TEACHER TOOLS REFLECTION
Newsletter: I really had a lot of fun with this assignment. It made me focus on what I want
parents to be aware of when I return to the classroom. . . other than just grades and behavior. In much of the research I've
done in my work here at OSU I keep finding that parents of middle schoolers really feel cut off from what their children
are up to. I really believe that initiating contact in a positive way - like a newsletter - really only has benefits for everyone
in the long run. While I was creating this, I tried to keep in mind that I want to create a classroom community where I am
simply the faciliator, so I had to make sure the language I used appropriately reflected that. This was also extremely valuable
to do now since I can save it and use it as a starting point next year with most of the hard work already
done!
Please keep in mind when you read this that I am not teaching right now. For the purpose
of the assignment, I pretended to be part of Stillwater Public Schools and that this was my first newsletter of the year.
The student poetry is from the San Antonio ISD website and the image of the girls working came from www.image.google.com.
The photograph was taken by Jan Hudgens, my cousin, of her neice, Riley. I wanted to include a photograph because
it implies that my classroom will allow for creativity from all aspects. The web address I gave my classroom does not exist
- yet . . .
Gradebook: Up until this point the only think I have used Excel to produce class lists and
could sort using the A to Z shortcut. That was the extense of my knowledge of Excel until this year. My exploration
with Excel started last semester when I have to collect data for a research project. With that project I learned how to program
sums and do percentages, but I had to RE-learn for this assignment because it is not something I do very often. When I am
using any MicroSoft product, I tend to just play around until I figure out what I want. The Help section is usually, well,
helpful. And, if I can't find out what I want, usually there is someone around who is more familiar with the program who can
direct me.
When it came to creating my gradebook, I paired what I already knew with what I
learned from looking at other gradebooks created in this class. I liked how so many people had slanted the top row and
made the columns smaller in order to see all of the grades within the gradebook. In the future, I would like to find
out if there is a way to program all failing grades to appear as a certain color. I went through and did that manually, as
well as adding comments to each assignment so that I remembered how many points each assignment was worth. Another question
I have would be if it is possible to do a print out of just one student. I had fun putting this together, though, and setting
it up the way I wanted it to be set up, which you don't get to do with the commercial gradebook programs. I have been very
lucky to have always had access to a computerized gradebook and have been able to find my way in and out of both products
I've used. My favorite is EDP, which monitors and attendance and grades. But, I would love to be able to create my own
system and will use what I have learned from this ExCel assignment to help me.
INTERNET TOOLS REFLECTION
I explored the examples of internet tool use on the tech4u website and was impressed by
what teachers had come up with, but frustrated with what seems to be a lack of language arts teachers implementing technology
at this level. I then cruised around the blackboard group and was amazed at how far people took this assignment. I got some
great ideas, both for this assignment and for 'real' life.
When I student taught, my supervising teacher
introduced me to several options on the internet for useful lesson planning ideas. What was great about this assignment is
that I got to take that knowledge a step further and actually use websites to produce useful classroom tools. The only site
I knew before this process was Puzzlemaker and I used it pretty often for review materials. I was amazed at how many other
sites there were!
I played around on almost all of the sites and discovered that some of them require
a little bit more commitment than I am willing to give at this time. However, they seemed pretty valuable and useful, so who
knows, perhaps I will join them once I am back in the classroom. The biggest challenge for me was figuring out how to use
the tools for a 'unit' that is based mostly on discussion. I could have done something a little bit more cut and dry, but
I am trying to do these assignments so that I will have a format to follow next year.
In the end, I
found the produce and post sites more in line with my unit needs. My FAVORITE WEBSITE OF THE YEAR has to be the http://assignaday.4teachers.org. This would have solved so many problems my former students seemed to have and would have helped all of my parents feel more
connected to what was going on at school. I will definetly use this site next year. I also became a big fan of the Rubistar
website, since I become overwhelmed when it comes to creating a rubric. This is another site I can see using on a regular
basis next year. Finally, I am hoping to create some sort of online discussion board next year and was impressed with how
nicenet.org was easy to use. My one fear would be controlling the type of communication students could have outside of the
website. I didn't find a place to limit that, but surely it exists.
Below are links to examples of a language arts gradebook and a classroom newsletter.
I have also included a more thorough review of the internet tools I used with the concept of literature study in mind.
