Group4

=Group 4 Members:=

[|Caitlin] | [|Jaime] | [|Julia] | [|Erica] | [|Joe]

=Week 7 Collaborative Work:= Week 7: Tech Tools (Click to view final copy)


 * Caitlin**

//**Video Conferencing**// - @http://support.google.com/chat/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=161886&topic=2386085&ctx=topic Google Chat allows users to quickly and easily initiate a video conference with an unlimited number of participants (they must be invited, which is a nice security feature when we’re dealing with children). I believe that Chat now allows file transfers, also. I like that this tool allows students, outside of the classroom, to communicate in real time. Some practical uses include: collaborative work and connecting with experts. A specific classroom application could be that in the process of doing a group project, rather than having to meet after school or on the weekends, students could use Google Group Chat to video conference and share files. Both allow the transfer of ideas, concerns and questions with the benefit of real-time response.

//**Blogging (Wordpress)**// - @http://wordpress.org/ Blogging allows students a personal platform for sharing information, experiences and resources. Wordpress is a free tool, which is user-friendly and offers a whole host of design features, to include different templates, widgets and easy hyper-linking tools. In the classroom, students could use blogs/Wordpress to practice their writing, communicate with peers AND the community/public, discuss classroom material, etc. A specific classroom application could be that during a unit on poetry, students find and post poems they enjoy, describe why they enjoy the poem and go into the technical aspects as well--classmates could comment freely and in the process, become exposed to different poems and forms of poetry.

//**‍Pinterest**// - [] ‍ Pinterest is an interactive website which allows users to “pin” items/activities/anything really to their “boards”... From a teacher’s perspective, I could create a board for organizational tips, and then go on to easily pin ideas when I come across them. When students click on my pinned photos (which also allow for comments), they are redirected to the website I originally pinned from, opening the doors to more knowledge, ideas and discussion. As for student work, I’d like to see them pin preferred books, perhaps, and comment/communicate with their classmates on different boards.

//**Diigo**// - @http://www.diigo.com/ ‍I LOVE this tool ‍, and can’t believe I never knew about it prior to this class. Essentially (as we all know), it allows users to post websites, articles, etc., with annotations, highlighted info, sticky notes, etc. Other uses can view the articles and annotations, comment, and post their own resources as well. In the classroom, this tool would allow for students to communicate on any number of topics, find/provide resources, and suggest further reading. A specific classroom application could be that students working on a group project together post relevant information (articles, websites, etc), annotating where appropriate. Group members can comment freely and decide which resources will be used as part of the final product.

//**VoiceThread**// - @http://voicethread.com/ Another tool I’ve instantly fallen in love with. What’s so great about VoiceThread, is that it allows users to provide verbal feedback, without having the time restrictions of a video conference (e.g., you’re not required to comment at any specific time, but can do it at your own convenience). It also caters to different learning styles--the slides assist visual learners while the voice commentary caters to auditory learners. In the classroom, I would use it to post informational presentations on classroom material, encouraging students to engage in discussion VIA the voice recording tool. A specific classroom application could exist as part of a unit on a specific book reading. I could post a mini-presentation of each chapter (in slide form), with questions included, designed to spark student discussion on important aspects of the reading. I would probably take many of these questions of the test, allowing the kids to prep in a "fun" way.

1. Blog - [] 2. Podcast - [] 3. Wikis - http://www.wikispaces.com 4. Google Docs - [|http://docs.google.com] 5. SchoolTube - []
 * Jaime**
 * Blogging is a forum for students to share thoughts, reflections, knowledge, resources, and more! Blogging can be used to teach and reinforce communication, writing strategies, and reading. Kidsblog is a tool that is available to teachers and students. The reason I chose this site over blogger is because blogger is blocked through our district security.
 * Two ideas that I have for blogging in the classroom are: (1) sending Friday updates to parents. Instead of the teacher writing a newsletter each week, they kiddos can each have a blog where they share about the weeks activities and learnings. They can include links or pictures of sites they visited, videos they watched, or books they read! (2) I love the idea of writing from a different perspective. I think a blog could be used as a space for students to share their learned knowledge during a unit. Examples include reporting from a planet they researched, blogging from the view of a Native American when Christopher Columbus came, etc.
 * I believe podcasting is a valuable web 2.0 because it is a way for learners to share knowledge, ask questions, and demonstrate understanding of various topics. Podomatic is a site that allows users to maintain a page where their podcasts can be located. Another nice component of a podcast is that it can be a collaborative tool. Students can develop scripts together and take turns recording their voice.
 * One option for incorporating podcasts into the classroom would be to have students read their favorite book. In garageband (which can be uploaded to podomatic), there is the option of also including images that go along with the voiceover. It would be neat to have students illustrate each or various pages of the book to include as the voiceover reads. This would help promote reading fluency, and could be shared with younger classrooms like Kindergarten for children to listen to accurate reading and intonation. Another idea for using podcasts in the classroom would be to share writing pieces. For example, after a poetry unit, students could record themselves reading their different types of original poems, and include a reflection about why they chose that topic and type of poem.
 * Wikis are an amazing online collaborative tool. Students can work in teams or you can have a whole class wiki page to maintain for different subjects, units, or an entire school year. Wikispaces requires user IDs and passwords to edit. Beneficial features of wikis are the commenting and revision history. These two tools help when it comes to assessing student participation and performance.
 * One way I use a wiki in my classroom is as a forum for students to read and write book reviews. Students are able to choose a genre along the lefthand menu and add a book review about a specific book or check out the website to get a new title recommendation from a friend! Another idea I found is to have students use a wiki to create an encyclopedia about a topic. This could be throughout the unit or as a culminating ending project.
 * GoogleDocs have a lot of similar features as the wiki. It is a collaborative tool that provides a place for students to work together, comment, and give feedback. GoogleDocs includes documents, presentations, spreadsheets, drawing, and sites.
 * Students can use GoogleDocs for their writing assignments. Myself as well as other students can use the comment feature to edit and make suggestions for the writer. Peers can write digital "stars and wishes" (2 compliments and 2 suggestions). Another possible use of this tool is to create presentations. Groups can work together and create a presentation about a topic after a unit of study. Students can work on a presentation individually. One example would be to create a self-reflection about the year to share at our teacher/ parent/ student goal setting conferences in April.
 * SchoolTube is a video sharing site, much like YouTube, but limited to teachers and students. There are videos available for viewing to "spark student engagement," or you can "easily and safely share," as well as, "share your lessons & projects.
 * I can project videos about a topic of study from School Tube. Another use for this site is to permit students to create videos and post them for their peers to comment on. Currently there are not videos on this site from my school. We could search for videos that our pen-pals post!


 * Julia**


 * Erica**
 * GoogleDocs: [|docs.google.com]

GoogleDocs is amazing and extremely useful. In addition to knowing its usefulness, I have learned more tools that GoogleDocs offers. I am excited to continuing using GoogleDocs in my curriculum, in the classroom. The students have used GoogleDocs to compose Friday Letters at the end of a marking period as a reflection. This year I would like to have the students use GoogleDocs once a month. On these days I will allow them 2 days to create and publish their letters. This will allow time for peer revision and edit. In addition to the Friday Letters I would like to have my students compose a weekly writing assignment, once a unit (6 weeks), using GoogleDocs.


 * Wiki: []

I would like my students to work on using wiki pages as a study plan, critical thinking devise, and as a reflective tool…much like Mr. Jones had his 5th grade students use it. I think wiki pages will enhance a topic in a subject no matter how simple or complex it may be. Math concepts are hard for some students to comprehend, but needed before the standardized tests pop up. There are about 30 concepts that need to be mastered in 5th grade mathematics. I was thinking about dividing my class of ~24 students into groups of 4, and giving them 5 concepts to focus on, explain, do examples, and asked questions using these concepts. Each group will them present their wiki page to the class and the remaining students will be asked to solve the problems. I love teaching science and since I am so “into it” I lengthen activities and lessons, which results in shorting the ones at the end. Our final lesson is on the Solar System, which is the most desired lesson in science for many 5th graders. I think assigning the 8 planets + 1 dwarf planet to 9 small groups and having the students not only gather important information on their planet, but create a 3D model of their planet.


 * Blog: []

I now realize how much blog enhance the learner of not only the publisher, but of others who read their blog. This course has been my first exposure to the “blogging” environment, and I enjoy it J. I think the students will also enjoy posting, reading other’s posts, questioning and responding. Biography is a genre that students in grades 3-5 need to have exposure to each year. My students select and read a biography, and create a slide show on 5 important events of their lives. In addition to this the students will be ask blog on; "How would the world be different if this person did not exist? Post 3 memorable/significant things your chosen person accomplished in their lifetime, and a link to a biography webpage." This will allow the learner to obtain a deeper connection to the person they chose, and this will also allow the learner to reflect on their biography's significant events and determine which are the most important. After reading about [|Mark's edtechblog] and how he uses SSR time as SSR 2.0 time I thought..."I can do that too!" My students cannot do exactly what his class does, but something similar. My classroom has SSR time for the first 30 minutes of the day, every day. I was thinking once a week the students can post a 6-8 sentence summary of their story they are reading and allow students and teacher to respond to their post. When/If they finish the book that week, they can post a personal connect to part of the story. This would allow deep understanding and connections as well as reflection to the story.


 * Podcast: [], []

After interviewing my colleagues I realized how easy it was to create a podcast! It was simple, and I even felt proud of the process. I know, but I am a learner too J ! I think my students would really enjoy this activity and learn in the process. Along with the slid show and blog about the biography the students read they could also create a podcast by being the biography person. A peer student, or the teacher, could interview the biography person (student), and the student could answer the questions with the type of response that their biography person would have said. The response to “What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?” would be different for biography persons from 400 B.C., 1700s, and present day. Reader’s Theater (skits) is such a desired activity in my 5th grade class. How fun would it be to compose and record a skit for the class to hear? I can assign a group of 4-5 students and have them create a skit, practice, and then record it. This is an activity I definitely plan to incorporate into my curriculum next year.


 * Flickr: []

After reading about the options for Flickr I was hooked! I have only used Flickr once before a couple of years ago, but don’t recall what for. I was delighted to read that a student can create a digital story through Flickr and even a comic if the learner wishes. My first year of teaching, I had my 4th students create a digital story. The students wrote a story and copied and pasted clips from/on Microsoft Office PowerPoint. Some students had real photos that I scanned in, created a CD, then the students pasted them into their story. Now the students can do the same thing with many more options! In addition to creating a digital story, the students can also allow the characters to have bubble conversations. This will be a perfect project for the winter time before Christmas. I can’t wait!


 * Joe**


 * 1) Team Viewer - []


 * I like this tool so much because it allows for students to learn and interact with others outside of the four walls of the classroom. By using Team Viewer, students can have a live video chat with a person anywhere in the world. In addition, that person can see and manipulate the other person’s computer screen, which is helpful if the one person is trying to teach the other how to do something or access something on the computer.
 * My seniors have used this tool when working on their senior projects. It came in very handy when two of my seniors wanted to learn how to design skateboard ramps. They were very fortunate to get into contact with Nate Wessel, who has designed the skateboard/BMX ramps at the X Games for the past six or so years. Nate was often traveling, but wherever he was, he was able to help explain and actually show my two senior boys how to design their own virtual skate park using the Web tool Google Sketch Up. Another way Team Viewer could be used for school is if there is a student that has a prolonged injury or illness and is forced to miss a lot of school days, it would be very simple for both the teacher and the student to log into Team Viewer and the teacher would basically be able to provide a one-on-one tutoring session for the student.

2. Prezi - []


 * I have used Prezi a lot in my classes over the past two years. The reason I like it so much is that I feel it is more versatile and attention capturing than PowerPoint. So many teachers have exhausted the use of PowerPoint presentations in the classroom and I feel like a growing number of students grow bored with it when they themselves have to create a class project using PowerPoint. Instead, Prezi is more interactive and creative for the students to observe as well as work with.
 * I have give students the opportunities to use Prezi when working on group or individual projects. Every time I see the students working on their Prezi presentations, I am so impressed with the amount of creativity they have. So, Prezi presentations are great for when the whole class, either individually or in groups, presents their project in front of the class and everyone is able to see the classmates’ creativity and hard work. Also, Prezi presentations would be a great tool to use when a student is teaching other students. A student tutor, for example, could even put their work on a webpage and link it to their Prezi presentation so that any students in need of additional help can view the presentation as many times as necessary.

3. Flashcardlet - [] [] (Website for Flashcardlet working in conjunction with Quizlet)


 * You can share your Flashcard decks with others or keep them synced across devices using the “Share” menu. You can email decks or upload them to your Dropbox account. Then, if you want to share a deck from your Dropbox account, all you have to do is create a shareable link to it using the Dropbox app. You can create your own flashcards or use ones that have already been created by others. If you create cards on Quizlet.com and allow them to be publically accessible, you can download them to Flashcardlet.
 * This would be great for using to review for a test as a class. It would be very simples of the teacher to create a review game and have the students work in groups to come up with the correct answers. That way, the whole class would be learning and reviewing together. It would be a tremendous benefit if the teacher had a SmartBoard and could have the whole class see the question and subsequent answer on the back of the index card. Additionally, students can create their own flashcards. This would be great for breaking the reviewing process up among many students. Each student might select a certain chapter or topic and create their own flashcards. Then the group of students could reconvene and combine all the flashcards on all the topics, thus insuring all the material is covered and everyone contributes an equal amount.

4. Videolicious - []


 * This is a very valuable tool for creating professional looking videos. What this tool does is to take raw video clips and photos and allows you to edit them by putting your pictures or video segments together into one seamless video clip. Also, you can add music and your own voice describing what is going on in the video.
 * This would be a perfect tool for me to use with my senior project course. The students could have video clips and photos from every step along the way to completing their project. They could use videolicious to produce a high quality movie based on their journey depicting the evolution of their senior project. Another way to implement this into a lesson plan would be to have the teacher record him/her presenting new information. The teacher then could upload video clips, pictures, and audio clips to the presentation. Then, all the students would have to do is access it online to increase student autonomy by enabling students to learn what they want, when the want to.

5. PuppetPals - []


 * This is a great tool for visual and kinesthetic learners. It is revolutionary because the students are essentially creating a play about a topic they learned about. They can create characters, manipulate what they look like, how the move, the backdrops, etc. All the while, they are using their creativity to reinforce what they have learned in the classroom.
 * There are so many realistic ways to incorporate this into a class. For my American History class, I could have the students each create a Puppet Pals movie on the American Revolutionary War. The students can find pictures on the Internet to help them create accurately looking puppets and then unleash their creativity in describing how the war went. Another way you could use this in the class might be for a student who has to give a presentation on a topic, but is very shy about public speaking. The student would be able to design the whole Puppet Pal movie, thus proving mastery of the content, but also record his/her voice in the animation!
 * Here are some examples posted by a teacher - []


 * Discussion**


 * Joe:** Ok, ladies...Jaime, Caitlin, Julia, and Erica! I hope you all are having a great summer so far. Caitlin, I agree with you and I vote for Diigo and VoiceThread being included in our top 5. Also, Jamie, I have a confession to make. When our podcast assignment was due, I was getting very frustrated because every podcast creator website wouldn't work for the interview I did in Audacity. However, I saw that you used Podomatic, so I did the same and it worked great! It was so easy and simple...thank you so much for the help! So I definitely vote for Podomatic to be included in our top 5 as well. Furthermore, Erica and Jaime, I completely agree with you that we should also include GoogleDocs. I never knew just how many interactive resources they offer for teachers and the students. What are your thoughts ladies?


 * Caitlin:** Hi, everyone! Thanks for starting the discussion, Joe! I'm in agreement with the 4 tools you suggest. I would love to include PuppetPals in there--I laughed hysterically watching the examples posted--what an awesome tool for kids to get really creative with! If not that, then I would definitely like to consider Team Viewer--that real time face-to-face time is so important and an awesome way to bring in outsiders, like experts any where in the world. The idea of being able to manipulate the computer screen of another in order to show them something is also really neat. Thoughts?!


 * Joe:** Hey ladies! Ok, so are we going with Diigo, VoiceThread, Podomatic, GoogleDocs, and PuppetPals? What does everyone think? Thanks!


 * Erica:** Hi guys. Joe, I loved PuppetPals too! I'm excited to learn, investigate more about that tool. It would be a great replacement for the skits that I wanted to do with the podcast! The Team Viewer also sounds like a loaded resource. I'd like to investigate that this summer too, thank you Joe. I see the elementary teachers have the wiki & blog. Do you think we should include these? Your thoughts?


 * Jaime:** I like all of the tech tools that everyone has posted about! It's so hard to make a decision about the top 5! One thing I thought of was since VoiceThread and Podcasting are somewhat related in their ability to record voices, maybe we could replace Podomatic with either blogs or wikis? What are your thoughts about this? Honestly I'm fine keeping it the way it is! I just thought maybe so we were covering a bunch of different kinds of tools.


 * Erica:** That's a great idea Jamie. Diigo, VoiceThread, GoogleDocs, PuppetPals, and wikis or blogs?

collaboratively. I think it is due tomorrow and wanted to know what you all wished to do. Thank you much!
After viewing the assignment, we need to choose 2 tools for the "final" summary. I think wikis, blogs, and GoogleDocs are writing/collabertive tools, PuppetPals (the samples I viewed) and VoiceThread are audio and digital storytelling tools, and Diigo is Diigo. Do you agree on the 3 "different" purposes? or I'm I too generalizing too much? Let me know what you guys think:-)!


 * Caitlin:** Hi, guys! Erica, I don't think you're generalizing too much, no--and as far as narrowing it down further to 2 tools, am open to discussion! I like the idea of using Wikis, but know that GoogleDocs probably has a larger variety of possible uses... I think we should include one of the audio tools as well. Regarding the completion of the project--I'm just a bit confused... I definitely would feel bad placing all the work on you and/or Joe. Did Phil mean that one of you could curate it as part of our group summary for the week? Sorry, just a bit confused!


 * Phil:** Hi everyone - feel free to take a couple of extra days as a result of Julia's absence.


 * Erica:** Caitlin, I agree on the GoogleDocs tool, and that's not because I use it all the time either:-) Jamie & Joe, what are your thoughts on having GoogleDocs as one of the 2 tools? On the audio tool, as embarrassing as it is, I have not used either of the 2 tools in my classroom. After viewing the PuppetPals, I think that would be so much fun for the elemenetary students to use. Joe, is it user (young kid) friendly? Using VoiceThread on Week 6 assignments wasn't hard, but we didn't create the pages. Caitlin, was it user friendly for your class, or do you have to create the pages used? If the classroom has one VoiceThread are many small groups able to create digital stories, or slideshow presentations?

Caitlin, yes Phil said we could do it as a group, or Joe or I could be the curator due to Julia's absence. It doesn't matter to me whatever we decide to do. What would you guys like to do?

[|Voting Form] [|Voting Results]
 * Jaime:** My personal votes would go for Google Docs, and Voice Thread. I think Google Docs, as you've all noted, has such a wide variety of possibilities (not just documents, but sites, spreadsheets, forms, and presentations). Also, I'm sorry for bringing up blogs/wikis and VoiceThread instead of Podomatic... I was thinking that we needed to pick 5 and that's why I brought it up. I noticed on one of the other group's pages that they created a Google Form for each person to vote. If we are interested in this, I am happy to create it so we can make some decisions and complete this task together. I think that our individual top 5's and our discussion have a lot of details and support for any of the technology tools. As Caitlin said, I, too, am happy to help with this culminating part. On the other hand, I loved getting my curating out of the way, so if this is a good week for you and you want to get it done, I'm open to that too!!


 * Caitlin:** Nice idea with the surveys, Jamie--thanks! As for curating -- Erica and Joe, it's 100% up to you. I can go either way :)

Joe would you like be the curator? If not, I am more than willing to. Let me know:-)
 * Erica:** Good idea...Thanks Jamie!

Hi Caitlin, Jamie, and Joe. I started training on Monday, so I am thinking ahead of my exhaustion to come this week. Thanks for your support and understanding Group 4!:-) Here' s the summary.


 * Joe:** Hey Caitlin, Jamie, and Erica. Erica, I am so sorry I didn't check this since Monday. I thought we were all done with our submission and didn't even think about Julia's absence interfering with the flow of curating submissions. Also, this week I started a summer school program for inner-city kids that I help run, so things have been a little hectic on my end as well. However, that is no excuse. So, again, I apologize for the confusion and will try to not let that happen again. Thanks!


 * Erica:** Joe, no worries:-) I hope your summer school program started off with success!


 * Joe:** Erica, well thank you for understanding. And just to let you know, I emailed Phil and let him know that I would be taking care of the blog curating for this week, Week 8. Thanks again.

**Week 10 Collaborative Work:**
Week 10: Design Blueprint (Click to view final copy)


 * Erica: These are some of the ideas we had listed for out tools. Other groups had good tools too. Which topic(s) would you like to focus on? I personally like the digital story telling through GoogleDocs or VoiceThread, and the lyrics/poems through VoiceThread too. **

GoogleDocs-
 * Learners can compose, edit and revise writing assignments, reflections
 * Learners could create presentations to preview or review a topic, similar to wikis
 * Learners are able to embed pictures to compose a digital storybook (presentation)
 * Teacher and/or learners may generate discussion, similar to blogs
 * Teachers can use the form option as a pre-test for a unit
 * Learners are able to vote unanimously on a classroom/group decision
 * Teacher and/or learners will be able to preview the concept of rate/line plots by using a spreadsheet
 * It is an incredibly useful resource for the classroom and for the home.

VoiceThread-
 * Teachers and/or Learners can create presentations to preview or review a Unit
 * Learners can upload and compose a digital story (share with younger grades)
 * Learners can craft a song using knowledge from the poetry unit and lyrics in poems/songs
 * Learners can share ideas and thoughts with other learners from different classes
 * Learners can collaborate on a project
 * Learners can think critically when commenting and/or responding to media posted


 * Joe:** Sure, I support the idea of setting up a lesson plan that utilizes digital story telling through GoogleDocs or VoiceThread. What do the other group members think?


 * Erica:** I created this lesson this morning to see what you guys thought. I know I may be missing steps, and possibly some NETS for this. Please feel free to add to, take away, or redo this lesson. Please let meknow your thoughts!~:^)


 * Spooky/Mystery Writing **
 * Grade Level:** 3rd, 4th, 5th
 * Class:** Writing
 * ISTE/NETS for Teachers:** #1a,c; #3b; #4a
 * ISTE/NETS for Students:** #1a,b; #2a,b; #6a
 * Essential Question:** What is spooky to you?
 * Objectives:**
 * SWBAT demonstrate knowledge on the writing process
 * SWBAT peer revise and edit via Google Docs
 * SWBAT demonstrate knowledge on digital story telling via VoiceThread
 * Procedure:**
 * 1) Discuss essential question with class.
 * 2) Read aloud **The Tailypo, by** [|Joanna C. Galdone] and **Scary Stories and Songs, by** **[|Diane Goode].**
 * 3) Tell the class that they too will compose a mystery or spooky story.
 * 4) Go through the writing processes steps with the students (Brainstorm/prewrite, rough draft, revise, edit, final copy).
 * 5) Ask what the first step of the process is and have them complete the brainstorming/prewriting. The students should be thinking about a spooky or a mystery (ghost, pumpkin, bat, witch, haunted house, monsters, etc.) and creating a web of ideas.
 * 6) Have the students conduct a timed writing (5 minutes) to write as fast as they can, all the ideas in their head that they will write about.
 * 7) =====Give the students 5 minutes to share with their 12 & 6 o’clock partners. ** The students should jointly choose 1 spooky/mystery story to compose together with either o-clock partner. **=====
 * 8) When students have completed the writing and sharing, hand them the graphic organizer to complete for their spooky/mystery story.
 * 9) Give the students time to complete this before introducing the prewriting(5-10 min).
 * 10) Give partnered students a blank piece of paper to create a beginning/middle/ending foldable. Explain the purpose of the foldable (fold paper vertically once and horizontally into 3 sections. The students should write down details for the beginning/middle/ending of their story.
 * 11) After completing the foldable, introduce GoogleDocs and VoiceThread to the students.
 * 12) The students will compose their stories, and have the story revised and edited on GoogleDocs by other students. Model how the partners will jointly compose the story, and have it revised and edited on GoogleDocs. Display GoogleDocs on the 3M system. Walk the students through the rough draft, revision, and editing steps of the writing process.
 * 13) When students have finished the rough draft, revision, and editing steps they are ready for the publishing step of the writing process. Model how they will do this on VoiceThread by viewing it on the 3M system.
 * 14) Show the students how to upload imagines through VoiceThread, and then speak the written words of the story using a microphone.
 * 15) Guide/help the students throughout each step of the writing processes as/when needed.


 * Jaime:** Erica, this looks like a really fun writing unit! I've added a few components including grade level, class, ISTE/NETS for students. I have a couple of thoughts... Just wondering, so the GoogleDocs portion is really just to take the kids through the steps of the writing process, and the final copy will actually be in VoiceThread? One thought that I have is somehow incorporating partners for the VoiceThread portion of this. It might be fun for the kids to be able to work with someone to do different voices throughout their story. What do you think of this?

Please add, change, revise, or delete anything. This is just to get us started. Thanks for adding the student technology standards too!
 * Erica:** Jamie, yes GoogleDocs is for the writing process and VoiceThread is the digital story. I too think partners would be great! In **step 7** I stated that the students should share their brainstorming ideas and "jointly" (with 12 **or** 6 o'clock partner) choose a spooky topic/mystery. I guess I should have been clearer:-) The students should compose the story together on GoogleDocs and revise & edit, together, another partner pair's story. Then the partners create a digital story on VoiceThread. I was thinking to start this in late September in Writer's Workshop as an introduction/review to the writing process and to technology.


 * Caitlin:** WOW! You guys are on top of things :) Thanks for the awesome lesson idea, Erica! Would you guys mind if I covered the assessment portion, perhaps? I could make a rubric, some sort of checklist, etc...


 * Erica:** What a great idea...that is one thing I need to work on creating more of...rubrics:^) Is there anything that needs changed/added/detailed for the use of the Web tools...a how to?


 * Joe:** Ladies, you all have awesome contributions! Can I create a student self-assessment? It would be something the students complete at the very end of the project that enables the students to measure what they have learned by completing the project. What do you ladies all think?


 * Joe:** Also, do you think it would be a good idea to include a final group presentation? We could include that the students will play their mystery/spooky audio stories for the whole class. We could make it a Halloween Party where the students get to dress up as characters in their stories and bring in "Halloween" foods and drinks. Just a thought. What do you ladies think of the idea of including this into the lesson plan? Also, I am working on the student self-evaluations for everyone to take a look at and critique. Thanks.


 * Joe:** Here is the student self-assessment I created for the end of the project. Please let me know what changes anyone things should be made. Thanks! [[file: Student Self-Assessment.docx]]


 * Caitlin:** Joe, your self-assessment looks great! I love the traffic lights--what a neat idea! Everyone, attached is my rubric--I'm feeling it's so-so, so if there are any changes you guys would like me to make, please let me know! Also, do you think we should split this lesson into a few days? Like a week-long lesson, perhaps?

Caitlin, your rubric looks good! One consideration might be in the writing process section, instead of using the word "fails," we could rephrase it to read "Student completes 4 out of 6 steps in the writing process (brainstorm, pre-write, rough draft, revise, edit, final copy)," and "Student completes 5 out of 6 steps in the writing process (brainstorm, pre-write, rough draft, revise, edit, final copy)." Also in the use of GoogleDocs section it could be phrased "Student's contribution is less than that of his/her partner AND advice to classmates is minimal," "Student's contribution is less than that of his/her partner OR advice to classmates is minimal." What do you think of this? Just trying to make the wording a bit more positive. Also, I like your suggestion of this being broken up over a few days. I think that's how it's intended, but it would be nice to see that breakdown. I'll take care of this for us! (See attached)
 * Jaime:** Joe, I love the stop-light self assessment!! This is perfect for children, and the key at the top-right is a great reference for them. I reformatted the page a bit to make everything align a little better. I hope that's okay. Let me know your thoughts...

//**Joe,**// I love the traffic lights too! Great idea for the students feedback! //VoiceThread:// I liked your VoiceThread post this week and agree on the points that you made! //VoiceThread:// I completely understand who hard you are working to get your masters and the frustration that these badges might replace degrees. I don't think they will though:-) Another idea, in addition to have a sharing party, we could also share the stories with a K or 1st grade class. About the length of the lesson, my school district's focus right now is "Learning Focus". Lessons are not broken up into days, but in projects that may take 1 day or a few days to complete, depending on the learners. That is why I just put it into one project/lesson format. I'm sure it will take a few days if not longer:^) //VoiceThread:// Although, even though I don't think the badges will replace the degree, I liked how you said that a degree really means little now...many people have degrees that are still jobless. Maybe these badges will get enough accreditation in the future (PRAXIS) to help those who are over qualified for work, but are still jobless.
 * Erica:**I'm sorry, I'll been running ([|literally]) as a support with my friend in a **24 hour** race (yes, she ran for 24 hours) in Philly...obvisously no technology available:^)
 * //Caitlin,//** nice job on the rubric. I feel silly asking, but how did you get in as a PDF file? Looks great!
 * //Jamie,//** I like the re-wording you suggested and the "treat ideas" you added to the lesson.

Has anyone checked out the other Group's blueprints? I like the detail in Group's 3, if you haven't yet-check it out.
 * Erica:** Do you guys think we should have an example of the completed project to view or not? Maybe Jamie and I could compose a story on GoogleDocs and Joe and Ciatlin could create the digital story on VoiceThread? Is that too much?


 * Caitlin:** Hi, everyone! Jaime, thank you for pointing out the wording in my rubric--I was probably writing it on too little sleep--I knew something was off, as I said. I'll edit it shortly. Erica, I'm open to providing an example if everybody wants to, but personally, know that I won't be available at all tomorrow during the day (and keep in mind I'm 6 hours behind you guys). So, essentially, I could go either way--if you guys are set on doing an example, I'm totally down to help--if not, that's great too. As for Group 3's, I think their layout looks especially great (with the lines in between each section). If we don't do the example, I wouldn't mind working on the layout a bit. Also, perhaps adding materials, writing the standards out, and doing an anticipatory set... I have no problems doing these things--what do you guys think? Oh, and Erica--I convert all of my .pages (Apple's version of MS Word) to PDFs so that the formatting doesn't get all crazy when I share it with people who may not be opening documents in Pages. It's really quite easy--takes all of 2 seconds in Pages (share-->send VIA email-->as PDF-->drag the PDF file to your desktop and voila), but I'm not sure how to do it in Word.
 * Attached is my edited rubric...**
 * Joe:** Hey everyone! Jaime, thanks for cleaning up my self-assessment. And to comment on Erica' idea of creating an example of a completed project, I support it. If everyone is cool with the idea, let's move forward with it. Jaime and Erica, go ahead a story on GoogleDocs. When finished, Caitlin and I can create a digital story on VoiceThread. Is that alright with everyone?


 * Jaime:** Hey, everyone! My opinion always changes of the need for a sample. Sometimes I don't like creating one, because I find that sometimes students copy the storyline. On the other hand, I understand the value of modeling. If you feel strongly about creating one, I'm happy to help, but I am only available this evening. My dad is going in for spine surgery tomorrow and I will be with he and my mom in NYC for the next couple of days. (Although I do plan on bringing my laptop... I'm just not sure of internet capabilities, so I don't want to commit to being available.) **//Erica//**... would you be able to work on this with me tonight? **//Caitlin//**... saving from pages to word is super easy. When you save the document, make sure you are viewing the entire layout by clicking on the small arrow dropdown menu next to where you type the file name. Once you are viewing the large save menu screen, there is an option at the bottom to click "save copy as"...choose Word Document" from the dropdown menu." Here are some screen shots to help explain...


 * Caitlin:** I think Jaime and I are feeling similarly about the example. I'm more than willing to help if you guys are set on doing it, but I'm not sure the time is there, seeing as it's due in 11 hours, which is 6PM for me (and I think I'll still be in my classroom). //**Jaime...**// thank you for the screen shots (talk about modeling! :)! I have saved my documents as word files before, but find that PDFs are the only surefire way to prevent any formatting chaos. It's so nice that Apple gives us those options, though!
 * Erica:** Jamie, I agree with you on the modeling may lead to a formated idea for the students to copy. Due to our other obligations and lack of time the sample project doesn't seem possible. Thanks for all your support with everything else! Are we ready to submit? Do we need to comment as a group on other projects, or individually by midnight too?


 * Joe:** Hey ladies. Ok, so we have decided not to create an example for our lesson plan. I think we are ready to submit then. To answer Erica's question, I believe that we are supposed to comment individually on the other projects' lesson plans. That is how I understood the directions. How did you ladies interpret the instructions? Also, are we blogging about the articles for this week as well? Thank you for helping me make sense of the assignments. Have a great day!


 * Jaime:** I agree that we are to comment individually on the other group's design blueprints. We don't have to blog this week... the VoiceThread is all that we needed to complete in terms of our reflections to the readings. Also, sorry that I keep changing the pages. I thought it would be easier to have pages that only have the final copies, esp. since people have to comment... so they don't have to scroll through all of our discussion. Obvi, feel free to add or make changes to the "final." and the pages. Are you okay with the way that I've set up this navigation??


 * Erica:** Jamie it looks perfect, thank you much!!! Thanks guys for answering my question too about commenting:^)


 * Joe:** Ladies, the final draft looks great! I think we did a great job of working together on the assignment. I look forward to working together on any additional projects with you all. Have a great weekend!

[|http://youtu.be/iPWM61rPVWA]
 * Joe:** Here is the link to my Week 12 video that I posted on YouTube. Hope everyone likes it!