PDE Standards -- II. Performances
II.A. Managing instructional technology services including:
- Creating an environment that fosters interest and growth in all aspects of technology
Rating:Advanced
Description: By completing the observation synopsis assigned in class, I gained an example visual of how to “create an environment that fosters interest and growth in all aspects of technology.” I gave myself an advanced rating because my professor said of my synopsis, “I'm very impressed at all of the lessons that you chose to observe. I think it gave a realistic view as to how technology is integrated in a vareity of classrooms and how students behave and interact with them.”
Reflection: This observation helped me grow as an educator because I have always been the person who adapts examples and situations shown to me into my own original work. By viewing an example classroom setup, I can now create my own original setup for my future classroom using a few concepts or layouts that I observed in this assignment. My students’ learning will gain from this because comfort and appeal is very important in the learning process. If students are comfortable in my classroom and look forward to my class, most likely they will learn more compared to those who are not.
Description: By completing the observation synopsis assigned in class, I gained an example visual of how to “create an environment that fosters interest and growth in all aspects of technology.” I gave myself an advanced rating because my professor said of my synopsis, “I'm very impressed at all of the lessons that you chose to observe. I think it gave a realistic view as to how technology is integrated in a vareity of classrooms and how students behave and interact with them.”
Reflection: This observation helped me grow as an educator because I have always been the person who adapts examples and situations shown to me into my own original work. By viewing an example classroom setup, I can now create my own original setup for my future classroom using a few concepts or layouts that I observed in this assignment. My students’ learning will gain from this because comfort and appeal is very important in the learning process. If students are comfortable in my classroom and look forward to my class, most likely they will learn more compared to those who are not.
observation.doc | |
File Size: | 30 kb |
File Type: | doc |
- Communicating high learning expectations
Rating: Advanced
Description: The hyperbook I created on The Great Gatsby “communicates high learning expectations,” because of its requirement to reflect on themes, go to various websites for supplement information, and answer questions to test textual knowledge.
Reflection: I gained a lot from this activity because I had never created a hyperbook before (I call it an e-worksheet packet), and I found the concept very unique and different. My students gained from this concept because they did not have to complete tedious, old school worksheets, but they completed a Word document, on the computer, using the internet at their disposal. What’s not to like about that?
Description: The hyperbook I created on The Great Gatsby “communicates high learning expectations,” because of its requirement to reflect on themes, go to various websites for supplement information, and answer questions to test textual knowledge.
Reflection: I gained a lot from this activity because I had never created a hyperbook before (I call it an e-worksheet packet), and I found the concept very unique and different. My students gained from this concept because they did not have to complete tedious, old school worksheets, but they completed a Word document, on the computer, using the internet at their disposal. What’s not to like about that?
gatsby_hyperbook.doc | |
File Size: | 932 kb |
File Type: | doc |
II.B. Planning, preparation and delivery of technology related in-service programs and instruction in collaboration with other professionals at a variety of instructional levels that utilizes technology in problem solving based upon:
- Pennsylvania Academic Standards
Rating: Advanced
Description: During my student teaching practicum which I was "in collaboration with another professional," my supervisor drilled us weekly with lesson plans. We had to "plan, prepare, and deliver" at least two-page long lesson plans including all standards used, objectives, and reflections after the lesson was taught. Although at the time I hated it, I can honestly say I am a better and more prepared educator now for it. The lesson plan provided was one I had to complete for my concept map lesson on Shakespearean Sonnets which focuses on a "technology related program." On the plan, I included all standards used, even though the assignment did not ask of me to do so.
Reflection: My students gained a lot of knowledge from my detailed lesson plans because they knew what to expect and receive a reason for why I am teaching the lesson. I believe strongly that students gain more from a lesson if you give them a reason as to why I'm teaching it. If I teach something strictly to take up time, they will not give 100% of their effort; but I teach something that's going to be on a test or they can apply to their lives... they will learn and remember.
Description: During my student teaching practicum which I was "in collaboration with another professional," my supervisor drilled us weekly with lesson plans. We had to "plan, prepare, and deliver" at least two-page long lesson plans including all standards used, objectives, and reflections after the lesson was taught. Although at the time I hated it, I can honestly say I am a better and more prepared educator now for it. The lesson plan provided was one I had to complete for my concept map lesson on Shakespearean Sonnets which focuses on a "technology related program." On the plan, I included all standards used, even though the assignment did not ask of me to do so.
Reflection: My students gained a lot of knowledge from my detailed lesson plans because they knew what to expect and receive a reason for why I am teaching the lesson. I believe strongly that students gain more from a lesson if you give them a reason as to why I'm teaching it. If I teach something strictly to take up time, they will not give 100% of their effort; but I teach something that's going to be on a test or they can apply to their lives... they will learn and remember.
curcio_concept_map_lesson.doc | |
File Size: | 37 kb |
File Type: | doc |
- Strengths and needs of learners at all levels of technological proficiency
Rating: Advanced
Description: If I had to define my greatest accomplishment out of the Fall Semester 2009 at Duquesne, it would be the further development and presentation of my Twitter idea. Using Twitter in the Classroom touches on all the “strengths and needs of learners at all levels of technological proficiency,” because students can enter their “tweets” via online or via text messaging. Today’s students, special ed. included, all know how to text and/or visit websites whether it be for leisure or school-related activities. The whole goal of my concept is for students to reflect on the world around them based on anything English. Because of this simple, yet interesting requirement, student responses can range from simple (a sentence using a vocabulary word) or difficult (comparing a character on a TV show to a character in a novel we’re reading), touching on "all levels of technological proficiency."
Reflection: I have grown as an educator by completing the Wiki post for two reasons. One, I learned about the wiki post and it’s amazing ability to combine written text and various media sources to talk about a central topic of interest; and two, I further developed my Twitter concept that only a few months ago was a written idea that I had questions about. I was so confident about my Twitter idea that as soon as I got hired at Derry, I implemented Twitter into my Advanced English 10 curriculum. For the most part, the students really enjoy it. They tweet English related connections, quotes, and definitions and actually talk about English subject related topics outside of the classroom.
Wiki Blog - Twitter in the Classroom
The Assignment:
Students are required to post THREE "tweets" per week about a connection to anything English that they find or hear about in their daily lives. For example, if a student hears someone use a Shakespeare quote, and we're reading Shakespeare in class... he/she can post that connection using only 140 characters. Another example is if a student finds a grammar mistake in the paper. What is the error and why? The possibilities and connections are endless.
Description: If I had to define my greatest accomplishment out of the Fall Semester 2009 at Duquesne, it would be the further development and presentation of my Twitter idea. Using Twitter in the Classroom touches on all the “strengths and needs of learners at all levels of technological proficiency,” because students can enter their “tweets” via online or via text messaging. Today’s students, special ed. included, all know how to text and/or visit websites whether it be for leisure or school-related activities. The whole goal of my concept is for students to reflect on the world around them based on anything English. Because of this simple, yet interesting requirement, student responses can range from simple (a sentence using a vocabulary word) or difficult (comparing a character on a TV show to a character in a novel we’re reading), touching on "all levels of technological proficiency."
Reflection: I have grown as an educator by completing the Wiki post for two reasons. One, I learned about the wiki post and it’s amazing ability to combine written text and various media sources to talk about a central topic of interest; and two, I further developed my Twitter concept that only a few months ago was a written idea that I had questions about. I was so confident about my Twitter idea that as soon as I got hired at Derry, I implemented Twitter into my Advanced English 10 curriculum. For the most part, the students really enjoy it. They tweet English related connections, quotes, and definitions and actually talk about English subject related topics outside of the classroom.
Wiki Blog - Twitter in the Classroom
The Assignment:
Students are required to post THREE "tweets" per week about a connection to anything English that they find or hear about in their daily lives. For example, if a student hears someone use a Shakespeare quote, and we're reading Shakespeare in class... he/she can post that connection using only 140 characters. Another example is if a student finds a grammar mistake in the paper. What is the error and why? The possibilities and connections are endless.
- Possible Tweets
- Reply to one of my tweets
- Start or continue a conversation with a fellow classmate about English
- Tell a story that happens in your life including ONE old or recent vocabulary word
- Reply to ONE of my daily challenges
- If you hear a word that you haven't heard before on TV, read in a book, or see/hear in a movie, define it
- Forward a text that you don't understand and instruct classmates to decipher what it means
- Start a thread about something involving our class (Examples: #favmrcquote, #vocabword, #C201memory)
II.C. Selecting, implementing and adapting technology to teaching methodologies, curriculum resources and administrative functions in collaboration with other educators and integrating a variety of software, applications, and learning tools
Rating:Advanced
Description: As mentioned, I really like the Wiki Tool that was first introduced to me in my GILT 511 class. I prefer it over the discussion board because it allows for you to present information using various forms of communication and media (text, video, pictures, documents, etc.) I also prefer it because of its user-friendly comment feature. Since fellow classmates and educators responded to my wiki post as well as myself responding to their own, I was in “collaboration with other educators [for] integrating a variety of software, applications, and learning tools” to add our respective “teaching methodologies.” The whole process is based off the “help you / help me” concept of knowledge obtainment.
Reflection: My students’ learning will surely gain from this because the more I know and obtain, the more they will learn and retain. Perhaps I should quote that… it has a nice little ring to it. “The more you know and obtain as a teacher, the more they will learn and retain as students.”
Comments (4)
I find your argument that Twitter can be used in the classroom to be very interesting. I hadn't thought of social networking sites as academic because: 1) They wouldn't want a teacher to have access to their "site" and 2) there wasn't an effective way to use them in or out of the classroom. Your wiki has dispelled both of these concerns. I think that having the students create their own school Twitter account would be a great way to engage students' interests. I plan to do something similar to your Twitter activity in my class because, even if students don't have access to the internet at home, they will be able to use their cell phones or find computer time in school. One additional thing that I think Twitter could be used for is posting homework assignments or information about the day's class. Great job taking something that is not considered academic and demonstrating its uses as a Best Practice in Technology Integration.
Monday, 11/30/2009 9:07 PM by Jared McConkey
I think this is a great idea! I can see the kids following each other's tweets and "at the end of the day" absorb more information than they would during a traditional style of learning. Like Jared, i had never thought of Twitter in the classroom, but see the advantages, a teacher would just have to ensure that the students were paying attention in class as well, not just focusing on their Twitter accounts. I knew Twitter is valuable for business and personal lives, but now i see it as valuable for education as well!
I could see this used in my social studies teachings as well!
Great ideas!
Tuesday, 12/01/2009 10:48 AM by Brian Snyder
I thought tweeter was only a kind of tool for kids to fave fun among their peers, and as the other comments above, I didin't imagine that it can be used as an academic purposes. If we consider that tweeter is a tool includes intensive interaction and communication, it would be highly helpful for social and language classes.. Thanks for the idea, Mark...
Tuesday, 12/01/2009 3:44 PM by Gulay Sengul Yagmur
This could definitely have potential. I have never thought of integrating such into my lessons. It seems like a good way to review material, and also encourages daily writing.
Although I like the idea, I do agree with the point Jared brings up. I think that students might have a hard time addressing their concept of freedoms and there might become an issue of teachers finding information about students that may violate policies. I think I might try an open twitter account that gives everyone the ability to post, much like a facebook wall, and clean it up as I go.
I will try this! Wait, is twitter blocked by bess?
Tuesday, 12/01/2009 5:16 PM by Robert Weiss
Description: As mentioned, I really like the Wiki Tool that was first introduced to me in my GILT 511 class. I prefer it over the discussion board because it allows for you to present information using various forms of communication and media (text, video, pictures, documents, etc.) I also prefer it because of its user-friendly comment feature. Since fellow classmates and educators responded to my wiki post as well as myself responding to their own, I was in “collaboration with other educators [for] integrating a variety of software, applications, and learning tools” to add our respective “teaching methodologies.” The whole process is based off the “help you / help me” concept of knowledge obtainment.
Reflection: My students’ learning will surely gain from this because the more I know and obtain, the more they will learn and retain. Perhaps I should quote that… it has a nice little ring to it. “The more you know and obtain as a teacher, the more they will learn and retain as students.”
Comments (4)
I find your argument that Twitter can be used in the classroom to be very interesting. I hadn't thought of social networking sites as academic because: 1) They wouldn't want a teacher to have access to their "site" and 2) there wasn't an effective way to use them in or out of the classroom. Your wiki has dispelled both of these concerns. I think that having the students create their own school Twitter account would be a great way to engage students' interests. I plan to do something similar to your Twitter activity in my class because, even if students don't have access to the internet at home, they will be able to use their cell phones or find computer time in school. One additional thing that I think Twitter could be used for is posting homework assignments or information about the day's class. Great job taking something that is not considered academic and demonstrating its uses as a Best Practice in Technology Integration.
Monday, 11/30/2009 9:07 PM by Jared McConkey
I think this is a great idea! I can see the kids following each other's tweets and "at the end of the day" absorb more information than they would during a traditional style of learning. Like Jared, i had never thought of Twitter in the classroom, but see the advantages, a teacher would just have to ensure that the students were paying attention in class as well, not just focusing on their Twitter accounts. I knew Twitter is valuable for business and personal lives, but now i see it as valuable for education as well!
I could see this used in my social studies teachings as well!
Great ideas!
Tuesday, 12/01/2009 10:48 AM by Brian Snyder
I thought tweeter was only a kind of tool for kids to fave fun among their peers, and as the other comments above, I didin't imagine that it can be used as an academic purposes. If we consider that tweeter is a tool includes intensive interaction and communication, it would be highly helpful for social and language classes.. Thanks for the idea, Mark...
Tuesday, 12/01/2009 3:44 PM by Gulay Sengul Yagmur
This could definitely have potential. I have never thought of integrating such into my lessons. It seems like a good way to review material, and also encourages daily writing.
Although I like the idea, I do agree with the point Jared brings up. I think that students might have a hard time addressing their concept of freedoms and there might become an issue of teachers finding information about students that may violate policies. I think I might try an open twitter account that gives everyone the ability to post, much like a facebook wall, and clean it up as I go.
I will try this! Wait, is twitter blocked by bess?
Tuesday, 12/01/2009 5:16 PM by Robert Weiss
II.D. Selecting, developing and administering assessments that utilize technological applications and involve multiple indicators of student progress and using technology to maintain records on student achievement
Rating: Advanced
Description: The English subject is more than just reading novels and writing compositions. It is about noticing and reflecting on the world around you through the use of words. The Humanities Project is a year-long higher level study for Advanced English 10 students in conjunction with the district curriculum to answer the simple question of “What is English?” Because of the advanced and in-depth nature of the project, I had to carefully "select, develop, and administer" thought-provoking and higher-thinking assessments which "utilize technological applications" including Twitter and Weebly blogs. These various assignments provided "multiple indictators of student progress" as they focused around the theory of multiple intelligences. The two main mediums I used, Weebly and Twitter, feature ways to store reflections since everything documented is on the world wide web. As for grades, the district I work for utilizes EdLine which is a program that "maintains records on student achievement" by documenting grades for parents to see and can develop charts and graphs for teacher data interpretation.
Reflection: Being the favorite project/assignment that I created during my Master's program experience, The Humanities Project is "my baby." It has been the project I have been developing semester after semester at Duquesne. After I learned a new theory or new technology, I incorporated it into the project somehow, someway. This all worked out as I presented The Humanities Project as my Independent Study during my Fall 2010 semester under Dr. Carbonara. I cannot wait to see how it ends at the end of this current school year.
Description: The English subject is more than just reading novels and writing compositions. It is about noticing and reflecting on the world around you through the use of words. The Humanities Project is a year-long higher level study for Advanced English 10 students in conjunction with the district curriculum to answer the simple question of “What is English?” Because of the advanced and in-depth nature of the project, I had to carefully "select, develop, and administer" thought-provoking and higher-thinking assessments which "utilize technological applications" including Twitter and Weebly blogs. These various assignments provided "multiple indictators of student progress" as they focused around the theory of multiple intelligences. The two main mediums I used, Weebly and Twitter, feature ways to store reflections since everything documented is on the world wide web. As for grades, the district I work for utilizes EdLine which is a program that "maintains records on student achievement" by documenting grades for parents to see and can develop charts and graphs for teacher data interpretation.
Reflection: Being the favorite project/assignment that I created during my Master's program experience, The Humanities Project is "my baby." It has been the project I have been developing semester after semester at Duquesne. After I learned a new theory or new technology, I incorporated it into the project somehow, someway. This all worked out as I presented The Humanities Project as my Independent Study during my Fall 2010 semester under Dr. Carbonara. I cannot wait to see how it ends at the end of this current school year.
509_curcio_project.pdf | |
File Size: | 796 kb |
File Type: |
II.E. Developing leadership techniques for working with all levels of the educational community and to manage and administer instructional technology programs at the building and district levels
Rating: Advanced
Description: The artifact I chose to prove that I have completed II. E is the technology plan that I completed with my group for my GILT 514 class. We did a lot of research as a group and prepared a 60+ page tech plan complete with everything listed in the Technology Plan Guidebook issued to us by the class. Although the budgets, technologies, and people are made up, it was good practice to write the plan from scratch in a group setting.
Reflection: Looking back on this HUGE project, I just want to thank my group members. If I remember correctly, this was a semester long 514 project in which we, in groups, had to create a technology plan from scratch for a made-up district. It was long and grueling, but since we broke up the plan in parts... and spent five hours in the elementary education library surrounded by happy cartoon characters, we finished it with flying colors.
Description: The artifact I chose to prove that I have completed II. E is the technology plan that I completed with my group for my GILT 514 class. We did a lot of research as a group and prepared a 60+ page tech plan complete with everything listed in the Technology Plan Guidebook issued to us by the class. Although the budgets, technologies, and people are made up, it was good practice to write the plan from scratch in a group setting.
Reflection: Looking back on this HUGE project, I just want to thank my group members. If I remember correctly, this was a semester long 514 project in which we, in groups, had to create a technology plan from scratch for a made-up district. It was long and grueling, but since we broke up the plan in parts... and spent five hours in the elementary education library surrounded by happy cartoon characters, we finished it with flying colors.
514_technology_plan.pdf | |
File Size: | 1161 kb |
File Type: |