Things 15 - 21 Capstone Reflection

A. How will you use these technology applications to improve learning experiences for your students and/or improve your own practice? 

The shared  calendar in Google has already been put into action in my work. I was looking for something that I could share with the librarians at the district schools without going thru the Groupwise calendar which I do not find friendly. The librarians come from diverse backgrounds when it comes to online experience and this is a simple basic tool to set up times and appointments for our meetings and my school visits.

- Professional Learning Communities were named today when I reminded the librarians of their May meeting and training tomorrow. They have been meeting monthly for discussions, networking and on-site training. At this time it is easier for them to have the time when it is planned and away from their home base. They are paraprofessionals that come to school with the kids and leave with the kids. - MeL was the first tool that I introduced when I began my position in November. The lesson and introduction were followed up by discussion of use at the subsequent meetings. The parapros will be surveyed via Google Form tomorrow on their use and this will guide the plan for next year. I believe that the use of MeL is extremely important for our students. It is so full of information and so valuable to their learning. - RSS feeds are easier than I imagined them to be, thanks to Google again. I have not had the opportunity to go back to the set-up that I created but I can see it being a wonderful tool for keeping up with the profession and the thoughts and opinions of my colleagues bringing the "experts" in. - I have had the best experience using Moodle and this Blog. By weekly assignments which required me to become comfortable with it, I learned a great deal and would not hesitate to use it for students as I have begun to use it with the parapro's. - Who needs Inspiration?  So much available online for free. What a great tool Bubbl is for planning and project based learning. No tutorial required, just jump in and create. Wordle is fun and one of my favorites personally and soon to be used professionally. - I did not imagine that I would be able to screencast but it was so simple and practical that I shared it with a colleague and my supervisor this afternoon showing them how I can teach a method of operation in our library software program. As the screencasts grow, so will the library of information at their fingertips.

B. What effective teaching and learning strategy(ies), based on the work by Marzano (http://gets.gc.k12.va.us/VSTE/2008/ ) will these technology applications address, to make a difference in the learning experience for your students? All Marzano applications are listed with topic in each "thing".

C. Choose one of the seven things and describe an activity or lesson you could use in your classroom. Include in the description how the lesson meets either a Michigan curriculum standard or another Educational Technology standard.
I choose something simple. Introduce Wordle as a way to brainstorm topics found in a classroom novel. As each chapter progresses students will journal their reflections. When the time comes, they will have demonstrated Wordle and be able to go online to create their own Wordle. These in turn can be open to discussion within the classroom.

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:

a.	promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.