Managing+and+Monitoring

=Teachers are Responsible for Managing and Monitoring Student Learning=

In my classroom, I strive to create lessons that each student can learn from and enjoy. I am also continuously looking for new ways to incorporate technology into my lessons, as I find it is very engaging to students. One way to gain interest from my students is to utilize a variety of student-centered, as well as, teacher-centered lessons. Sometimes, students work as a whole class, while other times they work independently, and often times they work collaboratively in a small group setting. I have also found that hands-on assignments, even if it's as minute as coming up to the Smart Board to underline the correct part of speech in a sentence, truly engages the students into the lesson and the learning process. Listed below you will find various examples of technology integrated instruction I have created to accommodate the many needs of my students.

**All Things Google**
For this group project, students were split up into groups of three - five students (depending on class size). They were prompted to create their "Ideal School". If they had all of the money in the world, the best teachers, the largest plot of land, etc. what would their school look like? I gave minimum requirements (State mandates 180 days a year, minimum of a six hour school day with at least six class periods and three Academic 'core' classes, every day). Students were able to choose and create the rest! We set the students up with Gmail/Google Accounts and they created their Academic School Year Calendar by using the Google Calendar feature. They created one student's weekly schedule by using either Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. They also collaborated with one another through e-mail and Google chat, during the process of creating their schools. Google SketchUp! was used during this project for students to complete a blueprint/layout of their school. They then created a website for their school using Google Sites, and incorporated all of the above information onto their website. They also created a Mission and Vision statement for their school. And you can't forget your school's logo/mascot! This led into creating or locating a copyright-friendly image (and a discussion about Copyright Laws) for their websites, along with utilizing Picnik's editing feature for their logos. After the websites were completed, the students then presented to the class, taking on the role of their school's Admission Representatives and presented a persuasive presentation to gain interest and get other students to 'enroll' in their school. For the past two years that I have taught this project, I have been blown away by my students creativity! This year's websites were phenomenal and the 'extras' they added on their own (Sports Game Schedule, School Lunch Menu, Classroom Rules and Discipline Policies, a list of Educational Resources/Games, the creation of their own logos, etc.) were extensive and thorough.

Here are two of the student-generated websites pictured and linked below.





**Edmodo**
Edmodo is very similar to Facebook, though it is an education friendly social network that is used only for educational purposes. It's an easy way for students to collaborate with one another outside of the classroom and allows me to communicate with my students in a different way then the contemporary means of communication from teacher to student. It is relatively new to me, but the implementation of it in my classroom has been well received by the students. I created groups for my individual classes, and the students added the class group to their Edmodo page. After the completion of one of my classes group projects, I was looking for a way to share my students websites with one another, as they only were able to see the three-four presentations completed in their class period. Edmodo made this simple, as I posted the links to their sites and asked for students to comment and give positive feedback to the other groups' websites. Many students completed this outside of the English classroom, on their own time, at home!

I have also used Edmodo as a class starter before we begin a new topic, short story, etc. I will post a quick poll or question to my class page and ask the students to respond with their answers.



"Fakebook Profile" Project
This is a lesson I was very excited to try out with my students. During the Greek Mythology Unit, I have my students conduct a research project on the different Greek Mythical characters. For this project they created 'Fakebook Profiles". This was originally going to be a group project, but then in the process of completing my TIP model, I realized it was more suited as an individual research project. Students research and gather their notes on a Notes Sheet. They then are responsible for inputting that information into a PowerPoint template that is set up to look like a Facebook account. My students have had previous experience working with PowerPoint, so I used this software program, so they were able to find their way around the program well. They used a variety of resources for their initial research, by using websites, their textbook, workbooks and books. The students also had to transfer knowledge, apply and create, as I also asked them to develop status updates for their character, three wall comments from other mythical characters to their character and an interest and activities section, which I explained could be present day interests and activities that after researching their character, they think their character would enjoy doing.

Here are pictures of the Power Point Template I used for this project.

** Quizlet **
Quizlet is an interactive, web-based study tool where students and teachers are able to create accounts and create and save flashcard sets. I use Quizlet multiple different ways in the English classroom, mainly with the instruction of Vocabulary. I have had students create a set of Vocabulary Words to give them practice in learning the words. I have also created the set myself and shared the link to my students through my Classroom Wikispace and recently through Edmodo. I give bonus point opportunities for the Space Race and Scatter Games that are available on the website and have used it as a review game in class prior to the Vocabulary Quiz. Students seem to enjoy this web-based study tool and really become engaged in their learning.

Here is a link to one of the Vocabulary Sets I created for my students to use. ==Quizlet - List #18 ==

**Voicethread**
Voicethread is a collaborative presentation tool where one can upload pictures and video and then leave voice or text comments throughout the presentation. I incorporated Voicethread into the English classroom after my students returned from a field trip to Beaver Ponds. The students created profile pictures, using the pictures they took of nature during the field trip. The students were placed in groups and were assigned three - four pictures from the field trip to comment and explain what they were doing in the pictures. They used laptops and microphones to record their voices when they created their comments. Here is the finished product of their Voicethread Presentation.

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