CEP 812: Wicked Problem Project

To view a full screen version of the following presentation, please click here.

To view the text of my problem and solution as presented in the above video, please click here.

The Problem

As a first grade teacher, I am constantly trying to get in contact with parents. Although we do meet twice a year for conferences and I am always available to set up meetings with parents, it is difficult to share student work regularly.  I send home weekly folders filled with student work, but many times, it is still in the same place in the child’s backpack on the following Monday. Papers have been crumpled, lost, or neglected completely. According to research, “when a child's teacher and parents make a mutual commitment to the best interests of the child, he feels supported on all fronts. With at least two adults as caring guides, he feels that he is competent to learn, but more importantly, he feels supported as a person” (Parent Teacher Communication and How It Benefits the Child). As student work is sent home in Friday folders, I often wonder how much of the work is viewed by parents. In addition, even if a parent takes the time to look through the work, how often do they sit down with their child to provide feedback? I am a firm believer that parent-teacher-student communication plays a major role in student achievement and learning. “It is important to understand that when parents and teachers communicate, it provides an opportunity for the child to reach their maximum potential both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. This is because of the fact that when regular communication is engaged in, a relationship will form. This relationship will assist the child in realizing that they have a solid support system that is working together for their benefit. Children who know that their parent and their teacher communicate often have been found to perform better academically” (Shiflett). I had been searching for a tool that would support the TPACK framework, promote parent-teacher-student communication, and increase student learning, achievement, and confidence.

A Solution

As a solution to my problem, I have linked a classroom wiki to our class website through Wikispaces. Wikispaces is geared toward educational uses and is a free site that parents can access at any time of the day. Parents must sign and return a permission form allowing their child’s work to be posted online. Many of the student assignments will be web based, including Glogster, Voicethread, Stapleless Books, Storybird, and Photostory 3. Instead of parents having to track down information all over the web, I have included a table so that all links will be stored in one central location. To ensure student confidentiality, each child will be assigned a random number once a permission form is turned in. Only parents will know their own child’s number and although all work can be accessed because it is a wiki, parents will not know whose work is whose. Parents will access student work and post a comment to the discussion forum. They will list the student number followed by a positive and/or constructive comment, which the students will then view and respond to. I also will be commenting to each child’s work to promote parent-teacher-student communication. I am aware that not all of my parents have access to a computer and the internet, so I gave suggestions as to how they could still take part in the communication process. One option would be to visit a local library. Another is to visit the classroom before or after school, during lunch, or special area times. It is important that parents realize the importance of the wiki, their role in the communication process, and how all parents can access the site. At the beginning of the school year, the students will take part in a survey which will help me to determine whether or not parents would appreciate a classroom wiki, if they would visit the site, and how accessible the technology is to them. If parents are not interested, I will inquire as to why they may not want to contribute. Is it because they are too busy? Do they not have internet access? This survey will help me to determine which route to take with my project, and how to find ways for all parents to be enthusiastic about the technology.

There are specific ways in which I will measure the success of this solution. My goal is to have 80% of parents view and comment on student work at least once a month beginning in January. I realize that it may take time to encourage all parents to use this new tool, and I want to give all parents the chance to contribute, even if they do not immediately join the wiki discussion. I also hope that parent-teacher-student communication will take place mainly through this tool rather than emails. Finally, it is my goal that all students participating in the wiki project will show a change in self-confidence and achievement by the end of the school year. This will be measured through parent and student attitude surveys given throughout the school year. I also anticipate that not all students will be given permission to post to the wiki. These students will take the same surveys and I will be able to effectively measure whether or not parent and teacher support play a role in student attitude, achievement, and overall presentation of projects. One summative assessment that I will be using will be accessing the wiki to view student postings. Was the student able to upload their work successfully, read comments from family and friends, and respond through the site? I will be creating a rubric to determine whether or not students completed these tasks for each project. I will also be conducting observations on the final work of my students. Do the students who have posted their work online receive a score of 80% or higher? How do the students who do not have parental support score? Were these students as motivated as others to complete their work? The focus of my project is the effect of positive parent-teacher-student communication, so it is necessary to measure the attitudes and success of students to fully understand whether or not my goals were met. I have also taken into account the importance of the TPACK framework to aid in the creation of my wiki. It is crucial that in order to have an effective project, technology, content, and pedagogical knowledge are equally present.

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?

Although a specific teaching strategy is not being used with this tool, parent-student-teacher communication acts as a separate strategy. It is crucial that students feel their work and learning is important, and through strong communication between his teacher and parents, it is my goal that the student will excel in his learning due to the support of others. I have chosen to use Wikispaces to allow the parents of my students to view and comment on their child’s work. Using a classroom wiki as a communication tool will allow all parents the opportunity to get in contact with me at any time of day. All families many not have access to a computer, but all do have the option of using a public computer at a local library. Parents may visit our classroom before or after school, or at lunch or special area times as well. It may be a bit more difficult for these families to access the website but it is entirely possible.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution?

This technology allows for the content of my problem to be more intellectually accessible. From a representation standpoint, this classroom wiki will promote parent-teacher-communication in all areas of education. It allows for easy access in a clean and well organized format. While parents are still encouraged to come to school, send an email, or call, I would argue that keeping all information in one central location will be the most logical step. The content for my Wicked Project is not directly tied to state standards, but rather, promotes student success in the classroom. After researching the importance of parent-teacher-student communication, I now more than ever believe that student achievement has a strong tie to parental involvement and communication. Students must understand that their work is valued and that they have support available at school and in the classroom. Furthermore, if a student understands that his teacher and parents are working together to promote his success, that student is bound to feel more motivated and supported as a learner. Using this technology gives parents a new way to communicate with the teacher and student. In previous years, the parents of my students have had the option to either email or call me. Once I have given a tutorial on how to navigate through the website, the parents should be comfortable using this as a form of communication. I am confident that any parent willing to use this technology will not only become more involved in their child’s learning, but also provide a sense of support for the student. Using this technology will promote the knowledge of content across the curriculum. Projects will be posted for all subject areas and through parent-teacher-student communication, I expect higher student achievement and a positive attitude regarding projects and their relation to the world.

What is the PC knowledge for the solution?

The pedagogical choices that I have made will make the content more intellectually accessible as well. If the parents give permission for their child to post their work on the website, the students will begin to choose which pieces they would like to publish. This way, the students are more invested in their work because they will be able to share their work with family as well as their teacher. I have also created a blog section of the website where students can write to other classmates with questions and comments. Of course, these comments will need to be closely moderated and strictly related to education.  The students will be able to communicate with classmates from home or with their teacher if they have a question about an assignment. The students will be addressing standards across the board depending on each assignment, as well as advancing their technology skills through communication on the website. In addition, all learning will become more interactive and meaningful when posted to the classroom website. I am curious as to whether or not the students with parental support of the technology will advance in their learning skills, and I also am eager to view participation among the parents, teachers, and students.

I am very much looking forward to implementing this project in the fall. By balancing the need for parent-teacher-communication with the TPACK framework, I am confident that those participating in the classroom wiki will benefit greatly. Through formative and summative assessments, I will be able to accurately determine whether or not my goals were met, and how this communication piece effects student achievement. I appreciate the opportunity to construct a classroom tool that has been dissected and commented on by peers and my instructor. Through these revisions, I am certain that this project will be beneficial for me as an educator, the parents, and most importantly, my students. 

To view a PDF of my work cited page, please click here.  Please click on Part A, Part B, Part C, or Part D to view posted revisions based on colleague and instructor comments.

CEP 811: Final Reflection

I have learned so much about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology. Before taking CEP 811, I had always assumed that teaching with technology was simply a great way to engage students. I would now argue that technology should be integrated for both student engagement and to prepare students for the future. Our students are living in a world where technology is used on a daily basis. It is important that teachers are preparing students for future interactions with technology, rather than simply lecturing through a technology format. I have also learned the importance of using a wide-variety of technology in the classroom. Students can collaborate, create projects with students from other schools with virtual field trips, and independently learn and interact with technology through webquests. Finally, the UDL principles have helped guide my future lessons, as I will always use this as a checklist to ensure that my teaching is well-rounded. By using the UDL principles as a guideline, I can now plan lessons that will benefit all learners. This is perhaps what I will use the most in the future and it has helped mold my teaching strategies when integrating technology.

Integrating web-based technologies allowed me to realize that is important not to integrate technology just for the sake of “modernizing” teaching. Prior to CEP 811, I was always looking for new technologies to integrate into my teaching. I now understand that technology should be used to supplement teaching, rather than basing my lessons off of the technology that I have available to me. There are a variety of technologies available to educators; however, this does not mean that all are beneficial for our students. It is important to identify the needs of our students and use technology to supplement our teaching to benefit the students. Integrating web-based technologies also allowed me to expand my teaching to the world outside of my classroom. I am now planning to post student work online (with parent permission) so that family members may communicate with their child, and I have also decided to sign up for Read Around the Planet. This will allow my students to interact with another classroom from any location in the world, and discuss the central themes in a shared book. Technology will allow me to set up virtual field trips, collaborate with other teachers, and interact more with my students and their families. I am grateful for all of the technologies that I have learned about through CEP 811 and I am looking forward to integrating them into my classroom in the fall.

Through this course, I have met each of the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the semester. The first goal that I had set was to become more familiar with Web 2.0 tools that could be used in my classroom. Although I am leaving this course with a better understanding of many different tools, I consider myself to be a life-long learner and will always be looking to discover new technologies that will benefit my students. I am excited to use the many tools that I have learned about through this class in the upcoming school year. My second goal was to find a technology that would allow me to interact more effectively with parents outside of the classroom. By creating a website, I am confident that I will now be able to use this technology to post notes, a calendar, student work, and more. I am very enthusiastic about bringing this technology into my classroom next year and I am appreciative of the opportunity to practice creating a website that can be effective for parent-teacher-student communication. The final goal that I had originally set for myself was to identify technology-centered tools that were appropriate for a first grade classroom. As a first grade teacher I am constantly discovering new and wonderful technologies, however, they are not always appropriate for young students with a limited knowledge of technology. I am now able to create Stand Alone Instructional Resources, set up blogs for my students to discuss a variety of subject areas, and I can also access grade appropriate technology centered lessons through MERLOT. I am excited about all of the many ways I will now be able to integrate technology into a first grade classroom and I am still searching for more resources. Technology is constantly changing and it is important that I can adapt my teaching and integrate new technologies as they are introduced so that I do not become too set on one single technology.

Since I have met my previously set goals, I have created three new goals for the upcoming school year. First, although I know how to create a website, I hope to create a classroom website that is effective in promoting parent-teacher-student communication. To meet this goal I will create a classroom website with a link to a wiki. This will allow me to post student work by those students whose parents have signed a permission form. I will also create tutorials so that parents will understand the importance of viewing and commenting on student work. My second goal is to become more comfortable with podcasting. More specifically, I hope to identify two new technologies that will allow me to post podcasts to the classroom website. If I am able to meet this goal by December, I hope to begin helping my students independently create podcasts about books they have read. To meet this goal I will need to further research available technologies, practice as much as possible, and meet with colleagues who are familiar with podcasting. The third goal that I have set for myself is to apply the UDL principles to all of my future teaching. To ensure that I meet this goal, I have created a simplified UDL checklist that I will use for the creation of each lesson plan. It is so important that I am able to apply these principles to my future teaching so that I meet the needs of all students. It is much more ideal to create a lesson plan that all students will benefit from, rather than altering a lesson plan each year to meet the needs of students.

Overall, I have greatly benefited as an educator from CEP 811. I am so excited to apply these new technologies and concepts to my future teaching. I am confident that I will enhance my teaching because of this and my students will benefit as learners. I am grateful for the opportunity to have created a StAIR, applied UDL principles, and discovered a variety of technologies that will help prepare my students for the future. Only through understanding the importance of technology and the UDL principles can technology truly supplement lessons and promote student learning.

CEP 812: Professional Learning Plan

For my Professional Learning Plan, I have chosen to create a Voicethread video which has been embedded and can be viewed below. To view the video in a full-screen format, click here. Using this format allowed me to insert images, voice, graphic organizers, and a Wordle poster that I created. Please view my video below. To view the script in a text format click here.

CEP 812: Group Leadership Project

To deliver the PD tutorial, our group chose to use Voicethread. We were initially drawn to Voicethread because we wanted to create a video that needed to be embedded into the final presentation. This was a bit difficult, because not all technologies are compatible and we did not want to find out in the editing stages that it wasn’t possible to merge the two pieces of information. This also allowed for the viewers to learn about our technology in a step-by-step format. Since I have used Voicethread before, I was confident that we would be able to embed videos using either Photostory 3 or any mp4 format video. I created a separate account for our group so all group members could collaborate and edit the tutorial. Using Voicethread allowed our group to insert images, PowerPoint slides, voice, and videos. This was the most logical choice for our group as I was comfortable using the technology and all of our research could be made into a well-organized final tutorial.

We chose to create a tutorial based on the tool Glogster. Through the developmental process, I learned a lot of new information about this technology. I had never before used Glogster and I am now certain that I will be using it often in the upcoming school year.  This tool allows students to collaborate, reflect, share their understanding of a topic, and interact with technology.  In addition to learning about the tool itself, I also learned the importance of communication in collaboration projects. Just as I learned that it is important all group members contribute and are comfortable contributing, the same goes for my students. It is important not to become frustrated when a technology has flaws, but rather, work together to work through the bumps in the road. Our group was able to effectively communicate, which allowed everyone to have a final say in the project. As a teacher, it is important that when my students are using Glogster they are all voicing their opinions and contributing to the poster.  Only once all members are contributing can true collaboration take place.

If I were to develop a similar product again, I would do three things differently to ensure the success of our project. First, I would have divided up the work load so that all group members were researching the tool. Although it worked well that two group members researched while the other two created the final project, it may have been more effective had all group members researched a particular aspect and reported back. Another part that I would change is the information covered. It was much more difficult to meet the time limit than initially expected. There was so much information that we felt was important to the tutorial but if we had to do it again, pieces could be eliminated if necessary. By prioritizing the information, it would have been easier to determine what was vital to the presentation. Finally, I would have liked to have had all communication through email. It was difficult for everyone to check the angel communication forum each day, and through email, we could have been alerted immediately if there was a new message which needed attention. Although our group worked very well together and I am extremely proud of the final product, by altering these three elements, we could have avoided many bumps in the road.

Please view our group tutorial of the Web 2.0 tool Glogster below. This tutorial may also be viewed by clicking here.  Thank you for viewing our group tutorial. 

CEP 812: Part D- Findings and Implications

For my Wicked Project, I will be able to prove and measure success based on formative and summative assessments. One strong possibility is that not all parents will feel comfortable allowing their child’s work to be posted online even if it is anonymous. Since it would not be fair to compare students based on work produced, I will be closely following the attitude and ambition of my students. Are those students who know their work will be viewed by family more excited about their projects? Is more time spent on projects that are posted to the internet? More specifically, I will be requiring students to complete a self-evaluation after each project. This way, I can effectively measure student attitude in regards to the assignment and compare for each project to determine whether or not students are more motivated when their work is published. This will be in the form of a formative assessment, as I will be using this data throughout the school year to measure changes in attitude and self-reflection. Another formative assessment that I will be using is for the parents. I will be posting a poll to our wiki page, as well as sending home a parent evaluation. This will allow me to determine which parents are accessing the site, how often they view their child’s work, and whether or not they feel it helps their child to succeed in the classroom. I will send this home after each posted project and may alter the wiki based on responses. For example, if parents are not accessing the site, is it because it is too difficult? Should I create and add more tutorials on accessing each project? If the child is not receiving feedback from the parents, does the student know how to check for comments on their work? These formative assessments for both parents and students will help be to determine whether or not I am meeting my project goals, and will give me the opportunity to alter the project based on parent and student feedback.

Since the majority of this project is centered on parent-teacher-student communication, the best way to assess student progress is through summative assessments. One summative assessment that I will be using will be accessing the wiki to view student postings. Was the student able to upload their work successfully, read comments from family and friends, and respond through the site? I will be creating a rubric to determine whether or not students completed these tasks for each project. Of course, if a parent does not comment on the work, I too will be posting comments. Therefore, every student will have to post a response to at least one comment per project. I will also be conducting observations on the final work of my students. Do the students who have posted their work online receive a score of 80% or higher? How do the students who do not have parental support score? Were these students as motivated as others to complete their work? The focus of my project is the effect of positive parent-teacher-student communication, so it is necessary to measure the attitudes and success of students to fully understand whether or not my goals were met. As a simple addition, I will be adding a ticker to our classroom website to have a gauge of how many times the site has been visited. Did the count rise over 50% once student projects were posted? I will have to keep a chart to determine whether or not the site is visited more once student work is published and accessible. Finally, I will need to conduct a final survey for the parents and students. Did they feel that student achievement rose once work was posted? Since so much of this project is based on attitude and achievement, it is important to get feedback from parents and students about their own personal reflections. Based on this evaluation, I will alter my wiki site for the following year to make the wiki the best it can possibly be.

Through the listed formative and summative assessments, I am confident that I can determine whether or not I have achieved the goals set for my Wicked Project. It should become clear whether or not student success rises when parent-teacher-student communication is apparent. Through polls, rubrics, and parent/student evaluations, I will be able to not only measure attitudes about communication, but also view student progress and be able to link it to communication among the parents, teacher, and student. I am more excited than ever before to implement my Wicked Project in the fall. I am certain that with these assessments in place, I can effectively promote parent-teacher-student communication to benefit students and their learning. 

Revisions: In addition to the previously mentioned assessments, I will also be giving parent and student surveys to all families at the beginning and end of the school year. This will be used to measure any increase in attitudes regarding communication and its effect on student achievement. For those parents who do not have a home computer or internet access, they have been invited to our classroom before or after school, during lunch, or at special area times. I have also suggested using a computer at the local library. Considering these comments and revisions, I am hopeful that all parents will have the opportunity to communicate with their child, and an increase in student achievement will be evident. 

CEP 812: Mobile Learning Lab

I was excited to join the Cell Phones in Education group as this is something my school has been considering implementing. Although I teach first grade and might have difficulty requiring my students to use cell phones, there are many ways that our upper-elementary teachers could utilize the tool. I chose to focus on getting students to remain on task and not become distracted by cell phones during a lesson. Therefore, I joined a discussion which was centered on the importance of creating expectations which allow all cell phones to be visible to the teacher. This gives teachers the opportunity to do a quick scan of the room, and ensures that all students are focused and engaged in the lesson. Please view a screenshot of my comment below:

For my contribution I wrote:

Hi Sara, That is a great idea of how to keep track of cell phones and ensure that all students are on task. Even though the students may be using phones only designed for this purpose, it is still entirely possible for them to become distracted by the technology. Many of the older students in our school would certainly spend a great deal of energy trying to use the phones for personal use, even if it is not possible. I love the idea of keeping all phones in a visible location so that the teacher can quickly scan the room to make sure all students are following directions. If working in groups, a student could even be assigned responsibility of the phones, to ensure that all members in the group are using the tool effectively. Thank you for sharing your idea!

I also used Poll Everywhere to create a student interest survey for my first grade students. I have included screenshots of the questions that I created. Please click here to view the poll site. The session keyword is 332347.

While I would definitely use this tool for older students, my young learners may have trouble using a cell phone to respond. Our school has SMART board Response Clickers which achieve the same goal, and results can be anonymous or linked to a student. I have used these clickers and found that my students were able to use them relatively easily. I am not sure that I would want to introduce another survey tool because our entire school is using the clicker system and the students have experience with it.  If I did not have access to the clickers, I would absolutely find a way to incorporate this tool into my teaching since it provides instant feedback to better understand student learning.

After researching each of the technology tools presented in our mobile learning lab, I found three in particular to have the most benefit for my first grade students. The first is the use of mp3 players in the classroom. I have recently bought mp3 players for my classroom where I will be uploading audio books. In first grade, it is so important that students have the opportunity to listen to reading as they are building fluency skills. This will allow my students to listen and follow along with a fluent reader to experience tone, expression, etc. The only concern that I have for this technology is headphone use. I really don’t want my students to share headphones, and I know a lot of my students’ parents would be against it. I considered asking each student to bring in their own, but I know not all of them have headphones and possibly could not afford new ones. I have also thought about buying a pair for each student, but this will be expensive for me.  Once I am able to work through this issue, I look forward to using mp3 players in my classroom.

                

 The second tool that I would like to implement in my classroom is E-Book readers. I am constantly looking for ways to promote literacy fluency with my first grade students. As a teacher, I have noticed that my students are much better readers with bigger font. Using an E-book reader would allow my students to alter font sizes, and choose from a wide-variety of literature. My concern with this tool is the cost. E-Book readers are extremely expensive! I would love to buy a class set of E-Book readers; however, I know that this is not possible without a large grant. If there were a less expensive version of this tool available, I would absolute invest in a few.  It is hard for me to justify spending so much money on a tool that basically stores and increases text size, when the same could be done with my document camera for certain students if necessary.

                 

The third piece of technology that would be beneficial for my classroom is a flip camera. I have been considering buying a flip camera and after further researching, I have decided to purchase one. Flip cameras have so many benefits for the students and me. One way that I would love to use a flip camera is to increase positive student behaviors in school. The students can view their own behavior through a recorded video to help determine whether or not they are showing behaviors of an effective learner.  I would also love to record reader’s theatre, as well as students reading aloud in general. This way, the students can reflect to help build fluency. In addition to using the flip camera for digital stories and presentation recording, I could also use it to better my teaching practices. By recording my teaching and reviewing the video, I can better determine how to be a more effective teacher. There are so many advantages to using this flip cam. My one concern with integrating this tool is privacy issues. Many parents do not want their child to be videotaped, and therefore, I would need to create a permission form. Alternate assignments would be created for those students who are unable to be videotaped.

                 

As mentioned, although I researched each of the tools presented in our mobile learned lab, the previously mentioned technologies would be the most beneficial for my students. Assuming I am able to work through these difficulties and concerns, I would not hesitate to integrate all three of these technologies into my teaching. While I would consider using cell phones in my classroom, I predict that my young students would either become confused by the technology, or get very distracted.  I would use cell phones only if I spent a great deal of time modeling the tool and explaining expectations. As of now, these three listed technologies would be the most beneficial for me as an educator.

CEP 811: Online Teaching Experiences

As I searched through the Michigan Merit Curriculum’s Online Experience Guideline, I was introduced to numerous resources that I would consider using in my first grade classroom. The technology that I found to qualify the best for my own students would be Interactive Discussions between Students. More specifically, Read around the Planet would greatly benefit my students across the curriculum. As an intern teacher of a third grade classroom, I was given the opportunity to set up a virtual meeting with a class in Texas through this program. Each class read the same story, and our class performed skits representing how to be a good friend. The class in Texas had written poems in groups that were shared. At the end of the virtual meeting, students were able to ask and answer questions in a discussion format about the other class’s school, state, etc. This was an amazing experience, and one that I would recommend to all teachers.

               

I am currently a first grade teacher and Read around the Planet would absolutely help me to teach the content found in our state standards. By creating a writing activity centered on a central book, state standards in the area of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing are all able to be met. This tool could easily be adapted across the curriculum especially in the areas of Language Arts, Social Studies, Health, and Science. Although this tool was specifically designed for reading purposes, classes are matched based on availability, topic, and grade level. As long as two teachers are able to collaborate and agree on a subject, this feature can easily be adapted across the curriculum. Not including the reading aspect and supplemental activities (which will absolutely cover a great deal of content dependent upon topic and activities), the following Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations will be met through a virtual meeting. Students will:

S.CN.01.02 explore and use language to communicate with a variety of audiences and for different purposes including making requests, solving problems, looking for solutions, constructing relationships, and expressing courtesies.

S.CN.01.03 speak effectively maintaining appropriate posture, eye contact, and position using props such as photographs or illustrations in narrative and informational presentations.

S.CN.01.04 present in standard American English if it is their first language.

S.DS.01.03 respond to multiple text types by reflecting, making meaning, and making connections.

S.DS.01.04 plan and deliver presentations using an informational organizational pattern (e.g., descriptive, enumerative, or sequential) providing several facts and details to make their point while maintaining appropriate posture and eye contact using a prop.

L.CN.01.03 listen to or view knowledgeably while demonstrating appropriate social skills of audience behaviors (e.g., eye contact, attentive, supportive) in small and large group settings; listen to the comments of a peer and respond on topic adding a connected idea.

                  

There are many pedagogical strategies that I would use with my students when adopting this resource.  Students would be working with others in a small-group and whole-group format in order to prepare for the presentation. Cooperative learning will be evident, as students work together to fully prepare for the event.  The topic chosen will be student-centered while the reader focuses on self-to-text connections. Since my students are very young, I would make sure to correctly model the activity needed to prepare for the meeting.  For example, if the students were creating short skits we would spend time researching skits, how to write them, and what audiences may want to view from a skit. A great deal of discussion would be utilized in the virtual meeting, as all students would be expected to contribute.  Technology will be integrated as we research our topic, and I will also create interactive SMART board lessons to begin scaffolding student thinking. Between the preparation for Read around the Planet and the actual virtual meeting, I am confident that a wide-variety of pedagogical strategies will be utilized.

                  

There were a few technologies that could be a bit difficult for my students. Although it would not be impossible for my first grade students, it may be hard for my students to take advantage of the RSS feature. While I could absolutely envision my students bookmarking a page, I would argue that since they are limited in their technology skills, this technology might be too overwhelming for them. I also think that blogging might be a bit difficult for this age group. I have considered creating a classroom blog; however, my students have trouble typing sentences on the computer. While I may require the students to post one sentence to a blog, this would be the extent. In addition, the teacher would absolutely need to be available for technical difficulties. A Learning Management System would also be hard for a first grade student to navigate through effectively, and the Online Resource Validation technologies would most likely be confusing for beginners. As a teacher, it is crucial that I do not overwhelm my students, but rather, choose tools that are beneficial for them as learners. Although I could adapt the majority of these technologies so that my students could use them, it is my goal to find the best resources for them to promote technology skills and learning. 

 Read around the Planet: 3rd Grade