ED 714 Reflection: Comparing PLE Diagrams and Plans

As I looked through the various mind maps of my classmates I came across one that really peaked my interest and that was Catherine’s. Seeing that I spent a lot of time in hangouts last week for one of my assignments and Catherine's map was based on hangouts I decided to look into hers a little further . What interested me was that her map outlined the different ways she could use Google hangouts within her school and among both students and staff. At the center was the word Google Hangout and on the left stemmed student activities with hangouts and on the right teacher hangouts. Students could use hangouts as a way to have book chats, ask for homework help, engage in discourse and collaboration. Teachers could use hangouts for professional development, which is where our district also wants to move towards. They  could also engage in book studies, curriculum, and relevant circles through Google hangouts. The fact that you can record hangouts would allow for teachers and students to access or refer to the information that was talked about whenever they needed it. I think this was a very effective and powerful way of showing how she plans to implement hangouts in her school.

My map differed in that I centered my networking around a S.T.E.M theme and addressed how I networked with teachers, students, math coaches and administration whether it be digitally or through other venues. My goal is to expand upon my digital footprint and am thinking about how I could implement hangouts effectively in my school or district as well.

ED 714 Shooloo Tutorial using screencast

My tutorial is on math website that I came across during this summer's IT & Digital Media Program. The name of the site  is called Shooloo. It serves as a forum for math students and teachers to create and post word problems. I like that the sight lets students be creative in that they write their own problem and attach a picture along with it. What is really engaging for students is that it combines math and social media in that it has them follow other students and comment or rate (like) their word problem posts. Although there a variety of things to do within the site my tutorial focuses on how to create and post a word problem. I think you will agree that this could be a very valuable tool in the math classroom. Please view the tutorial below:

My Network Learning Project - Final Post

How to Sell on eBay

This network project taught me a lot. Not only did I learn how to post an item on eBay, but I became more familiar with the functions on my chrome book especially with the uploading, renaming and editing of photos. My initial goal was to do everything using my Chromebook, if possible. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful in that goal and spent A LOT of time trying to videotape my network learning project using a power point in Google hang-outs. You may have even seen my testing videos or randomly have been invited to a hang-out! And I thank Amy for posting a video on how to go about doing that but it just didn't work out for me. I did however learn more about hang-outs on air and would love to use that feature in the future.  My final project was done using screen cast-o-matic along with my power point. It was my first time using a screen cast program. Please view below the steps I took in learning about my project.

Now that I know the process I plan to post more items on ebay and hopefully make a small profit!

ED 714 Creating and Curating my Digital Identity to detail the connections in my PLE

ED 714  Creating and Curating my Digital Identity to detail the connections in my Personal Learning Environment

As a member of my school’s STEM committee I am actively involved in the many projects, programs, partnerships, grants, etc. that we have implemented into our curriculum. I decided to use coggle to create a mind map of how and who I currently network with in the 4 branches of STEM. And although they are not all digitally based I added in all aspects of how I am involved in STEM as a platform for creating and curating my digital identity in detailing my PLE. The map shows the association I have with teachers, students, and businesses in the realm of STEM. My hope is to replace or curate more digital practices with, and in addition to, the current connections I have in my PLE.  

Here is my mindmap:

My Learning Project- Selling on eBay

ED 714

Latest Update on My Learning Project - Listing on ebay

The last avenue of research I had outlined in "learning how to list an item on eBay" was the photo. I learned  the following tips from online sources on how to take the best photo for an item on eBay:

use a good camera

use natural light

item should be clean and in good condition

take every or any angle of the object that you can

use a contrasting color for the background i.e. black for light items and white for dark items

Since I was listing 2 children's winter jackets (blue and grey) and a blue iPod as my first items I used an off white background and took the pictures in my backyard with natural light.

Pictures below show the setting of the photos:

Next steps are to sign up, uploads the pictures, write a description, and make a pay pal account. All of which I will be doing on the ebay website.  

ED 714 Connectivism, Curation, etc.

My Understanding of PLN’s

Part of my job as a math coach in my school district is to support teachers who are teaching math. In addition, I am to provide them with professional development on whatever new math program, strategy, assessment, data program , etc. comes our way. So in thinking about how I would demonstrate my understanding of  Professional Learning Networks I decided to show how I would promote PLN’s  within my school community using Padlet as a tool. I focused my Padlet around our Math in Focus Program with an intent to not only introduce the program and give background knowledge on the Singapore Approach but also to slowly immerse the teachers into the various environments in which they could share their thoughts and ideas about math. My Padlet design includes youtube videos, websites for practice, and a blog link for teachers to use and explore. By connecting them to the Padlet page teachers don’t have to wait for my next PD session. They can easily access the Padlet page at their convenience. I think of it as a way to give them a jump-start into a variety of places that they can learn, grow and share professionally. My hope is that the teachers at my school will eventually begin their own PLN that is personalized and of their own professional interest.

Once I started the design (with some guidance and input from my classmate Roisin) the whole concept of what I was trying to achieve became clearer. I would love to truly implement this into my school this coming year. I think the idea of using social media communication in an educational setting would really excite the teachers in my school.

Please visit my Padlet page:

http://padlet.com/wall/elizabethhick