Professional Learning Community

You can follow me 

@dbatterton

and the following on Twitter:

NCTE ‏ @ncte

National Council of Teachers of English: devoted to improving literacy teaching and learning at all levels of education. RTs/follows do not imply agreement.

Kelly Gallagher ‏ @KellyGToGo

I teach, I write, I travel, I talk—to help kids become better readers and writers.

EdTechTalk ‏ @edtechtalk

A collaborative community talking about educational technology

NBPTS ‏ @NBPTS

The definitive source for improved teaching, learning & leading. Transforming schools so every student has great teachers & every school has great leaders.

Newberry Library ‏ @NewberryLibrary

The Newberry is home to a world-class collection of books, manuscripts, maps, and other printed materials.

Education Week ‏  @educationweek

American education's newspaper and website of record.

Ed Week Teacher ‏ @EdWeekTeacher

Education Week Teacher: a leading source for K-12 teacher leaders covering instruction, school environment, classroom technology, curriculum, and more.

Pirate Technology ‏ @phs_tech

Promoting and nurturing a growth mindset through instructional technologies and educational best practices. Also@robert_schuetz

Palatine High School ‏ @PalatineHS

A US Dept of Ed Blue Ribbon & New American High School, a US News and Newsweek top school and one of 5 D211 schools, with over 2700 students in the NW suburbs

Gary Steiger ‏ @gsteiger1

Principal Palatine High School and grandfather to the cutest kid on the planet. One day I want to be his superman!

Christopher Bays ‏ @CBays44real 

Husband.Father.Educator. Struggles with analogies like...awe screw it.

Richard Byrne ‏ @rmbyrne

Teacher. Speaker. Writer. Google Certified Teacher. My dogs think I'm cool.http://ipadapps4school.comhttp://android4schools.com

Twp HS District 211 ‏ @HSDistrict211

Township High School District 211 is the largest high school district in Illinois with more than 12,500 students in 5 high schools, and 2 alternative schools.

Reflection 2

As I reflect on the Ed. Tech class I have just completed- I don’t even know where to begin with how much I have learned.  I would say that everything we did including: using a wiki, creating a blog, embedding video, using Voicethread, upgrading to Google plus and using Google forms and the hangout feature, and using Twitter/Diigo/Edmodo are just the beginning. I am definitely more comfortable, confident, and aware of a variety of tools to use for educational purposes.  I think the tool that I am most comfortable with is using Wiki and Google forms.  These are two tools that I plan to incorporate into my curriculum. In addition, I will recommend Google hangout to anyone since it allowed my group to work on team projects with ease.  I loved that we could have multiple users in the hangout session and was able to share our desktops. Lastly, I have never been able to maintain a website for my classes and plan to use a Wiki or Edmodo website for this. This class was definitely an Ed. Tech. boot camp.  Often I was bogged down with Ed. Tech., but the knowledge gained from this class is something to be proud of.  Although a challenge, I appreciated having to figure things out and once I did- it was easy to use (like using Voicethread). I look forward to incorporating more technology in my classroom.

Blog Post 4:The benefits of using technology based lessons

Building Better Learning Online

at Saturday, January 28, 2012

My Blog Response 4: 2/3/12 Due 3/11/12

Thanks for sharing this presentation.  I have never felt comfortable as a teacher putting my name, face, and opinions out on the internet, but as I work through an Educational Technology class- I am getting more and more comfortable doing so.  Your presentation makes me think about homework.  If I assign homework, it may be some reading or response to reading (as an English teacher).  Your presentation on building connections, collaboration, using multi-media, and metacognition support my need to change my instruction.  I know students are on the internet when they go home so I think by providing more of my lessons on the internet using blogs and videos I can hopefully better reach and connect with my students.  


Link to the original blog and posting:
http://www.kristenswanson.org/2012/01/building-better-learning-online.html?showComment=1328300732874#c8510935150292364357

Blog Post 3: Twitter in Schools

February 1, 2012 | Posted At: 11:26 AM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Site News , Teachers, Teaching, Unions , Technology Is Scary , The Business Of Education

Video: Using Twitter To Create A Personal PLC

It's Digital Learning Day, and here's a video of Eric Sheninger discussing how he uses Twitter to create a personal PLC:

Scholastic Administrator sponsors this site and puts out a print and online magazine full of stories you should read.

My Blog Post 3: 2/1/12 

This is a very interesting video posting.  My school has been advertising that we are now on Twitter and me not being a user until recently didn't understand why this was happening.  A couple things mentioned in the video helped me understand why this was happening. Twitter provides real-time information about sports scores, staff accomplishments, announcements, emergency info, what kids are doing and so much more.  Twitter can also be used in the classroom for students to document their learning.  My only question and concern for the classroom is what if students don't have electronic devices- or ones that are not capable of using Twitter?  Are we pointing out a socio-economic gap by allowing students to use such technology in class?  I am interested in hearing how anyone has used Twitter in their classroom and what to do when students don't have the technology.

Link to the original blog and posting:

http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2012/02/video-using-twitter-to-create-a-personal-plc.html#comments

Blog Post 2: Technology Tools and Assessment

What kind of assessment for learning is appropriate in the age of Google and Wikipedia? Facebook and You Tube? Smart phones and text messaging? Twitter and blogging?

August 30, 2011

Abstract: 
Claims for the transformative effects of e-learning on student learning outcomes imply changes in the nature of learning when learning is mediated by technology.  If it can be shown that the nature of learning changes in a distinctive way when learning is mediated by technology (Andrews 2011) then it seems plausible that the evidence for learning might also change. This paper explores how "assessment for learning" might change in a digital culture where students are "collaborative producers" of learning. It identifies some distinctive changes in the nature of the evidence for learning when learning is mediated by technology and asks whether these changes in evidence needs a new approach and/or theory of assessment.
Does the character of learning change when learning involves technology?
It could be argued that e-Learning utilises the characteristics and affordances of the internet to create distinctive environments and interactions to support learning.  For example, the non-linear architecture of the internet (a network of nodes and internodes) provides different opportunities and structures for learning, communication, collaboration and co-construction than those available in the face to face.  Opportunities for learning can occur: with anyone, at anytime and in any place; through one to one, one to many, or many to many interactions; through push and pull; synchronously and asynchronously; using multi-literacies or multiple modalities (including text, graphic, audio, video, animation, etc.) and within open and flexible access systems.  Andrews (2011) argues that if learning is socially situated then e-learning extends “the horizons of e-learning in space, resource and time.” He suggests that a new theory of learning is developing because in e-learning; the relationship between knowledge and the learner becomes “more democratic, more potentially dialogical”; transduction (the creation of observable evidence of learning) is easier; and the access and use of learning “according to socio-economic, geographic, cognitive and motivational factors” is stretched further (Andrews, 2011 p119).

MY BLOG POST 2: 2/1/12

This really makes me think of how I can utilize technology more in my high school English classroom.  I have just started blogging and using a wiki for a doctoral class and find them very user friendly.  I am trying to get more comfortable with using this type of technology.  I know my students are very comfortable with blogging and would love to use this type of technology for class…I am just not sure on the logistics of it all.  How would I assess blog postings? How many is enough? Too many?  And of course there is still the question of authenticity.  How do I know that my students are not cheating?  You bring up some interesting ideas that make me truly consider using technology to assess my students.

Link to the original blog and posting:
http://artichoke.typepad.com/artichoke/2011/08/what-kind-of-assessment-for-learning-is-appropriate-in-the-age-of-google-and-wikipedia-facebook-and-.html#comment-6a00d8341cd43353ef0163008b9e97970d

Blog Post 1: Microsoft Office App

Microsoft Office on the iPad?

by Jonathan Wylie • iPod Touch/iPad

With the help of a couple of recently released apps, iPad users can now access Microsoft Office applications for free on their mobile device. How? Let’s find out.
The first option is called CloudOn. It links to your Dropbox account and lets you create, view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files right on your iPad through an Internet connection to CloudOn’s servers.
After you get over the initial shock of seeing Microsoft Office on your iPad, you will find that it is in fact quite functional, but you do need an internet connection, and the iPad keyboard/Microsoft toolbar does take up a good two thirds of your screen. Still, it is free and could be a good option to have on hand.

My Blog Post 1 2/1/12

This is great news to me.  I am a high school English teacher working towards a doctorate and have often wanted to utilize my iPad more at conferences and in school but struggle with what app to use to compose documents.  Using a Microsoft Office app to type documents will come in very handy for me.  Also, so often I hear or see my students using their electronic devices to type documents or essays for class.  In my junior class, I have a few students that use their iPads in class to take notes.  I can’t wait to share this news with them and to also try it out for myself.



Link to original blog and posting:
http://educationtechnologyblog.com/2012/01/microsoft-office-on-the-ipad/#comments

Reflection 1: Where I am headed...

Reflection 1 2/1/12 Due 2/19/12

For starters, the internet can be a scary place.  I struggle as a classroom teacher to teach my students how to decipher credible information from opinion on the internet.  There is so much information to sift through that I find networking overwhelming.  This Ed.D. class on Educational Technology has introduced me to tools on the internet for educational purposes.  Although blogging makes me feel very exposed, creating a blog has forced me to read other educator’s blogs and get involved.  While I am still not completely comfortable with posting my opinions for the world to read (whether it is on blogs or twitter), I am trying to get past my insecurities of putting my name and opinion out there. 


Thus far, this class has taught me to move outside of my comfort zone and try new tools that I could also have my students try. After this class finishes, I plan on starting small and incorporating at least one tool for my classes.  I would like to incorporate a wiki or edmodo full-time for one of my classes. Another thing I have learned is how to embed videos.  This is something I never knew how to do and plan to use it a lot more through my teaching lessons when I reference youtube or other videos.

I have always liked the idea of blogging and having my students blog their ideas.  I feel that this gives students an opportunity to share their ideas, and perhaps to even share ideas they weren’t given the opportunity or felt comfortable sharing in class.  I hope to create a blog for a novel and have students post their reactions to the text and then be able to comment on their classmate’s statements.  In addition, I would like students to find outside blogs, videos, podcasts, and such to also post to enrich everyone’s learning.