Final Portfolio

Here is the link to my final portfolio.

Powerpoint Presentation

Here is a link to my powerpoint presentation entitled Feliz Navidad en Mexico!

Final Presentation

I am planning on doing my fianl presentation on Christmas in the Spanish Speaking world. Here are some links I would use.


Christmas: http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/xmasindex.html
Christmas in Mexico: http://www.nacnet.org/assunta/nacimnto.htm
Celebrating Christmas in Mexico: http://www.mexonline.com/xmas.htm
Christmas in Mexico: http://www.inside-mexico.com/featurenavidad.htm
Holiday Traditions: http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/traditions-mexico.htm
Christmas in Mexico Newsletter: http://www.inside-mexico.com/RevistaNewsl.htm
A Puerto Rican Christmas: http://www.elboricua.com/pr_christmas.html
Puerto Rican Traditions: http://www.elboricua.com/traditions.html
Christmas in Puerto Rico: http://www.prboriken.com/christ.htm
Welcome to Puerto Rico: http://welcome.topuertorico.org/culture/folklore.shtml

Scratch

I changed the white background to a sea green color. I also changed the entrance from 100 to 50 to make it faster. Here is the link to my Haiku project: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/sahlbert/756350

5th Grade Blogging

I enjoyed blogging with the 5th grade students. I was suprised at how well they expressed themselves and how comfortable with blogging they were. I know when I was that age I didn't know enough about technology/computers to be competent blogging. I thought they way their blogs were set up with the teacher approving all content was a safe way for teachers to blog and I really see no problem with it. One of the only concerns I can think of is making sure students understand internet safety which can easily be taught in a couple lessons. I can better understand how blogging can work in a classroom now. I may consider blogging in my classroom because of this activity.

Scratch

I like the Haiku project. It would be a really fun, easy way for students to learn how to write haikus. It would be really easy to make this project center around a central unit such as seasons or holidays.

New Literary Media

Convergence is a culture rather than a technical process. In a convergence culture people can add information and share information with each other freely. In a convergence culture everything will play itself out across all possible media platforms. It is not the digital revolution. The major implication of convergence culture for education is dealing with the participation gap, which is the gap between students who have 24/7 access to web-based media and students who only have access at school or a library. Students are "acquiring skills now through play, including game play, which they'll later apply towards more serious skills." Jenkins believes that media literacy shouldn't be added as another class but she be implemented through all subjects. Schools are limiting kids' access to digital tools by not using digital medias, not giving students' ethical training on literary medias, and by blocking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, and other blogging sites. I think instead of ignoring digital tools or blocking students' access to them, school systems should be training teachers to be able to train students to responsibly use what is available.

Think Aloud

Website Validation

I chose to validate a website about the "Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus." To begin with the website, looks crediable. It has good graphics, links to sites within the articles, even advertisements. As I began to read some of the information however, the site started losing it's credibility due to statements such as, "predation by foreign species such as house cats; and booming populations of its natural predators, including the bald eagle and sasquatch." Obviously the bald eagle does not have a booming population and sasquatch doesn't exist. The site has a .net domain which means that anyone could have purchased it. The author of the page is not identified in the address, but on the bottom of the page it says to contact Lyle Zapato, who does not own the domain or have any contact info associated with it. The "intent" of the site is to save the endangered Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, which does not exist. Wikipedia states that it is an internet hoax created in 1998. The page was last updated 10-11-09, but the information is so outrageous that a person would have to be many fries short of a happy meal to believe that it was true. I mean one of the links is People for the Ethical Treatment of Pumpkins!

Teacher of the Year!

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
- Albert Einstein

Results of Surveys

Here is the result of the favorite color survey.

To the left are the results of my free time survey.

Surveys

Click here to take my survey on how you spend your free time.

Click here to take my survey on your favorite color.

Social Bookmarking

I chose to bookmark Library Thing because it has the capability of being an awesome resource for me as a future English teacher. It would be so great to have a listing of all my books that I could access anytime online. That would enable me to order new books very easily and would also be a good resource if I decide to lend my books out to students. I was so excited when I found this site. I cannot wiat to use it!

WebQuest Artifact

I have made a rough copy of the newspaper article that is assigned in my WebQuest. Here it is.

WebQuest

My webquest is a journalistic task because students are told they are reporters and must write a newspaper article as part of their task. Here is my completed webquest.

Would Socrates Approve of WebQuests?

I believe that Socrates would approve of webquests. One reason is because he said, "I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance." In many webquests students acknowledge what they don't know by thoroughly researching information. Another reason is that, "For Socrates, answers were always steps on the way to deeper questions." A webquest makes a student complete various steps, answer questions, and/or research information. As a result, students are encouraged to probe deeper into their own minds to ask more questions and search for more answers. A good webquest should make students hungry to know more. A third reason that I believe Socrates would approve of webquests is because "Socrates did not teach in a conventional classroom; his classroom was wherever he and his students found themselves." In today's world, the place where students and teachers find themselves is undoubtedly the Internet. It is important for students to be taught using technology that they are going to need to know how to use for the rest of their lives.

Rough Draft of my WebQuest

Here is the rough draft of my WebQuest. It still needs some work.
http://sites.google.com/site/sarahhalbertwebquest/

Webquest Experience

I have chosen to work on a webquest for Spanish students about Christmas (La Navidad) in Mexico and Puerto Rico.
The address for it is: http://rosarodz.tripod.com/webquest.htm

There are several things I would change about this webquest. The first being the graphics because the current graphics do not add anything to the webquest, they actually make it seem less attractive. The rubric states "Appropriate and thematic graphic elements are used to make visual connections that contribute to the understanding of concepts, ideas and relationships." That is not accomplished in this webquest. The second thing I would change is that instead of putting students in pairs, I would put them in groups of 4, assigning each group to pick 2 Spanish speaking countries to study and compare. The rubric says that "task is doable and engaging," I believe that putting students in groups of 4 makes it more doable because writing and presenting a project in Spanish can be difficult and with 4 people working on the project it would be easier. In addition, I would ask each group to prepare a traditional Christmas food from each of their countries, as well as present their presentation of the 2 countries in class. This meets the requirement in the rubric which states "The task requires synthesis of multiple sources of information, and/or taking a position, and/or going beyond the data given and making a generalization or creative product."

Here is the link to my photostory on TeacherTube:

http://www.teachertube.com/members/viewVideo.php?video_id=127249&title=When_I_m_A_Teacher

Multimedia v. Traditional Papers

I do believe that there are times when a multimedia project, such as "The Power of One" can be just as effective as a written paper. NETS-T standard 2A: "design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity" is met by "The Power of One." I do not believe, however, that The Power of One" was so effective as be a proper substitute for a 15 page paper. Writing a 15 page paper takes a lot of effort and a lot of time. Think of all the proof readings and rewrites it requires to write a good 15 page paper - hours, not to mention all the research. "The Power of One" may have taken a couple hours, involving research. I know it had to take some time, but it would not be nearly as much as it would take to find all the information needed to fill 15 pages and then write it and proof it well. I think "The Power of One" would have been great to go along with a paper, as a sort of summary because it is a very well done multimedia project.
Being able to create media projects is important for students. As "Orchestrating the Media Collage" states "being able to actively create rather than just passively consume new media is important for the obvious reason that it teaches literacy and job skills that are highly valued in a digital society." But that by no means is a reason to lose the value of good writing; the author says, "When we write, we think. We slow down and reflect as we struggle to synthesize, clarify, and communicate." Writing is still an important skill to be achieved, "Effective writing has a new kind of importance for students in what can often be a digitally distracted world."
While "The Power of One" definitely meets NETS-T standard 3C: "communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats." I just do not believe it delivered as much information or took as much time as a 15 page paper; which, I think, is the issue at hand.

Webquests

Best Websites:

• John Wilkes Booth-(Strengths) Easy to read, format consistent, background information, step-by-step directions, organized (Weaknesses) Not too many pictures, links opening take a lot of time
• Creative Encounters-(Strengths) graphics were good, forward/backward buttons, separate jobs and then work together, standards on the page, time saver for teachers(Weaknesses) Broken links

Worst Websites:

• Landfills-(Strenghts) All the information was on the site, handout, good topic to work on, step-by-step (Weaknesses) Didn’t correspond to geography, just killing time, older students
• Poetry of War-(Strenghts) Visualize from poems, picture changes, introduced in non-feminine way (Weaknesses) Work on your own not a group activity

Click here to view my resume.

Blogging Beneificial to Classes

I really liked the idea behind the blog on The Secret Life of Bees. I can see how using a blog would be a really good way to make sure all students were understanding the book. It seemed as if each student is assigned to a different "department" which was required to post their assignments. This allowed the teacher to follow students' posts, to see if they were really understanding or even reading the story. Having students explain the story is a good way for students to gain confidence about their reading and writing abilities. This blog also allowed teacher and student discussion of the book to continue outside of the classroom. This would be helpful for students because I know I've thought of many questions outside of classes and have forgotten to ask them later, this way they can post any questions or comments as soon as they come to their minds. For teachers, this would be a great way to inform students of any information that they forgot to giving students in class.
Link to the blog: http://weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/bees/

Two performance indicators from the NETS-T that I would meet using a blog in my classroom:
1C Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
2A Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

Hi! I'm Sarah, a sophomore at Fairmont State University. I'm majoring in Secondary English and Spanish Education. I'm involved in the Honors Program and Chi Alpha at FSU. I love school and love to learn, that's why I'm so excited about becoming a teacher. I'm from Parkersburg, WV and graduated from Parkersburg South High School.