Assignment 8

(1) Record Keeping: Teachers have a professional responsibility to monitor, record and
communicate student progress. Many schools and districts have adopted networked
grading systems, and some publish grades on secure websites.
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Use a your school's gradebook program to develop a report for a real or
hypothetical class of ten or more students who are assessed on five or more
assignments. Submit a printout of your gradebook and the detailed report card
(progress report) for an individual student. If you do not have access to such a
program, you may use Gradekeeper or download a sample shareware "gradebook"
program.
Currently, I use Excel to keep track of my grades, and it works well for my purposes.
However, I am interested in finding a way to make my gradebook accessible to students
online. I experimented with the ThinkWave software. Initially, I found this application
to be somewhat confusing because there are various options as to what was demo
software, freeware, or available for purchase. The demo I used initially, ThinkWave
Web Educator was a web based application which did not require a download, but did not
appear to have the capability I was looking for and was cumbersome to use.
I then downloaded the free version of the software, ThinkWare Educator Basic, which
seemed much more appropriate for my needs. This software allowed the user to set up a
customized grading scheme, print a variety of reports ranging from individual student
report card to class statistics and personal information. Grades are accessible to students
online through ThinkWave Grades Online. I found this software easy to use and very
functional. I look forward to trying it with my classes.
ThinkWave Educator Basic Gradebook.
ThinkWave Educator Basic Individualized Report..
ThinkWave Educator Basic Grades Online Grade Report.
(2) Assessment: Teachers must regularly assess student progress. Many textbook
publishers make test construction easier by providing test generators, software which
allows the teacher to quickly compose tests and keys from question databases. Test
generators allow the teacher to input questions, and often provide databases of questions
the teacher can select from. *TPE-tip A well-structured exam may be used as an artifact
for TPE3, Interpretation and Use of Assessments.
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Use a test generator to construct multiple versions of an exam.
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Software such as Examview allows teachers to develop tests and post them on the
Internet. Take this short physics quiz generated with the Examview, or this
geology quiz made with Quizmaker. Include a screen capture of your score
(actual score is inconsequential) and discuss the benefits and problems associated
with online testing.
Test Generator
I used the TestGen software which accompanies Pearson Education textbooks. This
software is extremely easy to use and correlates closely with the textbook. It is helpful to
be able to easily make multiple versions of an exam. With this software, the instructor
has control over the test length, question type and difficulty. It also allows for creation of
online testing when paired with MathXL or MyMatLab software.
Below are screen captures of the first few questions of two versions of an Intermediate
Algebra exam.
Online Testing
I took the Quizmaker geology quiz. Below is the screen capture. Having tests and
quizzes available online is a convenience for teachers and students alike. Students get
frequent assessment with immediate feedback. Students can take the test at a convenient
time and place. Most test generators make individualized versions of the test quickly.
The obvious downfall is that it is difficult to monitor the possibility of cheating with
online test taking. Also, as with any technology, there is always the possibility of
malfunction.
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(3) Communication: Students benefit when teachers clearly state their expectations in
written form. When these expectations are available on the Internet, all students and
parents can benefit, particularly students who have been absent. A variety of commercial
resources exist with which teachers can post calendars, homework assignments, and other
important documents.
Put your class assignments on the web at Yourhomework , SchoolNotes or similar
service. Include a screen capture of your published assignment schedule.
This website would probably be of greater benefit if the entire faculty used the same tool.
I plan to create my own website and keep a current list of assignments there.
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(4) Presentations: Presentation software provides teachers the opportunity to display text
and graphics in a slide show fashion. PowerPoint and Keynote are two of the most
popular presentation tools. Teachers and professors make extensive use of presentations,
but many are concerned about the potentially negative effects such presentations can have
on instruction. *TPE-tip A well developed educational presentation can serve as an
artifact for TPE 4, Making Content Accessible, or TPE 10, Instructional Time, if used
with presenter tools.
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After reading the articles on the educational use and abuse of presentation
software, summarize how presentations should be constructed and delivered to
maximize learning and minimize abuse.
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Locate and download one or more PowerPoint presentations relevant to your
teaching needs. Include the URL of the location from which you obtained them
and summarize the PowerPoint and where in your curriculum you will use it.
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Make a PowerPoint presentation to teach a lesson in your subject area, keeping in
mind the principles you have outlined above and the guidelines provided (see
tutorial). Your presentation should include numerous graphics and be at least 10
slides in length. (a) Provide an electronic copy of your presentation (ppt format)
on your website. (b) Embed screen captures of your presentation in the template.
Make sure the content is easy to read.
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Using iPhoto (Mac), Picasa (Windows), or similar slide viewer software, create a
photo library for your discipline. You should include photos you have taken plus
ones retreived from a graphic search engine. Create two or three slide shows from
the library. Include a screen shot of the slide sorter window for one of your
shows. Create a photopage for your website.
Use and Abuse of PowerPoint Presentations
The article on the Abuse of PowerPoint presentations in the Daily Sundial
(http://www.csun.edu/science/ref/presentation/powerpoint/sundial_powerpoint.htm )
struck a chord with me because I have encountered similar misuse. Often times when I
have been subjected to such presentations I find that the presenter simply reads the slides,
so I find myself just reading ahead and tuning out. When used improperly these
presentations do not engage the student but instead encourage passivity. In fact, many
times even the presenter is not engaged but simply going through the motions. I also find
some of the animations distracting and simply annoying.
When used properly, PowerPoint presentations can be a powerful tool. The most
important point is that presentations should be done in a way to engage students and
encourage interaction rather than just transmit information. Used properly, PowerPoint
presentations with appropriate handouts allow students to be less focused on note taking
and more focused on listening and processing the information being discussed. The
handouts, however, should not be so complete such that no note taking is necessary.
There are many guidelines for making presentations regarding font type, size and color
that should be taken into consideration when making a presentation.
Sample PowerPoint Presentations
I used Google’s advanced search options to locate a number of PowerPoint presentations
on the Law of Cosines. I was previously unaware of this capability and was amazed to
discover the number of presentations on such a wide variety of topics. I viewed and
compared three of the presentations I found.
The first presentation I looked at was very well done. I could easily use this in my
classroom in a very engaging way. It was easy to follow without being over done. It
included graphics that added to the discussion. The presentation covered all the key
points and provided interesting examples. If I was going to use this in class, I would
provide my students with a corresponding handout that did not show all of the solutions
to the example problems, so that we could go through the thought process together in
class.
The second presentation, though accurate, was boring. The use of technology here does
not add anything that could not have been done with a chalkboard. It provided me with a
nice contrast of good vs. poor use of PowerPoint.
The third presentation was not only poorly done, it was mathematically incorrect, which
is worrisome.
My PowerPoint Presentation
Below are some screen captures from my PowerPoint presentation on Finding The Area
Under a Curve.
Picasa Photo and Image Galleries
I created three galleries on Picasa which can be accessed through my website.
The first is images of Math Cartoons.
The second is images of PCC.
The third is photographs of things I like to do.
(5) Digital Video
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(5) Digital Video of your Teaching Develop a video of your teaching in
accordance with the requirements of PACT.
Put your video in your TaskStream account
Burn and submit a DVD that includes your movies and other photos
In class, we leaned some of the features of the powerful Imovie video editing software.
We learned how to take quick video using the computer’s camera, edit, incorporate
photographs, music, voice-overs, titles and transitions. I then made a very quick and
terrible video, which can be viewed from my website. I am eager to experiment with this
software.
(6) DVD: Develop a lesson using a computer-based DVD-player that includes bookmarks
and video clips to access specific scenes.
Identify the DVD and explain why you chose this for a lesson.
Include a screen capture showing your catalog of bookmarks and video clips.
Describe how the scan fast, scan slow, step, mute, bookmark, video clip, and screen size
features can be used to enhance your lesson.
Showing movies in class as a way of instruction is often misused, but used correctly
DVDs can be a effective way to teach. DVDs can be successfully used in classroom
instruction not only as a way to transmit information, but also as a tool to engage the
students in discussion. For example, by muting the DVD, students can be asked to
explain what is being viewed. Subtitles can be particularly helpful for ESL students.
We worked with the DVD series Planet Earth in class. First we familiarized ourselves
with the Apple DVD player and some of its features such as screen size, mute, slow
motion, zoom, and closed caption. We discussed how each of these features can facilitate
classroom instruction. We then learned how bookmarks and video clips can be set on a
given DVD. This information is stored on the computer you are using. To export this
information to another computer you need to export the playlist. This is done by
accessing the menu bar at the top of the screen, selecting File and Get Disc Info. (Note:
You must first quit the DVD to save settings, then re-open.) Select Reveal. The file
displayed contains all the settings information. Copy the file onto another computer to
transfer the saved settings. This is a very useful and time saving feature when using a
DVD in classroom instruction as it allows you to go directly to the area of interest on a
DVD. The playlist information I saved in class is shown on the website. Screen captures
are not possible when the DVD player is open as a protection against piracy.
(7) Concept Maps: Develop a concept map with graphics and text.
Concept Maps or Flow Charts can be a very useful visual tools when teaching. They are
effective at outlining and organizing data. I used Inspiration software to make a concept
map of the flow of many of the important Trigonometric Identities. I found the software
to be easy to use, although incorporating mathematical symbols was cumbersome. I had
to insert equations as images which did not allow them to be put in the software boxes. I
circumvented this problem by coloring the images before inserting. For some
applications of concept maps, inserting images would be very instructional. My concept
map can be viewed fully by going back to the website. Screen captures are shown below.
Whole diagram:
Zoom in:
OutlineView: