MACUL Journal Fall 2007 by sbrunvan

A Publication of the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning

FALL 2007

VOLUME 28, ISSUE 1

MACUL J

2008 MACUL CONFERENCE

SAVE THE DATE!

MACUL

The MACUL Journal is published four times per year (Fall, Winter, Conference Issue, Spring/Summer) by MACUL, the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning, Inc. MACUL P. O. Box 518 Holt, MI 48842-0518 Telephone 517.694.9756 Fax 517.694.9773 E-mail: macul@macul.org www.macul.org

A publication of the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning Fall 2007 | Volume 28, Issue 1

Executive Director Ric Wiltse rwiltse@macul.org Executive Assistant Ieva Kule ikule@macul.org

CONTENTS 4

Calendar

MACUL Officers, Board of Directors

Special Interest Group Directors, Listserv Groups

MACUL Journal Editor Judy Paxton jpaxton@macul.org

iPods for every classroom

Happy new year!

Webmaster Paul Yelensky pyelensky@mac.com

MACUL space—our digital playground

Using technology in the elementary classroom

Gadgets and gizmos

Spotlight on Julie Myrmel

Michigan Virtual School™ introduces OSCAR

All editorial items and advertising inquiries should be sent to: Judy Paxton, Editor MACUL Journal 8060 Shady Lane Traverse City, MI 49684 Telephone 616.430.1789 E-mail: jpaxton@macul.org

MACUL’s new corporate advisory council

What does the research really say?

Student corner: Learning to use technology

Educators’ timesavers!

Composition and design by: FOURSIGHT Creative Group, Inc. 900 Starkweather Plymouth, MI 48170 Telephone 734.453.6991

The social web and learning communities

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools: Our journey from assistive technology access to achievement

Information is available upon request.

Create your own classroom wiki

Portions of the MACUL Journal may be reprinted with permission as long as the source is clearly acknowledged.

Designing an authentic learning opportunity with iMovie

Opinions expressed in the Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent MACUL.

10th annual educational technology coordinators conference a success

Audiobooks on iPods

MUSIC software plays for all!

TI-Navigator brings student-centered learning back into the classroom

Observing and communicating our world through photography

Business Manager Barbara Surtman bsurtman@macul.org

Annual dues for MACUL membership are $40 per year. MACUL’s membership year is May 1 through April 30. Dues include a subscription to the MACUL Journal. The MACUL Journal welcomes and encourages letters, articles, suggestions, and contributions from readers. Letters to the Editor should be signed and include author’s address and phone number.

Publication of items in the MACUL Journal does not imply endorsement by MACUL. Cover photograph by Ann Truesdell, Media Specialist, Birmingham Covington School, MI. Discover iPods, audiobooks and reading strategies on page 34.

2007-2008 August 2007 August 20: Copy deadline for MACUL Journal (Winter Issue 2007–2008) Theme: Online Learning

September 2007 September 18: MACUL Board and SIG Officers meeting, Lansing September 26: AT&T/MACUL Student Technology Showcase MI Capitol Building, Lansing

Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning Founded 1975 An organizational member of The International Society for Technology in Education MACUL is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that exists to: provide a state association for educators involved with, or seeking knowledge of, computer-related technology in learning ! provide for the sharing and exchanging of ideas, techniques, materials, and procedures for the use of computer-related technology through conferences, publications and support services ! promote and encourage effective, ethical and equitable use of computer-related technology in learning ! encourage and support research relating to the use of computer-related technology in learning. !

E-mail address:

macul@macul.org Website:

www.macul.org

October 2007 October 16: MACUL Board and SIG Officers meeting, Lansing

November 2007 November 5: Copy deadline for MACUL Journal (Conference Issue 2008) November 20: MACUL Board meeting, Lansing

December 2007 November 18: MACUL Board meeting, Lansing

March 2008 March 5-7: 2008 MACUL Conference—Technology: 21st Century Learning Tools, Grand Rapids.

April 2008 April 22: Educational Technology Coordinators Conference, Macomb ISD

May 2008 May 2: Upper Peninsula Business & Technology Educators Conference, Alger RESA, Marquette

June 2008 June 29–July 2: National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), San Antonio, TX

Visit www.macul.org for calendar updates! The Michigan Computer/Technology Users Calendar is updated in each issue of the Journal. Send MACUL activities, dates, and related information to: Judy Paxton, Editor 8060 Shady Lane Traverse City, MI 49684 E-mail: jpaxton@macul.org

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MACUL OFFICERS Michael Porter President Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD mporter@eup.k12.mi.us

Susan Hardin Treasurer Macomb ISD shardin@misd.net

Jo Ellen Miskowski Past-President Ingham ISD jmiskows@inghamisd.org

Gail Aldridge Secretary Thornapple-Kellogg Schools galdridge@tk.k12.mi.us

MACUL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ren Baldwin St. Joseph Public Schools rbaldwin@sjschools.org

Carolyn McCarthy Shiawassee RESD cmccarthy@voyager.net

Scott Bryan Troy School District sbryan2@troy.k12.mi.us

Sherry McVay DeWitt Public Schools smcvay@dewitt.edzone.net

Michael Champion Portage Public Schools mchampion@chartermi.net

Ben Rimes Mattawan Consolidated Schools ben@techsavvyed.net

Ricki Chowning Regional Educational Media Center Association of Michigan rchowning@remc.org

Reuben Rubio Spring Arbor University rarubio@arbor.edu

Eric Getsoian Southfield Public Schools getsoiane@yahoo.com

Jim Seitz Onsted Community Schools (Retired 2006) seitz.jim@gmail.com

Tim Kamps Holland Christian Schools tkamps@holland christian.org

Diane Zoellmer Muskegon Area ISD muskegonisd.org

Shawn Massey Flint Community Schools smassey@flintschools.org

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SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP DIRECTORS

LISTSERV GROUPS

Bill Wiersma — SIG Liaison MACUL bwiersma@macul.org

Jeff Trudell — SIGTC Wyandotte Public Schools jeff.trudell@wy.k12.mi.us

Pamela Moore — SIGCS Eastern Michigan University sheltiepam@earthlink.net

Steve Best — SIGTE University of Michigan sdbest@umich.edu

Gina Loveless — SIGEE Kalamazoo RESA gloveles@remc12.k12.mi.us

Bill Deater — SIGTECH Hesperia Community Schools wdeater@hesp.net

message for future use.

Steve Schiller — SIGMM Muskegon Heights Public Schools schiller@mhpsnet.org

Laura Cummings — SIGTELELEARNING Royal Oak Public Schools cummingsl@royaloak schools.com

SIGCS (Computer Science) .......macul-sigcs

Manette Crawford — SIGPD St. Frances Cabrini Middle School (Allen Park) nettetoo@yahoo.com

Michael Partridge — SIGWEB Pinckney Community Schools michaelp@pcs.k12.mi.us

To subscribe to any of listservs, send an e-mail message to listname-subscribe@ macul.org. Leave the subject heading and the body of message BLANK. Once you have successfully subscribed, you will receive an e-mail message telling you how to confirm your subscription.

Be sure to save this

LISTSERV-NAME MACUL members-at-large........macul-serve SIGEE (Elementary Educators)..macul-sigee SIGMM (Multimedia) ..............macul-sigmm SIGSPED (Special Education) ............................................macul-sigsped SIGPD (Professional Development) ................................................macul-sigpd SIGTC (Technology Coordinators) .................................................macul-sigtc SIGTE (Teacher Education) ........macul-sigte

Lorinda Tait — SIGSPED LJT Consulting LLC lotait@aol.com

SIGTECH (Technicians) ..........macul-sigtech SIGTELELEARNING (TeleLearning) ..............................................macul-sigtele SIGWEB (Webmasters)...........macul-sigweb

MORE THAN 6,000 EDUCATORS WILL BE READING THE MACUL JOURNAL WHY NOT HAVE THEM READ YOUR AD? If you’re looking to reach teachers, principals, superintendents and other decision makers in the field of education, the MACUL Journal offers opportunities to reach more than 6,000 of your best prospects with each issue. MACUL Journal is published quarterly, including an annual Conference issue. For more information on advertising, contact Judy Paxton MACUL Journal Editor, at jpaxton@macul.org or 616.430.1789.

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MACUL JOURNAL

iPods for every classroom and other such nonsnse

From the Executive Director

From the President

By Ric Wiltse

By Michael R. Porter This spring the Michigan House proposed a school aid budget that include an iPod for every classroom to the tune of about 38 million dollars, or so said the Michigan media. The truth is that the Michigan legislature which has almost never put Michigan tax dollars into educational technology funding, has seen the need for creating 21st century schools. This proposal would have given educators the training and the software needed to educate our students in a digital world. In light of this poor reporting I for one hope that our Legislators will continue to make bold proposals to keep Michigan moving forward. This fiasco in message management brings up a couple of good points. The first point is that even our elected officials are seeing the need for 21st century tools and techniques in our classrooms. To get some ideas how to do this, read the articles by Marilyn Western and Liz Kolb about setting up and using a wiki to enhance learning, or check out the “Audiobooks on iPods” article and discover a motivating reading strategy being used at Birmingham Covington School for all learners. This and every issue of the MACUL Journal and the MACUL website contain wonderful ideas for using 21st century tools for 21st century students. If you have a great idea, please feel free to share it with your fellow MACUL members by submitting it to the MACUL Journal. The second point is the disconnect between our media and the real world. They have been turning to the “Big Headline” and miss the real story. With this in mind it seems to me that we as educators have another job above and beyond educating students. We need to educate ourselves, our neighbors, our media and our legislature on the important issues affecting the way we educate students. We need to be well informed and well heard. My favorite advice from a lobbyist in Washington DC is as follows “if you do not tell people how you feel about an issue, they will assume you are against it.” So, how do you get connected and make your voice heard? Keep reading the MACUL Journal and attending the MACUL conference. Join a SIG (Special Interest Group) or two and keep informed on issues related to your interests. To keep informed about legislation at the federal and state level that will effect education join me as a member of the Education Technology Advocacy Network (ETAN) www.edteechactionnetwork.com. Next, contact your local paper to let them know the real story about education technology and how to change the lives of your student. Lastly, contact your legislature and let them know about the tools you need to be a 21st century educator!

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Happy new year!

Fall 07

As we prepare for the 2007–2008 school year, we take this opportunity to thank those who participated in MACUL leadership positions last year, welcome our new leaders and remind MACUL members about upcoming events.

Thank you to MACUL leaders MACUL thanks the following leaders who will be ending their terms. These members have spent many dedicated hours in service to our organization. Diane Bennett—SIGSPED Arthur Colling—SIGEE Dennis Squires—MACUL Board of Directors Sally Irons—SIGSPED Geoffrey Newcomb—SIGCS Rich Quick—SIGWEB

Welcome to new MACUL leaders MACUL welcomes the following new Special Interest Group leaders. Rich Lamb—SIGCS Karen Lemmons—SIGEE Gina Loveless—SIGEE Rose McKenzie—SIGSPED Chris Ozias— SIGWEB Christine Skoglund—SIGSPED Lisa Wickman—SIGMM Deb Woodman—SIGEE

Happy New Year continued on page 8 7

STUDENT TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 AT STATE CAPITOL

The seventh annual AT&T/MACUL Student Technology Showcase will be held on Wednesday, September 26 (9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.) at the State Capitol Building in Lansing. MACUL extends an invitation to K-12 schools throughout Michigan to participate in the event, which last year drew students and teachers from more than 50 schools. The Student Technology Showcase is free and open to the public. Student groups set up computers and other peripherals to show Michigan state legislators how technology is being used in the classroom to facilitate learning during one of two separate demonstration sessions in the morning and afternoon. The projects this year are expected to cover a wide variety of learning areas including distance learning, computer programming, e-commerce, and other curriculum integration concepts. Student demonstrations also are expected to include video production, web authoring, handheld technologies, robotics, digital imaging, multimedia and student broadcasting. The Showcase is sponsored by AT&T and MACUL, an organization dedicated to bringing educators from all levels together to share their knowledge and concerns regarding educational uses of computers and technology. To register for the event, or for further information, visit the MACUL website at www.macul.org. 8

Happy New Year continued from page 7

MACUL also welcomes two new Board members:

not us, who?” To learn more about advocacy at the national level, Scott encourages all MACUL members to join the Educational Technology Action Network (ETAN) at www. edtechactionnetwork.org.

Sherry McVay, Director of Technology for DeWitt Public Schools. Sherry has been involved in our organization as an ATA trainer and COPE course developer. Upon her election to the MACUL Board, Sherry stated, “I’ve been a MACUL member for quite a while, enjoying all of the benefits of the conference and collegiality of the organization. I’m excited to now be in a position where I can give back to the group!” Scott Bryan, Director of Technology for the Troy School District. Scott joins the MACUL Board to bring a stronger emphasis in advocacy efforts and states, “It is an honor for me to join the MACUL Board, and I am very pleased to be part of the organization’s kickoff effort for education technology advocacy. I look forward to helping MACUL develop a formal voice to speak on behalf of the amazing educational initiatives being developed by its members. Now more than ever, it is critical that ed tech practitioners ensure that their voices are heard and that we demonstrate the impact our work has on student learning and preparation for 21stCentury skills. If

The year ahead Plan now to participate in these MACUL events: !

September 26, 2007—ATT/ MACUL Student Technology Showcase, Michigan Capitol, Lansing March 5 – 7, 2008—32nd Annual MACUL Conference, Grand Rapids April 22, 2008—Educational Technology Coordinators Conference, Macomb ISD May 2, 2008—Upper Peninsula Business & Technology Educators Conference, Marquette-Alger RESA June 29 – July 2, 2008—National Educational Computing Conference, San Antonio, TX

In addition to these, watch the MACUL website for additional events including an online auction and other regional conferences. Happy New Year, and stay in touch with MACUL!

New MACUL online courses for educators! Instructor: Course time: Cost:

delivered via Moodle. Participate and become familiar with this free opensource platform. 2. Blogging for Classroom and Administrative Use Can Blogs really be used effectively in the classroom or are they only for social purposes? How can an administrator use Blogs to collaborate and communicate with staff? How do I create a Blog? Answer these questions and more by enrolling in this course. This course will be delivered via Moodle. Participate and become familiar with this free open-source platform.

Miriam Taylor September 10 – October 6, 2007 $150 MACUL members $180 non-members

1. Designing Authentic Online Activities Learn how to modify your classroom content to create effective activities for use online. As a class, be involved in active participation online to try out these activities led by an experienced online instructor. Walk away with a final project that you can immediately use in your classroom. This course will be

MACUL JOURNAL

MACUL space— our digital playground By Ben Rimes

MACUL Board Member MACUL Space allows members to easily share photos, websites, podcasts, and videos from any of the popular video sharing sites on the Internet. Just like the chit-chat shared in the teacher’s lounge, members can participate in professional and casual conversations with other educators around the nation, share or discover cool tools on the Internet, or even maintain their own personal blog on the site. Want to have your own private discussions? With dedicated Special Interest Groups, you can join specific groups and discussions dedicated to different aspects of educational technology.

Kids today don’t build tree houses or play with their Barbie dolls after school. They’re busy building digital hang-outs and dressing up their Bratz dolls online with their friends. They’re reading and writing their own Harry Potter fan fiction online to share with others and communicating with each other through images, videos, and avatars; they’re networking. The kind of school-yard networking that was once confined to monkey bars at recess, only now they have a digital playground that they can access 24 hours a day. So where is our digital playground? Where’s our place, as adults and educators, to continue our conversations, cultivate friendships, and network online in a manner that’s as open and collaborative as the networks our students use? The answer—MACUL Space (http://macul space.ning.com). By mixing the professional goals of MACUL and the more casual nature of social networks like MySpace and Facebook, MACUL Space is a digital playground for future, current and past members of MACUL to network and share ideas about education. MACUL JOURNAL

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Sharing your thoughts, lesson ideas and files is as easy as students swapping trading cards at recess. Being able to experience the powerful networking tools on MACUL Space means that you’ll have firsthand experience using the tools of Web 2.0 instead of just hearing about them. You’ll find many knowledgeable and helpful MACUL members already on the site ready to help you “learn the ropes” and how to navigate our new digital playground. Come join, and invite a few friends to “play” too.

http://maculspace.ning.com

Using technology

in the elementary classroom By Marilyn Western

Six Ways to Wiki

1. Team collaboration

You’ve probably heard the term or come across it in a professional journal, but have you ever seen, used, or set up a wiki? If you can use a word processor, you can wiki. In its simplest terms, a wiki is a free online word processor. No software to install. Access it from any online computer. Click Edit. Write your ideas. Save. That’s it! I can highly recommend two free wiki locations: PBWiki (that’s Peanut Butter Wiki) found at pbwiki.com and Wikispaces at www.wikispaces.com. Both encourage educational wikis, have how-to videos to help you along, and

Instead of saving a template to our Shared drive for student teams to access, this year I tried posting a research template as a wiki. I created pages on both wikispaces and pbwiki and found both to be easy and reliable. Students could access the wiki I set up, click on the link for their group, and read the directions. When they had researched information and were ready to add it to the wiki page, they simply logged in with the secret password, made their changes, and saved. We did find that only one student could edit at a time, but students quickly became experts at writing their research in a Word doc so they could quickly copy and paste into the wiki. I was amazed by two things with this activity— students became more courteous about taking up wiki-editing time and, surprisingly, since students could access their research guide online, some teams actually worked on their page outside of school!!! The spirit of collaboration was a-buzz in my lab as students divided up the work, consulted each other with questions, and offered constructive comments about their team mates’ work. This project alone was enough to sell me on using wikis with kids!

Wikispaces can be found at wikispaces.com. Unlimites pages, 2GB file storage, 10MB upload file size. Does have ads.

PBWiki can be found at pbwiki.com. Unlimited pages, 10MB file storage, templates to get you started. No ads.

can get you up and running within minutes. Now that you know where and can find out how, here are a half dozen ideas to get you going.

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Variations on the collaboration wiki: During March-is-Reading-Month, have students post book reviews on a |

MACUL JOURNAL

Timeline Wiki. Each linked page could be a decade with sequential historical data. The whole class could work on this together, or set up small groups to be decade experts.

wiki page. Or ‘If I had a million dollars, I would give the World …’ gift suggestions. Or ‘what I’m really good at’ sentences in September as a Get to Know Us page. Students love the idea of using a secret password for anything—and posting to their own web page for the whole world (as well as Mom & Dad) can be a good reason for editing and revising. Set up a wiki as a pattern story based on books such as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or The Important Book and let students add their own piece of the story.

Have older students ‘pre-view’ a unit by researching the upcoming topic in KidsClick! www.kidsclick.org or Ask Earl (Yahooligans) kids.yahoo. com/ask_earl to locate web sites that would be of interest to students and/or may add interactivity to the unit. What a great way to start that prior knowledge acquisition before you even start the unit! And the bonus is a collection of web sites, information, games, images, etc that students show interest in.

3. Links collection I hesitate to send my students Googling, even with the Safe Search turned on. So, I make it a policy to collect kid-safe links that they can explore (we do have ‘the talk’ about what is an advertisement and not to click on links that take you off that particular site). I have a del.icio.us account that I keep for my professional link collection, but I’ve found that a wiki is a much ‘cleaner’ environment for students to use. Summer is a great time for searching out just the right web pages to support the curriculum we’ll be covering during the school year. I’ve set up a wiki page for each curriculum area (math, language arts, etc.). I found that by inserting a table on the page, I can keep unit links together (don’t you just love tables?). Be sure to have one page for those educational games that students can explore when they have down time.

2. Show what we know So you want students to show off what they’ve learned in the latest Social Studies or Science unit. Setting up a wiki as a class ‘ABC Book’—each letter can have it’s own wiki page that includes a student chosen topic for the letter, an original paragraph with information about the topic, and (if you have enough wiki space) an original picture to accompany the article. Combine the efforts of two or three classes for a well-rounded book.

4. Use as a file-keeper Create a ‘personal’ wiki (keep it private) where you can upload files, images, videos that you can access from any Internet-capable computer. Never again will you be at a loss because your doc or presentation is sitting on your home computer when you are at school! Variations on the file-keeper wiki: Use a wiki as a classroom scrapbook, documenting units, projects, assemblies, books read, and everyday life in your classroom. Or have a couple of students write a paragraph each week telling about the week’s highlights and point parents to this online newsletter.

5. A classroom web page

Variations on the ABC Book: Create your own class dictionary or Word Wall of Math or Science or Social Studies vocabulary. Studying the American Revolution? Why not have students document their studies by creating a MACUL JOURNAL

The problem with most web pages is that they have a tendency to get ‘stuck’ on the computer that uploads them. With a wiki, as long as you can remember your password, you can access and update the page from any computer. I’ve tweaked my classroom wiki—even in the middle of a class— when I find students are having difficulty finding a particular piece of information, or I realize my directions on the wiki aren’t clear enough, or a student points out a better way of doing something. A wiki can also be ‘locked’—so only you can make changes—to create a parent communication web site. It takes just about the same amount of time to post a schedule change or

Variations on the curriculum links wiki: Kids can add to this page. They may have favorite pages that parents, friends, or older siblings have located that are of educational value. We celebrate students who can show me a worthwhile web site. |

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classroom, list the homework policy, reading and math goals for the year, and all those little notices that crop up in the 1st couple of weeks start out with a bang, but are abandoned when things get really busy in the classroom —usually just before parent-teacher conferences. A wiki is so simple to maintain because you can update it in less than 5 minutes. Just log in, jot a note on the main page, and save for that ‘fresh news’ look.

upload a copy of a field trip permission slip as it would to crank out a newsletter (actually, maybe less, because a wiki doesn’t have to have all the ‘oolala’ borders, clipart, etc that a newsletter seems to accumulate). What would you put on a web page wiki for parents and/or students? How about a quick calendar (some wikis come with a calendar plugin, but you can also post just a listing of dates and events—remember the K.I.S.S. principle!), homework reminders, explanations, handouts, or a list of links for parents or students to use at home, those great poems that students made this week, a picture or two of the latest fieldtrip or school assembly or activities at the Math Center. And some fog delay or snow day, check out Google Gadgets at http://www.google. com/ig/directory?synd=open that you can add to your wiki (free!). I’ve noticed many web pages that are created just before school starts to welcome students and parents to the

pages fairly often. Also, for safety issues, you may want to have students choose a pseudonym rather than using their own names. Vote on a classroom theme such as The Ocean and individuals can become Shark, Sea Turtle, or Blue Whale. What fun! As you can see, a wiki can be an easy way to share information online. Within a few minutes, you can set up a wiki and add interest and excitement to your next lesson. So, how will YOU wiki?

6. Student web pages Yes—something you’ve thought about but quickly put aside. Who wants to try to teach 3rd graders html??? With a classroom wiki, each student can be in charge of one wiki page—which they ‘own’ and can post their stories, reflections, digital images, fav links, writing assignments (tell me three ways that you used Math yesterday after school), etc. Remember that students have the unique ability to get frisky with such publications, so it might be a good idea to spot check

Marilyn Western is a former member of the MACUL Board of Directors, a Discovery Educator Network (DEN) scholar, an MTIP Scholar, TAPS winner, and a Mt. Pleasant Public Schools 5th/6th grade computer lab teacher. Outside of the classroom, she has worked as the 1998–99 MDE Technology Using Educator on Loan, an ATA course designer and instructor, a technology trainer for Gratiot Isabella RESD, a national presenter for the Bureau of Education & Research, and a district Tech Guru.

SHARING DISCOVERIES

Gadgets and Gizmos Journeying from the home planet “Targus” in the Handspring galaxy (wikipedia 2010), this ship is powered by the opensource whale chipset. Searching the wifi nebula for years it encountered a virtual krokadile. Sensing an opportunity to collaborate it sent out is zterabyte cable. It was successful in connecting 01001011 10010011! The galazy has been saved. May the whale force be with you!* Do you have a technology gadget that you wouldn’t want to be without…or, something way too cool to keep to yourself? Submit your discovery of a newer technology tool used in the world of education in a description (less than 200 words) along with a photo of the tool to Judy Paxton, MACUL Journal Editor (jpaxton@macul.org).

Share your discovery with other educators! If your gadget or tool is selected for publication, you will receive a 1-year MACUL membership or renewal!

Be sure to include:

Description of gadget or tool.

How is the product helpful?

Where can others find it?

Estimated cost?

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*One of the gizmos designed by a MACUL Leadership team member at the 2007 MACUL Leadership Retreat.

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Spotlight on

Julie Myrmel MEMBER SPOTLIGHT their students. They said, “The whole world is our audience!” They feel this work is authentic and important, and I can’t say enough about how powerful it is for my kids.

Julie Myrmel is a 29-year expert teacher, currently teaching third grade at Bauer Elementary in Hudsonville Public Schools. Before teaching third grade, she spent 17 years as a Speech Therapist. Julie has been a MACUL member for almost 10 years. Her accomplishments include: ! MTIP (MI Technology Integration Professional) Scholar ! Freedom To Learn Supercoach ! MACUL Teacher of the Year ! Tech4Learning Innovative Educator ! MI State Technology Plan-committee member ! Teacher Created Materials-published lessons ! National Board Certification Julie offers valuable insight into the use of educational technology in the classroom:

What are some obstacles still hindering effective integration of technology? Money is a big issue, so it’s tougher to find ways to purchase new technology. Also, districts have to make difficult choices because of budget cuts, and technology integration support is one place it seems like the cuts are often made.

What was your favorite educational technology moment? A few years ago I had a student who was emotionally impaired, and had a very difficult time interacting with peers and adults. When he got his hands on technology, he was a different person-full of enthusiasm and confidence. At our yearly technology night, he dressed up in a tie and jacket, and looked everyone in the eye while explaining his project. At the end of the evening, he wouldn’t shut down his computer until he was sure that every adult had seen his work. I find so often that the students that struggle with more traditional activities, really shine in the area of technology. They’re so excited to be the experts, and offer help to their classmates, instead of asking someone else to help them.

Explain how you found a solution to your obstacle that hindered integration of technology? To solve the support issue, I spend more time on my own researching best practices and looking for powerful ways to use it. As for lack of funds for “stuff,” the availability of free web resources has really helped. I have also had guidance and support from peers, and from staff at my Intermediate School District.

What is your favorite technology-based lesson? My new favorite technology in my classroom is creating content on the web. The kids make podcasts that we post to the classroom blog, and each student has their own wiki space. Dan Ireland from the Ottawa ISD taught the students how to use Garageband to create a podcast, and they never looked back. I have never gotten such high quality work from kids before, and they come up with so many great ideas of their own. They work in small groups according to what they are interested in talking about, and the peer editing of the writing is the most authentic and thoughtful I have seen. I’m not sure anyone but their families listen to them, but their perception of a global audience inspires them to work and work until they are satisfied that what they have done is absolutely their best. Once, when I was preparing for a presentation, I asked them why they thought other teachers should take the time to do podcasting with MACUL JOURNAL

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What in terms of technology would you like to see next come down the pike? Many educators are integrating technology in meaningful ways, and I think it’s important that they have a support system available. It’s scary to a lot of people when they know that

Spotlight continued on page 15 |

Michigan ™ Virtual School introduces OSCAR By Jamey Fitzpatrick interest. This one-semester experience can satisfy a student’s need to complete Michigan’s new online learning requirement and/or enable a student to earn additional course credit in math, science or other content areas. All OSCAR course sections include:

Today’s high school students will enter an increasingly complex world that is growing more dependent on data to make analytical decisions using research and critical thinking skills. Typically, K-12 students have limited opportunities to develop and practice research skills in a real-world setting. To promote the concept of student-based research, Michigan Virtual School (MVS™) has developed the new Online Scholars Community Advanced Research (OSCAR) courses. These innovative courses allow small groups of students from different high schools throughout Michigan to pursue in-depth academic research on a variety of contemporary topics under the direction of a highlyqualified online instructor. The OSCAR experience is designed to be rigorous and to provide high achieving students with a unique scholarly opportunity to use Internet-based tools for research, communication, collaboration and publishing. OSCAR provides students with the opportunity to do more than write a traditional book report by exploring answers to interesting questions such as:

1) As both workers and consumers, how do high school students contribute to Michigan’s economy? 2) What changes have occurred in the nutritional value, costs and weight for an average meal at a fast food restaurant over the last 15 years?

3) Using grade point averages and test results, who succeeds more in Michigan schools? Students involved in extracurricular activities or students who don’t participate in extracurricular activities?

4) In Michigan what, if any, relationship exists between the body weight of elementary students and their physical activity and diet? 5) Adjusted for inflation, who has earned the most money during any 10-year period as a professional athlete, singer, actor, comedian or performer during the last 25 years?

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Engaging activities designed to build virtual teaming skills Focus on the important topic of plagiarism Strategies to help students validate online content and media resources Opportunities to learn about the appropriate use of copyrighted material Advanced student use of Internetbased search tools and information resources Opportunities to develop and practice 21st Century learning skills (such as critical thinking, problem solving, online collaboration and media literacy)

The specific details of each small group research project are developed

Each OSCAR section focuses on a different research topic and allows students to examine a subject more fully than is possible in a typical high school course. The small virtual research teams conduct authentic research in areas of personal 14

Introduction to research and research methods

OSCAR continued on page 18 |

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Spotlight continued from page 13 things can go so spectacularly wrong with technology in front of students that they want to view them as experts. It’s a big shift in thinking and in pedagogy, and in these days of budget cuts this support is getting harder and harder to find when you need it. So, I think it would be most helpful to have teacher coaches, or some other similar support system to help teachers become more comfortable with the technology itself and with giving more control for learning to the students. We need to move quickly to tailor the students’ educational experiences to engage them, and to give them the skills they’ll need for employment in our “flat world.” What was your favorite MACUL Conference experience? Each year I come back from the conference with new ideas and a new enthusiasm for what can be accomplished with technology. The most important part every time is the interaction with other teachers about what has worked, and what hasn’t, and how to make changes that will have the most impact on my students. It is a fantastic group of experts all in one place! How has MACUL helped you become more proficient with using technology in your career? I joined MACUL early in my classroom-teaching career, so being a member has helped me grow in my effective use of technology every step of the way. The networking aspect of this group is invaluable in moving forward. The journal articles and conference presentations I’ve attended help me keep up with the all the latest ideas. I’ve taken students to the showcase in Lansing and at the conference, and that’s been motivational and important to my students and their parents. I know I can stay current in my knowledge of cutting edge uses of technology through my membership in MACUL.

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MACUL’s new corporate advisory council The MACUL Corporate Advisory Council was established in March 2007 to: ! !

Advise MACUL on issues and activities related to conferences and events Provide input on proposed policies and procedures effecting MACUL’s corporate partners

Receive MACUL benefits and discounts reserved only for CAC members

Contribute ideas to further the goals of MACUL

MACUL is pleased to include the following companies as charter members in the Corporate Advisory Council. We encourage MACUL members and partners to interact with these companies:

Apple Computer Arialink Atomic Learning C/D/H CDW-G Cisco ClassLink Collaborative Learning, Inc. Crick Software Daytona Storage Data Image Dell Inc. Discovery Education DynaCal EduTek Midwest FableVision Foxbright Glencoe/McGraw Hill Harcourt Assessment

LeapFrog/Schoolhouse LearningStation Linworth Publishing MapleNet Merit Network Michigan Education Association Michigan’s Integrated Technology Supports Michigan Virtual University My Education Connection Plante & Moran PowerIT REMC Association of Michigan SEHI Computer Products Skyward TechSmith Tech4Learning University of Michigan–Flint

Membership in the MACUL Corporate Advisory Council is open to all MACUL sponsors. For more information on the MACUL Corporate Advisory Council, please contact: Ric Wiltse, MACUL Executive Director rwiltse@macul.org 517.694.9756 Fall 07

What does the

research really say? preparing preservice teachers for technology integration

By Sandra K. Plair

SIGTE Assistant Director They face many of the barriers teachers have expressed for many years such as lack of equipment and connectivity, lack of adequate preparation for integrating technology, lack of support for existing technology, insufficient time to learn the skills required for technology fluency, (Etrmer, 1999a; Ertmer, 1999b; Hadley & Sheingold, 1993) and insufficient research confirming the merits of technology integration and student achievement (Cuban, 2002). Preservice teachers comfortable with technology are not yet skilled in technology integration nor are new teachers more likely to include student use of technology over that of more experienced teachers (Russell, Bebell, O’Dwyer, & O’Connor, 2003). Changing beliefs by providing opportunities to become familiar with technology (Russell, et.al., 2003) is as critical as changing teachers practice to alter their thinking about technology (Etrmer, 2005). Twenty-five secondary level preservice teachers, representing a variety of content areas, participated in a required fifteen week teacher preparation course in which the core content was supplemented with educational technology topics. Twenty-three of the preservice teachers submitted a variety of course related writings for analysis by the author. Two students expressed a desire not to have their work viewed

“We don’t know how to use technology!” “Why should we bother to learn something that will be outdated by the time we are ready to teach!” “The schools don’t have money for technology so why waste our time!” “We did not learn that stuff in school. We have no idea what to do!” “This is not a technology class. Why are do we have to know anything about technology here?” “We have our content to teach. We can not be expected to teach technology, too!” Voices of preservice teachers upon learning technology topics would be included in a required teacher education course. As instructor of preservice teachers my goal is expose them to limited educational technology resources. While accustomed to resistance, unbending tenacity of one class caught me off guard. It also presented an opportunity for action research, sometimes called teacher research or systematic inquiry (ChiseriStrater & Sunstein, 2006) in my classroom. Through required student writings I could examine the effectiveness of efforts to increase awareness about instructional technology related to content and pedagogy. The explanation for such resistance from these media proclaimed ‘digital natives’ was simply that they had not grown up with technology at home or school and had encountered few teachers who routinely used technology. They arrived from school districts with technology resources that ranged from almost none to more than you can imagine. They considered their five year old nieces and nephews the digital natives because of their comfortable and ease with computers and other technology innovations. Despite sitting in a class with their laptops, cell phones, and Facebook accounts, they did not consider themselves to be technology fluent. Remarkably, they seemed to take for granted that I would use technology to teach them but they did not seem to envision the same for themselves. The challenge would be to change the beliefs of preservice teachers about instructional technology and their roles as teachers. I would also need to provide them with examples and tools that they could envision as appropriate for their content and future classrooms. Any evidence of change would probably be found in student course work and an action research approach seemed the logical solution. The research question became—if introduced to a variety of educational technology resources during a semester course, would technology resistant preservice teachers change their beliefs about the use of technology for instruction? The National Education Technology Plan, No Child Left Behind, and the new State of Michigan Guidelines for Online Learning Experiences are important policy issues that will dictate the teaching requirements of preservice teachers. 16

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by those outside to the course. The required writings of the course were used to find evidence that initial student beliefs and attitudes about technology and teaching were altered. Students had two major writings that required the inclusion of educational technology related to the work they would do with secondary students. The first assignment asked the preservice teachers for plans to incorporate course themes when working with one or more students in actual classrooms. Since this paper was due early in the semester, preservice teachers challenged this expectation declaring their lack of knowledge about technology in teaching put them at a disadvantage. They were encouraged to try nonetheless and their writing was used to refocus the technology topics introduced throughout the course. The other assignment was in the form of a final paper or project that reflected their progress in the course as they moved forward in their preparation as teachers. This final paper was expected to demonstrate or confirm changes in belief or attitude not only about educational technology but course content as well. Other writing in the study included weekly reflections from course readings that contained minor references to technology topics and journal entries from their experiences in schools with teachers and secondary students. They would also reflect on a guest speaker presentation and a video on handheld computers in classrooms. To support student knowledge and awareness of instructional technology, a technology activity related to the course content was presented each week. A Web Site(s) of the Week was presented to provide additional course content resources, teacher resources, or content area related sites. Students were required to use a course management system for a paperless class environment. All course MACUL JOURNAL

it.” Another example comes from Aretha who commented, “I don’t know if I can handle teaching students who will likely understand our classroom technology better than I can.” When asked to plan activities for one or more adolescents, technology activities were limited to accessing the Internet for information, an occasional use of an iPod for sharing foreign language or music content, and minor references to Word or PowerPoint use. In contrast to their initial writings, final projects and papers often expressed both new ideas about the kinds of technology resources introduced or simply indicated a change in belief or attitude. For example, Renee wrote, “During the course of this class I thought that trying to incorporate so much technology in the classroom was ridiculous, but I realize that there is no reason to push it away. Just because it is a different approach to learning and teaching does not mean it will not work. It may result in richer learning environment and benefit the students and us, as teachers, more than we know.” Ruth said it best when she stated, “I had been skeptical about the promotion of technology in all content areas at the beginning of this course. After becoming better informed on the array of technological options available, I am embarrassed to think that I once thought English was no place for technology.” Despite their initial resistance, most preservice teachers found some value in learning about various educational technology resources especially when a connection to their content area was apparent. While this small research study is not representative of all preservice teachers, it does provide an opportunity for more discussion about preservice teachers and how technology integration or technology fluency is developed and incorporated

Despite the abundance of media tales about technology and young people, what students new to teacher education programs do with technology is very different than what teachers do with technology. assignments, readings, and discussion forums were online creating a hybrid online learning environment. Preservice teachers were expected to bring laptops to class and the face-toface portion of the class was held in a high tech classroom where presentation tools were available for modeling. Writings were analyzed looking for themes or domains reflecting students’ attitudes or beliefs about educational technology. The analysis looked for common threads running though individual writings or across student writings to determine what changes in beliefs or attitudes were present. Early writings revealed three basic patterns or trends about technology: negative aspects, lack of personal skills, and limited vision of student use. Handhelds were viewed as ways to promote cheating, socially isolating, and inappropriate choices for reading in lieu of textbooks. Preservice teachers, like Alice, expressed concern about personal skills. She stated, “It’s so intimidating to us because we have no experience…and we’re skeptical and critical...because that’s not how we did |

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Notes:

into their pedagogical content knowledge. Teacher preparation programs would do well to think about ways to assess the basic technology knowledge of their preservice teachers. Despite the abundance of media tales about technology and young people, what students new to teacher education programs do with technology is very different than what teachers do with technology. Understanding the role of technology and content is very different from being able to access YouTube videos and load an iPod with the latest music. Teacher preparation programs that include a goal of technology integration must make sure preservice teachers understand a variety of technology tools, resources, and techniques related to their specific content area. are many research There implications from this small study. Some questions to ask might be: What happens when preservice teachers exit the university to classrooms that have minimal technology available? What happens when well-prepared preservice teachers are assigned to mentor teachers who are lacking in skills to integrate technology? What happens when preservice teachers are assigned to mentor teachers whose beliefs and attitudes about technology integration are distinctly different? What more needs to be done to help teachers develop preservice technology pedagogical content knowledge assuring that technology creates as advantage for the pedagogy associated with their content knowledge? And even more thought provoking, how is what we do with preservice teachers and technology integration going to positively impact the students they will teach? How about some action research from classroom teachers out there?

OSCAR continued from page 14

1. Names are pseudonyms. 2. Visit the SIGTE page on the MACUL web site at www.macul.org for a list of preservice teacher technology resources used for this article.

in the first few weeks of the course based on significant input and online discussion between the students and the MVS instructor. Teams work collaboratively with their online MVS instructor to determine appropriate research strategies as they develop their research proposals. In addition to a highly-qualified MVS instructor, research teams are encouraged to find and interact with experts from higher education, government and/or the business world using email and web conferencing tools. Student research teams will be responsible to develop a hypothesis, collect data, test methods, analyze data, generate a data-supported conclusion(s) and prepare a formal paper. Teams are also expected to develop companion multimedia resources such as computer-based slide presentations, wiki entries, websites, blogs and podcasts. These courses are intended to help students better understand the important concept of intellectual property rights as they become online authors of research and not just consumers of online content. Students selected to participate in these innovative courses should have considerable capacity for independent critical thought and self-directed learning. Students should work with their school counselor or principal to finalize enrollment decisions and to determine preferences for a specific research topic. Individuals interested in learning more about the OSCAR course offerings should send an email message to oscar@mivu.org or visit the MVS website at http://www. mivhs.org.

References Chiseri-Strater, E., & Sunstein, B. S. (2006). What Works?: A practical guide for teacher research. Portsmouth: Heinemenn. Cuban, L. (2002). Oversold & Underused: Computers in the Classroom (paperback ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Ertmer, P. A. (1999a). Addressing first- and second-order barriers to change: Strategies for technology integration. Educational Technology Research and Development, 47(No. 4), 47–61. Ertmer, P. A., Addison, P., Lane, M., Ross, E., & Woods, D. (1999b). Examining teachers’ beliefs about the role of technology in the elementary classroom. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32(1), 54–72. Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(No. 4), 25–39. Hadley, M., & Sheingold, K. (1993). Commonalities and distinctive patterns in teachers’ integration of computers. American Journal of Education, 101(May), 261–314. Patrick, S. D. (2004). National Education Technology Plan 2004. Washington, D.C. Russell, M., Bebell, D., O’Dwyer, L., & O’Connor, K. (2003). Examining teacher technology use: Implications for preservice and inservice teacher preparation. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(4), 297–310.

Sandra Plair, former technology instructor with the Lansing School District, is the assistant director for MACUL’s Special Interest Group for Teacher Education (SIGTE). Recently retired, she is currently a student in Michigan State University’s Teacher Education Ph. D. program.

Jamey Fitzpatrick is the President and CEO of the Michigan Virtual University, a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation created by the State in 1998 to expand the use of learning technologies. |

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Learning to use technology:

a great value By Brandie Tripp 6th Grade, Mayfield Elementary Lapeer, Michigan Do you ever think that technology rules your life? Sometimes it feels like if you do not know how to use the computer you are lost in this world. At least that’s how I feel this year as a sixth-grader. Technology encompasses everything we do in Mr. Losinger’s class. I am beginning to see how what I am learning about technology today will benefit me in the future. Word processing is one of the most common, yet easily learned tools available to use on the computer. Simply put, word processing looks so much neater than my handwriting. I think my teacher would rather read a word-processed piece of my writing than a handwritten piece. I know I would. And speaking as someone who is a wobbly speller; it really helps me to spell words that I would never attempt to spell on my own. A major portion of our instructional day is spent using technology. Hence each student in my class is required to develop an electronic portfolio as evidence of our learning accomplishments. The examples included in my portfolio would be impossible without a digital camera that enables me to capture my growth as a student over time. Another software that I use in the construction of my electronic portfolio is Microsoft PowerPoint. PowerPoint was about as easy to learn as word processing. I love how you can quickly change a slide layout or individualize a slide with a color of your choice. Color is important because it makes your work stand out. It also provides a great way to personalize an electronic portfolio. I also learned how to enhance PowerPoint with movies using Pinnacle Studio Version 9 or Windows Movie Maker. Custom animation also enhances the viewer’s enjoyment. Accessibility to technology is key to how much it can be used for learning. Eleven desktop computers and six laptops in our classroom enable our class to create movies and power points for many things including social studies and science projects. Mr. Losinger lets us chose how we want to present our projects: movie, power point, or report. Most people like to do a power point because it tends to be easer to make than a movie, yet more fun than a report. I prefer the challenge of making a movie. The technology skills that I have learned extend beyond my classroom. Being able to videotape a class performance with a camera is always a thrill for me. Sometimes I use the video camera to tape scenes for the movies I make. Unfortunately, we do not have a digital video camera. But as a result, I had to learn how to use Dazzle software to transfer any video recordings in the computer. MACUL JOURNAL

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Without question, technology is an extremely important part of school and learning. If you don’t know how to use technology you are lost in this world. I am fortunate to have a teacher that knows a lot about technology and sees the value in making it a part of daily learning. |

Educators’ timesavers! By Kelly Kermode Forest Hills Public Schools Communications Officer, SigWeb is that the user can dictate which news sources Bloglines collects. The user can create an account, set up subfolders based on content types, and then add news feeds (or RSS feeds) to the account. Bloglines picks up the details and instantly collects the news from the chosen sources. Here’s the best part: there’s no clean up. As a kid, I remember every week having to pick up my dad’s newspapers that found their way across our house. Collecting all the physical remnants of the week’s news became a job for the kids in my family, actually making it on the “chore list.” Bloglines thought ahead on this. After opening a folder and reading through the news, Bloglines clears the folder. Once it’s read, it’s gone. However, if a user would like to keep a particular article for future reference you can mark it and save it. The rest of the news is just filtered away. No clean up, no hassle. The following is a quick how-to lesson on getting started in Bloglines: 1. Open two Internet browser windows or tabs.

Why not get caught up with the current tech trends and reconfigure some of your classroom management practices at the same time? Many educators feel as though technology is a hassle, a time-consumer and not a time-saver. Learning a technology and applying it to the classroom can take time. However, with the right tools, technology can help our lives become more streamlined and more efficient. The following tool is a favorite—a fun technology for both personal and professional use.

2. Go to Bloglines.com and open an account. 3. Create folders on types of content you might be interested in.

Bloglines: Efficient News Who has time to keep up with every tidbit of information and news that is produced every day? Better yet, how does one even gather that vast amount of news that could be collected? Bloglines is one answer to keeping up with the informational highway. One can find new appreciation for current news through this web-based program. Bloglines is a news aggregator; in other words, it collects news from a variety of sources. The beauty of the site isn’t from how many sources it can collect (the list is endless); the beauty 20

4. Within the second browser window, go to a news source that you like to read from: http://digg.com http://www.msnbc.com http://www.nytimes.com |

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9. Bloglines should validate the link (feed). Then it will ask you what folder in which you would like to put that news source. Choose from your list. You can also edit this later.

5. Look for a RSS symbol. Click on it and you should get a screen with a lot of coding.

6. Copy the link location for that page.

7. Go back to your Bloglines account and click ADD.

10. Bloglines will then begin to aggregate the news from that source into your folder.

8. Paste the link location into the line and click ADD.

Click on a topic and begin to read your news… News that is delivered to you!

This is an exciting way to keep up with tech trends, educational developments, and other sources of interest. Bloglines can also accept feeds from blogs, podcasts, and vidcasts. If a source produces an RSS feed, then Bloglines can aggregate data from that source. If you would like to keep up with some popular feeds, I have made my Ed. Tech list public. Feel free to have a peek! http://www.bloglines.com/ public/coachk.

New MACUL Journal Online Feature!

STAY CONNECTED Easy access to website links published in the MACUL Journal: !

Navigate to website resources by clicking on the linked addresses.

Visit www.macul.org

Kelly Kermode teaches at Forest Hills Eastern High School, Grand Rapids, MI.

MACUL JOURNAL

Download the 2 MB (or less) online version from www.macul.org. Drag cursor over the left menu to “MACUL Journal” link. Select a recent issue to download (pdf).

Fall 07

The social web and learning communities By Mike Souden community sharing information about best practice and curriculum direction; information literacy in the core areas is a key focus for the next two months. Your curriculum-wide focus and your district’s travel restrictions prevent you being able to attend the 2006 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC). However your district’s Media Director who has been working with you on information literacy shared with you that Allan November was going to be presenting on strategies that would enable students to better process information and that the presentations would be Podcasts. You subscribe to all of the Podcasts from NECC and post links to Allen November’s presentation on your Blog. At the same time you have Furled (Furl.net) a number of websites and documents having to do with the importance and techniques that will help students become better at discerning quality information from websites as well as information literacy in general; these Furled pages have also automatically been posted in the “Blog Roll” part of your Blog. In a department heads meeting, laying out a strategy for learning, you have asked each participant to Furl similar topics and set their Blog pages to post their topic related Furls. After some preliminary conversations and laying out the learning

School districts need to carefully plan professional development so that it is a normal operation that the district uses to provide quality education. The focus of this paper is to put forth some ideas about how we can continue to engage in professional development by using the technologies closely aligned with Web 2.0 to enhance learning communities. First consider the givens below. 1. According to the National Staff Development Council (NSDC), The Dance of Change; The Challenge to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations, What Works, and others, single event professional development is very limited on effecting change, however gathering persons to learn collectively in context where they are able to practice what they learn, share their practice with others and continue to learn is the most effective way for learning and effective change to occur. 2. The NSDC Professional Development Standards, The Dance of Change, Making Technology Standards Work for You; a Guide for School Administrators and every piece of literature on change cites the importance of leadership in the ability of organizations to get better at what they do. 3. The Internet (the Web) is nearly as ubiquitous as the telephone—many use cell phones and many cell phones access the Internet. 4. Time and dollar resources are constrained and severely limit what can be focused on at one time. Besides leadership, time and dollar challenges are the biggest roadblocks facing school districts trying to engage staff in a process of ongoing learning. Web 2.0, also known as the “social web” enables a great deal of communication and information sharing. They have become ubiquitous in their use among adolescents and younger adults because they are free, easy to use and enable the creation of sharing and learning communities. These tools can do the same thing for education leaders trying to keep staff current. Consider the following scenario. As the Curriculum Director in the district you are concerned about the need for students to be able to understand how to authenticate Internet sources. Working with your department heads, including your district Library Media Director, you want the core content area teachers to be able to help students through a process that will guide them to be able to process information.You have organized the content areas so that each department is a learning 22

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posted on the Wiki where the staff can share and update the lessons as necessary. There is also agreement that when a lesson is posted, there will be a section to list questions and responses for teachers who use the lessons. The wikis ability to archive all revisions makes it possible to go back to previous versions and pick one that works better for the individual teacher. To summarize; the Curriculum Director, the leader, established a process to self-learn and distribute the learning to others using a Blog and a Furl account. The learning addressed a specific goal that had to do with a change that the district was providing. The information was in video, audio and text and because it was mobile and in a variety of formats it met not only the learning styles of the staff, it also was very flexible so that it met the time and cost constraints that needed to be addressed. Using the Blog and a Wiki the Curriculum Director and the department heads were able to enhance learning with a well- prepared face-toface learning time, supplemented by a guest speaker who participated using Skype. Skype provided a cost efficient method of real time delivery that aligned with the needs of the group and the presenter. The culminating activity (which never really culminates) is a process, using a Wiki to update lessons based on what was just learned, providing a real context for the learning.

strategy your staff listens to Allen November’s Podcast and scans the Furl postings. Each staff member picks one that they would like to share in a jigsaw with the group. They post the ones that they would like to review on a wiki that has been set up to help schedule readings and other activities related to this part of the Information Literacy goal. You learn that a person at your county’s ISD knows Allen November personally and suggests that you include Allen in a conversation with your staff about his NECC presentation using Skype. Allen generally likes showing new technologies and he uses Skype which is a free teleconferencing/ videoconferencing tool.Because Allen would not be traveling, it would make the cost of having him participate in a conversation with your staff more possible. Using the conference calling capability of Skype, each building could connect over the districts wide area network. After Allen’s 10-minute presentation plus Q & A the groups would work on the key issues they have identified in their readings and with Allen’s presentations. The goal of the work would be to review lessons that require students to do research and to make them more robust in their ability to guide students through information literacy and to include some of the strategies that Allen discusses. As a follow-up the lessons are MACUL JOURNAL

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Because it is a Wiki, updates to the lessons will continue if the Curriculum Director continues to provide support. Because the Curriculum Director had a well-established system of learning communities, these technologies enabled the participants to push their learning and quickly act on what was learned. The “givens” mentioned above were addressed. Glossary—Definitions provided by Wikipedia—Like Wikipedia, all of the resources below are free and very easy to use. Blog—A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media. The term “blog” is derived from “Web log.” “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. |

Furl—is a free social bookmarking website (furl.net) that allows members to store searchable copies of webpages and share them with others. Every member receives 5 gigabytes of storage space. The site was founded by Mike Giles in 2003, and purchased by LookSmart in 2004[1]. Skype—is a peer-to-peer Internet telephone network founded by the entrepreneurs Niklaz Zennstrom and Janus Frilis. Skype has experienced rapid growth in both popular usage and software development since launch, both free and paid services. The Skype communications system is notable for its broad range of features, including free voice and video conferencing, its ability to use peer to peer (decentralized) technology to overcome common firewall and NAT (Network address translation) problems, and its extreme counter-measures against reverse engineering of the software or protocol.

Wiki— is a website that allows the visitors themselves to easily add, remove, and otherwise edit and change available content, typically without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. The term wiki also can refer to the collaborative software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates the operation of such a Web site, or to certain specific wiki sites, including the computer science site (the original wiki) WikiWikiWeb and on-line encyclopedias such as Wikipedia. Podcasting—is a media file that is distributed by subscription (paid or unpaid) over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers.

derived from Apple’s portable music player, the iPod. However, known synonyms for the word pod are capsule, case, container, hull, husk, shell, and vessel. 2. A pod refers to a container of some sort and the idea of broadcasting to a container or pod correctly describes the process of podcasting. 3. More about the name itself can be found in the history of podcasting article. Though podcasters’ web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital audio formats by its ability to be downloaded automatically, using software capable of reading feed formats such as RSS or Atom.

1. Like ‘radio’, it can mean both the content and the method of syndication. The latter may also be termed podcasting. The host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster. The term “podcast” is

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Mike Souden is the Educational Technology Supervisor/REMC Director, Oakland Schools.

MACUL JOURNAL

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools: Our journey from assistive technology access to achievement

By Jeff Crockett with contributions from Judy Arkwright, Sharon Strean and Cynthia Burnstein

Background

was to move assistive technology from special education settings into general education settings where accessibility and achievement could be significantly improved.

Plymouth-Canton is the fourth largest district in Michigan (35 square miles) with18,500 students and over 1,000 teachers situated about half way between Detroit and Ann Arbor. As the Assistive Technology (AT) Coordinator for the past 15 years, I observed that our assistive technologies were unevenly distributed, underused, and located primarily in special education rooms, without clear cut ideas of how AT impacted achievement. At the same time, the inclusion movement has meant that special ed students have been spending significantly more time in general ed classrooms where AT has been unavailable. It became clear to me that we had to change both the way we think about AT and the way we deliver it.

Stage 2: Grant Application The Assistive Technology Committee realized that expanding the use of assistive technology into general education settings would require additional funding, so we created a committee to develop a grant proposal. Our committee included Judy Arkwright, consultant from the Wayne Assistive Technology Resource Center, Julie Woodhams and Walter Jurewicz, Special Education Supervisors, Tom Sklut, Chief Development Officer, Kevin Learned, Gallimore Elementary School Principal, Randy Malat, a professional grant writer, James Garcellano, Assistant Director of Technology, Dr. Ann Orr and Lori Parks, Assistant Professors from Eastern Michigan University, Chris Wunderlich, a parent, and me. We determined that our focus should be on reducing the achievement gap between students with and without print disabilities. In the spring of 2006, we developed an ambitious $450,000 three year plan that would enhance, track and evaluate student use of assistive technology from 5th grade through

Stage 1: Develop and Implement a District Process For Using AT In the spring of 2000, an Assistive Technology Committee was formed. First, the committee developed an AT referral process; next, the committee established acquisition priorities: Priority 1—Acquire AT that directly supported the curriculum and had a broad educational impact. Priority 2—Establish equity in the assignment of AT across the district. Priority 3—Develop an electronic system for tracking the inventory of all AT across the district. Our district participated with Wayne ATRC (Assistive Technology Resource Center) in a two year Region IV STELA (Strategic Tools To Enhance Learning For All) Project at West Middle School, an eight county AT initiative with general education and special education teachers. We developed a 95-station network of Kurzweil software that provided text reading and word predication capability. We also developed a high speed scanning system that now has close to 100 electronic documents. Other software included Inspiration, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Earobics, Intellitools Suite. A collection of about 60 portable AlphaSmart word processors were available to be checked out. While we made significant progress on making assistive technology more accessible to special education students, it was clear that some of that technology was not used consistently over time to make an impact on achievement. The next logical step, especially in light of new inclusion mandates, MACUL JOURNAL

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syntax, vocabulary and structure) and supportive materials !

Demonstrated text reading software to about 30 general ed high school teachers. Presented UDL to a high school textbook selection committee, curriculum coordinators, our inclusion task force, board office administrators, and high school administrators.

Stage 4: The DeRoy Testamentary Foundation Grant The DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, based in Southfield, MI, supports programs that improve the quality of life and promote the well-being of individuals in areas including education and arts and culture. We were pleased to learn in December that the DeRoy TestFoundation awarded amentary Plymouth-Canton Community Schools $60,000 to begin our UDL project. Our grant committee will collaborate on this project with the Smaller Learning Community staff. Our three year project provides fourteen Smartboards (http://smarttech.com/) to ten 9th grade Earth Science teachers. These Smartboards will be installed on a wall in the science classrooms and used with ceiling mounted data projectors. Existing media carts with laptops, speakers and video players will be used with the Smartboards. Four additional mobile Smartboards will be rotated among English and History Teachers. In addition, we will provide:

(left to right) Judy Arkwright, Sharon Strean, Cynthia Burnstein, and Jeff Crockett presenting at MACUL 2007.

introduce SLC staff to a variety of technologies. Bingo! I immediately asked Sharon and Cyndi to join Judy Arkwright and me in providing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) training to the SLC staff of 45 teachers representing English, social studies, science, math and special education. Since the fall, our grant team has been on a mission to spread the UDL message: In early November, we asked the high school media specialists to join us in expanding our Kurzweil into the media centers where students would have greater access. We believe that Media Specialists will play a key role in UDL Learning Communities since they are resource specialists who connect with nearly all staff in a building. In addition, we:

10th grade. However, we later learned that federal grants, the most likely source for significant funding, required a stringent research design (random selection and experimental/ control groups). We did not have the staff time to get the long term commitment to participate in such a project. Still, during the summer of 2006, we applied to a number of private funding sources without success.

Stage 3: Networking and Collaborating In the summer of 2006, I met with Jeff Diedrich, Director of Michigan Integrative Technology Supports (MITS), who suggested that we focus on high school redesign. In September, I met with Sharon Strean, high school Assistant Principal for Special Education and English, who was eager to join our project. Sharon introduced me to Cyndi Burnstein, Teacher Coordinator of the Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program, an initiative designed to improve the achievement of students. Cyndi indicated that their goal during the 2006-07 school year was to 26

Visited Chelsea schools to see how they implemented Smartboards

! !

Provided UDL training to the SLC teachers

Invited Kevin Johnston, from Don Johnston, Inc., to introduce 45 teachers to considerate text (material presented with simpler Fall 07

Accessibility Suite (www.reading madeeasy.com) text reading software Talking word processor software Word prediction software on all high school computers. Home access to Net Trekker (www.nettrekker.com), an online information resource with a readability index for partner websites. MACUL JOURNAL

You can learn more about this movement at the UDL Co-laboratory website (http://lcudl.wetpaint.com/). We envision our UDL Learning Community will grow to include administrators, the technology director, curriculum coordinators, general ed teachers, special ed teachers, media specialists, parents, students and members of the community. In our efforts to reach our parent community, Judy Arkwright and I recently presented “Exciting New Tools That Can Help Your Child Learn & Study At Home” to a parent group. As a result of the very positive parent response, Judy and I intend to further develop our parent presentation and continue to encourage more parents to join our learning community this fall. We will be presenting these technologies at student orientation this August. The Academic Support Center and Writing Tutorial peer tutors will be trained to help the 9th graders use UDL tools. These older peers, being technology natives, are the most effective messengers of the UDL message. Teacher training will continue to be an ongoing process. In June, Judy, Jeff and Sharon will be presenting to a MITS Summer UDL Institute. In July, Jeff will lead a group of eight, diverse teachers to a Harvard Summer UDL Institute. In August, Jeff is planning to take a group of five staff to a MITS training from CAST (Center of Applied Special Technologies). We will offer ongoing “booster” learning sessions in UDL classroom applications. These efforts are intended to further expand our educator learning community. We are privileged to be part of the Universal Design for Learning movement. According to David H. Rose in his book, Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age, “UDL is not an add-on; it is the intersection of initiatives.” We have learned from many UDL pioneers, and we eagerly look forward to sharing what we learn with other UDL Learning Communities.

Demonstration of the McDougalLittel (www.classzone.com) website for the district’s Algebra I textbook. Identification of additional online resources that connect to the curriculum. Supplemental training to access online resources at home.

We hope to learn from parents and students which online resources are most effective and what kind of assistance is needed to make home access have a greater impact on achievement.

Stage 5: It’s All About Achievement Our grant committee will use curriculum-based assessments, surveys, grades, standardized test scores and observations to determine the impact of assistive technologies on achievement. The achievement and attitudes of participants in SLC classrooms who use AT consistently will be compared to that of participants in SLC classrooms who do not consistently use AT. The data will be analyzed with particular attention to No Child Left Behind sub-groups including gender, ethnicity, special education, English Language Learners and Free and Reduced Lunch Program.

Stage 6: Building a PlymouthCanton UDL Learning Community Plymouth-Canton has been cultivating AT resources for a number of years. A UDL network emerged from these AT roots. Jeff Diedrich (Director of MITS) met with our group in January 2007 and was impressed with our UDL project. Subsequently, Jeff Diedrich invited Sharon Strean and me to participate in the Michigan Integrative Technology Supports (MITS) UDL Co-Laboratory this past spring. The purpose of the UDL CoLaboratory was to develop an action plan for creating UDL Learning Communities in all Michigan schools. MACUL JOURNAL

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Jeff Crockett has been a special education teacher for over 34 years in PlymouthCanton. For the last 15 years, he has served as the Assistive Technology Coordinator. He has presented numerous times at MACUL and developed a commercial software program, Accommodate Pro (web:accommodate pro.com), which helps teachers build student learning profiles and develop, track, monitor and share intervention plans for all students. His email is jdcro@dataimpactsoftware.com Cyndi Burnstein has taught English at Salem High School in Plymouth-Canton for 35 years and is a co-founder of the Humanities program, the Spectra interdisciplinary program, and Smaller Learning Communities at the district’s three high schools. As co-author of a US Dept. of Education $1.2 million SLC grant, she is currently serving as Smaller Learning Communities Teacher Coordinator for Salem High School. She can be reached at burnstc@pccs. k12.mi.us. Judy Arkwright, MA, CCC-SLP has been with Wayne Assistive Technology Resource Center (ATRC) since it began in 1990 as an Assistive Technology Consultant serving 29 districts across Wayne County in the Western-Wayne, Downriver-Dearborn Regions. Wayne ATRC is a county-wide project operated out of Lincoln Park Schools. ATRC assists and provides trainings to districts, school and student teams in the evaluation and implementation across the continuum of Assistive Technology and the shift to Universal Design for Learning for All students to access the curriculum. Her email is ArkwriJ@resa.net Sharon Strean has been a high school special education and general education curriculum and instruction administrator for eighteen years. In addition, she was principal of an alternative education program and Assistant Director for Community Education. Her areas of special expertise are in English Language Arts, High School Special Education, Alternative Education, English Language Learners, and World Languages. Her email is streans@pccs.k12.mi.us

Create your own classroom wiki using free and easy web-based tools

By Liz Kolb

would simply click on an edit button on the wiki homepage and type in the password. On the wiki, my students could also edit their classmate’s postings, add graphics, add links, create new pages, change wiki settings, post discussions, and edit any text. The students could add topics of their own interest, such as a page focusing on gender and the digital divide. Pbwiki allowed me to view the history of recent changes made to the site and who made those changes. As a result I was able to keep track of which students were posting and when they were posting. The significance of the project was not on the final product, because in a wiki, there really is no final product, but rather on the process of constructing knowledge about a particular topic. My class wiki had one additional unexpected outcome. The student writers on the wiki became editors. Students were able to constructively edit their peers’ submissions and look for errors. As a result the students looked for more authoritative references and considered the reliability of the information they were presenting. Students could also add new topics that they found interesting, which helped motivate them and cater to their own individual interests. In addition, the wikis are free and web-based so the

Outside of school, students are immersed in a collaborative multi-tasking digital world utilizing tools such as video games, blogs, wikis, instant messaging, and cell phones. Since most schools ignore these popular everyday technologies, teachers are losing important teaching and learning opportunities to connect students’ classroom learning tools to the knowledge construction tools of the everyday world. After school, students often spend time online contributing, collaborating and building knowledge with networking sites like MySpace.com, Facebook.com, and Blogger.com. A way for teachers to connect classroom technology to students’ everyday collaborative technology is through the use of wikis. Wikis are online collaborative spaces where anyone can contribute and construct shared knowledge. Many of us have heard of and use Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com). Wikipedia is one of the most popular examples of a wiki. While students and some teachers may use the information in Wikipedia as a resource, it is often intimidating to contribute knowledge to Wikipedia because of its general popularity.

Create Your Own Wiki Did you know that it is really easy for teachers to create their own collaborative wikis? This past year I decided to create and use a wiki with my students. In the past I have used online discussion boards where my students would discourse about a posted topic. Instead of simply reflecting on a given topic, however, I wanted my students to construct their own knowledge about a research topic. I thought by using a collaborative wiki in my course, my students would build content-related knowledge together. Since I have little finances, I searched the web for a free password protected wiki. I found many free web-based wiki’s, but only a few were password protected. I finally settled on Pbwiki (www.pbwiki.com). I found it easy to register and set up my own wiki. Actually, it only took me a total of 2 minutes to create my own wiki! On the wiki homepage I placed some basic information and activities to get my students interested in our topic, the digital divide. I then asked my students to research the posted topics and come up with their own knowledge about different issues pertaining to the digital divide and add their knowledge to the wiki. It was very easy for my students to contribute their knowledge to the wiki. Even the “techphobic” students seemed to find the wiki relatively easy to navigate. They 28

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only members of the site can view and contribute to the information on the site). The downfall of Pbwiki is that the editor is not as easy to use as wikispaces.com, but it is still fairly simple to use.

students could do their “wiki” work from any computer with internet access. Some of my students even decided to create their own wikis with Pbwiki for personal or other academic pursuits. There are many uses for wikis in the classroom such as professional development, teacher webpages, school announcements, science experiments, building interpretations in social studies, discoursing about mathematics, collaboration with experts and/or members of the community, building a collaborative research report, and student webpages.

Web-Based Wiki Tools There are some free and easy to use wiki tools on the web. Below I will describe a few of these resources. !

Wetpaint (www.wetpaint.com) is a brand new free web-based wiki tool. Of all the wikis I researched, Wetpaint offers the most options and flexibility. Wetpaint has over 50 different ready-made design templates, and many template options (such as a calendar page or image gallery). Wetpaint also offers free full password protection of the entire site. The text editor is WYSIWYG. It is easy to use and allows for easy uploading of a variety of media including videos. Writely (www.writely.com) is a free web-based tool that is similar to a wiki. It is a tool for collaborative editing and creation of Word documents. It allows shared participation in editing a Word document online. For example, if you wanted a student to work with a student in another school to construct a research report, they could create the entire report in Writely. The editing window looks just like a Word editor and it is saved as a Word document. Writely offers free password protection of all shared documents. This is also a fantastic tool for teachers to construct curriculum and other professional collaborative writings. [Editor note: This tool is now Google Docs and Spreadsheets found at www.google.com]

Wikispaces (www.wikispaces.com) is a free web-based wiki space. The site allows WYSIWYG editing, so if you can edit in Microsoft Word, you can edit a webpage in wikispaces. Beyond basic text, wikispaces allows contributors to insert graphics, documents, links, and change settings. Wikispaces also has a “comment” feature for discussions, and a “history” feature so that the teacher can see which students have contributed to the site. Although you do have to pay $5 a month if you would like your wikispaces website to be totally password protected (so only invited participants can view and/or contribute to the site), Wikispaces gives every website the option for free password protection to contribute to the site.

Concerns with Wikis

Pbwiki (www.pbwiki.com) is another free tool to create online wikis. Pbwiki also allows for graphic, document, links, setting changes, history and discussions. Pbwiki allows for free total password protection of the site (so

Of course there are concerns with creating and using wikis in the classroom. First the basic idea of a wiki is that anyone can contribute to the site. Therefore with or without password protection you run the risk of students posting inappropriate

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information. One solution is that most online wiki sites can notify the owner of the site every time a new submission has been created on the site, this allows for quick “editing” of inappropriate submissions. Another concern is when your students are collaborating on the wiki, you never really know if students contribute their own work (or if another student logs in under their name to contribute). Although wikis can keep track of recent changes, they cannot guarantee that the name under the page edit is the person who actually made the change. Many schools have policies that prohibit students from posting data online (often part of the school’s Acceptable Use Policy). Wikis would fall into this category of posting and publishing to the web. However, if you use a wiki that is completely password protected, such as Wetpaint or Pbwiki, the wiki will operate like a password protected intranet and may not violate the Acceptable Use Policy. Students in the 21st century are integrated in social and collaborative web-based environments; our schools need to catch up. Instead of ignoring or banning these new Internet resources, schools should take advantage of what interests our students and create links between home use of technology and classroom use of these resources.

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Liz Kolb is a doctoral student in education at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and an adjunct assistant professor at Madonna University in Livonia, teaching technology education courses to postgraduate students. Liz is a former classroom social studies and technology teacher and also spent four years as a high school technology coordinator in Ohio.

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Designing an

authentic learning opportunity with iMovie By Stein Brunvand As a faculty member in educational technology at the University of MichiganDearborn (UM-D) I teach the required technology course to preservice teachers working towards elementary certification. The focus of this course is to help preservice teachers become proficient in a wide-range of technologies and develop their ability to effectively integrate technology into instruction. One of the challenges of this course is helping my students make relevant connections between what they learn in the computer lab and its application in a real-world elementary classroom. To help bridge this gap I collaborated with two fourth grade teachers, Mrs. Mosallam and Ms. LaCaria, to provide my students with an authentic learning experience. The purpose of this collaboration was multifaceted and consisted of my preservice teachers planning, in conjunction with Mrs. Mosallam and Ms. LaCaria, a technology-enhanced learning activity for the fourth graders. In addition, the preservice teachers spent several days in the fourth grade classrooms helping to carry-out the learning activity they had planned. Our first task in this collaborative project was to determine the subject area and content to teach in our technology-enhanced learning activity. During an initial planning meeting Mrs. Mosallam and Ms. LaCaria suggested we focus on the historical contributions of prominent African Americans in the state of Michigan. The rationale behind this suggestion was two-fold. First of all, February is celebrated as Black History Month and it was during that month that we intended to have the preservice teachers working in the fourth grade classrooms. Secondly, the fourth grade social studies curriculum in the state of Michigan focuses mostly on learning about state and local history, geography and economics. Once we agreed on the content, we set about the task of planning the technology-enhanced learning activity. The preservice teachers were presented with an outline of what the fourth graders were supposed to learn from the activity and through brainstorming and small group discussions devised a plan to create a WebQuest. WebQuests are online inquiry projects designed to provide learners with authentic opportunities to learn and problem solve. Bernie Dodge, at San Diego State University, initially developed the WebQuest concept and there are numerous online resources designed to help teachers create and implement their own quests. Over the course of several class periods the preservice teachers designed a WebQuest using an online resource called TeacherWeb (www.teacherweb.com) and the introduction to this WebQuest is shown as follows: MACUL JOURNAL

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February is Black History Month. In celebration of this event, your local Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) is developing a series of biographical documentaries on notable African Americans in Michigan. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re invited to participate in this worthwhile project by selecting and researching one of these noteworthy African Americans. Using your best reporting, writing and directing skills you will create a 3-5 minute video highlighting their life and contributions. The complete WebQuest can be accessed at http://teacherweb.com/ MI/UniversityofMichigan-Dearborn/ AAofMI. Creating a WebQuest for actual students rather than for a hypothetical classroom, made the assignment more relevant and meaningful for the preservice teachers as indicated by these quotes taken from an online discussion between the UM-D students enrolled in the technology course. These comments highlight the fact that the preservice teachers were more motivated to create a highquality WebQuest assignment since they knew elementary students would actually be using it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think that honestly this kind of work is so beneficial to us. I learn better when I can actually relate what I am learning to the classroom. I can be more interested and involved in my |

work if I can correlate what I am being taught to the actual experience of creating a project for kids.” (Helen1 – UM-D Student)

“I think that honestly this kind of work is so beneficial to us. I learn better when I can actually relate what I am learning to the classroom.”

“Had you just lectured us on how to create a WebQuest, we obviously wouldn’t have gotten the full experience that we have. Also, the fact that we are working together with 4th graders allows us to look at how beneficial this will be to them and allows us more hands on experience in an actual classroom environment, which I believe to be extremely valuable.” (Claire – UM-D Student)

“They had an awesome opportunity to use technology in a way that they thought was impossible. Because of this, their self-esteem has increased. They became more of risk takers and weren’t afraid of making mistakes because they knew it could be fixed. With this, it makes me more at ease at taking the same risks with my students.” (Ms. LaCaria – Fourth Grade Teacher)

“You got to pick your own pictures for your person to show what he did or built and that was really cool.” (Ramzi – Fourth Grade Student)

After researching their assigned person, finding appropriate pictures, and writing a script, students were shown how to use iPhoto and iMovie to create their videos using pictures they downloaded from the Internet. The fourth graders were broken into groups of three and one preservice teacher was assigned to each group to provide assistance with script development and video editing. None of the fourth graders or preservice teachers had any previous experience creating digital videos so working on these projects provided a great opportunity for all participants to learn a new technology. Many of the fourth graders expressed their interest in working with the computers and indicated that it was an exciting alternative to the traditional written report.

“It was really interesting because instead of you trying to do everything yourself and getting frustrated you have a person right there in front of you to help you and ask questions.” (Jamaal – Fourth Grade Student)

Ms. LaCaria and Mrs. Mosallam found that students put more time into the video projects because they had to do more than just report the information. Creating the video required the students to use the information they found to write an informative script and identify relevant pictures to visually represent that script.

The finished videos were put online and linked to the school webpage (http://wford.dearborn schools.org/4thgradeprojct.htm) so students were able to watch them outside of school. This allowed for the learning to extend beyond the walls of the classroom and to be shared with a wider audience. Students took great pride in their videos and were excited about the prospect of others being able to see their finished products. In addition, by sharing the videos with each other the students were able to learn about more than just the person they researched.

“It helped them learn more because they knew that they were using the information, not simply researching. They knew that they needed to know their stuff otherwise they wouldn’t be able to publish using iMovie—a wonderful incentive!” (Ms. LaCaria)

“It was better than just writing the information down because we got to use the computers and make the movies.” (Joseph – Fourth Grade Student)

Working on the video projects also had an impact on the confidence level of the fourth graders and the preservice teachers as well. Integrating technology can be a challenging endeavor for practicing teachers. For preservice teachers with little classroom experience it can be down right daunting. Being able to work with a small group of students gave the UM-D students a chance to see how technology could be used in the

“I was able to learn more about my person by making the movie. Before I did it I knew nothing about her but now if I see her name in the newspaper I can say what I know about her.” (Asma – Fourth Grade Student) 32

classroom without having to deal with the stressful task of leading an entire class.

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“It was nice because instead of just learning about one person I got to learn about everyone’s person and find out about where they lived and I just got to learn more.” (Katie – Fourth Grade Student) “You feel happy like you are famous because other people are watching what you made.” (Sidney – Fourth Grade Student) |

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This collaboration was beneficial for all who participated. Ms. LaCaria and Mrs. Mosallam were able to learn more about how technology could be used in their classrooms while simultaneously receiving extensive inclass support. The fourth graders were exposed to a variety of technologies that included conducting a web-based inquiry project and creating professional looking digital videos. The UM-D students were able to see how technology could be implemented in an instructional setting and work with children in a real classroom. A primary reason for the success of this project was the fact that the technology was mindfully integrated to enhance the existing curriculum. Students were given an authentic context and reason to create their videos, which was highly motivating. Letting the content drive our decisions about using a WebQuest and digital videos allowed us to create a high-quality learning experience. Practicing teachers looking to incorporate technology into their instruction should first determine what they are trying to teach before exploring ways to enhance the content with technology. 2 Pseudonyms are used for all student names.

Stein Brunvand is an Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He teaches courses in educational technology to preservice teachers and is interested in effective strategies for integrating technology into all aspects of learning.

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10th annual educational technology coordinators conference a success Nearly 100 educators, exhibitors and technology evangelists attended the 10th annual Educational Technology Coordinators Conference (ETCC) held May 4 at the Texas Township campus of Kalamazoo Valley Community College. The conference was held in coordination with MACUL SIGTECH and SIGTC. Ricki Chowning, Executive Director for the REMC Association of Michigan and MACUL Board member chaired the annual spring event. Keynote speaker for the conference was Bruce Umpstead, Director of Technology and Data Coordination for the Michigan Department of Education. Sessions were held on Universal Design for Learning, open source software, Web 2.0, Michigan LearnPort, planning and budgeting software, Camtasia, Internet safety, and more. Merry Ellen Eason, Director of Technology for Battle Creek Harper Creek Schools was honored with MACULâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Technology Director Award of Excellence. Sponsors for the ETCC were ClassLink, Daytona Storage, Dynacal, EduTek Midwest, Foxbright, LearningStation and Tech4Learning. Next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event will be held April 22 at Macomb Intermediate School District. MACUL thanks the following companies for the hundreds of dollars in donations of software, books, product discounts, hardware, bags and T-shirts, giving the conference attendees a wonderful perk!

Companies donating door prizes:

Holland Public Schools Ingham ISD Ionia County ISD Kalamazoo Public Schools Kalamazoo RESA Lakeview School District Lawton Community Schools Macomb ISD Marshall Public Schools Michigan State University Midland Public Schools Northview Public Schools Oakland Schools Ottawa Area ISD Parchment School District Pennfield Schools Portland Public Schools Ravenna Public Schools Redford Union Schools St. Johns Public Schools Three Rivers Community Schools Unionville-Sebewaing Area Schools Walkerville Public Schools Wayne-Westland Community Schools Western Michigan University

8e6 Technologies Academic Superstore Barracuda Networks Inspiration Software Linworth Publishing Net Trekker Premier Business Products Read Naturally SchoolCMS: Power IT Siboney Learning Group

Schools receiving prizes: Allendale Public Schools Calhoun Intermediate School District Comstock Park Public Schools Dearborn Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Eaton Rapids Public Schools Forest Hills Public Schools Genesee ISD Genesee School District Gobles Public Schools Grand Rapids Christian Schools Hackett Catholic Central High School Harper Creek Community Schools Fall 07

Audiobooks on iPods A motivating reading strategy By Ann Truesdell

MACUL Grant Recipient complicated task of locating the audiobooks, downloading them, and then transferring them to the iPods. The students were eager to use the audiobooks, and immediately listened to their first classroom novels using the devices. The responses from students and their teachers were all overwhelmingly positive. Students felt “cool” listening to the iPods in class, rather than embarrassed, as some had previously felt with the bulkier, outdated audio devices. The students’ peers did not poke fun at the iPod, but rather expressed their desire to use one as well. Students used the devices more than they might have used an audiobook on cassette or CD. On numerous occasions I received comments from parents and teachers that their students used the iPod for listening to audiobooks on the bus, during free time in class, and at home—previously they were never so attached to a book. In addition, our students with reading disabilities experienced far fewer difficulties when using the iPods to read a book. All were able to finish their novels much faster than they normally could; one teacher commented, “Using the iPod shuffle, ‘Jenny’ was able to read Hoot over the holiday break. If not for the iPod, it may have taken Jenny two months to read this book.” In addition to finishing the books more quickly, students had a

Getting out a book during free time in class. Reading on the bus all the way home and continuing to read after dinner. Getting caught reading under the covers in bed with a flashlight. Excitedly and actively participating in class discussions about a novel. Discussing books with friends during recess and passing time. A desire to read Moby Dick, The Great Gatsby, and other classic literature. No more “I-have-to-go-to-the-bathroom” excuses to get out of Independent Reading time. Does this sound like the average student with reading disabilities? It wasn’t at our school—at least, not until we introduced them to audiobooks on iPods.

Why iPods? At the beginning of last school year, we had ten students who had been diagnosed with a reading disability in our school. Since numerous studies have shown that using audiobooks with underachieving readers boosts reading abilities, our Media Center had previously invested in over thirty-five new audiobooks on CD. While many students quickly responded to this new medium by checking the books out with the audiobooks so that they could read and listen at the same time, the most important use of the audiobooks was with the low reading students. Interest in audiobooks among all students, especially the low-level readers, was quite high despite requiring a bulky CD player to listen to the books on. In fact, we found that many do not own portable CD players and feel that the devices are “old fashioned” and “uncool.” The students of today listen to their music on iPods—so why not their audiobooks? We expected that interest in audiobooks would skyrocket when marketed on small, light, and “cool” iPod Shuffles. We were right.

Motivational and Instructional Success! Our focus began with the ten students who are labeled as students with reading disabilities. These students work closely with a special education teacher who observes their reading habits and monitors their reading abilities. While a couple had average motivation to read, the rest disliked reading mostly because they found it difficult and frustrating. However, while reading hadn’t always peaked their interest, the audiobooks on iPods certainly did. The students were immediately excited by the prospect of listening to their classroom novels on an iPod independently with the rest of their class during silent reading time. Training students to use the iPod Shuffles was quick; the devices are easy-touse and familiar to our tech-savvy students. As Media Specialist, I did the more 34

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better understanding of what they had read. Their English teachers commented on their increased participation in class discussions and their completed homework assignments. The students took pride in having read and understood the entire book, and were thus excited to discuss it with others and found doing their homework much easier. The ten students who used the iPods for assistance reading classroom novels also used the iPods for assistance when reading novels of their own choosing for pleasure. At our school, we found that our students with reading difficulties often became frustrated with reading for pleasure because they simply were not able to read the books that interested them. Books written for children of their age were too hard, so these students could not read what their friends were reading. By using the iPods, our ten students read what interested them and were not limited to books at their lower reading levels. One girl using the iPod was frequently overheard discussing books with friends, while a boy using the iPod commented that he wanted to begin MACUL JOURNAL

reading the classics next year in high school. One mother became choked up as she told me about catching her son reading Surviving the Applewhites under his covers with a flashlight— with the iPod, too, of course. Our school also ended up with additional iPod shuffles, which we made available to all other students for checkout from the Media Center. My staff and I immediately realized that we would need to somehow invest in additional devices, as the wait list for available iPods grew to over 150 students. Luckily, with parent donations, next year we will have a ten additional iPods for checkout—a total of 27 iPods for our students to use. The iPods are a success story at our school and will continue to remain in operation.

student’s turn to checkout an iPod, they choose an audiobook from our collection or request one to be downloaded, if possible. If we already own the audiobook, it takes only a couple of minutes to put the file on the iPod. If we do not own the desired audiobook, the process takes a bit longer, but students are willing to come back later that day or the next day. I acquire the vast majority of our audiobooks through www.audible.com or www.iTunes.com, though they are also available from Recorded Books and audiobooks on CD can be transferred onto the iPods. Under Fair Use guidelines, each audiobook file is available for checkout to only one student at a time; if two students want the same book, I need to purchase the audiobook file twice. This means that I have to keep records of what files are checked out to what child and on

Maintenance and Management Maintaining and managing the iPods is a daily requirement, but with a routine it is not difficult. When it is a |

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MUSIC software plays for all! By Ryan A. Gonder MACUL Grant Recipient

what device. I keep track of my files by using an empty CD case for each audiobook file and barcoding it. With a picture and description of the book inserted into the case, the available audiobooks are as easily browsed as printed books. I also barcode each iPod, so when a student checks out the device I scan both the file display case and the iPod into my circulation system under the student’s name. Each iPod shuffle is protected by a hard plastic sports case that is designed by Apple to fit over the device and remain on while operating. The cases protect the iPods from being dropped, being shoved into backpacks, and general kid usage. Each student is taught to use the iPod and sport case right at the circulation desk as they check out their iPod. The iPod Shuffles come with earbuds, which are offered to the students at checkout as well, though some students choose to use their own headphones. When the device is returned, it is checked in and the file is checked in. The iPod and earbuds are cleaned with sanitary wipes and remain in the Media Center only momentarily—within minutes it seems that the next student on my waiting list has appeared to claim their time with this high-tech reading strategy. For more information on our Audiobooks on iPod program, visit us online at www.digitalbcs.com/media center under the Programs section. Ann Truesdell is a Media Specialist at Birmingham Covington School (Grades 3–8) Birmingham Public Schools, Michigan. 36

The Lake Fenton Community Schools were elated to be awarded a grant through MACUL to fund the purchase of software for the purposes of furthering music education in our district. This project included the purchase of the Sibelius Educational Software Suite and corresponding site licenses to foster a relationship between technology and music for 5th through 12th grade students. This complete software package, which is suitable for all educational levels, is being used for the writing, playing, printing, and publishing of music notation, as well as ear training, aural testing, and music theory training. Additionally, the software allows students to hear their work and make it easy to find and correct mistakes. The site licenses allow our students to work simultaneously in computer labs on orchestration, composition, aural harmony, music theory, and transposition, as well as develop their very own musical creativity. Prior to the purchase of this software, our school district did not begin the formal instruction of music until the 5th grade, which put our students at a huge disadvantage to those students who attend schools where music is offered at the elementary level. Results of the Selmer Music Guidance Survey indicated that, on average, our current 4th grade students operated with 17% less musical knowledge, ability, and comprehension than students who attend schools where music education has been implemented at the elementary level. Due to this startling statistic, we found it necessary that we give our students all of the necessary tools, materials, and instruction beginning at the 5th grade level that will allow them to excel at the same level as those students who are fortunate enough to have music education in elementary school. The purchase of this software allowed our district to make leaps and bounds in the areas of composition, arranging, reading and notating music, listening to, analyzing, describing, and evaluating music, and the relationship between music in history, culture, fine arts, and disciplines outside of the arts. These are all national standards that needed to be met within our district. Additionally, this software helped improve our students’ ability to decipher rhythmic and tonal patterns as well as have the ability to create their own. The implementation of computer-based music learning stations assists in learning and reinforcing the fundamentals of music, as well as bridge the gap between traditional music and creating new, more diverse compositions. Overall, the project goals are being met and exceeded because our students are developing the knowledge and comprehension of the specific objectives defined in the National Standards of Music Education, which continue to increase the quality of our schools’ performing ensembles, and mold our students into more musically, historically, and culturally savvy citizens of society. Ryan A. Gonder teaches 5th–8th Grade, and High School Instrumental Music at Torrey Hill Intermediate School, Lake Fenton Middle School, and Lake Fenton High School, all of the Lake Fenton Community Schools.

Fall 07

MACUL JOURNAL

TI-Navigator brings

student-centered learning back into the classroom By Amanda Milewski MACUL Grant Recipient Clintondale High School Teachers everywhere know that student-centered learning is key for comprehension and achievement. Without it, obtaining the goal of teaching “mathematics for all” is nearly impossible. However, with growing class sizes, individual time between students and teachers is diminishing. Without time to communicate with each student frequently, it is impossible for teachers to be student-centered in their approach. I have found that the Texas Instruments (TI) Navigator learning system has alleviated this problem in my classroom. The TINavigator system allows for communication, information and materials to be easily exchanged between the teacher’s PC and the students’ graphing calculators. The TI-Navigator combines an innovative wireless network and intuitive software to make it possible for teachers to assess and interact with every student on an ongoing basis. This revolutionary technology couples its network capabilities with the TI graphing calculators, which is an integral part of many high school mathematics classrooms. The use of this technology in my classroom has made the classroom more accessible for all students to have a voice. The field research points to the fact that the classroom using a responsive system, like the TI-Navigator, will have many benefits for students and teachers alike. According to J. Boyle, these systems will promote greater student engagement, increase interest and enjoyment of class, promote discussion, and save time. And A.L. Abrahamson claims programs like the TI-Navigator will increase understanding of complex subject matter and help teachers to have a better awareness of student difficulties. Dufrese has found that this type of system helps students gauge their own understanding. Ratto has researched this technology and seen that it helps to extend material that can be covered beyond class time and improves the quality of student questions. T.M. Truong found the Navigator system to help students overcome shyness. And R. Webking found the classroom communication system to simplify record keeping for the teachers. My classroom experience with the TI-Navigator mirrors the research. I also suspect, although I have not collected enough data, that the TINavigator will help students’ comprehension and achievement in the area of mathematics. I have found a great number of benefits from the use of the TINavigator in the classroom and we have recently added an additional system to our department.

MACUL JOURNAL

Fall 07

References Abrahamson, A.L. (1998, July). An overview of teaching and learning research with classroom communication systems. Paper presented at the Samos International Conference on the Teaching of Mathematics, Village of Pythagorion, Samos, Greece. Boyle, J. (1999, January 8). Using classroom communication systems with large classes. Paper presented at the Taking Advantage of Hand Held Technology and Calculator Network Workshop, University of Strathclyde, Scotland. Dufresne, R.J., Gerace, W.J., Leonard, W.J., Mestre, J.P., & Wenk, L. (1996). Classtalk: A classroom communication system for active learning. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 7(2), 3-47. Truong, T.M., Griswold, W.G., Ratto, M., Shapiro, B.R., & Star, L. (2002). The ActiveClass project: Experiments in Encouraging Classroom Participation. San Diego, CA: University of California, San Diego. Webking, R. (1998). Classtalk in two distinctly different settings. [CD-ROM]. El Paso: University of Texas.

Observing and communicating our world through photography:

A year in review

By Val Conrad and Kim Langhals MACUL Grant Recipients Unity Science-Technology Magnet School, Lima, OH In October the Sci-Tech Magnet began their extended study of photography across the curriculum. Photographerin-Residence, Mr. Phil Hugo, coached us on how to “observe and communicate our world through photography”. He opened each lesson with photos from the The Lima News (Lima newspaper). This activity helped students focus on observing and thinking. It developed knowledge about people and events in their world through a communication tool. Through the lessons students and teachers learned the definition of photography is to “draw with light”. On viewfinder day we used our five senses to view objects and people with fake purple cameras, cardboard tube lens, and square slide mounts. We applied the key qualities for good photographs: 1. It GRABS Me 2. Keep It Simple Simon! 3. Sharp, Clear Images 4. Lighting 5. Composition 6. Tells a Story After we chose pictures from around the school we critiqued them in group sessions. On camera days, students and teachers used the Sony digital cameras and disposable cameras to take quality pictures. We followed a photographer’s assignment list, keeping a journal of the pictures we clicked. We experimented with body positions (sit, stand, squat, lay on belly or back) and camera positions (landscape or portrait). 38

The students’ best photos were matted and displayed at the Photography Show at Art Space in Lima. The students also went to Art Space, touring the Juried Photo Art Show to critique the professional and amateur photographer’s work. They participated in a photo scavenger hunt to locate quality photos that reflected the concepts they learned in a theme unit called “Observing and Communicating Our World Through Photography”. While visiting Art Space, they took a sneak peak of their own work on display! To commemorate the year of learning, students and teachers made a scrapbook of memories with assistance from Creative Moments, a local scrap booking company. With the help of our art specialist staff, each child learned various ways to frame photos to prepare for their display. As a culmination to the year-long thematic unit and celebration of student achievement, The Sci-Tech Magnet Photo Gallery (with a Book Show and Photo Contest) was held in the spring. Parents, community members, teachers, students, and families were brought together to share the completed projects from the year. It has been amazing to find such wonderful community connections, grant providers (like MACUL), and family support. With so many valuable resources, we are thankful for our engaged learning opportunities and all accomplishments large and small.

Mr. Phil Hugo worked with the students and teachers exploring locations for photo opportunities. AMCE Photo, a local store, provided us with a set of prints, a contact sheet, and photo CD at discounted prices. With photos at hand, students critiqued their pictures with Mr. Hugo and worked on journals using the photos from the CD. All magnet students in grades 1–4 (approximately 100 students) have practiced writing skills through their photographer’s journals that were published in the computer lab. On other adventures we watched the step by step photo development process when we visited MACK Camera Store. After a great Lima News article covering our photography theme, we watched newspapers being made at the Lima News and saw how journalists create news articles and photos with captions. Students worked with their processed photos and CDs to create slide shows and photo books featuring the theme of “Observing and Communicating My World from Home”. |

Fall 07

MACUL JOURNAL