APA NAEP

Today’s assignment was to visit the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) website.  The NCES is the primary group responsible for collecting and analyzing data related to education.  This data is important for teachers because they can use this data to determine where their state stands in comparison to others. 

One of the programs NCES is responsible for is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  From this website information can be input and the assessment results viewed.  The assignment was to input the specific data to retrieve the 2011 results for 8^th grade math students.  I performed tests on this data and used it to write the results section of an APA paper. 

This assignment follows NETS T standard #5 because analyzing research and reporting the data is important for professional growth. 

You Tube Account

In order to finish yesterday’s assignment I had to create a YouTube account.  This was a very simple task.  All I had to do was go to youtube.com and click the link in the top right corner that says create account.  I then setup my YouTube username and channel.  I set my username to janawoofter and finished filling in the required form.  The next step was to set my privacy and sharing parameters.  This pretty much was all I needed to do to create the account.

This assignment follows NETS T standard #2 because using YouTube in the classroom is a creative way to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments. 

YouTube Video

For this assignment I downloaded some videos from YouTube and saved them to my computer in the video folder.  I used Benderconverter.com to download the video from YouTube to my computer.  The file was saved as a .flv and I did not convert because it wasn’t necessary.  The next step in the process was to create and log into my YouTube account.  (I will explain the process of creating an account in my next blog post.)  The next step was to upload the videos from my computer to my YouTube channel.  We were given a screenshot to help with this process.  Once the videos were uploaded their sharing options were available.  These options included the URL and the link for embedding the video in a blog post. 

Dog Sings to Crying Baby

Bird Dive Bombs Cat

The Element Song

This assignment follows NETS T standard #3 because it models digital-age work and learning.  This process will be very useful if I find videos I want to keep for my class.  By uploading the videos to my channel I will have access to them even if they are deleted from the original poster.   

APA Writing

Today’s assignment was to write parts of a research paper in APA style.  The parts of the paper include title page, methodology, results, and references.  We were provided with a sample paper written in APA format.  I uploaded mypaper into Google Docs so I could include it. 

This assignments falls under NETS T standard 5 because research is a good way to grow professionally. 

Online Meeting

I did not make it to the online meeting.  I do not know what happened, but I was never invited therefore couldn’t hangout.  I believe meeting online is a good idea however it is important that all students can access the meeting place. 

This type of assignment meets NETS T standard #2 because it models digital age learning experiences. 

Hypothesis Testing

Today’s assignment was to test our hypothesis and provide the data in excel.  We were given a link so we could learn about bivariate analysis.  In order to test my hypothesis I used t-tests assuming equal variance which is an option in Microsoft Excel.  The reason I used t-tests is because they are an easy way to compare education groups which is something I should do in my teaching to insure I am progressing.  The results of a t-test are interpreted by looking at the p-value at the given confidence level. 

The data I tested including the t-test can be viewed here.  The tables created for class can be viewed in the same document. 

Hypothesis 1: Does gender affect the use of technology such as discussion postings?
Null Hypothesis 1: Gender does not affect discussion postings.
Results 1: With 95% confidence gender does not affect discussion postings. 
Hypothesis 2: Does gender affect the use of technology such as millennium scores?
Null Hypothesis 2: Gender does not affect millennium scores.
Results 2: With 95% confidence gender does not affect millennium scores. 

 This assignment follows NETS T standard #5 because by collecting data and testing hypotheses is engaging in professional growth. 

Data Analysis

Today’s assignment first is a discussion about analyzing the data set we worked with in the previous blog, Excel Basics.  The discrete categories of the data are gender and teaching status.  The continuous categories are discussion posts, browser types, MBTI, personality type, and quiz average.   

The second part of the assignment discusses the development of our research question and hypothesis. 

Dependent variables 1: total discussion posts

Independent variables 1: male/female

Research questions 1: Does gender affect the total number of posts on the discussion board?

Hypothesis 1: Gender does not affect the total number of posts on the discussion board.

Null Hypothesis 1: Gender affects the total number of posts on the discussion board.

Dependent variables 2: the number of students

Independent variables 2: Safari/Chrome/Internet Explorer/Firefox

Research questions 2: Among the research group what is the most used web browser?

Hypothesis 2: Internet Explorer is the most used web browser.

Null Hypothesis 2: Internet Explorer is not the most used web browser.



This assignment follows NETS T standard #5 because we are partaking in research that will help us grow as teachers. 

Excel Basics

Today’s assignment was to work with Microsoft Excel.  We were given a data that represents data which could be collected during research.  I have included a snip of the data below. 

The first thing I did was use the Find/Replace function in Excel to convert the data into numerical code.  For example I replaced the word male with 1 and female with 2.  I repeated this system of finding and replacing each word with a numerical code.  I included a key at the bottom of my spreadsheet so I would know the code I used.  The spreadsheet now includes discrete variables and categorical variables. 

The next thing I did with the data is play around by rearranging different categories in ascending or descending order using the Sort function in Excel.  While rearranging the data I was keeping in mind I needed to develop a null hypothesis. 

The last thing I did with the data is use Excel to calculate the average blog posts which is 15.4.  I compared my number of blog posts, 17, to the average value and I am above average on blog posts.  I also calculated the average number of discussion posts from the mock data, 15.9, and compared it to my number of blog posts which is 52.  I again have above average posts. 

This assignment follows NETS T standard #2 because we are creating a digital-age assessment or at least a mock one. 

Research Overview

The first part of this assignment is to download the data analysis tool pack.  This seemed like a simple task however I ran into a little trouble.  The instructions for installing the tool pack say to go to the tools tab and I could not locate it.  I used the help tab in Excel to search for the add-ins tab.  This was simple and I easily located the Add-Ins tab.  It was located under file, options, and then add-ins.  Once I found the add-ins I checked the boxes for Analysis Toolpak and Analysis Toolpak VBA.  The data analysis command was added and the assignment was finished.

The second part of this assignment was reading “The Rant.”  The rant is about teachers actively taking a part in their classroom by being an example of “education is a research-based enterprise.”  Teachers should be actively partaking in action research and evaluating their performance and the students.  In order to do this, the teacher needs to stay focused, use data to improve performance, and raise the standard of professional practice in their setting.  In order to do this a teacher needs to constantly be developing and testing hypothesizes in the laboratory known as their classroom. 

Using Microsoft Excel follows NETS T standard #3 because it is digital-age work.  The use of Microsoft Excel is becoming more popular.  Being able to create spreadsheets makes certain things easier such as balancing a checkbook or crunching numbers.  The use of research in a classroom to improve teaching and student learning follows NETS T standards #4 and #5.  By using the research to improve yourself and your classroom promotes responsibility and engages in personal growth and leadership.   

Midterm Self-Assessment

Today I completed a self-assessment midterm.  I assume the quiz was created by Dr. Peirce.  This is a very creative way to assess students.  I feel very confident with my assessment except for one question.  The question I did not know was how to explain TPACK.  I read the article we had previously been assigned but I guess I don’t understand enough to write about it in my own words.  I did my best which is all I can do. 

This assignment follows NETS T standard #2.  It is a creative way to develop a digital assessment for students. 

Pew Millennial Test

Today’s assignment was to take the following quiz: How Millennial Are You?  The quiz was a short 14 question quiz that asks basic questions about your everyday life such as how many text messages you’ve sent and received in the past 24 hours.  I used snipping tool to capture my score of 98. 

This assignment meets NETS T standard #2.  The quiz is a creative way for students to take a digital quiz to determine how technology dependent they are. 

Personality Profile Part 2

The second part of this assignment was to take a personality test.  The results for my test are displayed below.  According to the personality test my four letter temperament code is ESFJ.

When comparing my results from the personality test to the code I chose for myself in Personality Profile Part 1 I got 50% of the same results.  My previous answer was ESTP and my new response is ESFJ.  I agree with my new temperament as well as I did with my old temperament.  I do care about others health and wellbeing.  I’m not sure which answer better fits me.

The assignment relates to NETS T standard #1 because it is a creative way for the students to learn about themselves.

Personality Profile Part 1

Today’s assignment was to read the basics about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality inventory and an Overview of the Four Temperaments.   The MBTI contains the following four categories that the participant must determine their four letter code.  The MBTI assures all personality types and there is no best type.  Answering the four questions is difficult and requires self-assessment.  I find I worry about others and what I see.  I tend to focus on the information that is presented to me rather than interpreting on my own.  When making decision I think about the situation logically.  When dealing with others I find myself staying open to new options and information.  My four letter code for the MBTI is ESTP.

The following is the description of my temperament ESTP according to the Overview of the Four Temperaments.

I completely agree with the temperament overview.  I feel I am all of these things and have also been told I have many of these traits.  I was reluctant about this but it really hit the nail on the head for me. 

This assignments fuflills NETS T standard #1.  Determining a students temperment is a creative way for the student to think about what they do and how it affects them and others.

Audacity Part 2

I finally finished my Audacity assignment and I still have hair.  Once I finished editing the podcast in Audacity I referred back to the “How to…” for Audacity, I used previously, and watched the tutorial for converting my podcast to a MP3.  I then referred back to the LAMEencoder homepage and read the directions for locating the LAME file.  After I was educated on what I would be doing I went for gold and converted my podcast into a MP3 so I could publish it on Podbean.com. 

I had some difficulty with Podbean for some reason I could only get my files to upload partially.  I struggled for a while and then the technology fairies came and fixed it for me.  The moral of the story is stick with it and don’t give up.  J

So without further ado I present to you… “Music and MeThrough the Years”

This assignment follows the NETS T standards, specifically standards #1 and #2.  Using this type of technology is definably inspiring and creative.  For example I posted my podcast on Facebook for my friends to listen to and I have had several people ask me how to do it so they can create one too.  I have a feeling in might inspire the same in students.  This activity also is very digital age and could be adapted for the classroom environment. 

Audacity Part 1

The assignment I have been working on uses the Audacity program.  This program can be used to record and edit audio files.  The assignment is to create a 7-10 minute podcast narrative.  I have decided to create my podcast as a brief narrative about some songs that have inspired me.  To create my podcast I wrote down the first few bands and or songs that came to mind.   I then found all the songs I wanted to include.  Some of the songs I already had in my ITunes but others I found on YouTube.  I used the Benderconverter program from a previous blog.  Finding the songs was the easy part! 

My next step was to jot down an outline of what I wanted to say and how I wanted to arrange the songs and audio clips.  I then learned how to use Audacity with this “How to…” for Audacity and by editing the songs and audio clips I wanted to use.  I feel the best way to learn a program is to use it so that is what I did.  In order to get my audio files into Audacity I used Benderconverter to convert the files to .WAV.  While editing, I did my best to keep my audio clips around 5 – 20 seconds.  This varied slightly with some clips because I wanted to clips to flow together.  I used the “Fade In” and “Fade Out” effects to make the clips sound like they belonged.  The sound of the different audio clips varied so I had to turn some up and some down.  I used the microphone built into my computer to record my voice for the podcast.  This worked but the sound was very quiet so all my voice clips had to be turned up in volume.

When I am finished with the minor edits to my podcast I will use the LAME encoder to convert the podcast into a MP3 and upload it onto Podbean and provide a link in my next blog post.  I will go more into depth about this in the next blog because I have not completed this part yet. 

The following is the outline I used to create my podcast.

Audacity Podcast – Music and Me Through the Years

1. Intro
1. Applause clip
2. Introduction audio clip
2. Music and Voice
1. Segment 1

                                                               i.      Walk Right In – Dr. Hook

                                                             ii.      Memory Dr. Hook audio clip

                                                            iii.      Cover of the Rolling Stone – Dr. Hook

                                                           iv.      Sweetest of All – Dr. Hook

2. Segment 2

                                                               i.      Reba McEntire audio clip

                                                             ii.      It’s Your Call – Reba McEntire

                                                            iii.      Reba McEntire talent show audio clip

                                                           iv.      Take It Back – Reba McEntire

3. Segment 3

                                                               i.      Love song audio clip

                                                             ii.      Crazy – K-Ci & JoJo

                                                            iii.      All My Life – K-Ci & JoJo

4. Segment 4

                                                               i.      Blessid Union of Souls audio clip

                                                             ii.      She Likes Me for Me – Blessid Union of Souls

                                                            iii.      What it’s Like – Blessid Union of Souls

5. Segment 5

                                                               i.      Finding myself audio clip

                                                             ii.      I’m Just a Girl – No Doubt

                                                            iii.      Don’t Speak – No Doubt

                                                           iv.      Spiderwebs – No Doubt

6. Segment 6

                                                               i.      Angry Chick Music audio clip

                                                             ii.      Bring Me – Evanescence

                                                            iii.      My Immortal – Evanescence

                                                           iv.      Going Under – Evanescence

7. Segment 7

                                                               i.      Martina McBride  audio clip

                                                             ii.      This One’s for the Girls – Martina McBride

8. Segment 7

                                                               i.      Erika Jo audio clip

                                                             ii.      I Break Things – Erika Jo

9. Segment 8

                                                               i.      Kelly Clarkson audio clip

                                                             ii.      A Moment Like This – Kelly Clarkson

                                                            iii.      Breakaway – Kelly Clarkson

                                                           iv.      Hazel Eyes – Kelly Clarkson

                                                             v.      Since You’ve Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson

10. Segment 9

                                                               i.      Nickelback audio clip

                                                             ii.      Photograph – Nickelback

                                                            iii.      Far Away – Nickelback

11. Segment 10

                                                               i.      Final audio clip
                                                             ii.      Lazy Song – Bruno Mars

3. Ending
1. Applause clip

This assignment follows all of the NETS T standards.  Making a podcast requires thought and creativity (standard 1) while requiring the student to be responsible (standard 4) for the audio clips they include.  A podcast is absolutely digital-age (standards 2 and 3). 

Voice Thread

Today’s assignment was to learn about Voice Thread a tool that can be used for online meetings.  This tool has a lot of options from sharing imagines or videos to embedding links or exporting to a flash drive.   An online class such as this would greatly benefit from this program because the interaction is saved online.  There is no required software and the account is free.
Here is a video about Voice Threads.
Here are some ideas to display the usefulness of Voice Threads.

The second part of the assignment was to watch two videos.
1. Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity
2. Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms

This Voice Thread was created for class collaboration about the videos.  I really enjoy the videos and was inspired by them.  I put links to both videos on My Diigo Library so I can share them with my friends and watch them if I find myself needing inspiration. 

This assignment follows NETS T standard 2 because it utilizes new technology and would allow the students to respond in their own ways.  The lesson could be customized to fit any subject and is a different way of interacting with the students making learning fun. 

Benderconverter.com

I enjoyed today’s assignment and I know it will be very useful for teaching and fun.  The program I downloaded was Benderconverter.com (Bender RealPlayer) which is a free video downloader and MP3 converter.  This program is useful because it allows the user to download a video from the internet for example a YouTube video.  To download a video first open RealPlayer and search for the YouTube video it the “Search for Video” bar located on the top right corner of the screen.  Once you have found your video select it and as it is playing move your curser over the video and click the “Download this Video” box that appears.  The video will automatically be downloaded into RealPlayer.  To locate the video go to the RealPlayer “Library” and look under the “Videos” tab.  The video can now be converted to another file extension such as .mp3 or .wmv using RealPlayer.  This is done by right clicking once on your video in RealPlayer then clicking “Convert to…” on the left side of the screen.  You can select your new file extension in the RealPlayer Converter box that pops up then click “Start” to convert the file.  This file converting process is useful for inserting a video into a PowerPoint slideshow, which only accepts certain file formats such as .wmv, or playing the video without internet access. 

The second part of the assignment was to create a one slide Google Docs presentation including a YouTube video.  This is done by going to Google Docs, clicking the “Create new” tab on the left side of the screen then selecting “Presentation.”  The presentation will open in a new tab where it can be edited and created.  In order to insert a video click the “Insert” tab, “Video…,” find, and select your YouTube video and click “Select video.”  The video is automatically inserted but can be moved and resized.  When the presentation is finished and ready to be shared, save the video and click the down arrow beside the “Share” button on the top right corner of the screen.  Select “Publish/embed” and follow the directions to share your presentation.  My presentation contains a cute introduction to chemistry YouTube video by They Might be Giants.

This assignment follows NETS for Teachers standard three.  The use of YouTube videos in classroom assignments is modeling digital-age work and learning.  For example the use of the video I chose is educational and fun.  The students would enjoy the song and graphics while learning something new.

Jing Screencast

Today I used the Jing Program to create a screencast video.  Here is the link we were given so we could view a Jing Screencast video before creating our own. 

My Screencast teaches the users how to use the Wordle program to create a Word Cloud.  I first typed a document containing the required steps to complete the task because the video does not contain sound.  I placed this document on one side of the screen so the reader could follow the steps as they watch the video.  I used the Jing “capture” tool to select the screen area that I wanted to share on the video.  I then followed the steps in the document and demonstrated in the program. 

This program will be very useful technology in a classroom.  It will allow the students the ability to perform tasks on their own or in groups while reviewing the directions as much as needed.  This can work for in-class or homework assignments.  This assessment follows NETS T standard #2 because it incorporates technology into the classroom while keeping in mind the individual learning of each student. 

Jeopardy Labs

Today’s new program was Jeopardy Labs.  This program is very useful in a classroom setting because it allows the teacher to quickly type in the questions and answers instead of cutting out shapes and creating their own game.  This game is also virtual so it can be reset and reused as many times as needed.  This is a time saver for teachers and therefore is important. 

I created a Jeopardy board for a high school chemistry class.  The game can be played or edited.

This assignment fits with NETS T standards 1 and 2.

Word Clouds

I enjoyed the Wordle assignment and know I will be using this program in the future not only for teaching but for fun too.  It is very easy to create a word cloud using Wordle.  Just input the words you wish to include in the cloud and click go.  The program automatically generates a word cloud with your words.  The Wordle gallery can be viewed here.  The user has the option to edit the language, font, word layout, and the color theme. 

I used the program to create the following word clouds containing elements from the periodic table.  The first word cloud has the first 90 elements and the second cloud has commonly known elements.

This assignment follows NETS T guideline #1.

Jing Image

Today’s assignment was to work with the Jing program which allows the user to capture screenshots.   Here is a link to a Jing Tutorial video.  Once the image is captured the user can use the image editing tools to add texts, highlight, and insert arrows.  The captured image can be saved to any location on the user’s computer as a .PNG image or published as a screen casted image which creates a link that can be shared with others. 

The following image is the graphic I created in Jing.  It is an example of an open book quiz I could use in my classroom.  Here is the link to my screen cast image.

I can see where the Jing tool will be very useful in my future.  This tool will be useful when interacting with my students and model technology.  I feel this assignment follows NETS T #3.