562 Visitors to 100,000

At 4:20 am CDT today (August 28, 2013) we were 562 visitors shy of 100,000 visitors since January 9, 2010.

Blogpost Assignments Changed

As I said in the Syllabus and in class, all class materials are subject to change. I have made a change to the Blogpost Assignments and you will see that Version 2 is now listed in the column to the right that the latest version is Version 2.

Why the change?

Two students reported the link to the Penn State Time Management post no longer worked. I changed it to Joe Landsberger's Study Guide on Time Management.

When you deal with documents on the Internet you will find that changes in links occur quite often. I depend on my students to let me know when that happens.

Thanks to Kaley and Jordan!

2013 William Chamberlain Award Goes to Jacey Blaire Chandler

Congratulations to Jacey Blaire Chandler, winner of the first William Chamberlain Technology Teaching Award. The award this year was for $300. It is awarded to a student who has taken EDM310 and who demonstrates an outstanding enthusiasm for and the ability in using technology in their teaching.

Welcome Fall 2013 EDM310 Students

Welcome! We are about to start our fourth year of the "new and revised" EDM310.

The Syllabus and other instructional materials are now available. You will find the links in the column on the right under Essential Materials for Students and Visitors.

Some documents are rather large so be patient while they download. You will get a clue about how effective your internet service is when you download the Syllabus.

Nearing 100,000 Visitors

Scroll down and find the maps indicating where our visitors reside. If you click on the top map you will see that as of 4:37 am today (9/17/13) we have had 98,646 visitors since January 9, 2010. When we hit 100,000 (which will happen very soon) we will have a celebration. Take a look at where the last 10 visitors (as of the time I write this) live:

Half were from states other than Alabama and Mississippi!

Here is an update as of 10:38 am Monday August 19, 2013:

Thailand, Sweden and Australia are in this list! And New York, Louisiana and Florida as well. EDM310 attracts international attention!

Foliotek

1. You must have registered for Foliotek by today July 16, 2013 unless you are exempt. The following are exempt from using Foliotek: a) those seeking only recertification or license renewal; 2) students who are not seeking candidacy status; students who are not Education majors. Foliotek costs $ 35 for one year. NOTE: Several students who are in their first semester at USA report they are not being charged for Foliotek. If this happens to you - just smile. At least for the time being.

To register and pay for Foliotek follow these instructions:
a. When using Foliotek use Chrome or Explorer browsers ONLY.
b.Go to the USA Online Login page.
b. Login. Your User ID is your J number. Your password is the last 4 digits of your social security number.
c. Click on Sakai. Then click on a class which requires the use of Foliotek. Then click Foliotek in the left column. If you have not established a Foliotek account, do so. You will have to pay by credit card. After all information has been entered you will have to Accept the Foliotek rules, etc.
2. Once you have registered and paid for Foliotek and Accepted the Foliotek rules, etc. you will be able to post to Foliotek.

Think of Foliotek as a storage device in the sky where you will store evidence of your accomplishments in the College of Education. Every course you take in the COE has state established standards which you must meet. You must store the evidence used to determine whether or not you have met these standards in Foliotek where anyone desiring to can see that evidence. Your instructors will provide detailed instructions of what evidence must be submitted for what standards. You then place electronic copies of that evidence in Foliotek.

In EDM310 all of your evidence for all of the standards associated with EDM310 is in your blog and the EDM310 Class Blog. Therefore your blog and the Class Blog are what "go" into Foliotek. Since your evidence consists entirely of blogs we only have to provide Foliotek with links - links to your blog and the Class Blog. Therefore completing the Foliotek requirements for EDM310 is quick and easy.

You will need:
1. A list of the standards associated with EDM310. They are:

Literacy: Oral and Written Communications (3)(c) 1.(iii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(i)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(ii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(vi)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(ii)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(iv)
For Elementary Majors ONLY: General Special Education: 290-3-3-.34 (2)(g)2.(iii)

Note that the standards are grouped into Literacy, Professionalism and Teaching K-6(for General Special Education). (There are other groups.) Also note that there is one small letter i (or two or three of them) at the end of the numbering system. These are VERY IMPORTANT. Be sure you pay attention to them!

2. You will need the URL to your blog and the URL for the Class Blog ( http://edm310.blogspot.com )

3. Then follow the instructions in Foliotek Instructions.

4. After you have completed Foliotek, your entries must be checked in person by one of the EDM310 staff members. This is an ABSOLUTE requirement and it must be done in class before 4 pm Thursday July 18, 2013. If one of us does not sign off on your Foliotek entries in person you will get an I in the course. And if you do not complete Foliotek (which is a GREAT hassle for you and an even greater hassle for Dr. Strange) no later than Friday September 27, 2013 your I will become an F no matter what you would have gotten in the course.

Project 16 - Prezi Version

If you are doing Project 16 using Prezi, cover the same material required for the iBook.

Conversations with Anthony: It's Hard Work!: A Day in the Life of a 3rd Grade Teacher

This is the second conversation with Anthony Capps, 3rd grade teacher at Gulf Shores Elementary School in Gulf Shores Alabama. In this conversation Anthony and Dr. John Strange discuss the hard work that it takes to be a teacher.


It's Hard Work!: A Day in the Life of a 3rd Grade Teacher (EDM310 Server) (9:14)
It's Hard Work!: A Day in the Life of a 3rd Grade Teacher (YouTube) (9:14)
It's Hard Work!: A Day in the Life of a 3rd Grade Teacher (Vimeo) (9:14)

Conversations With Anthony Capps: Project Based Learning

Here is an interview with Anthony Capps in two parts. Anthony is a third grade teacher at Gulf Shores Elementary School, Gulf Shores, Alabama. He is a graduate of EDM310 and has been a Lab Professional and Advisor for EDM310 for several semesters.

I hope you learn a lot from this conversation and the others in the Conversations with Anthony series.



Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher(10:03)
Part 1 EDM3190 server
Part1 You Tube
Part 1 Vimeo

Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher (13:45)
Project Based Learning Part 2 EDM310 Server
Project Based Learning Part 2 You Tube
Project Based Learning Part 2 Vimeo

Blog Post #15 Instructions Now Available

Here are the instructions for Blog Post #15 due 7/17 (Corrected date). I will publish a revised Bolg Post assignments sometime tomorrow but I want to make this assignment available before then.


Blog Post 15 Due 7/17

Collaborative Assignments

In Collaborative Blog Post Assignments, there may be one or more assignments for everyone to do. The rest are to be divided among the members of the group. Each member of the group prepares their post in a Google Doc which is shared to edit with the other members of the group and with edm310posts@gmail.com

Once a student has completed their post, they ask the other members of the group to critique it using the EDM310 Rubric Form (found in your Google Docs after Unit 2). They then revise their post. Then combine all the finished and revised posts into a single post on your blog. Your post should be on top. The other group members' post below yours. Each must be headed by a bold header indicating the primary author of the post that follows.

If there is a disagreement among the members of a group as to interpretation, meaning, implications or conclusions, the dissenting member should write a minority report clearly indicating what their disagreement is and the arguments they make supporting their minority position.

These instructions are to be followed for all Collaborative Assignments (Blog Posts 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 13 and 15).

All members of the group must read or watch all of the assigned materials. Otherwise an appropriate critique is impossible.

There are many different ways in which you can communicate your findings/results/commentary to an audience using many media tools: text; audio; video; pictures; music; specialized programs, etc. You are encouraged to use different presentation techniques. Try not to use a method more than twice in the seven collaborative assignments.


What can you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps? Everybody do 1 and 2. Divide 3, 4 and 5 as you wish unless I have notify you otherwise by email.

1. iCurio (8:08)

2. Discovery Education (4:33)

3. The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1 (12:59)

4. Don't Teach Tech - Use It (8:49)

5. It’s Hard Work: A Day in the Life of a 3rd Grade Teacher (9:14)

Changes to Material Related to Projects 13, 14, 15

I inadvertently wiped out the post on how long should the project take to do. I had an old version open on another computer and mistakenly uploaded it instead of just closing it. Poof. Away it went.

So...

I have modified the post immediately below this post. You should reread it! Or, if you have not read it before, read it now!

I have also added an important link to Alex where you can find sample plans and Alabama standards for all grades and subjects. This link and suggestion has been provided by Anthony Capps. Thanks Anthony!

Further Clarifications About Projects 13, 14 and 15

I warned you that this semester was experimental. You are asking lots of good questions about Projects 13, 14 and 15. Here are some additional clarifications:





More on Time Allocation and Project Length

How long will it take for your students to do the project and attain the objectives you wish to accomplish? That is the answer to "How long should the project take." Without experience it is hard for you to determine how long projects should take. In any project some students will attain the objectives faster than others. This will vary form project to project. How do you engage the fast learners? How do you help the slower learners? You need to think about these issues. You are not able to answer them now. Practice will teach you these things. But you must be prepared to address these issues. So make some assumptions. Specify those assumptions. Include in your plans your strategies to address the issues I have raised.

The objective of this assignment is to get you to
a) to construct project based learning activities
b) that use technology
c) that can be evaluated
d) that address specific state standards
e) that can be shared with others - usually on a form specified by the principal

EDM310 students developing their lesson plans (Projects 13, 14 and 15) for Elementary students should plan to devote approximately 45 minutes to an hour a day for either one or two weeks. Anthony used one week last year but this year is switching to two week projects (for the most part). On Day 1 Anthony introduces the question. Days 2-4 or 5 (depends on other class demands) and 5-6 are for research and consultation with their group. Days 7-8 or 9 are for creating a method for sharing results (maybe a video, presentation, play, skit, blog, letters , weather maps - whatever is appropriate than can be shared). Days 9 and/or 10 are for sharing (and evaluating - Anthony evaluates using the ACCRS as a rubric or with a rubric he has prepared that incorporates the ACCRS into it). Be clear the assumptions you make are clear to the reader of your plans.

In high school it might be different. If you will be teaching high school, think about what your time frame might be. You will not be expected to cover a range of subjects and to address as many objectives as will elementary teachers. Be clear the assumptions you make are clear to the reader of your plans.

What About Science Standards?

Starting in Grade 6, science standards are incorporated into the Reading Standards. They have not yet been adopted for grades K-5. See Grades 6-12: Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science & Technical Subjects.

For All Alabama standards go to Alex.

EDM310 Student: "I'm Confused"

So am I.

I have had several emails and at least one post to the EDM310 Facebook Page expressing confusion about the assignments for projects 13, 14, 15.

I am having trouble understanding the confusion. You create a lesson plan for your class's age group that addresses some specific ACCRS standards which you must specify. The lesson has to be a project. It must involve the use of technology. You can assume that there is at least one computer/iPad for every 4 kids. Since we cannot use iCurio or DiscoveryEd this semester, I announced in class that you would use the Internet in general. But you must curate it. That means you must select specific things to search for or provide multiple choices of links for kids to use. In high school you may not need to vet the links. You will make that determination.

You provide your lesson plan to EDM310 (instead of your principal) using either Buck Institute worksheets, any materials in provided by Markham on his website, or any plan documents that you devise which cover at least the same categories that the materials of Buck Institute or Markham cover or which add information which you think is necessary fior understanding your plan which the forms you ay choose to use do not call for. Since Markham works for The Buck Institute his materials are heavily influenced by (or are the same as) the Buck Institute materials.

These forms are useful. They are not the product, however. They merely provide a way for you to communicate you plan to others and should help you have a more complete plan than you might otherwise have. If you can improve upon them, feel free to do so. Don't forget that a plan may require a rubric as well. If you use a rubric it may be associated with your plan by using a link (depending on which avenue you take in creating a rubric).

I will repeat these "clarifications" on the Class Blog. If you can better enlighten me about the confusions you have I might be able to do a better job of explaining the project you are to do for EDM310. What I have written here is what I say in the Project Instructions. If you were confused by the original you will probably still be confused since I have said the same thing here.

Help me understand the confusion. I will then clarify it if I can.

Power Restored - Lab Open

Power has been restored and the Lab is open.

Power Outage in College of Education - Lab Closed

The Alabama Power transformer that serves the College of Education blew at about 3:00 p.m. today Saturday June 29, 2013.

It is unknown when power will be restored.


The Lab has been closed for the rest of Saturday June 29, 2013.

Please check the Class Blog if you intend to come to the Lab tomorrow Sunday June 30, 3013. A notice will be posted advising whether the power has been restored or not.

Midterm Reminders

Midterm Questionnaire - In your Gmail. Due Sunday 6/23/13 midnight
C4C - Assignments Changed. See Google Doc
Blog Post 8 and 9 Reversed - See post immediately below this one and/or revised Blog Post Instructions
Podcast Due Date Changed - See the post that is two before this post. Read the entire book as a result of this change
SMARTboard Software Key - is in your Google Docs
C4T - You will have a new C4T (#3) sometime Monday morning 6/24/13
Half the Summer Semester Has Been Completed
Ask Questions!

Blog Post 8 and 9 Due Dates Switched

Blog Post #8 (Originally Due Sunday June 23, 2013) and Blog Post #9 (Originally due Wednesday June 26, 2013) have been switched.

Blog Post #9 is now Blog Post #8 and Blog Post #8 is now Blog Post #9.

I was assured by one of the companies involved that we could get temporary passwords so you could explore iCurio and/or Discovery Ed. That has not happened (and may not). Additional instructions regarding the How Can iCurio and Discover Ed Be Used Effectively in Your Instruction? assignment (now Blog Post #9) will be provided on or before Sunday 6/23.

These changes have now been made to the BlogPost Assignments, Version 6, June 19, 2013.

Podcast Due Date Changed to 6/30

Time Extended

So you want to read the whole book? That sounds great to me. Consequently I have changed the Podcast Due Date to midnight Sunday June 30, 2013. That is the same time your SMARTboard project is due. So don't forget it in the effort to do a great job on the Podcast!

Trying Out Hangout

Nearing 100,000 Visitors

The revised version EDM310 is now in its 10th semester. Since the 9th of January, 2010 the EDM310 Class Blog site has had almost 100,000 visitors! As of today - June 12, 2013 at 11:29 GMT (4:29 am CDT) - the EDM310 Class Blog has welcomed 96,717 visitors in almost 2 1/2 years!

Our visitors come for all over the world. Since 11:21 pm last night we have had visitors from the United States (including Alabama, Virginia, Maryland, and North Dakota), Pakistan, Germany, South Africa, Iceland, and Palestine. In the 2 1/2 years since the new EDM310 started we have had 16,852 visitors from outside the United States!

One of the things I hoped to accomplish in the new EDM310 was to link the students at the University of South Alabama to the world. We are certainly doing that.

We should hit 100,000 visitors shortly before the end of the Summer term or near the start of the Fall 2013 term.

Thanks for joining us in our learning journey!

Urgent - Blog Post Assignments Revised

The Blog Post Assignments have been revised and the assignment due tomorrow night is affected!

The revisions include a significant change in the Blog Post #3 wich is due tomorrow night. I left out a key part of the assignment when I copied it from last spring's document.

Acces the most recent revision in the regular ways.