Friday, August 31

Agenda: Learning Styles and WebSite Tutorial

Today we will share our findings from our learning styles quiz. Did you agree with the results? In the first five minutes work with a fellow class mate to discuss your findings. What technology have you seen used to meet the needs of different learners? What tools do you use for studying? How do you think learning the different learning styles will help you become a better teacher?

Students preferentially take in and process information in different ways: by seeing and hearing, reflecting and acting, reasoning logically and intuitively, analyzing and visualizing, or in steadily and in fits and starts. Teaching methods also vary. Some instructors lecture, others demonstrate or lead students to self-discovery; some focus on principles and others on applications; some emphasize memory and others understanding.

When mismatches exist between learning styles of most students in a class and the teaching style of the professor, the students may become bored and inattentive in class, do poorly on tests, get discouraged about the courses, the curriculum, and themselves, and in some cases change to other curricula or drop out of school. Professors, confronted by low test grades, unresponsive or hostile classes, poor attendance and dropouts, know something is not working. They may become overly critical of their students (making things even worse) or begin to wonder if they are in the right profession. Most seriously, society loses potentially excellent professionals.

To overcome these problems, professors should strive for a balance of instructional methods (as opposed to trying to teach each student exclusively according to his or her preferences.) If the balance is achieved, all students will be taught partly in a manner they prefer, which leads to an increased comfort level and willingness to learn, and partly in a less preferred manner, which provides practice and feedback in ways of thinking and solving problems which they may not initially be comfortable with but which they will have to use to be fully effective professionals.

On Wednesday we will begin our introduction to some of the teaching styles that can help us meet the needs of students with different learning styles.

Don't forget to turn in your learning styles quiz results!
Have a great Labor Day Weekend!!!

Wednesday, August 29

Agenda: Learning Theories (Introduction) and Google Page Creator

The last few classes have focused on Curriculum Standards. It helped us answer the questions

1. How do educators know what to teach?

2. How do they know what students should learn?

Now we will move on another piece of the learning puzzle, Learning Theories. The questions we will be asking ourselves are:

1. How do educators know how to meet the needs of the specific learners with which they are working?

2. Are their different types of learners?

3. Does everyone understand subject matter in the same way?

4. How can teachers identify the different types of learners in their classrooms?

In order to prepare for Friday's class:

1. Take this online quiz to determine your learning style. Bring a print out to class. You will be handing it in - as part of your participation grade.

But understanding learning styles is just one part of this puzzle piece. Understanding the various learning theories is important to be able to prepare an appropriate learning environment for your students.

2. Read the following explanation on learning styles after you have taken your online quiz. Bring a print out of your quiz results and be prepared to share what you have learned.

The rest of our class time will focus on learning how to create a Google Page. The tutorial we will be using can be found at http://martin.blow.googlepages.com/BeginnersGuide.pdf

We will not be following the directions step by step but it is a great reference tool.

3. Have 3 images saved to your USB.

Monday, August 27

Agenda: Review Georgia Performance Standards, Look at Examples of Previous Semester's Web Portfolios, Review Autobiography Page - Content Requirements, Resume's

Welcome back to EDIT 2000! I hope you had a nice weekend. Today we will review the Georgia Performance Standards Website. http://www.georgiastandards.org/

Take a look at how these students created their autobiography page.

http://wnnedit2000.googlepages.com/home
http://benterryedit2000.googlepages.com/
http://kasedit2000.googlepages.com/

These examples should give you an idea for the content for your upcoming autobiography page.

It must include a:

1. Brief (1-2 paragraph) introduction about yourself

2. Current information

3. Career plans and where you see yourself in 5 years

To do list:

Resubmit your Resume: Due on Wednesday

Submit a print out of your autobiography page content. Save it as a .doc on your USB. Due on Wednesday.

August 24, Friday

Agenda: Introduce the Learning Puzzle - Focus on Georgia Performance Standards

One of our goals is to begin putting together the puzzle pieces that make up the learning and teaching process -- with a focus on tools and resources. The pieces are Curriculum Standards, Learning Theories, Resources and Tools and Teaching Strategies.

Every state has standards and every content area has national standards. There are even standards for technology integration. Georgia uses the Georgia Performance Standards. You can even watch a video about the Georgia Performance Standards. You'll also want to be familiar with the ISTE standards for technology integration -- this class, and your course projects, are based on those standards. Select a grade level and subject area that will be the focus of your projects this semester. Important: Learn to navigate the http://www.georgiastandards.org/ (Georgia Performance Standards Website) so that you can select your subject area. You'll need to print a copy of these standards and place them in your 3-ring binder for reference purposes this semester.

From now on, a attendance sign-in sheet will be provided for you on the table next to the door. Make sure you remember to sign-in with your initials.

To do list:
1. Explore the Georgia Performance Standards website and select a grade and subject level.

2. Make sure that before Monday's class you have signed up for a google account. Your google account should be your FirstNameLastName.

3. On Wednesday we will go through a Google Page Creator Tutorial. We will create our autobiography pages. It will include a brief (1-2 paragraph) introduction about yourself, current information, career plans, and where you see yourself in 5 years. Turn in a print out of of your introduction on Wednesday. Make sure it is saved on your USB.

August 22, Day 3

Agenda: Setting up your USB (cont.), Update on MyDrive, gmail account, resumes

Today we will finish setting up our USB drives (MACs). I will also provide you with some links on how to create your Resume. Finally, please check for a invitation to create a gmail account from my gmail address: azgambo@gmail.com

On Monday, I provided you with a handout on how to set up your USB Drives. We will work on completing the process today. I talked to the Office of Instructional Technology and they are still working on the possiblility of providing the 616 lab access to the features available through MyDrive. In the meantime, I have generated a handout that you can use at your home computers to explore the MyDrive features. Remember, your USB drive will be your primary storage device for this class.

You should receive a gmail invitation from my gmail account (azgambo@gmail.com) sometime thursday. Please make sure you look for it in your uga mail. Sometimes the UGA Mail system will place a email with a gmail extension into the junk folder. Please register for a gmail account by Monday. Please use the following naming convention for your gmail account: FirstnameLastname
This will make it easier for me to access your future website. Please note that this should be the only time you will receive a email from my gmail address. Throughout the term, emails from me will be from my azgambo@uga.edu address. Please do not send me email to the azgambo@gmail.com address, since I don't check that address often.

Your resume is due on Friday. If you have not written a resume before, here are some helpful sites:
UGA Resume Writing Site: http://www.career.uga.edu/multimedia/ResumeTips.pdf
(Ignore the statement about using a resume template. For this assignment please feel free to use a template. Using a template helps ensure consistancy and helps reduce formatting problems.)
Perdue Resume Writing Site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResumeW/index.html

The rest of class time will provide you an opportunity to complete your resume.

To do list:
1. Turn in resume on Friday
2. Create a gmail account by Monday.
3. Remember to bring your USB drive to class everyday.

See your Friday.

August 20, Day 2

Today we will also explore a possible emergency back-up option, MyDrive, that you can use to save your work throughout the term. We will also set up our key drives.

So, what does technology integration look like?

A Honolulu school in Hawaii is a wonderful example of students and teachers using technology tools for learning.

Most importantly, in order for me to learn more about you (and to get a head start on one or our first projects) you will need to submit a professional resume. This is due at the beginning of class Friday, August 24th. You'll want everything to look professional, so use a resume template .

Please remember that your resume must include:
Objective
Grade Level and Subject Area you want to teach
Education
Work Experience
Honors and Awards
Computer Skills/Special Skills
Personal Interests
Professional References

If you have any questions, remember that I am always glad to help!

Friday, August 17th, 2007 - 1st day of class

Welcome to EDIT 2000!

The purpose of this course is to help you to explore the tools that can support teaching and learning in a P-12 classroom. As you learn about these tools you will focus on the educational processes that these tools support -- not the technical skills that you acquire. In other words, this is not a course about learning computer skills in isolation; it is a course that will encourage you to find appropriate uses for technological tools in the P-12 classroom.

In order to find and document these appropriate uses of technology, you will work independently, in partners, and in groups to prepare educational activities for specific curriculum topics. You will play the role of a classroom teacher and use your content knowledge, understanding of teaching and learning strategies, and your technology skills to develop real applications for the various tools explored during the semester. Your final product will be a web-based set of activities to teach specific curriculum objectives.

The instructor for your EDIT 2000 is Anita F. Zgambo. The syllabus will give you specifics on what to expect during the semester. Know the syllabus well -- there could be a quiz! The only materials you'll need for this course are a key drive and I recommend that you purchase a 3-ring binder to keep track of handouts. We do not use a textbook - you will be provided with readings throughout the semester.


For Monday:

1. Turn in your student information sheet.


2. Purchase a USB drive or clean up an old one (i.e. delete old files, etc.)