Formative and Summative Assessments

 A formative assessment is an assessment that is less "formal."  It is used to see what information students already know, or what they have learned so far.  However, this is usually not for grading purposes, but instead to promote learning and self-efficacy while also giving teachers feedback.  These assessments are helpful when teaching for learning.

Summative assessment is a more "formal" type of assessment.  Summative assessments are more tests based. For example, after covering a unit, or several units, the teacher may have a summative assessment, or graded test over the information. These assessments aim to summarize learning up to that specific point. They may also be used to identify weaknesses.

I think both of these types of assessment are great.  I really like formative assessments because I feel that a lot of the type they are more beneficial to both the student and the teacher.  In the classroom, I can use formative assessments often to see what the students know and what they are picking up on.  It is also great feedback for me because if there is any area they did not pick up on that is important I may need to review the content with them. I think formative assessments throughout a unit will then help students better prepare for summative assessments. I can then use summative assessments after discussing an entire unit to make sure the students learned what they were supposed to.

I think there are various ways to use instructional technologies in support of assessments.  I think creating  group or individual projects is a great idea because students can then visually present what they know.  Glogster and Prezi would be a couple good resources. Popplet may be used as well.  It all depends on what your preferences are as a teacher.

Professional Organizations

Professional organizations look great on resume's, but they are much more than that. They give you opportunities beyond the classroom.  You have the ability to get in contact with other people in your profession from across the U.S. as well as nationally. They are also great ways to get updated information about your field of study.  Many have places where you can subscribe to emails and also printed materials so you can have information sent to you.

A couple organizations relevant to my field are the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association, otherwise known as NSSLHA. The 2012 membership dues are $60 and an online applications is available. With a subscription you get access to members only journals, websites, and forums. As a member you also get a reduced fee to the National Convention.

Another organization is the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, otherwise knows as ASHA. The NSSLHA and ASHA sites are somewhat linked and provide much of the same information.  Details about the National Convention can be found on the ASHA site.

I am planning on joining National NSSLHA next year as a senior.  We have a local NSSLHA club here on campus that I am already involved in. The benefits as explained above will be very helpful when preparing for grad school.

Screenr video:http://www.screenr.com/jEd8

The Digital Divide

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AaEMZat1x7XgOcsMSF8ty33YxEN_J6ZpzZdYD5owjZs/edit


I see the digital divide fairly clearly.  I have sort of seen this first hand in my own high school.  One of my best friends never had a computer at home growing up, which made doing online assignments difficult.  Therefore, she always went to the library to use the computer.  Two years ago that all changed.

As part of a one-to-one laptop program, every kid in my school, 7-12 grade was issued a Macbook laptop to use for the school year.  Not only did it benefit students without computers at home, but it really made it easier for all of us.  It also helped in classes such as Chemistry because we had a program that worked with our computers to collect information. However, we are only 1 of 10 schools in the entire state of Iowa that had this awesome opportunity.  There are plenty of other schools with students that are probably going through the same problem as my friend.

As far as dealing with this problem when I begin teaching, I will just try to do my best to make sure the kids have access during school hours and try to make assignments not ridiculously long, so hopefully they will be able to finish the during class.  That way they shouldn't have a problem trying to get to a computer outside of school hours.  This may sound like I would be cutting down on assignments, but I think sometimes teachers overload students, and there is plenty they can learn right there in the classroom with a computer, without having to finish it at home. I would also encourage teachers to talk together to see if there are any programs out there like the one-to-one program.  I know we get technology grants to keep the program going, so it is definitely something worth looking into.

As teachers, I think doing the above is something we can do to lessen the digital divide.  It is in our hands to try our best to make sure our students have access to digital opportunities and they should not be limited because they don't have access outside of school.

http://popplet.com/app/#/226922

Bloom's Taxonomy and mind mapping can be interconnected very easily.  I could easily plan a class assignment having my students use a mind map to do a project.  I could then incorporate Bloom's Taxonomy by looking at each of the levels and using the key words that go along with those levels.

Using the remembering level, students may have to remember info previously taught in class to get the main idea of their map.

Using the understanding level, students would have to remember how the ideas fit together, and then classify them into a group or content area to serve as a sub-group to the main idea.

Using the applying level, students could add pictures to illustrate their ideas and why they fit together.

Using the analyzing level, the students can then see how their ideas differentiate and they can then compare and contrast them.

Using the evaluating level, the students can look at their mind mind and argue or defend why they put certain ideas where they did.

Using the creating level, the students can then assemble all their information together to possibly make a new point of view.

Using a structure similar to this, I could easily organize my ideas and think constructively about instructional technology.  It may be very interesting to create a mind map about all the different technological resources we have used in class and putting pros and cons, features, and the ideas we used to make them.  I think this would help me in the future in choosing which program to use and which ones can fit into Bloom's categories.

What Parents Should Know About Digital Citizenship

I chose to discuss these four things for a couple reasons.  First, I think they are all important for parents to know.  Second, I remember when I first started using technology and social networking sites and my mom was a little concerned.  At the time, she wasn't too great with technology herself because she hadn't grown up with it like I did.  I honestly had information available to everyone that I shouldn't have and I think it's important that parents monitor their kids for this reason. In my classroom I will teach about digital citizenship by telling personal stories, as well as giving parents things to read about the cyber world. I also think it's important that the parents get hands on experience so I hope to have them mess around on some sites that they use regularly.  This will help them know how to set privacy settings and know how to check when they ask their kids if their privacy settings are set. I think most parents understand that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are.  With that said, I will let them know how friends of friends can still see their child's information.  It is especially important to watch what you are posting, even as adults, if you have for example, a boss as a friend on your site.

As far as resources, I think the best resource is getting them logged onto sites and experience it themselves.  I would also have handouts of articles and videos for them to watch. I would probably send a paper home explaining what we will be doing on the internet in the classroom and have the parents sign a waiver to make sure it is okay.  After all, this is to learn more about digital citizenship.  The students may in fact be able to teach their parents a little bit about it.

I would deal with cyber bullying by making sure my students know they can talk to me about it.  They need to know that it is important that they tell someone what is going on.  I will also let them know that they can talk to their parents, as long as it is someone they know they can trust.  As far as preventative measures, I would tell the student that if it is happening through a chat online, to just sign off. The bully can't hurt them much when you're not available to talk to.

Universal Design for Learning

Hello everyone,

First off, I couldn't figure out how to link my book to my blog, so...
When you are in book builder, go to Public Library Books and type in "Learning Vowels in American Sign Language" and my book should come up!

Based on my understandings of UDL, I would say my book qualifies as a Universal Design for Learning.  I chose to do a book on sign language because I find the topic to be fascinating.  I love learning new words and how to make sentences, and I wanted to share this passion with others.  I figured doing the whole alphabet may be a bit long, so I chose to just do the vowels.  For those of you who enjoy it, I encourage you to learn the rest of the alphabet! When creating my book I was trying to think of ways to keep students engaged as well as making it universal.  The book on "Designing for Student Engagement and Comprehension" was a big help.  First, I created a title page with a picture of the entire alphabet, for those who are interested in learning more after reading the book.  I then explained how when signing, your palm should actually face towards the person you are talking to. The pictures are backward in order to show you how to make the handshape.  I purposely put a couple words in red lettering to help readers remember the important parts.  When making the actual pages of the book I did several things.  I first put a picture of each vowel handshake on it's own page. This is great for visual learners in general, but is also necessary in order to learn how to sign each vowel.  Under each picture I told what vowel was being shown in the picture.  I used different color fonts to keep the readers attention, but made sure they were visible on the page. I also made sure I didn't have any hanging words which can draw the readers attention away. On each page, I also used a helper with audio for people that learn best in hearing what they see. I also tried adding questions to each page to keep the reader involved.  You can tell by the questions that I made this book for younger students; however, it may be helpful to anyone who is trying to learn sign. By using audio, pictures, and sentences, I think my book qualifies for Universal Design for Learning.

I hope you all enjoyed my book, and best of luck with signing!

Uses of Social Networking for Educational Experiences

I would say that anything that allows people to socially interact with others through the media such as cell phones and computers is considered social media.  I think there are several ways to effectively use social media in the classroom and more importantly I think they should be used in the classroom.  We are such a technological society and in the case, why not use technology sources in the classroom. I really like Pinterest as being used in the classroom, maybe more so for teachers, however.  I have already found several ideas on Pinterest specifically used for speech path.  It's a great way to find ideas and then have them for later use.  I do agree that at times social networking can be a distraction for students.  At my high school we had a one-to-one laptop program where every student 7-12 grade was issued a Macbook.  They school eventually had to block Facebook because students were on that instead of taking notes and paying attention in class.  The one thing I didn't agree with was the school blocking Facebook at home because I used it to chat with friends about homework assignments.  I think at some times a line needs to be drawn, but it's important that it is not taken overboard.
Overall, I think social networking sites can be very beneficial when used in the right way.

Social Network	Used to enhance instruction and learning
Pinterest	Great way to find ideas specific to your area of study.  Can use ideas to organize your classroom, there are also several classroom activities
Youtube	Great way to show videos about the topics being discussed in class.  Reinforces the info for all students and can really benefit visual and spatial learners
Blogger	Good way for students to learn from the other students in class; Allows them to get a broader perspective on the topic being discussed; Allows them to see things outside the box
Diigo	Great for doing research; Love that students can bookmark sites for future use; also love the highlighting and sticky noting so it makes specific phrases easy to find
LiveMocha	Great way to help students learn a second language which can be very beneficial in multicultural classes, can be very beneficial in the long run