Spreadsheet 2 / Grades 2

I have completed the Spreadsheet 2 assignment in MS Excel and uploaded my work to Google Docs. This was an assignment I also buzzed through. I use these functions/formulas at the end of each semester, so not much was new to me. This is a great skill for a 21-st Century teacher to master! This time Google Docs worked!

My completion of this activity meets ISTE NETS T #3, as I have applied and transferred my current digital/technical knowledge and skills to another digital tool. I have used this MS Excel IF function before. I have met standard #5 by growing in and improving my wealthy of knowledge and my knowledge of digital tools available to teachers of today.

Spreadsheet 1 / Grades 1

My spreadsheet, for this assignment, is complete. This was a very easy assignment in MS Excel, as all chem and bio students at FSU are required to master Excel by the end of their Junior year, through statistic analysis in all laboratory sections. Easy as pie, in and out. Excel really is a great program; at semesters' end, I export a copy of my students' online/digital grades and average them in Excel to double check the online grade book. You can never be too safe.

Now, the aggravating part, Google Docs spreadsheets is BUGGY!!! Here, is my first attempt, which works in Excel, but not in GDocs spreadsheets. On the 'Semester 1' worksheet my values come up as "Parse errors."

Excel: 1
Google Docs: 0

Now, only if Excel had an online feature to share/view files live...

My completion of this activity meets ISTE NETS T #3, as I have applied and transferred my current digital/technical knowledge and skills to another digital tool and discovered that even though when tools are meant to perform the same functions they can and do have technical issues. I have overcome these issues by seeking an answer and solving the problem myself. I have met standard #5 by growing in and improving my wealthy of knowledge and my knowledge of digital tools available to teachers.

Google Forms I

I just created my Google form quiz, take it. Google Forms is a great way to quickly create and receive survey questions and answers. You can even embed the survey in a blog or website for easy access (see below)! My Google form is on coal and I will be using an edited version of it in my coal class at FSU in the coming weeks. I will send a BlackBoard message with a link to the quiz to my students and the rest is up to them.

My Google form is also embedded below, go ahead and try it:



All the Google form is, simply, is a cover for a spreadsheet. Instead of having students fill in a spreadsheet with answers which can become confusing, the students quite simply fill in answers in a digital survey. The Google form places their responses in a spreadsheet in which you can perform statistic applications. Therefore, the spreadsheet and Google form are one, but with different input pathways.

Completion of this activity meets ISTE NETS T two, as I have created a digital assessment ready to go and accessible from anywhere that aligns with content and technology standards set for students and teachers, as long as there is internet access. I have met standard four, as I have effectively modeled the proper and appropriate use of emerging technology tools.

Added 2/19/11: The results/spreadsheet can be found here.

Are you ready? Survey

Are you ready to survive and thrive in a disaster? I have created a small survey (I will create a much larger and conclusive one in the future) through Zoomerang that you can find below or here.



This activity was fun and easy and will cover ISTE NETS T #1 and 2 for the very creative, engaging opportunities that my students will have when creating a survey with Zoomerang. This activity also covers standard #4 for promoting a responsible use of technology in a fun and interactive way. My students are going to use this activity next week to make an appropriate survey to quiz each other in preparation for a pencil/paper quiz on cells. They can use this as a review tool to assess each other's knowledge and help the group allocate their study time to problem areas.

Vote in my poll!

At the right, below by blog archive and profile, you will find a poll on who wrote the first five books of the Holy Bible. These one-question polls are insanely easy to create and display. All you do is add a gadget in the Design menu and there are many tools to pick from; you will find the poll gadget here. Go ahead, vote and then add one to your Blogger blog.

I plan to, by the 2011 Fall semester, have a Blogger blog that will be used in the class I teach at FSU. This poll gadget/tool can be used as a preassesment tool to assess my students knowledge before they attend class. The great thing is that my students can immediately view the poll stats and see how they align with the class as a whole or with previous students. I believe this activity and tool mastery falls under ISTE NETS T #2 for use of digital assessments. As well as, #3 to communicate ideas and knowledge between students and from teacher to students through an emerging form of social interaction.

Online Graphing Activity

In this activity, we were to research and compare our state's 4th and 8th grade NAEP scores to that of the country's. I used the following sources for my assignment:
West Virginia to national NAEP report card
West Virginia NAEP state snapshot report

I also used a graphing tool called Kids' Zone to create two graphs for my reports. I reported on the 4th grade and 8th grade NAEP science assessment results in a role playing fashion. I hope you find the two reports informative.

Through this assignment, I have met ISTE NETS T 3, because I have created online documents by using assessment statistics found online to practice helping influence my community to support our students through participation and monetary means. I have also met standard 5, as I have been furthering my knowledge of digital resources available to me and to my community. I can use these datum to help me make informed decisions in my classroom and larger learning community. I have interpreted statistics, created graphics, and used them to my advantage to communicate my attitudes and ideas through a digital medium.

Wordle Tool

Wordle is a tool that can take any text and jumble it up into a more striking visual. I created one on evolution, because I will be teaching this concept to my students next week. I plan to use it as an introduction to natural selection. After we finish the unit I will use it as a review tool. My students will pick 10 words and write a paper explaining how they relate and I can have them define words as I point to them via my Intelliboard. This is also a great way to introduce fun technology tools into the classroom.

This meets the ISTE NETS T 2, because I am creating a technology based activity that would be appealing to my students. Entertainment is a big thing for this generation of students. A little change up of visuals can go a long way. I have also meet standard 3, because I have used to tool to create a new way of communicating to my students in a format that may pique their interests.

BatchGeo Maps!!!!!!

This is such a great tool! I had no idea that BatchGeo was floating around out there. I have created a map of all my peers' home addresses using this program. The program even allows you to add little notes with each location, such as my peers' Blogger blog addresses when you click on the location pointer! I teach Science in the Heart of Appalachia @ FSU and this will be a wonderful addition to my lectures. I can now add location tags to my maps rather than use my cursor to show my students where some important locations are! Besides the higher ed level, I teach natural selection, the history there of, and the life and travels of Darwin. Instead of having my students map out his travels on a physical map, I can have them learn new technology and map-out his travels through BatchGeo and  other map tools and have my students compare multiple technology tools!!! This class is paying off more than I ever dreamed!

My BatchGeo map is found below:


View EDUC-6305 Class BatchGeo Map in a full screen map

The use of this and the many other technology tools I've already shown proficiency in speaks of my technology literacy and is proof of my being a true 21st Century educator. By performing this activity and mastering these skill, I have proven that I meet all five of the ISTE NETS T by showing my technology proficiency in online collaboratory groups through ethical and educational participation. I am also growing professionally myself, as well as through learning experiences in a diverse, digital, and educational atmosphere.