Teaching & Writing Blog

Evaluating student work on-line

2008-11-25T14:49:00.000-08:00

I agree that teachers need to be aware of the various types of feedback that are appropriate at different times. In Chapter 9 there are the two types "formative feedback" and then "summative feedback". The rubric I have included below (see link below)would be used in a read/write course where students need to write a response to a reading. First of all, I would like to provide comments on their blogs early on to help them apply more critical thinking and learn how to write concise summaries. This work would be done and my evaluation would be more "formative". Possibly I would use an audacity file or a comment in their blog that will guide them toward our goals.

The rubric I created on Rubistar would be the "summative feedback" for a final posting. Possibly this would be used after two or three other posts have been made. I think students need a warm up, coaching, and then a copy of the rubric so they can evaluate themselves before my eval. I would also like to include peer evaluation using questions. Students sometimes focus too much on how it is written than what is written.

I looked at Edina High School's rubrics and I got some good ideas on how to have a final summative eval of all blogs. The criteria included:
-posted on time
-all of the posts were submitted
-Used correct grammar and mechanics most of the time
-Responses were thoughtful
-Commented on at least two times for each post
-Applies specific examples to support points (I added this)

I would have this rubric that is linked below as a final "summative" response to an important mid semester assignment.

I have attached a sample of a rubric I would use in a Reading/Writing Blog Post. Click here on link.

Using Videoant

2008-11-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

My students give presentations that we record and it would be great to comment on their videos this way. I will definately use this if it is still free and available.
Click here.
I guess it is too big to embed. I will have to ask how to do this in class.

Power Point Presentation

2008-11-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

I used skyrocket to create this presentation on Styles and Strategies. When a slide says video you need to click to get to the link. I couldn't figure out how to embed You Tube video into the slide so you need to go to the link. Just click on "video" and it brings you to the You Tube video. Music was hard for me too.

At The End you can listen to a BBC English Presentation on "How to Extend a Conversation".
I could ask students to take notes and have an added listening activity at the end of a slide show or somehow I could add pictures that would help the listener.

This is a great way to engage students.

comments

2008-11-14T14:34:00.000-08:00

audio comments

Van Gogh and The Color of Night

2008-11-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

BBC English

2008-10-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Do you want to keep a conversation going? Go to the BBC podcast on "how to keep a conversation going. Select this extending a conversation. You can also find other interesting activities at BBC's web page so just follow this lesson.

Podcast Interivew

2008-10-27T12:37:00.001-07:00

This is Ivan Da Silva. I interviewed him today on why he would like to have an advanced pronunciation and speaking course at MCTC. Go to the interview.

If you can't listen to the above interview click here to download the audio.

I think I would use podcasts in my listening and speaking course. It would be a good way for students to listen and take notes. I probably would interview one of the classmates too! I wouldn't expect studednts to do their own because quite honestly I think the technology has too many glitches and requirements that as Alyssa said it would take away from the language learning. I like the idea of using technology but I know from the past that my students have alot of difficulty with it. Many of my students are refugees and don't have a lot of money. This might be something I could have them do in the lab with a technician. That is something to think about. I will use podcasts and I like the idea of using the BBC English Language lessons. I just discovered that.

Using Podcasts in Lessons

2008-10-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

I would like to create a link in my blog. I watched Alyssa's tutorial and I thought I would also try this so that I can use it in my own class. I listen to podcasts at home when I cook or sometimes when I am traveling. Here is a link to Marketplace and the various podcasts. Marketplace

Single Sex Classroom Debate

2008-10-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

The character I chose is "neutral parent" and the name is Cynthia Whipple. Cynthia has two children, a son who is 15 and is attending Edina High School and a 12 year old daughter. Cynthia works at Hoover High School in the office. She has decided to participate in the role-play as a neutral parent. Through out most of the discussion she is mostly supporting the program, but after hearing a lot of discussion from representatives and reading articles that are presented, she starts to question her position. It is hard for Cynthia to take a strong stance on the subject of same-sex classrooms. Although she is quite liberal and has strong opinions about politics, she is having a difficult time taking a "strong" position on this. Her son is enrolled in a class called, "Guys and Literature" at Edina High and she thought this course will be helpful for her son. Her son has had some difficulties with English, but not major ones. She thought this course might inspire him to write more because in the past he had complained about the types of books they had to read in English. One of the books was, "The Secret Life of Bees". This book didn't seem to appeal to him and Cynthia could understand his point of view. One of the books in the "Guys and Literature" course was by one of his favorite authors called, "Looking for Alaska," by John Green. This was one reason why the class sounded interesting. Also, John Green came to speak to his class!

At Hoover High she has volunteered to participate in the on-line discussion because of her son's experience. Cynthia is well-educated and is working toward a teaching degree at the local university. She hopes to teach English once she completes her studies, but she is finding it difficult because she has two kids to raise and a household to manage. Although Cynthia is extremely busy, she is passionate about this subject and she spends a lot of time reading the other posts and the attached articles. She tries very hard to take a position but keeps finding that she moves between the two sides a lot. Her biggest concern is that this movement toward single sex classrooms is a way to shove the boys off into a room where they can be "handled" and so the teacher can be more authoritative. This idea concerns Cynthia because she wants her son to be challenged. Her son is smart and is an excellent reader. She doesn't want him to get the easy class and end up struggling once he goes off to college. She also is concerned that the move toward single-sex classrooms is just another trend without a lot of substance behind it. She is worried that the class is not focusing on academics and is focusing more on behavior problems. Another concern is that is this might be just another "no child left behind" gimmick. Cynthia did go to the English course orientation in September and had a chance to learn more about the single-sex English class and learn more about the curriculum. She was impressed by the quality of the program and the teacher. Cynthia is still pleased that her son is in the course despite her reservations. Why? This is still something that Cynthia needs to figure out. Stay tuned.

Making a digital story

2008-10-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

I chose to use Voicethread for my digital storytelling. I used Jamaica Kincaid's story, "A Walk to the Jetty," which is chapter 8 in the book Annie John. I use this story in my ESOL Reading course and I thought a voicethread that introduces the author's background and additional information about the writer's intensions and reasons for creating this story would be helpful to students. I think adding visual to any story can make it more meaningful. I like the idea of the "comment" function because then students can also provide their own thoughts. I would encourage students to interact with the pictures and post a comment. We could also view the slide show in class and then I could have them write their thoughts or type them. The type function is really small so with a large class it might get cluttered. I think the voicethread would be a good way to present the story and get students more interested in reading it. I don't think I would have students create their own voicethread because I am afraid I would spend too much time teaching the technology rather than the content. That is a fear I have. I have found that students need a lot of instruction with technology, at least this is true with ESOL students. I think young kids who come out of the American schools are better prepared for that kind of activity. However, I like the digital story telling for another way to get my students involved with the text and the language. Certainly it is more engaging that a lecture.

How I will use a wiki?

2008-10-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

I plan to use a wiki for professional use. After creating a wiki, I am not sure it is the best platform for my ESL students. I am glad I understand the technology and I can use it if I see that there is a clear purpose, but for now I will use it in meetings and for professional use. I created two wikis. One was for personal use. I am going on a short weekend trip with some friends of mine and it was a good way to share information. I collected some pictures of the trip and organized the categories as: menu planning, hotel, entertainment, and packing list. I could see using this in the future too. I got a few replies, but two women only looked and didn't use it as a communication tool. We met last night in person, so maybe they will begin using the Wiki. It is new to all of us. The second wiki I created is for my presentation that I will give at the MinneTESOL Conference in November. This is a conference for teachings of ESL. I am presenting on Learning Strategies and I thought it would be great to have a web page that we can all use. Also, after presentations teachers often want handouts and more ideas so this Wiki will save me from having to send out e-mails that takes time! I hope you like my wiki. I am sharing the second one for professional use: http://andrestrategies.pbwiki.com/

Brooklyn Bridge

2008-10-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a beautiful picture. It took me a long time to figure out how to embed photos from flickr. I got a lot of error messages when I tried to load them onto the blog. Finally, after uploading the photos to the desktop I could attach them. I also noticed that many people were having troubles loading their images from flickr to the blog. After many hours and alot of attempts, I was successful. I have learned that I need to be very patient with technology!

A View of New York City

2008-10-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Going to Washington

2008-09-30T13:54:00.001-07:00

This is my first voice thread. You will discover that I had a few glitches along the way, but I learned a lot too. I think it is a great listening activity for my ESL students.

How will I use blogs in my classroom?

2008-09-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of ideas about what I would like to do in the classroom, but I need to organize the steps I need to take. As John Hedron says, " Before embarking into the blogosphere with students, carefully consider what the exercise of blogging will accomplish..." I need to set a goal and not just shoot from the hip. Krista said in class that is a bad idea to just say "you will blog and figure it out as you go." I agree that this is a bad idea, so I need to figure out the best way to manage an activity. Once students are connected to a classroom wiki or blog I can begin the project. I imagine that with ESL students it will take some time getting them set up with the technology.

The attached document was taken from the English 10 course. I liked this and I would use it in the first week of class as an activity to help students get used to using the blog. I would ask the student to choose one of the sentences and write 250 words on that topic. I would encourage students to be creative and also ask a question to their classmates so they can get a comment on their own blog. I would treat this as a warm up activity.

My Bubble Map

2008-09-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

What search methods and databases do I employ?

2008-09-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

I need to expand my search methods I can tell already. If I want to search for something I use Google because I have had the most luck with it. At Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) there are so many different search engines and databases I can use that sometimes I feel overwhelmed. However, I am using some of the databases that are designed for ESL students because they rate the level of English and the categories. Because I have so little time to search around for materials I tend to get frustrated quickly. Although at first glance some of these databases seem great, I often just get a short abstract or a lengthy paper that doesn't work as well. How do I determine the credibility of these search engines or databases? I guess I have faith in that the librarians have made sure that these sources are reliable and that makes it easier. I just started subscribing to a few new blogs like "The Edublogger", "Larry Ferlazo" and "Ted Talks". I am new to these so I am just getting started. I would like to spend time reading the New York Times blog since I read the paper every day. What would I do to teach my students? I guess I would start with one easy one at first and have them get used to it and do a survey. After that introduction, I would give them a list of blogs that might interest them and ask them to review a new one. I could manage this like a movie review.

How will I use blogs?

2008-09-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching English As a Second Language since 1990. I started teaching English in Japan and that is where I became interested in this profession. I hope to use blogs in my teaching and also in my personal life. For teaching, it will be a great place for students to learn about various subjects and also to learn more about me as a person. The personal collection will be used as a diary of pictures, vacations, and current issues and thoughts. I never blogged before so this course has opened up many new doors! I heard about blogs but I really didn't understand what one was and how easy it is to create.

Why are blogs needed today? John Hedron, author of RSS For Educators, brought up a lot of good reasons why blogs can help students. Hedron said, "The good news is that by applying the Read/Write Web into curriculum, teachers can provide students with opportunities to improve critical thinking, as well as both written and verbal communication." Teachers need to be in touch with what their students' needs are today. My son is in high school and my daughter is in middle school and they have iPods, use instant messaging, and use Facebook. The Internet is a big part of their life. So if teachers want to get students excited about writing and reading, the Internet is a good resource.

There is a need in the classroom. I have taught ESL for almost 18 years, and during that time I have taught developmental reading and writing courses. These developmental students didn't spend enough time reading and writing and as a result their critical thinking skills were weak. Therefore, if I can appeal to my students' interests, and can get them reading and writing more, then blogs is a way to do that. I see blogs as a way to connect people together and improve communication.

What will I do with my blogs in my teaching? One area that I would like to use blogs for is writing. I could use this as a way for students to come up with ideas and share ideas. This will hopefully get them spending more time on task and not waiting until the night before to finish their papers. By better planning and collaboration, hopefully students will improve their academic writing. Another area is in my listening and speaking course. I want to do more on-line and blogs will be an easy way to organize information.

The problems I see are the quality of communication and the issues around plagiarism. Those are two areas that I need to address this semester.