Kennefick,+Stacy

Deliverable 2:

I have seen Shift Happens several times, but every time I see it – it is just as powerful as the first time I saw it. It really makes you think about what the future holds. Colleges are planning ahead for jobs that aren’t even created yet – it amazes me and makes me want to continue to go to school. I love the questions at the end – What is your school doing to help students be literate in the 21st century? That one is my favorite because I don’t know what they are doing. They are cutting money left and right – I have 2 computers in my class room - one works all the time and the other works when it feels like it. How are we going to support this new move of technology in education if the administrators don’t give us the tools we need to support our students? My blog has evolved a lot since EDC 920. I started blogging with my students as a way to get them talking about a book we were reading about in class. It started off great because there was so much interest in the book. It has slowed down (I think) because there is less interest in the book. I have changed my blog around a lot. I want it to be a means of communication for parents and students. I have had several parent conferences over the past week or so and many of them have been saying the same thing. I didn’t know about that project or that assignment. I wanted to change that and make my blog more about what is going on in our classroom. I have added a link to our read aloud book where I am hoping the students will continue to ask and ponder questions and predictions. I have posted their homework assignments and their spelling words. I have also added a math link to help students that may need it. I plan on posting more math links and possibly a math problem of the week. I have a lot of work to do. I know that one of my biggest problems will be getting the parents on board. I want them to post comments and ask questions. They need to help facilitate the communication. I can only do so much. I am hoping that the students will continue to comment. I plan on changing the way that I post that blog as well. I want the students to write more than one or two sentences. I’m not sure if they feel that don’t have to write a lot because I am not their writing teacher or if they just don’t want to do the extra work. I want to tie it in to our class discussions daily. I might try to give the students some computer time in the morning where they can go online and comment to the blog. But again, that becomes quite challenging with 18 students and 2 computers – I mean 1 ½ computers. I will continue to work on my blog and make it more a part of the daily routine of my parents and students. I also want to post pictures of student work and have them comment on that as well. I want them to be proud of their work.

Please keep visiting my blog to see all the new updates.

I forgot to tell you that on my Math Blog - mrsksmathproblem.blogspot.com - I want the students to be sure to not just give me an answer, but to tell me how they got their answer. We have been sicussing in class that there are many different strategies that one can use to solve the same problem.

I will assess their work with a rubric similar to the one they use in class. I will put more emphasis on the process of explaining how they got their answer. I will help prompt them with questions - for example: what info did you need to know in order to solve this problem?

4 • Identified all parts of the Word Problem (Question, Data, Math /Work, Answer in C.S.) • Showed all math and had the correct answer **• Communicated all mathematical thinking VERY clearly, creatively, and accurately** • Identified an appropriate strategy and used it to solve the problem 3 • Identified most parts of the Word Problem – missing 1 part • Showed all math but did not get the correct answer **• Communicated most mathematical thinking clearly, creatively, and accurately** • Identified an appropriate strategy but DIDN’T use it to solve the problem 2 • Identified some parts of the Word Problem – missing 2-3 parts • Did NOT show all math but had the correct answer • **Communicated some mathematical thinking clearly and accurately** • Identified a strategy that doesn’t make sense to solve the problem 1 • Identified little/no parts of the Word Problem – missing 4 parts • Did NOT show math and did NOT have the correct answer • **Did NOT communicate any mathematical thinking** • Did NOT identify a strategy
 * Rubric Score **

__ **Deliverable 3 - Proposal for Implementation** __

I would like to implement the use of wikis in my classroom. The word wiki comes from the Hawaiian word wiki-wiki which means “quick”. A wiki is a website where anyone can add or edit information rather quickly. I would like to use a wiki with my sixth grade math students. I would like them to create a math tutorial. I find that a lot of students struggle with mathematical concepts. I would like my students to create an online resource for other students in the classroom and for future students. They could include definitions, examples, online videos, practice problems for extra support, and even possibly hints that they found useful for themselves.

This wiki would not only help current and future students but it could also help parents and teachers. I tend to see a math phobia across the board. I have many parent conferences where I hear “I wasn’t good at math either”. This tool can help parents feel more comfortable with the mathematic topics and be able to help their children at home. On the flip side, many students have no parental support at home and this would be a way to extend the classroom to their homes. The wiki would be created by other students so it would be explained from the student point of view and may make it easier to comprehend. This tool would also be beneficial to teachers. It could help other sixth grade teachers that are uncomfortable with certain topics, haven’t taught sixth grade math in a long time or ever, and it can be beneficial to fifth grade teachers – they can see the mathematical skills that are needed to be successful in sixth grade.

The first wiki was created by Ward Cunningham in 1995 – 14 years ago. Wikis are being used in schools over many disciplines, with children as young as first grade and have been very successful. Here are three different examples of successful wikis being used in the classroom.

Vicki Davis, a teacher at Westwood High in Camilla, Georgia, uses wikis with her computer class. They can complete assignments on the wiki, add relevant links as well as other sources to the wiki, and in 2007 they participated in Vicki’s “Flat Classroom Project” which connected her students to other learners around the world. You can visit her wiki at [|www.flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com]

Another example of a teacher successfully using wikis in the classroom is Kathy Cassidy. Kathy is a first grade teacher from Westmount School in Moose Jaw, Canada. She has a class blog that she uses for communication and a class wiki where her first graders can write stories. Her students also created a dinosaur wiki where they have posted nonfiction information about different dinosaurs. Also, Kathy’s students each have their own blog where they can post their writing and pictures of their work. She even set up “Blogging Buddies” with students in New Zealand. You can visit Kathy’s blog at [|www.classblogmeister.com/blogphp?blogger_id=1337]

A third example of a successful wiki is creating a book study. Fifth grade students from Mrs. Herzig’s and Ms. Henkel’s reading class read Turn Homeward, Hannalee__ by Patricia Beatty and created a wiki. The wiki includes chapter summaries, background information and a language section that includes information on idioms and figures of speech. This is a great way for students to get interested in reading and to extend the book across the curriculum. It is not only a reading wiki but a social studies wiki and a language arts wiki. You can visit the wiki at []

In order to be successful with the use of wikis in my classroom I will need: · Support from my principle as well as my teaching partners – the rest of the sixth grade team. I will have to show them the value of Web 2.0 and the benefits that the students will get from working in collaboration with one another on a wiki. · I will also need to have more computers. As a sixth grade teacher, I know that my students are very knowledgeable with technology. I want to use their knowledge and put it towards a positive learning experience. In order to do this I will need access to some computer time with my students. Currently I only have one working computer in my classroom and we don’t have a computer lab in our school. I will use this computer lab to teach my students about computer safety, about using a wiki, editing a wiki, and adding to the wiki – links, podcasts, videos, etc. · Support from parents - I’m sure that there will be some concern over safety. I will show them that my students are the only students that can edit and add to the wiki. I will be sure that they have anonymous user names and passwords to ensure their safety.

I hope to overcome these possible roadblocks with education. Knowledge is power and with out knowledge there is fear. I will educate my principle, parents and fellow teachers. I think that once they see that the benefits out weigh any possible risks, they will be more open to it. This “project” is also a way to meet one of our School Improvement Goals – to raise our math scores across the board – all strands of the GLE’s and problem solving. We can visit a computer lab at the Jr. High or High School in order to begin to educate the students. A wiki is a great idea because it can be accessed from anywhere, at anytime. As a teacher, I can see all edits made and by whom they were made - this will allow me to be sure that all students are participating. It is easily monitored and it is free. I would use wikispaces.com because of the ease of adding information and editing the information. Wikispaces.com also offers a login and password option. I know that my students would be safe.

I hope that this “project” will allow my students to take ownership of what they are learning in the classroom. I want them to transfer from their role as the student into the role as a teacher. I believe that to really understand the material you should be able to teach it. I think that all students can benefit from having material presented in a different way. There are so many different learning styles and by embedding different medium into the wiki we will be able to reach all learners.

For my final project I created the wiki I proposed in my Deliverable 3. I have been working hard on creating a page for each of the strands my students are tested on through NECAP. I began with geometry because that is what we are studying now and I wanted it to be relevant to my current students. I began an outline for my first numbers and operations page - this is where we will begin in September. I plan to have my students begin the school year off with my blog and math wiki. I think that having gone through this and developing it with my "guinea pig" class I will be more prepared to get my new class on board and make it part of their daily/weekly routine. Please visit my blog and wiki. I have linked my wiki to my blog because my students are familiar with the blog and know the address. [|www.mrskgrade6.blogspot.com]  - this is the link to my class blog [|www.mrsksmath.wikispaces.com]  - this is a link to my math wiki
 * Final Project: **