day 11 readings

Starting Successfully: How to Begin a Presentation

The tips here are very helpful. Two things stood out to me. One, use an agenda. People are more likely to follow you with one. They know what the main topics are and try to at least get the just of each one. On of the things that I like about an agenda is that you can take notes on it. The second thing is to plan your introduction to work in an elevator with your boss. I was taught this in sales. I was encouraged to practice selling my self in the short moment that you are in an elevator. I think that we often lose our students to our endless babel.

Tips for Presenting to Young Audiences

"Never attempt to be one of them" so many teachers make this mistake when trying to reach their kids. I use to have to cover reading classes all over my school when teachers were out. I could always tell when a teacher tried to be one of the students. I could never manage the class. All the kids wanted to do their own thing and would speak to me as if I were their peer. The nest thing that stood out to be was the part about masks. Kids definitely put them on and under them they are real kids who do care. If you ever get a kid one-on-one where their guard can come down you will see it. And guess what, they want you to be the adult, and they want you to win them over.

5 Fail-Safe Tips When You Forget or Get Flustered During a Presentation

Moving around the room is great. Students begin to here Charlie Brown's teacher if you just run your mouth at the front of the room. If you move about you keep their eyes fixed on you and they are more likely to hear what you are saying. From a classroom management perspective it keeps kids on their toes and allows you to survey the room. "Fiddle with Fodder" this does not just give you time to collect your thoughts, it can also be a dramatic pause. When you pause people automatically digest what you just said and gear up for whats coming. So, I stop at key places to digest, and I get to collect my thoughts as well.

Engage Yourself, Engage your Audience

I like the descriptions of the types of speakers and their strengths. You definitely want how you say fit what you say. One of the things that I do is switch between them, it keeps the students on their toes if you switch from analytical to passionate. The other tip is the level of your voice. If you are always at the same level people will phase you out. Change the volume level to a lower setting when you see peoples eyes wandering and see what happens.

The Power of Body Language

I am really deficient in this area. I was once at a Christmas party dancing and a woman comes up to me and says, "honey, you have got to move something". I do come across confident and intelligent but that's it. I'm told that I can also look lost or bored with what I'm saying. I need to practice my movement to fit what I'm saying. I've thought about filming my self teach more and then think about where I could have inserted body language. One of my problems is that I'm one of the few people who really does not pay attention to body language in general.

10 Steps to a Perfect Presentation

"End with a bang". I see this as one of the most deficient areas in most teachers lessons. You need to bring it to a close and seal the deal. If we do this it will model good writing techniques to our students. If nothing ends well in your class then how can you expect them to end a paper well? The last thing that stood out to me was the "rule of three". Plan in threes. Have three main things that you want to cover. Mention them in your introduction and your conclusion. Give tree examples and three non-examples, etc, etc.

day 11 readings

Using Adobe Acrobat for Electronic Portfolio development

I am warming up to using Adobe Acrobat more in my career. I am impressed with how portable it is. One of the things not mentioned in this article is that the files tend to be quiet a bit smaller. I use my scanner settings to make the document even smaller if there is some limit to size. I was surprised to see and hear that Adobe now keeps the links embedded in documents. If you don't have. or can't afford, Acrobat then you simply need to add your links before converting the document to PDF. The author praises Adobe Acrobat as the main tool for constructing an Electronic Portfolio. She backs this up by using it herself. She gives a detailed description about how she organizes and updates her portfolio. This is a great resource for anyone maintaining a portfolio.

Incorporating Portfolio Assessment

I think that what I most liked about this article is the table on the advantages and disadvantages incorporation portfolio as a form of assessment. It is very practical and honest. There are clearly advantages and disadvantages. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. What two things stood out to me in the disadvantages. One was time. Teachers, under the current education model, are strapped for time. In fact teachers are so pressed that they don't have time to put into effect the best practices of teaching. The second thing that struck me was the institutional and government restrictions. We need to rethink what we expect school to be like if we are interested in doing what is best for schools.

Student Portfolios: Classroom Uses

The main thing that I took form this article is that students can use portfolio's as a form of peer review. I love feedback. I'm disappointed if someone says little, or just give praise. Tear it apart, and tell me how I can do better. I do want to know what the strong points were as well. There is nothing more discouraging then putting your heart and soul into something just to have it go unnoticed. Kids can be cruel, but I have seen something more troubling to me. The often don't want to really critique or edit another students work. I do think that it should happen though. I guess I would like to hear advice on how to make this work.

Kathleen Fischer's Electronic Portfolio

What a great example of an electronic portfolio of a teacher. What I kept thinking about was how useful this would be for selling Ms. Fischer to her parents. It would also be effective in getting hired. I plan on directing interested administrators to my Electronic Portfolio as I begin the interviewing process. I also think that it is valuable to have a place parents can go to see what you are doing and learn something about you outside of infrequent visits to the school. Many parents could never dream of having the time to visit their child's classroom. This site has the feel of taking you into her classroom.

day 10 readings

The Digital Portfolio: A Richer Picture of Student Performance

This article is an interesting picture of what implementing student portfolios might look like with all the benefits and challenges included. It was generated in the early 1990's when technology was just beginning to make digital portfolios possible. Today we have the necessary technology, and storing these huge works is more practical. I wonder if there would need to be a team of people dedicated to maintaining the database both in its content and technically. The idea of being able to get a picture of a student that is more complete than some numerical figures is brilliant. I can't tell you how often I felt like I was misrepresented by the numbers when I was in school. The analogy of judging a baseball player by his stats verses by what the fans and team mates would say was a perfect analogy. What if there was a place in the portfolio for peer feedback. It would have to be done in a way where the peers were honest and detailed.

Collaborative Planning for Electronic Portfolios: Asking Strategic Questions

As the title suggests, this is about addressing questions when implementing digital portfolios in a school. Any school looking to get into digital portfolios need to ask many questions. One that impressed me was about what kind of program the school should use. It was limited by the skill of the teachers. The more that teachers computer skills were developed the greater power the school would have to make a student centered portfolio. One of the realities of our schools is that, for the most part teachers are behind the students in tech skills. This is sad, especially because if you were to set the bar of competency in tech skills even the students would fall short. The issue here is that teachers need better training and support in technical skills.

Developing Student Electronic Portfolios

This is a great hub of information for anyone interested in getting into digital portfolios. There are a wealth of links here that cover all of the bases form types of portfolios and assessments. I particularly liked the assessment page. Anyone interested in making this work needs to have clear objectives and standards or else there will be misery and failure. Students need structure and concrete goals to help guide and motivate them. When they feel secure and motivated they will grow exponentially in the are of creativity and then drive their own learning.

Susan Silverman's electronic portfolios for her students

Here is another rich resource. What impressed me was how many ideas and activities are archived here. If you need ideas on how to build a portfolio system online then there are a lot of ideas. In a way this is a portfolio for Silverman. On her site you can see where she had less web skills and other areas where she excelled. This gave me inspiration in that I want to put my best foot forward when applying my web skills to this end. Your product should be functional and professional.

Dr. Alice Christie's Examples of Electronic Portfolios

Most of the links here were broken. I was impressed by the creativity and the skill of the student work. I was especially impressed with kid Pub there were some poems here that were excellent and communicated a lot of feeling and passion from the students who wrote them. Other sites had reports done by the students with pictures collected from the web. Something that was a little disappointing was that none of these portfolios seemed to come close to what has been envisioned by all of the authors in our previous readings.

day 9 readings

Researching Electronic Portfolios and Learner Engagement

The author seeks to reconcile the different needs and goals of institutions and constructivist teachers in the creation and maintenance of ePortfolios. Institutions are standards based and require a high-stakes test to measure a students’ progress in meeting the proscribed standards. Teachers who would like to take a more constructivist approach are confounded by the restraints on student centered learning. The goal of ePortfolios is to spur metacognition in our students, and hopefully see a measure of intrinsic motivation. The author suggests a compromise that would allow for assessment and not destroy the spirit of a portfolio. She suggests multiple assessments and three banks of accumulated student work where one is for the state, one is a complete set, and the last is the constructivist portfolio.

I would suggest an additional element that was alluded to but not developed in this paper. At regular points have the teacher and student together agree on goals. These goals can be based on meeting state standards, and be tailored to that student and his portfolio as much as possible. Goals make progress more tangible to the student, and offer a form of motivation as well.

day 8 readings

ePortfolios: Constructing Meaning Across Time, Space and Curriculum

This is a great argument for and definition of an ePortfolio. What is does is foster Metacognition in students and reflection and assessment for teachers'. The new era of technology and learning requires new ways to assess and reflect on learning. ePortfolios provide a way for the creator to compile what they have learned and accomplished, sort it out, reflect on it, and connect it all together into a snap-shot of what they have achieved and plan the path ahead. This product is another tool that lends its self to constructivism and really metacognition.

Electronic Teaching Portfolios

This article does a good job of defining an ePortfolio and giving its rational. The great majority of the article is a step by step description of how one could carry out and assess the quality of their ePortfolio. This would function both as a rubric and a step by step instruction on how to create and maintain a portfolio. For obvious reasons there is definitely a push toward more multimedia and web based products and presentations. This is a very forward thinking tool that tracks ones learning over time providing that learner with tools to reflect, assess, and improve their learning.

The Professional Portfolio

This article describes a different type of portfolio than the articles above. In this one there is video of lessons delivered, a resume, and letters of recommendation amongst other things. This version would be great for getting hired of just displaying what you have accomplished. It does, however, have the same general goal of perfecting the art of teaching through reflection and a constructivist approach to teaching and learning.

Preparing A Teaching Portfolio: A Guidebook

This particular article is aimed at professors in universities, but a lot of the same principles apply to school teachers. This one give a wonderful definition and rational for an ePortfoio. Which includes the observation that an ePortfolio gives a more public view of a teachers work. All of the articles stress that the work displayed is selected and reflected on in some way. The goal is to improve the art and outcomes of teaching. This also brings a measure of accountability in that the portfolio is view by any interested party. The portfolio also requires a display of technology skills. One would hope that any teacher who would create and maintain an ePortfolio would use technology in the classroom and encourage their students to create portfolios.

day 7 readings

Preparation: The Key to a Relaxed, Effective Presentation

What a great article! The message here for teachers is that we need to do a better job planning. May be we have lost our stage fright, but may be we should feel some positive stress over our delivery. I loved the part about inspiring your audince. If there is one things students need it is to be inspired. I also like that there is a lot of planning and rehersal talked about here. It is amazing how much better a lesson goes if you take the time to script it. Many educators don't like this but we are entertainers and at the very least motivational speakers.

Getting Them on Your Side: Creating a Persuasive Presentation

I like that the author suggests the deductive approach over the inductive. Students get lost when they are trying to figure out what you are trying to communicate and how it will effect them. Instead tell them what you expect the outcome to be. The second big point is that you should give benifits to doing what you ask. If you can sell your students on the value of what they are learning then they will be more motivated to do so. Lets look at it this way. How valuable is the material we are teaching students' and how much will it benifit them? That's right we really have a fabulous product to sell our students'.

You're the Boss: Creating a Great Informative Presentation

Sometimes, as teachers, we have to communicate something that is informative. When doing so it is important to do it in a way that will both engage and inform the audience. How can you present the information in a way they will remember? What are the most important elements that you need to stress? One way the author suggests is to think like a journalist. The 5 W's of your topic. People will not understand or appreciate information that doesn't cover all the bases.

Final Thoughts: Concluding Your Presentation Well

One of the elements most skipped by teachers when giving a lesson is the conclusion. I personally appreciate the conclusion from a writers prospective. You reiterate you thesis and it's main points describing how you successfully made your argument. If you don't conclude you leave your audience to do it for you, and we all know many will not. You can't leave people hanging. Concluding pulls your audience back it for the part of the presentation that they will most likely remember. Finally, it is important to not only make time for it, you must also prepare and plan it out for maximum impact.

day 6 reading

Top Ten Tips

Anyone looking to avoid some mistakes and really take your photography to the next level read this. I had no idea that flash was something to use outside. You always have those not so great pictures because the subject is wearing a brimmed hat with a shadow cast over their face. I was always told a flash was for indoors only but out doors it can eliminated shadows and bring out your subject.

1001 Uses for a Digital Camera

Great ideas for using a digital camera in the classroom where you are going beyond documenting an activity. If you want to start thinking about using a camera as a tool then look at some of the lessons posted on this site. I must admit that even though I am comfortable with technology I still scratch my head over how to integrate it. It seems like the way to think of technology is as a means to an end. If your focus is constructivism then you will need tools like digital cameras.

A few scanning tips
www.scantips.com

This is probably the best introduction to scanning that I have ever seen. I had to learn by trial and error. Many people don't know all that you can do with a scanner. I personally can't imagine life without one. You have the option of scanning at so many levels of color and pixels. You can also scan in documents and email or fax them right from your computer. Most people don't that with a scanner and a computer you can fax from home without a fax machine.