Meeting 4

September 15, 2008 Brent Reese and Judy Hutton (J.J.) are the scribes.

To do before next class

Find a good rubric creating site or tool. It can either be about how to make a rubric or all about them?

Describe what you think you know about learning styles and multiple intelligences. But, pick the opposite view from what you really believe! Do this by reading an article on this opposite stance, then write on this wiki page about why you believe differently. Site one scholarly source. In the end, we will have a conglomeration of 22-23 articles saying things we personally do not agree with.

  • If you have no view on the subject matter, pick the belief that multiple intelligences are nonsense Post on the wiki, not in the dropbox (wiki spot will be under all about: wikis)

Visit the Business Case for Wikis Read the article, but mostly watch the video. To get to this video. Go to our wiki homepage, click on all about, and click on wikis. The point of watching this video is that it has lots of information we are talking about in simple terms

Create your own wiki Use wetpaint.com, pbwiki, wikispaces, or Pmwiki. Its up to you. The main thing is to just create a homepage.

  • FYI - If you use wetpaint.com, and you want to upload photos, save yourself a lot of stress and use it under a web-browser other than mozilla firefox (I tried for hours to upload pics, and it would not let me) Finally, I switched to Explorer and it took 2 seconds. -Margie

Add something to this wiki page Even if its just your wiki web address.

We started out class with a group learning event, in which we teamed up in groups of three or four. Then we discussed what rubrics are, what makes a good rubric, how to make a rubric and some tools for their construction.

The following people were representatives or spokespersons for each group:

Brent represented his group's findings and started out the class discussion by stating that rubrics are an alternative method of assessment. He said that the alternative methods of assessment make computer access easier in the classroom. He emphasized that there are three basic components of a rubrics: criteria assessment, rating scale, and level of performance and two basic types of rubrics: holistic and performance specific. Brent described an online activity that a teacher could implement for the student to discern the world's longest river.
Next, Robert talked about how rubrics are interactive. He said that they delineate clear cut goals and standards. This element of rubrics allows students and parents to have an idea of progress in the learning process. Robert admitted that a rubric in a second grade math class would be different from a rubric for a fourth grade World Geography class, naturally.
Jameka was next up to specify rubric criteria. She elaborated on what Brent had said earlier by pointing out that there are traditional and alternative assessment methods, and that traditional methods have a place due to the mandatory Standards imposed by the State. However, she conveyed the important point that alternative methods enable the teacher to gain a better idea, at times, of how students "really" grasp the material, i.e. not just rote recitation.
The point was made out loud in class from an anonymous person that public assessment, such as the group sharing that we were in the process of doing, was actually an alternative method of assessment. Additionally, it was declared by an anonymous person that such public assessment allows peers to grade you, as well as the teacher.
Chris was next to add his two cents to the knowledge bank we were accumulating. He brought up a fact that Brent's group had stated earlier that the rubric can either be "holistic" or "performance specific". He supported this statement by saying that depending on the subject matter, you'd have a different rubric. While certain standards remain the same, the rubric must be altered for different subjects in minuscule, yet vital ways.
Dr. M seized this opportunity to describe a central tenent of IDT-in order to hit a home run in the objective accomplishment arena, you ought to first create the test for the students. Then you work your way back to try and make it so that the student reach objectives assessed by the test. If objectives and test questions do not align, the game is over as far as successfully planning is concerned.
La Tarsha spoke her mind next. She described the fact that in order to assess our students successfully, we must first know the information ourselves. She also spoke about the different ways that students learn and said that alternative methods allowed differnt student learning methods to be tested. An example would be written exams versus computerized tests.
Diane made the point that a rubric can be designed by the teacher and student. She also made the point that an effective rubric ought to not be difficult to understand. She cited teacher books as a rubric construction tool.
Julie added that holistic and performance specific rubrics can have different rating scales. In the holistic rubric, there is often only one grade-the final product produced by the student. In the performance specific rubric, each step of the learning process is graded individually. Julie said, "That about covers it".

Dr. M was not finished, however.....

He wished to hear two more comments we had not heard, yet.

1. Rubrics are short and easy to understand. 2. You should be able to tell a definite difference between levels (gradations). If vagueness exists, decrease the number of different components of assessment (the grading scale), i.e. What is good and what is fair?

The question that next came up was, "Why should the student be a part of the rubric?"

Clay justified that enthusiasm (or commitment) increases with student participation. He also said that student involvement can focus the student's attention on the material. After further probing, it was publicly declared that when you are involved in a task, you take pride in ownership.

Veronica felt inclined to add that with student involvement, there would be less need for traditional assessment methods, an thus, less time spent grading.

Robert said that the student is able to impart appropriate age level vocabulary on the lesson.

Gregory brought up again that everyone learns in different ways. He said that some students are not able to flourish under traditional assessment methods. Instead, options of alternative methods lead to better compatibility for learning.

This opened up a whole new can of worms.

Dr. M asked the class if they bought this idea of individualized learning processes. The jury was still out upon leaving class at 8:00. While still in class, a discussion insued.

Clay said that all learning is influenced by perspective. This impressive sounding adage was incomprehensible at the hour of night the class was at. Perhaps, more will be said on this at a later date and time...

Two terms came up in the debate over the existence/nonexistence of individualized learning methods- learning styles and multiple intelligences. J.J. stated that Howard Gardner was known for the Multiple Intelligences theory.

Gregory added to his previous argument, that different people learn through rote memory. That is, the more you do some repetive study method, the more you learn. Other people cannot learn by the rote method, he felt.

Chris argued that sometimes what you are teaching, the students themselves are learning something completely different about.

Julie took the discussion back to rubrics. She pointed out that students often have higher standards than the teacher even.

Dr. M laughed and added the joke, "Kids can make Alcatraz look like a summer camp."

Tina and La Tarsha lectured next on the seeming paradox of teaching students alternatively, only to have them be tested by Standardized tests which are traditional in method. La Tarsha pointed out that nowadays, the teacher is seen as more of a facilitator for group work among the students. She thought such group work emphasis could be detrimental for standardized test scores.

It was argued aloud that the challenge is for teachers to be exciting in their method of teaching, yet cover the material on the tests.

Julie held the belief that creative assignments dealing with material on standardized tests is possible.

La Tarsha countered with her belief that because on standardized tests, multiple choice questions reign supreme, there is little option for the alternative conditioned student.

Robert cited an example of alternative methods being custom tailored to specific lessons. He has had experience doing just so, showing certain Pink Palace exhibits to certain school groups.

The discussion next moved to why we use the wiki, not the dropbox for turning in certain assignments.

1. You cannot edit the dropbox submissions.
2. Wiki content remains useful after course is over and done with.
Dr. M next declared that if we are not on the Internet, then we are invisible (we don't exist). We all knew what was in store next.
We were moving into word processing on the Internet.

We went to Zoho.com and made accounts.

We created new documents and typed some text of our choice. Then we saved the information.

The question was brought up, "Why use this program when Microsoft Word is a lot more slick looking?"

1. It's free! 2. You can save documents online, making for mobile accessand and protection against hard drive crash. 3. The share option.

We took a ten minute break at 6:26.

<<<<<<< Upon returning to class at 6:38, we took up discussing the advantages of the Zoho account once again.

Emphasis was put on the sharing feature. It was said that when coauthoring a paper with multiple associates, zoho works better than a Word document beacuse you do not have to keep on correlating people's additions and sending the new copy to the rest of the group.

Julie pointed out that Zoho is like a mix between a wiki and an e-mail. It is similar to a wiki in that you can edit and share. But, with the zoho account, you cannot edit and share simultaneously, unlike a wiki. Also, the zoho account only permits invitees contribute, and a wiki is a free-for-all (anyone can add, even unsolicited spamming).

The next step in the zoho learning adventure was to take our papers we had previously saved and share them with our neighbor.

This process required that we:

1. first have the paper saved
2. Click share.
3. Type our neighbor's username in the box, either for read only, or for read and write.
4. Then we selected close.

Once we had successfully shared, we went over documents needing sharing.

1. Carpools
2. Assignments
3. Rubrics
4. Meeting notes
5. pictures
6. invitations
7. recipes
8. music, as in learning how to play
9. resumes
10. jobs
11. vacation planning for jobs
12. menus

Then we went over documents needing collaboration.

1. Yard work delegation schedule.
2. Establishing new policies for a company.
3. Planning an event.

Dr. M told us that the URL (http//:etc.etc.etc) is our public face for our zoho account.

This URL is like a pdf, which is not editable. Only when you share with someone, is it able to be edited.

You can even share to a large group (provided they have zoho accounts).

This could come in handy in a classroom by:

1. Editing homework
2. Human interest (hobbies, shared interests)
3. The ultimate wiki, really!!

This last description (ultimate wiki) brings up a good question.

When do we use wiki, and when do we use zoho?

Problems with zoho:

1. You cannot internally link unless you create the webpage you wish to share before making the zoho document. Whereas, you can always just put the webpage in double brackets on a wiki.
2. Member account is mandatory for Zoho participation.
3. You cannot track changes on Zoho. On a wiki, we know more or less who did what and when.

Advantages of zoho:

1. It is more visually appealing than a wiki.
2. Zoho has a ton of powerful tools available. As a result, Dr. M predicts that it will be purchased by some mega corporation in the near future.
3. You can instant message people using zoho.

We next talked about the variety of products that google has issued.

1. igoogle-Newspage
2. Gmail-google e-mail
3. Google maps-see link for map below.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=memphis,+tn&daddr=juneau,+ak&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=87.17854,71.71875&ie=UTF8&ll=46.55886,-112.148437&spn=174.142488,286.875&z=0

4. Google scholar-only searches scholarly websites.
5. Google docs-a word processor, a spreadsheet, and a presentation program.

Dr. M left it up to the student to decide whether they wished to pursue a google account.

We discusses next that we are able to make a wiki inside of zoho.

You would simply make a homepage, and presto, you have a wiki.

The question arose, "How would I use such a wiki?"

Dr. M uses it for past class wikis, also he puts his presentations on his wiki for the audience's benefit. He even uses it as an external brain (note taking). You can copy and paste information into a wiki.

The wiki program used for this class is PMwiki

Other wiki programs are:

1. wetpaint.com
2. pbwiki
3. wikispaces

The class next proceeded to watch Dr. M conduct a show and tell all about the latest gizmos and gadgets to come on the technological scene.

First shown was a bluetooth mouse. By bluetooth, this indicates it is wireless. The receiver is so small that it can stay in the USB port permanently without fear of breaking. Also, when the receiver is removed, it can be stored in the underbelly of the mouse.
Next shown was a Wacom, which is a Graphics Tablet that allows you to select stuff on the screen using a pen. In other words, it is a sort of mouse-pen hybrid. The Wacom shown to us was a smaller version. Dr. M reminded us that bigger is more expensive. He said that it was a lot cheaper than a whiteboard. $40 compared to $800. People were very interested in this item. They wished to know how it worked. Dr. M told us that different programs will have different affordances for how it can be implemented. Some programs run on top of a word processing program, i.e. sort of like the football game play drawings on TV.

Whatever size of graphics tablet you use, the text is scaled to the projector screen. You can even get a bluetooth version of the graphics tablet. This is useful for teaching classes, as you can travel around the room and teach on the projector screen. This feature will raise the price to $150, though!

A digital voice recorder was up next. Dr. M told us that nowadays a voice recorder can even make audio into text. But, you need a high end voice recognition software. He gave us one-dragon naturally speaking.

Dr. M even said that a voice recorder can be used as a backup in the instance of a classroom dispute. When its your word, against their word, a voice recording of an incidence can instantly bring about the truth of the matter. Afterall, things do happen.

Before leaving class, we went around the room and told what we had added to the wiki.

We were dismissed one minute before eight o'clock

Create your own wiki

http://www.idt7061.wetpaint.com/ 'Jessica Martin

http://lizardking.pbwiki.com/FrontPage Brenton Reese

https://jjsingersongwriter.pbwiki.com/FrontPage Judy Hutton (J.J.)

http://juliesttr.pbwiki.com/ Julie's Things to Remember. This will be my version of Dr. Martindale's "external brain" (as soon as I have the time to edit it)!! :) Julie Hasuly :)

http://kelwilk.pbwiki.com Kelly Wilkerson

http://iknowyouknow.wetpaint.com/ Jameka Sanders Roberts

http://2008teachers.wetpaint.com/ Latarsha Prophete

http://beadedjewels.wetpaint.com/ Dianne Johnson

http://mimisbragsite.wetpaint.com/ -Tina Heindel

http://shelia81.wetpaint.com/ Veronica Lemock's page

http://margieandchris.wetpaint.com Margie Christie

http://isthereanybodyoutthere.pbwiki.com Clay Bounds

http://cgoodell.pbwiki.com/FrontPage Chris G.

http://edlg.pbwiki.com Emily Lowry

http://sallyspensieve.wetpaint.com Sally Stinchfield

http://senorsombrero.wetpaint.com/ Matt Bell

http://gregstar0527.wetpaint.com Gregory Siggers

http://bridalshowers.wetpaint.com/ Haley Armstrong

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