Theme+3+-+Modeling+Digital-Age+Work,+Collaboration,+and+Learning

Goal 3

Students often learn the best by observing something and then trying it on their own. By collaborating with other teachers and parents in projects and everyday activities, I am setting that positive example for my students to follow. If they see the advantages of working together with others on digital age work, they are more likely to try it themselves. Also, I hope that by sharing things that I have learned in my classes, I will show my students how working together with others online can be beneficial. I also have students use online wikis to collaborate in research attempts through the school year.

By taking classes for my Masters degree online, I am showing my students that learning can take place anywhere, anytime. Students have so many options when it comes to media for learning, and online learning is becoming very popular for any subject area. I hope that I can continue to model for students the importance of using every resource available to learn the most that you can.

Artifact 1: The Global Achievement Gap (Level 2) http://teammidwest.wikispaces.com/

This wiki was created by Caleb Abraham, Mark Dolde, Laura Ullman, and Rachel Pierson. I specifically worked on the page titled "The Significance of the Global Achievement Gap". We worked together to explore the concept of a global achievement gap in education. We spent time on Skype discussing the issue, as well as hours evaluating and editing the material that we each discovered. We showed the quality and type of work that can be created when motivated individuals work collaboratively. This same concept could be applied in classrooms of any age to create digital projects.

Artifact 2: Good Research Skills Lesson Plan (Level 1) I have created a lesson plan that can be used to introduce how to search the internet effectively. One of the biggest issues faceing students who do their research on the internet is evaluating the information that they find. There is so much junk on the internet, and students need to have the skills necessary to research effectively. This artifact demonstrates strategies to teach students how to evaluate internet resources.

Artifact 3: Technology Review (Level 1) In this review, I look at how Pinterest can be used to share ideas. There are many times when I have trouble coming up with ideas for a bulletin board, or a lab idea. When I get stuck, I go to Pinterest to search for ideas that others have shared. I also shared some of my ideas. When I do find an idea, I give the original owner the credit. When I share this with the students, I stress the importance of searching for material, so you don't need to reinvent the wheel, but also give credit to those who did the work. By showing students what I have contributed, they can see the value ot sharing the work that you have created with others so that they may be inspired.

Artifact 4: Student based email communication (Level 2) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rful25IE10eEOk0sobrqK8f9z8n7ZAuJ_pK21VpZ1So/edit?usp=sharing Before tests, I create a study guide for students. I share this document via email and encourage students to ask any questions that they may have. This is email communication from one of my 7th grade students concerning the items that she was curious about. By using this form of communication, it is encouraging them to ask questions while also allowing me to give personalized responses.

Artifact 5: Conserving Water PSA (Level 1) http://youtu.be/Vc2zC9Q7j74

One of the topics in the 6th grade science curriculum is about water. To help students get an understanding of conserving water, I created this PSA about conserving water. I have showed this video to my class as an introduction to this concept. I have encouraged students to make their own PSA about topics that are important to them.

Artifact 6: FIRST Lego League presentation (Level 3) http://youtu.be/kjNzYyPKIYg

Students on our FIRST Lego League team create a project each year. The topic for 2013 dealt with natural disasters. We identified a problem of people driving on flooded roads. To solve this problem, we talked with local policemen, the drain commission, and the public works office. We worked with them to create a product that would help to solve this problem. Students worked together with adults to research and write a skit that shows the problem and the solution. The end product was a PSA that was recorded at a local radio station. By modeling for them how to work together, as well as work with others in the community, students expanded their audience and the scope of their research project.

Artifact 7: Student produced lab reports (Level 3) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1klfXJPNLdz9uR7VaUC34oDDWqfdfYU3p9Zpu3rAtLYs/edit?usp=sharing

Students were given instructions to use Google Docs to create a lab report for a gummy bear experiment that was conducted at the beginning of the year. Students worked together collaboratively on this project, with different students contributing to various parts of the assignment. I worked with students, sharing ideas and tips as they went along. When they were finished, I made additional comments for students to see ways to improve their work. This was also a great opportunity for students to work together, as they had to communicate with each other to make sure that the final product reflected all opinions in the group.

Artifact 8: BYOD Policy (Level 3) When I wrote this policy, I took the research that I had done, as well as best practices for BYOD policies, and used them to write a policy that would best serve our students. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators were shown why technology is important for schools. They were also shown why working collaboratively is important for students. I also modeled collaboration by gaining input from a variety of stakeholders to create a policy that met the needs of everyone involved.