Assessments of Learning

One of the greatest tools a teacher can utilize is the formative assessment. Formative assessments are most effective when they are part of a cycle called the learning cycle. A colleague of my professor, Jeremy Brueck, has created a very informative graphic to help students better understand what the learning cycle is. The graphic can be found here and I definitely recommend taking a look at it.

Formative assessments occur during the learning process and are designed to give feedback, where their counter part summative assessments occur post learning. In the quick video below by Rick Wormeli, he very passionately describes the importance of formative assessments and how they are different from summative assessments.




One of the greatest results of formative assessments is the feed back students receive and how that helps them grow. In this link there is a 3 minute video that shows an example of how the learning cycle paired with formative assessments helps students in Mr. Kelsey's music class grow.

Formative instructional practices, or FIP, as it is referred to in this video help Beechwood Elementary School's teacher Mrs. Susie create a focus for her class and allow students to receive help based on what level they are at.

The colleague I mentioned is Scott Kinkoph, and he utilized a lot of fantastic formative assessment tools in this weeks online lecture. Below is the video, its about 30 minutes, so if it is too lengthy for you to watch I will go over the tools he uses and a few more recommended by my professor later on.



Here is the list of different digital formative assessment tools:

• Kahoot!
• PearDeck
• EduCanon
• Socrative
• Poll Everywhere
• Mastery Connect
• Mentimeter

So how will you choose to asses your students? By observing them, by using one of these tools, or even by old fashioned pencil and paper. This is something to think about, about how you will gather vital data on each of your students to use to better their learning experience. 

Flash Suit Progress 1

Adam and I started this project by first getting a pair of skinny jeans and tight fitting hoodie to be taped over. As you can see we taped the legs first and then the chest. Adam (the one in all the duck tape) got very hot very quick so he often unzipped the hoodie to cool down. I highly recommend leaving the zipper exposed for this very reason.

Next for drawing on the lines of the suit pattern we used a sharpie and referenced these to 3D models of the Flash. The models we used are linked below.

Version 1
Version 2

For this design the 3D rotatable model was invaluable and I highly recommend to anyone making a costume from scratch to try and find one for their character. Also to easily erase your sharpie mistakes simply rub a cotton ball damp with 100% acetone over the line and start again.

We cut the legs off of him next, making sure to label each piece, The torso was more confusing so I layed the pieces out flat like a puzzle to get an idea of how they connect. I labeled the corresponding intersections of the torso pieces with letters to more easily match the corners later.

I had a large amount of test fabric to work with that my grandma got me from a garage sale, but I would say for test fabric you wouldn't need more than two and a half yards. I went through the duck tape pieces and compared the left side pieces to the right side pieces and picked the right side to work with. I placed the right side pieces out on the folded in half fabric, making sure to leave enough space between them to add a seam allowance. The fabric is folded in half so that when I cut out the pieces I get two identical, one for the left side and one for the right.

Typically a seam allowance is 5/8 of an inch, so I traced each piece and then with a ruler went around the edges of all the pieces and added a 5/8" border, pinned the two sides of fabric together inside each piece, and cut the pieces out.

That is all the progress I have so far, but the next step will be sewing the test suit together! Stay tuned for my next post!

Educational Tools: Photos

For this educational tool review I have decided to review Pixlr Express. The very first thing I did was click on collage which brought me to this screen.

The next thing I clicked on was the layout a little bit more complex than I liked, but I had already added some photos. But! There was no issue switching to a different layout because I could simply drag and drop my photos into the new spots I wanted them in.

When I uploaded a photo that didn't perfectly align with the square I was able to drag it into the position I liked and easily switch the order with a different photo. All in all adding and adjusting photos was very simple, the plus button allowing you to add photos from your computer, spacing allowing you to change the amount of space between the photos, roundness allowing you to round the corners of your photos, and proportions allowing you to change the picture clusted from a perfect square into different rectangles. The color option allows you to choose a custom color that will be used as a border around your images.

When you click finished it brings you to another editing screen where you can add a wide variety of photo shopping effects, lighting and overlay effects, borders, stickers, and text. Finally whe you are finished adding your effects, hit save, and Pixlr will give you the option to name your file and choose the quality. And as simple as that your image collage is saved to your computer.

And there it is, my finished collage. Over all this site was very easy to use, left you with a great end result, had no major unforseen issues along the way, and was pretty fun. I would easily give this program 5/5 stars.

Learning Spaces

There are many different types of learning spaces, but some are more catered to developing student engagement than others. An open flexible floor plan allows students to taper the classroom to their learning needs and find spaces that fit their individual learning style. Below is a video that show cases a flexible learning environment.

There are so many more avenues that can be followed when exploring different learning spaces. One such school has pushed innovative learning to the extreme and modeled their entire school around a design that whole heartily has the students in mind.



Out of both of these rather intimidating approaches there was a third one that seems like a wonderful place for schools to start.

     We should ignore the different ways we traditionally segregated kids and truly focus on creating a completely integrated system. If we challenge the norm and fight for this integrated learning system the future of education will drastically change. Incorporating a digital library and building a hub for digital learning are also steps in the right direction. We need to move away from the factory model of learning and develop unique learning spaces for students. High Tech High is a great example of this ideology in action, please feel free to check out the video linked linked above. A very public kind of education based on a more open floor plan helps give more accountability to both teachers and students. Its this transparency of learning that leads to an excitement to learn. The innovative design of architecture that moves away from the standard class room model is what we need to strive for. In this video this school takes that innovative architecture to the extreme and it certainly payed off.

     The University of Akron is really taking a step forward in trying to develope informal learning spaces and I can see many elements on campus that reflect the points brought up in this article. One of the things I have noticed but never seen utulized is a secluded outdoor theatre of sorts where the grass is carved out into steps with a place for the professor to stand at the bottom of the hill. Its in a beautiful spot and I always invisioned it as a great place for a socratic seminar but I have never seen it used. The University of Akron seems stuck half way between an innovative learning space, and a the traditional factory modeled class room. I can take a class that is very personalized and tapered to my learning needs, but there are still classes available that I can take that have any where from 300 to 500 kids in them. I mean really? How many of those kids in that class room can actually succeed, and how many of those kids does the instructor actually remember their name! 

     So what will you do to make your learning enviroment unique? You might think back to the way a favorite teacher taught, or a room you really enjoyed working in, or even the way you sit to study and work. Some inspirational photos for ideas for learning spaces can be found here. Have fun out there and don't be afraid to get creative. 

Educational Tools: Video Editing

VivaVideo

For this cool tool review I have chosen to check out VivaVideo. All the features are completely free, however you are only able to export up to a five minute long video. I downloaded this app on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

So I took some screen shots of most of the menus and used the collage feature to make a video about VivaVideo, here it is below!

In the main menu I clicked the slide show button and it gave me the option to choose photos from all the folders on my phone. I went to my screen shot folder and selected the images I just took. Now its important to make a note that the images appear in a tray at the bottom where they can be removed or re-ordered. If you re-order the images in this tray to the order you want them to appear in your video things will be a lot easier down the road.

After you click done you will be brought to the editing screen where you are first prompted to pick out a theme for your video. Themes are pre-set music and transitions for your video. I played it to see what it was like and realized that the amount of time my images appear on the screen was too short for me to give a description about so I then went to the Duration icon and made my images appear for ten seconds each.

I then went to the Edit icon and in the sub menu I selected Sound. Here it was really easy to record my voice and give a description of each image. Just drag your video stream to where you wish to begin adding sound and then hold down the record button, talk, and then let go when you are finished. After recording you can then adjust the volume level of your recorded sound.

My audio was still pretty quiet compared to the background music so next in the sub menu of Edit I went to Mulit Music and adjusted the volume level of the background music. After re watching my video to see the changes I made I realized I didn't like one of the slide transitions, so in the sub menu of Edit I went to Transition. In Transition you can select the points between images and choose a different effect, I went with the same effect but changed the direction of the transition by tapping the style repeatedly.

After this minor tweaking I was happy with what I created and was easily able to export the video to many different places. I emailed it to myself, downloaded it, and uploaded it to this post. Over all I am very satisfied with this app and I am planning on using it in the future to make tutorials. I would give this app 5/5 stars, definitely worth the time.

Injustice Flash Suit Pattern

     For my Educational Technology course at the University of Akron our final project is to teach ourselves something new. This project will span about a third of the semester and is estimated to take about 50 hours. I love to cosplay and sew, so I thought I would try and tackle a project that I have wanted to do for a long time now.

Goals

Over the course of my major project my goal is to teach myself how to make a pattern from scratch. I have basic sewing experience, but I am not very good at reading or altering patterns. I hope to learn how to better read patterns, take proper body measurements, and craft an original pattern by altering existing patterns and taking apart prefabricated clothes. I also hope to learn more about how to label pattern pieces in such a way that they are applied to the fabric to receive maximum stretch. To complete my project I hope to make a direction sheet to be used when putting the pattern together. 

Resources and Learning Materials

The resources I plan on referencing to complete my project are videos, reference images, chat threads on public forms from other costume designers, craft store employees, blog posts, friends who sew, and existing patterns. I have already found some of these resources, and will make note of them in future blog posts. 

The materials I will be using consist of, but are not limited to, sketch paper, pencils, pens, sharpies, fabric markers, straight edges, duck tape, tissue paper, scissors, scrap fabric, existing clothes, iron, ironing board, measuring tape, and sewing notions. 

Documentation of Progress

I will try and make my learning transparent to others by posting a lot of images of my progress, posting my thought processes, and posting all of my references. I will post my progress along the way on my Blogger, and possibly compile all of my knowledge at the end into a wikiHow article. I will not tweet each interesting thing I find until I have compiled it neatly on a blog post, then I will tweet my blog posts under the hashtags #UAEdTech, #DCcomics, #Flash, and #Cosplay. My blog posts will be tagged under the major project tag. 

 Planned Timeline

Wednesday I have designated as my major project day, there is nothing else scheduled for me on that day so I am free to spend as much time as I can on my project. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday I will also work on my major project, but only after the homework for my other classes is finished. If everything goes smoothly I hope it will take close to 100 hours to complete my project.

My work weeks will begin on each Wednesday and go until Tuesday.

• Week 1- Research, take measurements, design, and gather supplies.
• Week 2- Cut pieces, add to paper, and add seam allowances.
• Week 3- Test pattern and make changes.
• Week 4- Test pattern, make changes, and complete pattern.
• Week 5- Start direction sheet.
• Week 6- Finalize direction sheet and pattern.
• Week 7- Summary and Pre/Post assessment. 

Possible Challenges

Possible challenges I may face during this project are designing a piece and having it not fit when I try and sew it back together, making my pattern pieces too small or too large, and possibly running out of time to complete this project if I run into any major unforeseen issues.  

Critical Friend

The critical friend I have chosen is my boyfriend Adam. He currently lives with me and he is the one I am designing the pattern for. Not only his extensive knowledge of the super hero universe and artistic critical thinking skills, but also his emotional support, will be valuable tools for me as I attempt to complete my major project. 

Conclusion

The above is the break down for hopefully Part 1 of this project, this is for school so I had to be realistic about what I could get done before the end of the semester. The next possible parts of this project to get the costume finished could be:

Part 2- Using the Pattern
Part 3- Making the Helmet
Part 4- EL Wire and EL Tape
Part 5- Chest and Shoulder Armor
Part 6- Gauntlets
Part 7- Schynbald and Sabaton
Part 8- Putting It All Together
Part 9- Showing It Off

Books of the Future

Our weekly topic video is a recorded lecture by Jon Smith, @theipodteacher on Twitter. The lecture is recorded with a program called Presentain. Presentain is an interactive presentation tool that also records the speaker and creates a file that can be uploaded like the above video. The below video gives a good introduction to how to use Presentain.


While Presentain is free, you can choose to upgrade with a monthly subscription to get more features.

Jon begins his presentation by talking about the struggle to get his students to begin to enjoy writing, and after turning down all of his daily writing prompt ideas he realized that all the work kids do in school is only for an audience of one, the teacher. The other issue he discovered is that for the kids they have no sense of purpose in their work. And the final issue he discovered is that there was no way for kids to leave a legacy for future students to see after they are out of high school. This topic all begins at seven minutes into the video.

iBooks Author is a free software Jon discovered that allows you write and publish your own eBook. His kids ended up writing and publishing a book called The Two Kids and Desert Town. Below is a reflection video where the authors of The Two Kids and Desert Town share their thoughts. This article is where I found that video and it also contains a short review of the students' book.


They also wrote 5th Grade: Reflections on Our Year, and their own version of the 6th grade textbook Math Our Way. For more books that students wrote at his next school fast forward the weekly topic video to 34 minutes or visit his website.

Most of the books he created can only be viewed on a Mac, however Jon recommends ePubBub to publish books that can be read on any device that can connect to the internet. The majority of Jon's students' books were created with the Book Creator version for the iPad. Book Creator is also available for Android now as well. For a more indepth tutorial for iPad users check out this informative slide show.

The way I see ebooks impacting the writing process is by encouraging students to read more and becoming a fun and creative outlet that will get students excited about writing. If we begin introducing ebooks to young students it will increase reading levels, vocabulary, and writing skills over time. Ebooks are more interactive that paper books, containing videos, quizzes, and passages that have the option to be read aloud to the reader. These features make ebooks more interactive for students and foster growth through independent learning. I have found that by reading more you become a better writer, but ebooks do more for students that just provide a fun way to read. With the ingenuity of teachers today and the integrative technology, students are now able to create their own ebooks, and just as Jon found out kids get pretty excited to be published authors.

I see a virtually paperless class room in the future as curriculum moves away from physical textbooks to digital textbooks that can be accessed anywhere and cost significantly less than their counter parts. I believe currently there is an inflation on digital textbook costs that will hopefully decrease as cheaper avenues become available. There is also the issue of the temporary digital copy where after a certain amount of time you can no longer access the text, therefore keeping the physical textbook relevant. When students create ebooks with the guidance of a teacher the information is trustworthy and relevant to the content being learned.

When student ebooks are used in the class room the information is tapered to the course, to common learning needs of students, and validates student work by providing an audience and legacy. I would be overjoyed to use student created ebooks in my future class room because I feel my students would engage more with the information because it was written by their peers. I am also very excited to try and make my own textbook. To make sure the most effective texts are used I would have the students vote on their favorite ebook and take a quiz over the information to see which book they learned the most from. I would also look into how many different learning styles each book caters to and pick the one that fulfilled the most. For more about incorporating ebooks into the class room check out this short article.

The major piece of information I took away from Jon's presentation was the quote at the end of the presentation.

"When children create for the world, they make it good. When children only create for their teacher, they make it good enough."
-Rushton Hurley