Extra Time

Have you ever wanted to take a class just for interest and thought I don't have the time to go to class or don't really want to pay for an extra course. Take a look at all the free MOOCs that are available. What is a MOOC you ask. well a MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course, it is a model for delivering learning content for any person who wants to take a course with no limit on attendance. When you complete your MOOC you will receive a grade and a certificate. You can find a list at MOOC. 

Web 1.0, 2.0, & 3.0

Tuesday January 26

Today in class we will be discussing the planning process for implementing technology in your classroom. Having a solid process in place will help ensure a smooth transition. In the the next chapter we will address using technology to assist with Diverse Learners and you will have an opportunity to implement what your learn.

My Wordle

Wordle

What words best describe you. Express yourself with this fun use of technology. Create a wordle.

Assignment for Thursday, January 21

This 2-part assignment is due on Tuesday Februar1 by 9:00 a.m. You will have class time today to work on this assignment.

Newsletter

• One of your roles as an educator will be to communicate with and educate the families of your students. Your assignment will be to create a newsletter for families. Your newsletter should include the information I provided regarding e-mail etiquette. Upload your finished document on MyUTTC under the newsletter assignment.
• Make sure your newsletter contains sufficient information about email etiquette, your contact information for the reader to use if they need additional information, an aesthetically pleasing design, correct grammar and spelling, an appropriate tone for families. This must be on one page.

Create a Calendar

• Your calendar can be created in some versions of Microsoft Word, by downloading a template, or you can use Microsoft Publisher.
• The calendar should be for the month of March.
• Add spring break, St. Patrick's Day, daylight savings time, the first day of spring, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Your calendar should have text and graphics to indicate the special dates.
• The calendar should have a header and graphics that are appropriate for the month.
• You will upload your assignment to MyUTTC on or before the due date. 

Email Etiquette

It's easy to see why email is the preferred form of communication in today's workplace.

Smartphones allow us to send and receive messages from anywhere. It's convenient, and you aren't afraid that you might be interrupting someone by texting or calling them on the phone.

But it's this convenience that leads people to  making embarrassing mistakes that may be detrimental in a professional interaction. For example, you could easily miss a spelling error while typing out an email on your phone or come off as too casual or unprofessional in tone or content. 

1. Include a clear, direct subject line.

Examples of a good subject line include "Meeting date changed," "Quick question about your presentation," or "Suggestions for the proposal."

2. Use a professional email address.

If you work for a company, you should use your company email address. But if you use a personal email account — whether you are self-employed or just like using it occasionally for work-related correspondences — you should be careful when choosing that address.

You should always have an email address that conveys your name so that the recipient knows exactly who's sending the email. 

3. Think twice before hitting "reply all."

No one wants to read emails from 20 people when it has nothing to do with them. They could just ignore the emails, but many people get notifications of new messages on their smartphones or distracting pop-up messages on their computer screens. Refrain from hitting "reply all" unless you really think everyone on the list needs to receive the email.

4. Use exclamation points sparingly.

If you choose to use an exclamation point, use only one to convey excitement.

"People sometimes get carried away and put a number of exclamation points at the end of their sentences. The result can appear too emotional or immature," she writes. "Exclamation points should be used sparingly in writing." 

5. Be cautious with humor.

Humor can easily get lost in translation without the right tone or facial expressions. In a professional exchange, it's better to leave humor out of emails unless you know the recipient well. Also, something that you think is funny might not be funny to someone else. Something perceived as funny when spoken may come across very differently when written. When in doubt, leave it out.

6. Know that people from different cultures speak and write differently.

Miscommunication can easily occur due to cultural differences, especially in the writing form when we can't see each other's body language. Tailor your message depending on the receiver's cultural background or how well you know them.

A good rule to keep in mind is that high-context cultures (Japanese, Arab, or Chinese) want to get to know you before doing business with you. Therefore, it may be common for business associates from these countries to be more personal in their writings. On the other hand, people from low-context cultures (German, American, or Scandinavian) prefer to get to the point very quickly.

7. Reply to your emails — even if the email wasn't intended for you.

It's difficult to reply to every email message ever sent to you, but you should try to. This includes when the email was accidentally sent to you, especially if the sender is expecting a reply. A reply isn't necessary, but serves as good email etiquette, especially if this person works in the same company or industry as you.

Here's an example reply: "I know you’re very busy, but I don’t think you meant to send this email to me. And I wanted to let you know so you can send it to the correct person."

Aside from these email tips, always make sure to proof your messages so that there aren't any jarring mistakes that make you seem unprofessional. Pachter advises to always add the email address last so that the email doesn't accidentally send before you're ready.

What is Due Week 2

Tuesday January 19

• Learning Styles Assessment

Tuesday January 26

• Multiple Intelligence Technology Tools

What is Your IQ?

Check out the child geniuses. Child Genius.

Take the IQ Test and see how you would do against one of the child geniuses.
IQ Test

ISTE Standards

• We're going to review the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards for students and educators. These can be found at http://www.iste.org/standards.

Multiple Intelligences

Complete the multiple Intelligence test.
Multiple Intelligence Test
Work with a partner to create a graphic organizer that shows technologies that can be used to build multiple intellegences into instructional activities. For example you could O-Generator which uses popular and world music to enhance music intelligence. http://www.o-generator.com/.

There are many sites you can use to help you create graphic organizers. Here is an easy to use set to help you get started http://www.worksheetworks.com/miscellanea/graphic-organizers/kwhl.html.
You can use any site you like, and remember to add the site you like to your database.

Learning Styles

Three primary modalities for learning style

• Auditory – Learn best by listening
• Visual – Learn best by seeing
• Kinesthetic – Learn best by doing

What is your preferred learning style? Use the link to determine your learning style. http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm

E-mail me your learning style and one technology a instructor could use accommodate your style.

What do you think your classmates learning style is?

Predict what the learning style of one of your classmates is (use someone who you have had a class with if possible). Why did you select the learning style? Were you right, if not why do you think your prediction was not accurate.

Week Two

This week in class we are going to discuss theoretical foundations of learning. Identify learner characteristics that most impact learning. You will complete assessments that will identify your learning style, right/left brain, personality inventory, and multiple intelligence.

Reflection Week One

Assess your technology skills and list three areas in which you could improve your abilities. How would you go about improving in these areas. Email me your reflection for week one by Tuesday January 19.

Additional Resources

Check out The 10 Minute Lesson Planner at http://www.10minutelessonplans.com/
Add the site to your table.

Share my lesson is a share lessons and learn best practices. http://www.sharemylesson.com/. Review the site and add it to your table.

Assignment

Sign up for ClassDojo  https://www.classdojo.com/and explore the site. Write a brief description of the site, include your opinion on the sites usefulness in your future classroom. E-mail me your paragraphs by Tuesday January 19 at 9:00 a.m.

We are going to create a table to track all the sites we review during the semester. You can use word or excel for your data collection.

Tuesday Jan. 12, 2016

Today in class we are going to review the syllabus. You will also need to become a follower of the blog, but before you do that I want you to create a google e-mail that you will use for this class. This is the e-mail you will use for all your assignments and memberships for this course.

The blog will provide you any information about this class you need. I will post all assignments, reminders, announcements, and any other information. You will receive a notice every time I post and it is your responsibility to check the post.

All assignments must be sent electronically unless otherwise indicated.You will also need a flash drive for this class which you will keep all your assignments. As part of the final project you will create an electronic portfolio and presentation so all your work will contribute to this assignment

Welcome

Welcome

Welcome to EDU 288 Technology in Education. This course will enable the you to facilitate learning with technology in the classroom setting.