6-8)
This lesson includes real situations via video.  I can incorporate the statistics and information from our latest presentation on cybersafety from the Attorney General's office.
4. We will conclude by creating street sign posters on the many different facets of cyberbullying and becoming part of the solution, not the problem. 


Checklist for Internet communtication  (Netiquette) - http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/tweens/msparrysguidetonetiquette.html

For this lesson, I will probably have the students divided into groups of  seven or eight.  They will read through the information in each section, take notes on what they interpret, then have them paraphrase the information, so they can create a mini-lesson using overhead transparencies, skits, etc. along with an informational hand-out for their audience. 

Thing 7 - Bogus Website #2

http://zapatopi.net/bsa/
Okay, unless I am totally lost and do not know what I am doing, I do not think it takes much dissecting to figure out that this website is bogus or a hoax.  I am not one to judge people, especially where anyone in the world can read it; however, this one does not make me feel too bad.  The further I looked into this site, the more eccentric the information got.  There is contact information, but the author seems to be a lunatic.  Lyle Zapato has been "serving the paranoid since 1997".  I think this sums it all up.  From the mouth of Lyle, "Please take the time to browse through the site thoroughly, as every little bit is vital to a complete understanding of the whole. In fact, you should browse through it many times, as some content is only accessible in the fourth dimension. Furthermore, do try to read the site backwards and, if you get the time, in ROT13. You will be glad you did."

In conclusion, I do not find this author credible even though he exists and can be contacted.  He is extreme in that his thinking and the information he has to offer is far outside the realm of reality and possibility. 

In term of reliability, this information is definitely bias and can only be balanced by material that is just as outside the realm of reality as Lyle. 

There is nothing relevant  to the non-paranoid individual, and the purpose, I do not find a purpose for this information other than to confuse the reader and waste our time - call me judgemental!

Thing 7 - Bogus websites #1

http://www.stephenswork.com/funkyshoes/goodkarma.html

Credible- Really?  Uknown energy transmitted from physical objects to the people within the aura of that object? Funky Shoes searches the globe for the shoes of people doing good works like Red Cross Volunteers, Doctors Without Borders (what the heck are Drs. w/o borders?), Peace Negotiators, Wildlife Preservationists, Local Activists, and many others.  This in itself qualifies this website as bogus. 

These shoes were worn by the world famous, Mitch Nearly.  Just in case you may have forgotten who he is - Mitch is one of the greatest walkers of all time.  He hiked across the country three times and hiked the whole Appalachian Trail in these boots!




 If Mitch's shoes did not entice you, then Carla's will.  In these shoes, Carla Garrison walked to support the Civil Rights Movement to hear the "I Have a Dream" speech.  They claim that by wearing these shoes, you can walk for justice of all. 



 I could not find any contact information other than an address in CA.  There was not even an e-mail address offered on the site.  When I went to the DNS stuff site to search the registry domain, did not find anything reputable.  This site was affiliated with "Go Daddy."  I got the same ambiguous query information when I searched the registry for this also.   

I then truncated the URL and found www.stephenswork.com to be the site of an artist, Stephen Tuttle, who does woodwork, photography, and he writes music. 

Accurate - N/A

Reliable -  After further investigation via a Google search, Mitch nearly blinded all of the people on a short movie set with party poppers.  In another search for Mitch, Indiana's governor stated that 'nearly' half of all persons under the age of 30 did not go to work today'.  In my third attempt at further researching Mitch, I found that Mitch is a nearlywed; he will marry Shelby on October of this year.  The world famous walker, Mitch Nearly, is not even close to nearly existing.  The information is not reliable at his point. 

Moreover, if you are looking for a good plastic surgeon, Dr. Carla Garrison from Springfield, Missouri is highly recommended. She, not her shoes, can do justice to all of your physical issues! 

 Relevant - N/A
 Date - No date was available. 
Source - N/A
Scope & Purpose - N/A

Thing 6 - vozMe

vozMe could be an awesome addition to my diverse learner toolbox; however, in expanding my search from vozMe site, I found a free download called Natural Reader 10.0.  What I like about this software is that the reading rate of the reader can be slowed down to meet even more individual need.  As the students gain more word recognition, reading skills, and confidence, they can increase the reader's rate.  

     There are at least two students in each of my five L.A. classes who are well below their grade level in reading.  They will be able to follow along on laptops, mp3 players, or other auditory devices during class and not feel isolated and "stupid" when called upon to add to discussion of the text.  Moreover, they will have more opportunities to hear fluid reading while following along and being able to reread multiple times from anywhere at anytime.  They will also have more success with utilizing the context to make meaning of vocabulary.  There will be more ownership of their own learning and a feeling of confidence.    

Thing 6 - DI & DL

How my teaching is an example of Differentiated Instruction

 

·         I recognize students’background knowledge varies

·         I maximize student growth and individual success

·         I align tasks and objectives to learning goals

·         I vary the degree of complexity to suit diverse learners.

·         I focus on the concepts, principles and skills that students should learn

·         I conduct whole-class introductory discussions of content big ideas followed by small group or paired work. Grouping of students is not fixed. Grouping and regrouping changes based on the content, project, student dynamics, student ability within a group, and evaluations.

·         Meaningful pre-assessment naturally leads to functional and successful differentiation

·         Students are active and responsible learners. T

·         I do my best every night when I prepare for the next day's lessons to make sure that each task
will be interesting, engaging, and accessible to essential understanding and skills.

·         I make an effort to see that each child feels challenged

·         I clarify key concepts and lesson objectives after welcoming them to another hour of enrichment and prior to the lesson beginning

·         I provide many opportunities for critical and creative thinking

·         I make sure that all students have choices in their learning

·         By moving around my room during the whole class period and personalizing my instruction (I kneel  down next to student during whole, small group, or individual discussions and invite them in           our interaction of the material), I am very successful in engaging and motivating all willing learners

Diverse Learning in my classroom
I chose the "visual" section of the technology site for diverse learners.  I am always searching for visuals - pictures to represent vocabulary, literary terminology, the setting of, and historical aspects of the novels that we interact with.  I really liked the idea of using a digital camera to create finger puppets for different elements of narrative and genre that pertain to each novel we read.  The digital camera link looks like it has a plethora of ideas. 

UDL - Universal Design for Learning




The example above is from the curriculum resource, "Beyond the Book Report."  I need new ways to assess the students' understanding of the elements of narrative in books of their "choice" during the year.  I say, "choice" because we use the Accelerated Reader program which assigns book reading levels along with points per book; the students have point goals to meet every semester.  Students can "choose" their books; however, there is a limited number of books to chose from.  At any rate, they want to read books that are not AR, so I need to find alternate "things" for them to do other than a book report.  This resource is going to come in handy for this.  Moreover, the "100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner," is going to be great for different mode of information input for different learning styles.  The text readers will be helpful for my almost nonreaders - Mind Mapping, Charts and Diagrams, and the text readers will bring even more of a visual aspect to lessons, as I find that they draw in the more reluctant learners or the ones that are off-task more than they are on-task.  I find that they are more drawn into lessons and retain more when there is a visual to attach meaning to. 

Thing 5 - Thinkfinity

 Letter Generator

Letter Generator will be an awesome activity for my students to utilize for practice a few times then generate their first pen pal letter to a Makah student in Washington.  It provides the proper structure for every part of a business and friendly letter.  With the use of texting, e-mailing, and Facebooking, students are so far out of the realm of knowledgable writing and formating.  Writing and sending letters is not going to become a lost art as long as I am an educator. 

The second activity that I will utilize in my Language Arts classroom, is the "Stapleless Book".   The following is the planning sheet ( I just love a preactivity structure):

The next jung image is of what one of the pages looks like; students choose the format of the page in terms of the image and the text positioning:

Book Format

My students will be able to go from their story strip to a short book highlighting the six most relevant scenes in specified chapters from our novel.  The can also utilize these books for a vocabulary collection - my vocabulary instruction includes use of context from the story or selection from which the identified words are chosen, their part of speech, a useful synonym for each, and relevant illustration of the word in context.  They just love me!  :)

Thing 4 - Skype

I think that it is going to be awesome integrating Skype into my lessons.  I am currently reading a novel with my L.A. students that takes place in Neah Bay/Cape Flattery on the northwest tip of the U.S. in the state of WA on and around the Makah Indian Reservation.  I just contacted the principal at the middle/high school there via phone to set up a pen pal program.  Skype will be an asset to this experience for my students, as the will see the Makah culture in real time.  We will see faces, clothing, rituals, classrooms, lessons, foods, dance, song, you name it!  I also plan on trying to get ahold of Will Hobbs, our novel's author, as we read one of his other fabulous books last year in sixth grade; they love him.  

Thing 3 - Google Docs Application - forms

Just a word on the Google Docs forms application . . . I think this will be neat for extra credit text questions or vocabulary questions that students can answer after school or later in the evening.  I could use this for polling students about "things" for class.  I cannot give you much more, as it is new, and I have not had a chance to try it other than this once, so when I find out if I did the right thing with the form I sent out, I will feel more comfortable finding ways to utilize this application.

I created a second form on another post for this assignment.  I tried to add it to this post; however, I received an error message everytime I attempted to save or publish it.  Therefore, I was compelled to create another post. 

Thing 3 - Google Docs Templates

Google Template of choice - "Copy of Resume with Cover Letter

The Google Docs provide proper formats of documents students will need to utilze in their near future if not already.  Templates for presentations, personal planners, resumes, spreadsheets, calendars and scheduling templates, etc. allow for effective lessons in time management for students as well as teachers.  We do not have to create all of the demonstrations and formatted documents to teach, and the students have it readily available anytime, anywhere.  They provide students the opportunity to plug information into an existing structure and create, recreate, make mistakes, and start over again.  Plus, the docs templates are a time saver. 

Thing 2- Face for my Classroom

http://laurakriegl.weebly.com/

Weebly seemed to be the most user-friendly for me in creating a web presense for my classroom.  I tried a Wiki and Google Sites, but found myself simply wasting precious time (hour and a half) that I do not have.  I do really feel that my time was well spent on the Weebly site and it will be very benefical to my instruction.  My students will greatly benefit from being able utilize the webpages that I use for creating my lessons and the sites used to assist them in making connections to the conecpts in my lessons.  Moreover, I can provide them with writing tips and links to document formatting.  I plan to attempt putting assignments on my classroom page and generate discussion about the elements of narrative by the chapter in Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs.

Thing 1 Diigo

Cool stuff . . .

Diigo will help me organize my bookmarks.  I spend a great deal of time searching websites for the latest research in my field and for new and energetic ways to teach literary terminology to my 7th grade language arts students.  I have a folder on my desktop of a million sites saved in my favorites, and do not know how to even begin organizing them.  Now I have a system and it can be accessed from anywhere.  This is especially cool, because I can have my students access research sites from home or anywhere.  I already feel more organized; I constantly research real-life and real-world applications to enhance the knowledge my students gain in our lessons.  Visualization is key, and my sites provide that.

http://www.diigo.com/profile/lkriegl

Thing 1 - Shortcuts

1.                                       GENRE:  Mystery

Mystery stories, like other narratives have the same elements:  characters in settings with problems attempts to solve problems or resolutions, and lessons or themes.

A mystery revolves around a puzzle or a problem to solve.  It asks the questions: 

Who did it?  Why did they do it?  Where did they do it?  How did they do it? 

For part one of "Thing 1" I chose the format painter to change the font in the text to match the main heading, I double clicked on the word Genre and bold faced it and changed the case with shift f3, and I attempted to try to underline or double underline using three key & enter shortcut; however, on my laptop, it just does not want to cooperate!  

2.  Jing will not download to my laptop.  Breitung Township Schools has a strong security system.  This may be hindering my access.  I will continue to try . . . 


Worked this time:  

• What makes a good blog?  A blog that targets a specific group and point.
• How could a blogs enhance your classroom?  My students can access information and respond.
• Are blogs an easier way for people to self-publish? Yes.

I hope to learn how to post assignments and lesson hand-outs for students to access from anywhere.