Our Group Leadership Project is truly proving to be a group effort. We communicate regularly; bouncing ideas of off each other and following up on questions, concerns and/or suggestions. Even though we have began to work on specific tasks pertaining to each of us and our discipline, we are still providing feedback to each other and collaborating across the board for the good of the order almost daily. As a group, we decided on the format to be used (Google Presentation), how the presentation would proceed, and the format of each app discussed. My contribution to the group has been the introduction and the conclusion as well as the script for the slides I submit. I am also in the process of sharing my own suggestions for IPad apps in the classroom with a detailed description of each one and how they may be used for learning. Please click here to view our Group Leadership Project.
The final product will be distributed via screencast or video with a voice over of one of our group members that has yet to be determined. There are several options that we are continuing consideration on as well as questions/problems that we are working to get answers to or resolved.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Web/Video Conferencing Lab
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| Google Hangout Web Conference |
As stated in a previous blog, we attempted to meet using Vyew but had some sound and audio difficulties and we could not record. Our next option was Jing but later learned we could only record five minutes. Then we attempted to use Camtasia but found there was a $99 dollar fee. So in the end we reverted to Google Hangout+. Even though neither of us were very familiar with Google Hangout+ (some of us had only done it once before or seen it done), we quickly caught on and the meeting went smoothly. There were no awkward moments. We
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| Web conference |
Someone did mention how convenient this tool is and how it can be used in the classroom for parent-teacher conferences, or with colleagues. I could see myself using it in Spanish class; possibly conversing with native Spanish-speakers somehow.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
WPP PART B- Application of TPACK
Progress on the Wicked Problem Project has been steady to say the least. I know, in my mind, what it is I'd like to address and what I envision the solution to be. The challenge appears to be communicating it effectively. So let me begin by reiterating the issue. As mentioned in a previous blog, the presence of cell phones in the classroom has not been a total distraction nor disruption but they have become a nuisance. Since my high school English and Spanish students are now allowed to carry their cell phones with them at all times, I find them preoccupied with what text they may be receiving or what the latest "tweet" from their BFF is rather then being interested with my instruction. I would see them peek at their phones and it annoyed me. Despite all my efforts to reprimand my students for fidgeting with my little nemesis I always fell short and knew I could not compete with these pieces of metal and plastic. So, I decided to do like Honest Abe, and put these rivals on my team and make cell phones useful in the classroom as educational tools. So an example of the plan is as follows:
Nearly all my students (at least 8 out of 10) have cell phones. Of these cell phones most have cameras and videos within them. Every two weeks students are given a set of vocabulary words. A choice of projects accompanies these vocab lists. Students choose the project that best meets their learning style. For example, students can create a collage, write a story, perform a rap, produce a book, etc....using their vocabulary words correctly. All these options require no technology. But since technology exist in the classroom, via cell phones, I would like to see, NO REQUIRE, students to create innovative, technology-rich vocabulary projects with their cell phones like short videos, pod casts and blogs. There are apps that will enable students to do this. This is just one example of how I envision making cell phones a required learning tool, just as valuable and necessary as coming to class with paper and pencils. I'm sure there are many more ways to put cell phones to good use in the classroom. That is what I will continue to explore.
I believe the technology of cell phones, depending on the assignment, activity or project, supports teaching strategies such as scaffolding, student-centered/teacher facilitated, differentiated, cooperative and independent, hands-on, visual and tactile learning. Assigning a student to create a thirty second video with his/her phone using a free app like Animoto with the vocabulary list, encourages creativity and can accommodate a broad range of learning styles. The student can create a slide show with pictures and/or words. Or the student can perform a skit with the help of others and record it. The student can create a blog and using the recording devise on his/her phone record him/herself reading a story he/she created or rapping a song with the vocabulary words and up load it to a post within the blog. The possibilities appear to be endless. So I will continue to explore what more is available.
The technology of cell phones makes the content of vocab (for example) more intellectually accessible in that many cell phones offer a vast amount of information and can perform a vast amount of duties, making learning easier, convenient (since students can create some of these assignments at home), and exciting. Students can refer to dictionary apps like Webster to expand their vocabulary. Or they can use an app like Chegg to create index cards for studying.
My pedagogical choices make the content more intellectually accessible by allowing the students an alternative format to complete assignments, display their creativity and learn in a meaningful 21st Century manner. Students will begin to see their cell phone as more than a communicating device but also as a learning aid that will enable them to explore other options to complete academic assignments.
My Wicked Problem Project is obviously still a work in progress. Continued exploration of solutions to the cell phone mayhem will continue.
Nearly all my students (at least 8 out of 10) have cell phones. Of these cell phones most have cameras and videos within them. Every two weeks students are given a set of vocabulary words. A choice of projects accompanies these vocab lists. Students choose the project that best meets their learning style. For example, students can create a collage, write a story, perform a rap, produce a book, etc....using their vocabulary words correctly. All these options require no technology. But since technology exist in the classroom, via cell phones, I would like to see, NO REQUIRE, students to create innovative, technology-rich vocabulary projects with their cell phones like short videos, pod casts and blogs. There are apps that will enable students to do this. This is just one example of how I envision making cell phones a required learning tool, just as valuable and necessary as coming to class with paper and pencils. I'm sure there are many more ways to put cell phones to good use in the classroom. That is what I will continue to explore.
I believe the technology of cell phones, depending on the assignment, activity or project, supports teaching strategies such as scaffolding, student-centered/teacher facilitated, differentiated, cooperative and independent, hands-on, visual and tactile learning. Assigning a student to create a thirty second video with his/her phone using a free app like Animoto with the vocabulary list, encourages creativity and can accommodate a broad range of learning styles. The student can create a slide show with pictures and/or words. Or the student can perform a skit with the help of others and record it. The student can create a blog and using the recording devise on his/her phone record him/herself reading a story he/she created or rapping a song with the vocabulary words and up load it to a post within the blog. The possibilities appear to be endless. So I will continue to explore what more is available.
The technology of cell phones makes the content of vocab (for example) more intellectually accessible in that many cell phones offer a vast amount of information and can perform a vast amount of duties, making learning easier, convenient (since students can create some of these assignments at home), and exciting. Students can refer to dictionary apps like Webster to expand their vocabulary. Or they can use an app like Chegg to create index cards for studying.
My pedagogical choices make the content more intellectually accessible by allowing the students an alternative format to complete assignments, display their creativity and learn in a meaningful 21st Century manner. Students will begin to see their cell phone as more than a communicating device but also as a learning aid that will enable them to explore other options to complete academic assignments.
My Wicked Problem Project is obviously still a work in progress. Continued exploration of solutions to the cell phone mayhem will continue.
Part A- Brainstorm Session
For your convenience, click here to listen to this blog rather than read it.
After being assigned to a group to create a ten minute stand alone professional development tutorial on technology, I quickly headed to see who I would be working with and what our topic would be. I was pleased to find myself in a group of very productive gentlemen who shared the same desire to incorporate mobile devices like smart phones and Ipads into our classrooms as a learning tool. We (Kyle, Brian and I) collaborated via email numerous times prior to our initial meeting using the web conferencing tool; Vyew. Vyew appears to be a very effective tool, but during our first use, we were experiencing sound and audio difficulties. We had to revert to talking on the phone as a means of verbal communication during this meeting. However, the following day Brian and I were toying with Vyew and had no audio/sound problems. So we proceeded to continue using Vyew for another session only to again face those same audio/sound problems from a prior meeting. Furthermore we discovered that there was no way to record our session. We attempted to use Camtasia but learned there was a fee to utilize its full benefits. So we scrapped that idea and turned to our trusted Google Hangout option. Below is a video from our brainstorming meeting.
There are several advantages to using web conferencing tools. To begin, they are extremely convenient. One does not have to commute which saves time and allows for more preparation. Secondly, these meeting can be recorded and referred to later for reference, unlike in-person meetings that are recorded only by means of notes scribbled on legal pads. Lastly, web conferencing tools like Google Hangout, allow you to share your screen and give your audience/group members, visuals. Despite literally being apart by miles, these conferencing meetings can be more intimate than traditional in-person meetings where some may feel uncomfortable crowding around you to see your computer screen. In virtual meetings online resources are easier to share.
The only disadvantages I faced (not sure I can speak for my whole group) with using a web conferencing tool was not knowing which of the hundreds available would best suit our needs. Google Hangout is great. But we pretty much chose it because we were already familiar with it and it is reliable. But I'm sure there is something better out there. The disadvantage is not knowing which web conferencing tool is the best fit for us, and learning how to use it.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
WPP Part A-Description of Need or Opportunity
Click here to listen to the need/opportunity to teach with mobile device.
As an instructor, teacher, professor, deliverer of knowledge, part-time parent, friend, nurse, "aunty," etc...it is easy to get lost in the demands of my teaching profession and be pulled in multiple directions. But with all that still comes a sense of self-value and appreciation for my worth my that makes my choice in career all worthwhile and satisfying.
Yet there is a daily nuisance in my classroom. A nemesis resides within that I cannot compete with. An opponent so powerful, I cannot, with all my strength, resources, and wits, overpower. This archenemy pulls the interest away from me to him. He is impatient and controlling. He is alluring and pressures my students to ignore me and pay attention to him. He tries to be discreet but his presence is ever dominate and powerful. Yes, I am talking about the CELL PHONE!!!
For years cell phones were prohibited in my school and for good reason. Some students were recording unknowing victims doing embarrassing things or they students were spreading rumors and even bullying other students in cyberspace. Cell phones were stolen or lost leading to upset students and angry parents flooding school offices with already limited staff, time, and resources. Cell phones were overall a distraction and disruption in our school and were therefore not allowed. However, last year it was decided by the Saginaw Board of Education that students would now be allowed to carry their cell phones in school and even in the classroom. Students are free to have their cell phones with them at all times. Teachers were given the authority to create and enforce rules for cell phone use in the classroom. And we teachers decided that phones are to be turned off, not in use (even though most of us preach), and if they cause a distraction they would be confiscated and returned to a parent or guardian only. Early last year I confiscated so many that I actually lost track of whose phone belonged to whom. The phones were not causing a disruption. I just saw that my students would often peek down at their lap during my presentations or lectures which told me that 1) they are not paying full attention to me and 2) the phones must be on, which is in violation of teacher rules which meant I HAD to take it. Rules are rules and other teachers get upset when all the teachers don't follow the agreement. I soon realized that confiscating the phones was far more distracting and disruptive that a student quietly peeking at his/her phone.
So I decided to no longer make a big deal about a student having a phone that is turned on. This was a battle that I was just not going to win. I just explained to my students that they were not allowed to use them socially in class. I later learned that many students had smart phones and had useful apps that would benefit their learning in class like dictionary apps, book apps, Google, etc... I even started sharing useful apps that I had on my own phone, suggesting they get them like Chegg, ConjuVerb, Kahn Academy Mobile, etc... So I eventually began encouraging students to use their cell phones in class. On SSR (Silent-sustained Reading) days or work days I even allowed students to listen to music on their cell phones. The classroom was much quieter, there was less talking and more concentration.
Now I want to REQUIRE students to use their phones to complete classroom tasks, assignment and even projects. Research has found this to be where the future in education is headed. Click here for more details. After discovering that numerousl schools across the nation had equipped each of their students with their own personal mobile device for learning (see how Flushing schools has approved Ipads in their budget). So I decided that is the direction I need to take my students in.
As an instructor, teacher, professor, deliverer of knowledge, part-time parent, friend, nurse, "aunty," etc...it is easy to get lost in the demands of my teaching profession and be pulled in multiple directions. But with all that still comes a sense of self-value and appreciation for my worth my that makes my choice in career all worthwhile and satisfying.
Yet there is a daily nuisance in my classroom. A nemesis resides within that I cannot compete with. An opponent so powerful, I cannot, with all my strength, resources, and wits, overpower. This archenemy pulls the interest away from me to him. He is impatient and controlling. He is alluring and pressures my students to ignore me and pay attention to him. He tries to be discreet but his presence is ever dominate and powerful. Yes, I am talking about the CELL PHONE!!!
For years cell phones were prohibited in my school and for good reason. Some students were recording unknowing victims doing embarrassing things or they students were spreading rumors and even bullying other students in cyberspace. Cell phones were stolen or lost leading to upset students and angry parents flooding school offices with already limited staff, time, and resources. Cell phones were overall a distraction and disruption in our school and were therefore not allowed. However, last year it was decided by the Saginaw Board of Education that students would now be allowed to carry their cell phones in school and even in the classroom. Students are free to have their cell phones with them at all times. Teachers were given the authority to create and enforce rules for cell phone use in the classroom. And we teachers decided that phones are to be turned off, not in use (even though most of us preach), and if they cause a distraction they would be confiscated and returned to a parent or guardian only. Early last year I confiscated so many that I actually lost track of whose phone belonged to whom. The phones were not causing a disruption. I just saw that my students would often peek down at their lap during my presentations or lectures which told me that 1) they are not paying full attention to me and 2) the phones must be on, which is in violation of teacher rules which meant I HAD to take it. Rules are rules and other teachers get upset when all the teachers don't follow the agreement. I soon realized that confiscating the phones was far more distracting and disruptive that a student quietly peeking at his/her phone.
So I decided to no longer make a big deal about a student having a phone that is turned on. This was a battle that I was just not going to win. I just explained to my students that they were not allowed to use them socially in class. I later learned that many students had smart phones and had useful apps that would benefit their learning in class like dictionary apps, book apps, Google, etc... I even started sharing useful apps that I had on my own phone, suggesting they get them like Chegg, ConjuVerb, Kahn Academy Mobile, etc... So I eventually began encouraging students to use their cell phones in class. On SSR (Silent-sustained Reading) days or work days I even allowed students to listen to music on their cell phones. The classroom was much quieter, there was less talking and more concentration.
Now I want to REQUIRE students to use their phones to complete classroom tasks, assignment and even projects. Research has found this to be where the future in education is headed. Click here for more details. After discovering that numerousl schools across the nation had equipped each of their students with their own personal mobile device for learning (see how Flushing schools has approved Ipads in their budget). So I decided that is the direction I need to take my students in.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Video Bio Pt 1
20 years ago I was a student at Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, MI. I married my high school sweetheart right after graduation. My daughter graduated from Arthur Hill last year. One of my sons is a freshman this year at Arthur Hill. And I have taught at Arthur Hill for the past three years. My name is Angelica Lozano-Garcia and I have been a passionate educator in the Saginaw Public School District for the past seven years. I have taught all levels of Spanish, High school English Language Arts and elementary summer school. I love teaching the Students of Saginaw because they remind me of myself thirty years ago when I too was the underdog facing the same adversities that my students face today. I can relate to my students on so many levels. They inspire me and it is my desire to level the playing field and teach them 21st century skills so they can compete in a technology enriched world. My goal for the next year is to equip my classroom with a set of Ipads and incorporate learning with the use of these devices.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Technical Funny Moment
I never really pursued technology until recently when I was forced to realize that I had to get with it or get left by it. One of the moments that made me realize that was when I was teaching my 9th grade ELA class using a media projector. I was giving a lesson and facing the students while they took notes or responded to whatever visuals I was presenting on the screen behind me. My email alert was enabled and I didn't know how to disable it. So it wasn't unusual for an email alert to pop up during my many presentations and be visible to my students. Most often my students would react to them by repeating what it said like I really needed them to reiterate whatever was in the subject box. Most of my emails were from colleagues and was work related but I also used my work email for personal purposes like paying my bills and shopping. I also shared my email with stores that I frequent like Pier 1, Bath Body Works, Amazon, etc..so that I could get coupons. Nevertheless, on this particular day when I was giving a presentation with the media projector I received an email alert in front of the class. It read:
All Very Sexy Push-Up Bras 50% OFF and Panties Buy One Get One Free. Sale Starts at 8AM!
My students, again, felt they needed to reiterate the announcement. Then the questions flooded, "Ooooh, Mrs. Garcia, you be shopping at Victoria's Secret?" I tried to lie and say that I really like the make-up they sell. I was trying to avoid the idea of Mrs. Garcia and undergarments. It was a really funny but mostly -embarrassing moment. After that, I did learn how to disable the email pop-up alert and even showed a veteran colleague how to disable his when an email alert for Viagra popped up during a presentation he was giving to the staff at a meeting a short time later.
Click here to listen in full detail the moment technology made me pursue it. Hope you enjoy. God bless.
All Very Sexy Push-Up Bras 50% OFF and Panties Buy One Get One Free. Sale Starts at 8AM!
My students, again, felt they needed to reiterate the announcement. Then the questions flooded, "Ooooh, Mrs. Garcia, you be shopping at Victoria's Secret?" I tried to lie and say that I really like the make-up they sell. I was trying to avoid the idea of Mrs. Garcia and undergarments. It was a really funny but mostly -embarrassing moment. After that, I did learn how to disable the email pop-up alert and even showed a veteran colleague how to disable his when an email alert for Viagra popped up during a presentation he was giving to the staff at a meeting a short time later.
Click here to listen in full detail the moment technology made me pursue it. Hope you enjoy. God bless.
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