Virtual Tour Lesson Plan

6th grade-social studies
Standard 1 Students will understand how ancient civilizations developed and how they contributed to the current state of the world.

I chose a virtual tour to help students visualize the distance that the ideas of the ancient civilizations had to travel to influence our country. For example, I have the students start in Athens, Greece, and then have them travel to Washington D.C. in the United States. Hopefully, the students see that despite the fact that the two places are divided by great distance and time, the architectural ideas of Greece were able to impact the architectural ideas in Washington D.C. Also, I felt that it would be a fun and interactive way to learn more about how American architecture has been influenced by Greek and Roman civilizations.

Using Google Earth to create a virtual tour really uses a different form of representation. The virtual tour is very dynamic in that the students can interact and manipulate the learning materials. In this lesson, the students will be using the ruler to measure the lengths and widths of various structures.

Note:

For these activities, make sure that students have their passport or world travels journals (a journal that can be used to take notes and in which they provide evidence that they complete the assignments).

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth Content
1. Parthenon in Athens Greece	First, watch the video depicting an artist's version of the Parthenon as it would have looked originally. As you do so, take note of the archictecture of the Parthenon. Notice the columns and the style. Take notes in your journal. After watching the video, measure the length and width of the Parthenon. Record these numbers in your journal.	Use 3D building. Overlay with picture of parthenon. http://www.greek-islands.us/athens/parthenon/parthenon.jpg Video to embed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdYVEIDXnM Ruler
2. Abraham Lincoln National Memorial	Look at the different architecture of the Lincoln Memorial through the videos. Notice the columns and the style. Take notes in your journal. Thinking of the columns and design of the Parthenon, what features are similar? What things are different? Write your responses to these questions in your journal. Measure the length and width of the Lincoln Memorial. Record these numbers in your journal. Compare the lengths and widths of the Lincoln Memorial with the Parthenon. Do they have a similar ratio of length and width?	Use 3D building. Overlay picture of Lincoln Memorial: http://photos.nondot.org/2002-04-20-Washington-DC/2002-04-21/normal/059%20-%20Lincoln%20Memorial%20Front.jpg Video to embed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TF4FyGHvlU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZS_Mc-jF2Q Ruler
3. Colosseum, Rome, Italy	Notice the shape and size of the Colosseum. Measure the length and width, and record them in your journal. Read the information given about the events that took place at the Colosseum. Take notes of anything that stands out to you in your journal. Also, write down why you think it was designed the way it was. (What was its purpose?) "The History of the Colosseum The History of Colosseum includes the First Gladiatorial Fight in Rome, the Rise of the Gladiator Games, the Origin and Concept of the Colosseum, Vespasian and the Flavian Amphitheatre (the Colosseum), History of the Colosseum and the Roman Emperors and the story of Telemachus and the end of the Gladiatorial Games. This history of the Roman Colosseum started hundreds of years before it was actually built when the tastes of Roman citizens craved the excitement and blood lust of the gladiatorial games. Their taste for blood and this form of entertainment dates back to 264AD when the first recorded Roman gladiatorial combats took place in Rome. The Roman Colosseum was opened in 80AD and was originally the called the Flavian Amphitheatre. The idea of this great arena was that of the Roman Emperor Vespasian and the construction started in c70AD and was financed from the proceeds gained from the Roman sacking of Jerusalem. The history of the arena continues through the reigns of various emperors, the emergence of the Christian religion, the horror stories regarding the deaths of Christian martyrs in the Colosseum, the Gladiator fights and the killing of thousands of exotic wild animals in Ancient Rome. The madness of the mob and craving for this type of entertainment finally ended in the 6th century. Interesting facts and history about the Colosseum of Ancient Rome. Purpose of the Roman Colosseum This section contains facts and information about the purpose of the Roman Colosseum. There are many reasons why the great amphitheatre was built and these are detailed in this article together with facts and information about its concept. The concept of the Flavian Amphitheatre, as it was first called, grew from the custom of wealthy Romans holding funeral games to honor the dead. . . . The funeral games were organised and paid for by wealthy Roman aristocrats and Patricians as public events which led to popularity of the Gladiator games in the infamous arena." Source: http://www.roman-colosseum.info/colosseum/index.htm	Use 3D building. Picture of Colosseum to overlay: http://famouswonders.com/wp-content/gallery/colosseum-of-rome/inside-the-colosseum.jpg
4. Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA	Notice the shape and size of Heinz Field. Describe the similarities between the Heinz Field and the Colosseum in your journal. Measure the length and width of the field, and record them in your journal. Compare and contrast the lengths and widths. Do they have the same ratios? Read about the activities that take place at Heinz Field. Take notes in your journal. “Heinz Field, home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Panthers, is a monument to Western Pennsylvania football tradition and, especially, to the fans. . . . Heinz Field is the perfect blend of modern-day amenities and fan-friendly charm. The two-tiered stadium offers more intimacy than many NFL venues, with natural grass, great sight lines and a wide-open view of the football action set against the beautiful backdrop of downtown Pittsburgh. There is no such thing as a bad seat in this football-oriented stadium which was obviously designed to take football from a game to an experience.” Source: Powell, Albrecht. “Football Fan's Guide to Heinz Field--History of the Pittsburgh Steelers.” http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/steelers/a/heinz_field.htm After having read the events that take place at the Colosseum and at Heinz Field, answer the following questions: 1. What activities were similar if any? 2. What activities were different if any? 3. Why do you think that Heinz Field is shaped the way it is? 4. Do you feel that Heinz Field is similar to the Colosseum? Why or why not?	Use 3D building. Picture of Heinz Field to overlay: http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2007/1030/travel_g_heinzfield_590.jpg Ruler

Digital Storyboard in the Classroom

I think that implementing a digital storyboard project in the classroom would be awesome, but I foresee some challenges. The big one that comes to mind is resources, both time and equipment. I'm not sure, but I think it would take a bit of time to teach the children how to use the software in order for them to do the project. There is also the question of how much should be done in school and how much should be done out of school at home. This raises the questions of students' access to a computer Not every student will have ready access to a computer at home, and that will need to be taken into consideration if I decide to assign part of the project for homework. Also, it depends on the school's equipment. I may not be able to have access to enough computers for each of my students, especially for the amount of time to do the project in a shorter period of time. I think that resources potentially could be the most difficult challenge in doing a digital storyboard project.

IP& T 301 week 4

Nichole and I talked about the reading. When talking about how to promote emotional intelligence, we talked about the importance of modeling and showing students how to appropriately express their emotions (I feel...when...). Also, giving them opportunities to practice and recognize the emotions of others. Nichole had a great idea of pointing out positive examples of emotional response that students in the class exhibit. Both of us really like Gardner's theory of multiple intelligence. We talked about how it allows you more flexibility when evaluating a child's intelligence. It's more specific and allows you to tap into students' interests more easily. Also, you can come up with more varied teaching strategies. With IQ tests, we both felt that they can be helpful. However, we feel they are just one of those "for your own information" type tests. They are very limited in what they test and do not allow you to see the intelligence of the student as a whole. We both felt that it would be unfair to use IQ tests to place students into various programs or groups.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UboEO1RD2PA

Video Story Yahoo!!!!

note: Teressa Anderson, Janet Call, and I are all working on the storyboard together. Enjoy! :)

TPACK is a combination of different knowledges. It stands for Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. There are many times when these knowledges are independent of each other or only two work together. However, when you use all of them together you can have a very powerful lesson. It happens when you use technology to teach a specific content area using specific pedagogy (e.g. instructional strategies). A knowledge and understanding of different representations really help when deciding what technology to use with the different content areas and pedagogy. These representations are textual, visual, auditory, dynamic, and multimodal. In the case of the movie we are making in class, it is a multimodal representation because it is using a combination of the various representations.

We decided to do a poem teaching language arts. The poem we picked can also teach hygiene as well (e.g. take out the trash). This poem is a lot of fun and can show kids that their poems can teach a lesson. Using a video would really capture the interest of the students and help them visualize the poem. The multimodal representation will be great to help students visualize the poem and also see meaning. It also can help with vocabulary of different foods.

note: I have the complete storyboard on a flash drive

Storyboard

I took a printscreen of part of the storyboard. With all of the pictures in it, the document was too large to post using google docs or another format. I hope you enjoy it!

Week 3 Assignment IP&T 301

1. Formative assessments determine a student's progress during the learning process. Some examples of this form of assessment are worksheets, quizzes, observing the students, and asking questions. Formative assessments seem to have more informal forms of assessment. Summative assessments determine a student's progress at the end of a unit. Some examples of this form of assessment are tests, quizzes, papers, and student portfolios. Formative and summative assessments are meant to go hand in hand to help the teacher help her students. I personally feel that a formative assessment can later become a summative assessment. For example, you could give a quiz on a subject towards the middle of a unit to see what they are grasping or what they already know. Then, you can use it later to see if they truly grasped the concepts after you taught them.

2. A standardized aptitude test determines a student's capacity to learn (her future potential). Whereas, a standardized achievement test assesses a student's current knowledge. It's very interesting to think if these tests are criterion-referenced or norm-referenced tests, because often they can be both. Often the standardized achievement tests look at things from a criterion reference but then from a norm-referenced when the scores are compared to other students in the nation.

3. I personally feel that Alexandria should be a little concerned but not too much. There really are a lot of factors and influences that go into assessment. I personally have had experiences with the ACT where the environment in which the test was administered was less desirable. As a result, I had a hard time focusing on the test and didn't have much of a chance to really show what I knew. The other thing too is that the percentile compares student's work with the work of other students and can often overestimate the differences between them.

4. In my classroom, I am really going to try to use both formative and summative assessments. I never realized that there can be such a variety in assessments and how they are scored. I will do the research into a test before I actually us it. As a parent, I'm going to be mindful of how percentile and the many different ways standardized testing works. Sometimes I think parents get caught up in what percentile their child is in, and that isn't fair to your child. Also, it would be useful to use assessment practices to help me understand how my child is truly understanding the world around him or her. This can be done through more informal assessments like observation and asking questions.

This is me sending a message to Teressa using Tokbox. Hurray for learning new technology! :)

Teressa and I chatting on google chat. Yahoo! :)

Well, I'm posting the link for my Wiki. Keep in mind the content is usable but definitely could be more authentic. I was just trying to grasp how to use the technology.

http://michellesipt287.pbworks.com

ENJOY!

Technology is better with help

This week working with technology was good and a bit frustrating. I really learned how important it is to work on things with someone else at the same time. Working on my own, I would get frustrated when things didn't work. However, talking it through with someone would relax me and give me more confidence.

I never thought that I would be doing such things as Wikis, but I really think that they are a tool that I can use in my future classroom. I need to get the "I can't do this" attitude toward technology out of my head. I need to "think I can" do it.

Assignment 2 IP&T 301

1.Bloom's taxonomy is a way of classifying learning objectives. The six areas are remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.
2.The difference between validity and reliability is that validity is seeing if the assessment is actually doing what it was planned to do. Reliability involves consistency. Both of these are very important because without them, the tests would have no meaning and wouldn't be able to truly evaluate a child's learning.
3. A product performance assessment would be the letter a child writes; whereas, the process assessment would involve the whole process of the letter with all of the drafts.
4.The three major ways to evaluate performance assessments are checklists, rating scales, and rubics. With a checklist, the teacher picks different qualities she wants in the work and the checks whether the qualities are there or not. A rating scale allows the teacher to rate ability. For example, you have seen rating scales with different options that say "never, sometimes, often , and always." Rubrics are more comprehensive than rating scales and allow the teacher to really look at the piece in a whole (holistic) or in individual aspects (analytic).
5. Sometimes you may end up grading a student more harshly or leniently depending on your bias, either towards the child or grading. When you are bias, you lose some of the reliability of the assessment, and thus are unable to get the most comprehensive evaluation.

After completing the pre-assessment, I realized how little I knew about technology. I hope that I can learn more about the different technologies and feel comfortable enough to use them.

A little more about my background. I can use some basic technologies like Word and email, but I don't know too many. I'm excited and nervous to expand my repetoire. I hope you enjoy my ramblings about my "AHA!" moments with technology and other things. Have a great day!

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog all about my insights into technology and education. Be prepared to be surprised and have fun. :) Just so you can get to know me, you should know a little bit about my technology background. I grew up with a father as a computer programmer but not knowing too much about computers myself. :)