ePortfolios as Assessments

My first venture into using ePortfolios as an assessment will be roadtested this summer as part of a summer reading assignment. Instead of having students prepare a document that will be submitted via email, I plan to have my students periodically update their blogs throughout the summer. What I am thinking is that I will have each student maintain their blog throughout the school year with the hopes that they will be able to see their own growth as a learner.

I think I might also set up a class Twitter as well. What I like about Twitter is that unlike Facebook, the kids can follow my Tweets, but I don't have to follow their's. A class Twitter, I am thinking, will allow students to ask questions, get reminders, etc. in a quick and easy format.

Differentiation with the iPad - ESL

I have a student who is a native of China and has limited English.  He can be quite shy and doesn't like speaking in class.  He feels pretty unsure of himself.  I have handed him my iPad to look up things he may be confused about like vocabularly, slang, and American references.    I have downloaded a couple of apps that I hope will be useful to him.  The tool aids his reading comprehension by providing over 25 graphic organizers.

Another app that I plan to use is "Daily Grammar".  This app will allow my ESL student to practice basic English grammar and as his skills build, the exercises will become more challenging.

 

Web-based Presentation Tool - Prezi

The following is a link to a Prezi I created to use for one of my classes:

 http://prezi.com/4mzhxwm6gp_y/present/?auth_key=ho5mo94&follow=jo0qog0tjpmt

Prezi Presentation

I recently used Prezi for a presentation I needed to prepare for a class I am taking.  Though I struggled with it, my students take to it quite easily and have created some really creative and interesting presentations.

 http://prezi.com/4mzhxwm6gp_y/present/?auth_key=ho5mo94&follow=jo0qog0tjpmt

Web 2.0 Tool

The Web 2.0 Tool that I use frequently is bibme.org.  This is a valuable tool for producing works cited pages.  The way it works is that enters a url or ISBN number and the site will load the necessary information for creating an accurate bibliography in a variety of formats such as MLA or APA style.  Once all of the information is loaded, the user can download the information where it then appears as a Word document as a polished bibliography.  In order to use the site one must register, but it's use is free.

 

The following is a works cited page created using bibme.org:

 

Works Cited

Roach, Andrew T., Bradley C. Nieblin, and Alexander Kurz. "Evaluating the alighment among curriculum, instruction, and assessments." Psychology in the Schools 45.2 (2008): 158-178. Print.

Rothman, Robert. "Imperfect matches:  the alignment of standards and tests." National Research Council March (2003): 1-33. Print.

Stern, Luli, and Andrew Ahlgren. "Analysis of students' assessments in middle school curriuclum materials:  aiming precisely at benchmarks and standards." Journal of Research in Science Teaching 39.9 (2002): 889-910. Print.

MLA formatting by BibMe.org.

QR - Creator

I can't wait to incorporate QR Creator into my classroom.  I plant to use this to post my lesson plans in the classroom.  My intent is for students to be able to scan the QR and have a copy of the future assignments.  Eventually, I would like to use this to provide group directions, class treasure hunts, etc.

Apps for the Classroom - Teacher Assistant

Teacher Assistant allows teachers to document student behaviors, successes, and concerns.  It allows for instant communication with parents if needed.  It should also be invaluable in keeping track of IEP modifications.  I can't wait to put it to use.

HHS Lacrosse Video

Check out my video on the Huntington Lacrosse Team http://dl.dropbox.com/u/59939378/Video%20Mar%2031%2C%2011%2032%2052%20AM.mov

Flipped Classroom & Social Media

I think that the Flipped classroom is fascinating. Many of he AP level classes at my school use this approach. Many teachers believe that this type of approach couldn't work in the general classroom because most kids won't do homework. I tend to disagree. Most kids will perform to the level of our expectations; if we expect this approach to fail, it will.

In regards to social media, there is a use for it in the classroom. Twitter could be used to keep students up-to-date on homework assignments or direct them for treasure hunts. Many students nwould enjoys submitting assignments as blogs as we do in here. The possibilities are endless.

Depth of Knowledge

The last assessment I gave I hadn't made sure I covered all the levels of knowledge. As teachers, we often become consumed with worry about covering massive amounts of materials that we often don't look at value or depth of what we are teaching. Essentially, we are more focused on the quantitative instead of the qualitative.

I have since decided to cover less, but what I do cover I cover more in-depth. I am also trying to bring into most lessons something of current relevance. For example, when we were studying 1984, we also examined the controversy over SOPA and other such current events.

Which quadrant does my classroom fall?

My classroom fell into several different quadrants. There were many days we were in more than one quandrant. I don't believe we were in Quad D for very long at any one time. This week, however, looks to culminate in a Quad D activity because the students will be analyzing a famous speech of their choosing and writing a rhetorical analysis.