Educational Chat/PLN

Week 10: If Your Spring Breaks, Do You Have Insurance?

Spring Break on the Mountain!

As we get ready to meet for the last time before spring break, take a moment to reflect on all that you have accomplished so far. There has been a lot of great work and effort going on in our class. I hope you all can appreciate the progress you have made. I know I do!
Don't forget that we are starting out the evening in an educational chat on Twitter. The time is from 5pm to 6pm and the hashtag is #ntchat, which stands for new teacher chat. All but one of us was present last week, so I believe everyone knows what to do! I will be in class early as well to help. This is a great way to get part of your PLN assignment completed.
You should have a fair amount of work in progress: Journals 6-10, the PLN (Journal 7), Symbaloo, NETS narratives, and your Prezi.  Tonight, we will do the educational chat, work on the Prezi, learn how to use Google Forms to create an assessment of the Prezi, discuss Journal 8 (also the Adaptive Technology assignment), and receive an introduction to the Emerging Technology Checklist! I have graded everything that is due so far. I have even received a few Symbaloo certification email forwards, so I'm glad to hear that is going well.
Looking at the rest of the semester, we only have four more assignments: a collaborative cybersafety website, an iMovie PSA (public service announcement), a NETS-T mind map, and the writing of your complete narratives (NETS-T II-V). Easy, right? 

This Week's Question: If you could go anywhere you want for spring break, where would you go? And realistically, what are you doing next week?  (I will be going snowboarding in Mammoth with a large group of friends again this year!)

Week 9: Time for a Pre-Zen-Tation!

Wow, we are clearly reaching the end of our experience. I want to commend you all on your willingness to take chances and to also support your peers. Our small group really allows me to do things that I haven't been able to do in awhile. The collaborative narratives went better than they ever have and I had time to explain in much greater depth. This gives me hope for the rest of your narratives. . .no pressure, though ;-)
Tonight, we are going to look at a PowerPoint alternative - Prezi. It's a non-linear web-based presentation tool that is just getting better and better. We will be creating a presentation looking at the NETS for students (NETS-S) and how you might be able to integrate technology for your particular grade level. Don't forget that we still have many other assignments in the works. . .There are the Journals 6-10, the PLN, Symbaloo Certification, NETS-T narratives, and any other project you haven't finished.
I will be in class early to help anyone who needs assistance! This would be a great time to get some quality one-on-one help if you need it!

This Week's Question: What has been the hardest course you have taken in school at any level and why?

Week 8: It's Time to be Great!

My Lily Rose blowing bubbles. . .

Okay, couldn't help the rhyme with the week number. However, I am feeling like everyone is making great progress toward their technological competence. As a small group, we will definitely share the drafts of the NETS-I collaborative narratives. I am optimistic that we can get these perfected by the end of class tonight. . .I never said I was a realist. . .

Tonight, we will take another look at the NETS-I collaborative narratives, work on your Excel assignment (Bring those headphones!), and get an introduction to Symbaloo and the PLN assignment. . .This is a very unique opportunity for this group as the Computer Using Educators Conference is this week. The hashtag for the conference is #cue13. I suggest you put it in your TweetDeck and then you can participate in the conference virtually. . .This is a great opportunity to see some of the most current technologies in CA and beyond. . . It will also count as an educational chat on Twitter if you are able to grab at least 10 awesome tweets and reflect on what your learned or why they spoke to you. . .

We have also moved into Journals 6-10, so there is always going to be something on your plate. Thanks for all of your hard work and support as you become technology ninjas!!

This week's Question: Do you think the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam) should be required to graduate high school? Why or why not?

Week 7: Getting Back on the Saddle

After a week off, I sincerely hope we can gallop through the rest of the semester without anyone falling off her/his horse. I appreciate all of the kind words and thoughts many of you posted on Edmodo about the passing of my father. He was a funny man who is often credited for my dry sense of humor ;-)

Last week, you were to have completed the rough draft of your NETS-I collaborative narratives. Even though we didn't have class, you were to have had those completed in order to receive feedback from me. As we didn't have class, I had to postpone the feedback from me, but all of your rough drafts should have been written. Most of you did not complete this. Hopefully, you can get this completed before class begins this evening. Please pay close attention to the format for writing the narratives. I created it in order to make the writing, clear, concise and easier to write. If you can understand the format, it will make the writing of NETS II-V much, much easier. I expect to go over these in great detail tonight.

I have graded all of the work that has been submitted and was due. Please check Edmodo to find your grades and/or comments recommending what needs to be submitted/revised. I will be closing week 2 and 3 soon. . .please pay attention to your grades! Also, I sent everyone an Edmodo Alert requesting that you bring headphones to class tonight. . .I hope you all got the message. Tonight, I will introduce the Microsoft Excel assignment where you will do a fun project following a video tutorial.

I look forward to seeing everyone this evening!

This Week's Question: What is something you have learned well without formal teaching?  How did you learn it?  This could be a sport, hobby, musical instrument, etc. .

Week 6: In Loving Memory of Joe Heil

This is the last picture I took of my father. It was my parents' 50th wedding anniversary last May.

Week Five: You Can Never Step into the Same TaskStream Twice

Okay, so the inspiration for the title of the post comes from an ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus who was a proponent of the ever-changing nature of the universe. . .His actual quote:

"No man ever steps in the same river twice"

This, of course, is reference to TaskStream and the nature of your TPE 14 narratives. I will spend a lot of time this evening discussing TaskStream and how to use Google Drive to write your narratives. While you may not love the narrative writing necessary for TaskStream, you will love the features and possibilities of Google Drive. The power of Google Drive might even be referred to as "life-altering," but that will be determined by you. .

I am trying to finish the grading for the School 2.0 assignment. I only have about three  students who need to either revise or submit. And don't forget about your Journal 1-5 assignment. We are actually on week 3 of 4 so you should try to keep up.

I will ensure everyone has submitted the classroom newsletter and answer any question from the Diigo/social bookmarking assignment. We will also revisit the use of Twitter as an educational tool. (Would someone remind me of educational chats. . .) And let's not forget to talk about Google+

This Week's Question: Who was one of your favorite teachers at any level and why??