Writings about our journey during this TLLP year.
Starting Points for one teacherJournal Entry #1
Sept 14, 2013 Ted McKinney Journal Entry – My Comfort Level with technology and the LMS I am fortunate to have had a year in which to work with the LMS system and to have had access to our elearning contact to answer questions that came up. I learned many things about what the LMS and D2L could do for me and for my students. I especially liked the dropbox format for handing in assignments, especially written work. I used the News tool on occasion and the calendar as well. These are both areas that I would like to spend more time on. I did not use this system to its full advantage on a regular enough basis to be proficient with it, however. Problems arose with trying to use the system to broadly to start with. There was an assumption on my part that the students would take to this easily and find learning this way to be intrinsically appealing. There is a LOT of independence necessary for an open-ended approach to this format. For students at this level, I feel that a greater amount of time needs to be spent in teaching and practicing how to maneuver the system. I think that early frustrations in finding assignments, dropboxes, etc. were never overcome by some students and caused unnecessary roadblocks to the system’s use. Technical issues such as what programs work best, hardware that did not speak to each other , were an issue at times and continue to plague my thoughts while planning for this year. I need modelling on the ipads to see the LMS in use on them. I also need to make this method of program delivery a true part of my everyday teaching so I do not see it as an add-on. I need to rework my class blog, finding the time for this has apparently been an issue for me so far, but is a priority this week as I have made this the plan for homework communication for both students and parents. I want to find apps for students to use that will enable them to easily communicate their answers to math problems and allow me to mark up their work, providing the one-on-one feedback that they need. I would like to see them able to show that work through apple tv to the rest of the class and allow peer feedback as well. Journal entry #2
Ted McKinney This has been an interesting month. We have begun using the LMS system and our classroom laptops on a fairly regular basis. There have been some issues surrounding a learning curve with students new equipment not working with interactive elements and flash elements, esp with Windows 8 operating systems. Some time has been required to sort this out. It turns out that running IE in “desktop mode” on those systems seems to work better. I began by biting off a big project in two subjects in the LMS, a math session dealing with Factoring and a Science session on Ecosystems. Both had great content within the LMS, with links to video (Learn 360), interactive elements downloaded from the OERB and IXL Math, and Gizmo’s from Elearning Ontario. LOTS of passwords to keep track of for my students. I created and copied a table for them to fill out and store at the front of their binders to keep track of all those passwords and usernames. SEE BELOW This has greatly reduced frustration for most students. As my class is mostly using their own equipment, many students have had the sites “remember” their codes. Students have had a variety of responses to learning in this fashion. Some have taken to it really well, staying organized and focused and completing all tasks within or before expected deadlines. The other end of the spectrum exists as well. There are a couple who really struggle with independent and self-monitoring work and they (and I) are feeling some frustration at being late with assignments and needing to stay in to get work done. My parents, too, are all across the board from being very positive and proactive with helping their child with the technology, to the fearful and uneducated parents, who I am sure are frustrated by this new method. I have attempted to keep parents up to date with issues, and have supported both students and parents whenever possible. There have been a few times I was more IT guy than teacher. However, these are just growing pains. The dropbox has been working well and students are using it to hand in assignments. Reminders of saving with proper extensions – ie as a pdf are needed. More to follow…… Journal Entry #3
BEDMAS questions Ted McKinney I administered a formative assessment of five bedmas questions to my class and found out that they knew the order of the steps of the operations, but not how to show their work effectively. The results of this assessment after three days of work and discussion on BEDMAS were discouraging at best – few of the students passed the assessment. Using my Ipad and Apple TV, I demonstrated again to the class the full steps involved in solving the problems. I used Educreations to take an image of a problem and solved it, with the classes help live on Apple TV. I then reinforced the necessity for each line to be equivalent to the line above (I had noticed that the students were inserting their rough work as a full line of the solution) I underlined the step I was solving and then pointed out that the answer to that part appeared in the next line of the solution. I divided the class into six groups and gave each an Ipad. The students confirmed through the App store the download of Educreations without difficulty – almost intuitively – many had used the App store before for their own phones and pads. They then followed my example to take an image of a question and worked through the solution. Each group took turns presenting their work to the class with the Apple TV, learning how that worked as we went. They were very excited by using this tool. I took video with my ipad as the students worked their problems and presented their solutions. Upon examining this lesson closer and watching the video’s with a colleague, I realized that this was a three part math lesson in its entirety. The whole process took under an hour. To add to my excitement of this is the fact that the summative assessment performed by the class the next day, showed 100% of the students at level 3 or higher in both their answers and the form in which their solutions were presented. Movie to follow Journal Entry #4
Isometric Drawing Ending the school year on a high note was super. When one usually thinks our students are
"done" or just ready for the Christmas holidays, my class had one of
our best math periods of the year!
My goal was simple and laid out in writing, both on paper for each group and as a news item on the LMS. Groups knew what they were going to learn, how they were going to learn the material through the assigned task, and what their final product should look like to show their learning. The timing of the assignment took longer than epected,but the students were excited to come in after recess and get back to work (except for the two groups who chose to stay in and keep working). Our principal was invited to come in that morning to watch the students in action with the iPads. She got so caught up in the activity that a group shared their iPad with her so she could try her hand at the activity as well. "They are so focused," Mrs. Lamon said. "It is so great to see the intensity of their concentration." Pretty cool on the second last day before Christmas break. Journal Entry 5
Feb 10, 2014
It's hard to believe where January went. Two days meeting with the TLLP team , a CPLC day, students NEVER outside due to the wind chill in Northern Ontario (North America?) Did I mention finishing up units and writing report cards? Yes, we have all been very busy in January. Needless to say, ipad use was down a bit in January, but we still managed to use them a bit and plans are under way to utilize them even more leading up to March break. Plans are made for using them for fractions and integers |
By: Tony Coccimiglio
September 2013 My first experience with the Learning Management System (LMS) was back in June of 2012. I was intrigued by the level of activities and lessons that the system had in place. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the follow up workshops that were available. Always looking for new and inventive material to have the students engaged in lessons, I began to use more internet-based resource materials. These included Learn 360, Smart Exchange the Ontario Educational Resource Bank and many other websites that offered a new and exciting way to teach the curriculum. When the opportunity arose to be part of a TLLP that incorporated the LMS system, I gladly accepted. Having a web-based site that will help plan, mark, meet expectations and engage students at your fingertips is ideal. I look forward to learning the true potential of the Learning Management System and motivate the students with the use of technology in the classroom. Using this tool will help my students and myself become learners of the next generation The Journey Continues
By: Tony Coccimiglio
October 2013 I wish I could say that it has been a smooth transition incorporating the TLLP at the school level. It has not been! Have experienced some very frustrating days with waiting for equipment to come in, equipment to be purchased, internet servers being down, the hoops to have to go through to receive answers, the availability of laptops, converting files, uploading files and downloading files and viewing the flash content (interactive elements) on the LMS using the ipads. All of these combined has not been very positive during the first month. It has been a long learning curve using the LMS both for myself and the students. With the help of the boards e-learning teacher, things have started to turn around. With the intent to have the class login daily, I have started to post the students’ homework nighty. Also, I have been using the LMS content and releasing it to the class in various subjects. Also, using my personal content and uploading it to the specific subject areas ... always trying to find new and creative ways to integrate the LMS and the ipads into the classroom. Looking for new and “free” apps to helps students with their learning. The students are starting to see the benefits and enjoy having the information at their fingertips. Overall it has been a very interesting few months and I look forward to what the rest of the school year will bring. |
by Claudia Greco, Sept. 2013
I have been interested in learning about new technolgies since my first expereince with a computer in my honours year at Western! I remember resisting the idea of using one for fear I wouldn't "get it" and I'd look stupid. Once I used it, though, I realized how important it would be to keep up on the latest developments. I immersed myself in computer courses and became a "vanguard" when our Board first entered into the world of school laptops. I was always seeking more effective ways to use the ever-advancing technologies in my teaching. I was initally introduced to the LMS 3 years ago when, with Lorenzo DiCerbo's guidance, I tried to use it with my class for a blended learning project in math. The class never really bought into it and I had a difficult learning to use effectively. I abandoned it and refocused my learning on using the SMARTboard and SMART Notebook to enhance my teaching. I have since tried to do blended learning on my own through very simple home-made class websites but have found they really don't do everything I want them to do. When the opportunity arose to learn about using the LMS once again, I jumped at the chance. As excited as I am to learn to use the LMS to enhance my teaching, I am also a little overwhelmed by the possibilites. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues in learning to use this tool effectively, and then being able to share my learning with others. It has le-lit the spark! October 2013 I have to say, my first attempt was generally a bomb. The students were able to log in, find the course home and select the activity I had planned for them to do but it went downhill quickly from there! The video I tried to show didn't play properly....the image kept scrolling down and vibrating, making it impossible to use. The students tried to post their responses to the "discussions" board but to no avail. I ended up printing out the acitivity for them to do and there were nowhere near the discussions I had hoped would be generated. I tired a second time to use it toady. I gave them Assignment 1: the Toilet Paper Challenge but, even though I'd saved it as a .doc file in my content area, when the students tried to open it, they couldn't because it was an .rtf file. I tried to get them to change it themselves but couldn't. Aagain, I ended up printing it out for them to do but the effect was definitely NOT the same! I'm sure it's something simple to fix but it's really difficult to figure out myself and our Board eLC is not always available at the same times that I am. I wonder if there's a youtube tutorial out there that I can access. Going to check it out right now. Discovered I have no idea what to search for so I guess I'll wait 'till our next meeting tomorrow afternoon. Love the idea but frustrated by my inability to figure out how to use it myself. :( ****Note: shared this at the meeting today and it was suggested that I use Firefox instead of Safari. Going to try this tomorrow. :) November Reflection As suggested after our last meeting, I tried using Firefox to play the videos through the LMS and it worked! We skimmed through the lesson as a whole class because, after two failed attempts, we all wanted to see it in action. We had already moved on to the next concept, caluclating the volume and capacity of cylinders, so I didn't actually assign the activity for individual student completion. Because of the lack of meaninglful discussions after our first use of the LMS, we also discussed what kinds of responses would be appropriate to leave in the discussion forum. I know I will have to model this again the next time we use the LMS. Using Learning Goals and Success Criteria are a focus of our Board and using them to self- and peer-assess is a skill that will need to me taught. I can see how this will be closely tied to giving the students descriptive feedback as I and they will have to be more cognisant of what the learning goals and success criteria are for each assignment in order to know what they need to do to improve their learning. I would like to say that I have become comfortable with the LMS but, unfortunately, it has had lots of competition for my time: I have a student teacher who's been with me intermittently for 6 weeks, I coach the First LEGO League robotics club after school 2 -3 days per week and my macbook pro died, resulting in my not having access to any of my "stuff" for over 2 weeks until I was able to get and set up its replacement. I will have much more time to devote to learning to use the LMS once my student teacher's placement is finished this Friday and our LEGO competition is over this Saturday. The new year will bring renewed focus! June Thoughts.... It's been quite a journey so far. I have not really gotten as far along as I had hoped I would. While we've been experimenting with app-smashing and developing success criteria to help us give effective descriptive feedback, using the technology on a regular basis has been problematic. The band-width can't accommodate all of our devices and updating apps is particularly slow. Also, many of the students just want to do things using chart paper and markers. Finally, there are so many apps out there with great reviews that I often feel overwhelmed and unable to decide which ones to use, let alone get to know how to use them with competence. Guess I know what I'll be doing with my spare time this summer! October 2014 Well, it's a new year but the tech problems at our school are even worse now that they've "fixed" the server problems. My Apple tv no longer works with our system as it has been reconfigured and I end up bringing the ipads home weekly to update them, which is a huge pain. It takes forever to load pages in the LMS and the students can rarely all access it at the same time. I have created my own class web-site to deal with some of the issues but I'm still hoping the LMS will work out for me. On the plus side, I have now started incorporating success criteria into most of my lessons, often co-creating them with the students, and using the Achievement Categories for assessment, both of which make giving descriptive feedback much easier. The students seem to like the specificity of the feedback and it makes it less onerous for them to make corrections and achieve levels 3 and 4. There are still lots of bugs for me to work out but I feel confident about moving forward! |