Last Wednesday on September 1, 2010 I learned about three different websites to help me in the future. The assignment was called Web Tools. I learned how to use Rubistar, Big Bus Testmaker, and Trackstar. The class had to think of a lesson plan that they would want to teach their students. I chose a geography lesson on the United States of America. These were very interesting sites that I knew nothing about; I was very excited to use them.
NETS met:
The assignement that I created last Wednesday met certain ISTE National Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Standard number 2 is Design and Devolop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. I think that (a) under 2 is a perfect example. It states: design or addapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. All three of the new web tools that I learned last week fall into this particular category. I feel that the assignement met 2a because it allowed me to adapt to a new learning experience that I did not know before hand. The rubistar will allow me to be more creative when it comes time to grade. I will be able to grade more effectively because of it. I would definitely feel more confident (and less stressed) knowing that I have these web tools when I create a new lesson.
The TrackStar assignment would fall under the NETS standard 3c. Which is: Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers: communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats. The TrackStar allows teachers to share information with each other. It’s neat that I created my own lesson on the students making a map of The United States and I was able to give the useful websites I fould to other teachers. Also, the Rubistar would fall under 3b: model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. The Rubistar allows teachers easier access to create a rubric for them to better evaluate their students.
While I was in junior college I took a course called Art for Elementary Teachers and we were required to make a rubric to go along with each class assignment. I would have loved to know about Rubistar then! It’s so neat, I can just type in the subject that I am teaching and a rubric will appear. It had many guide lines for helping me create my rubric. I had to pick out at least three categories to build my rubric, but I could only choose one from the Rubistar. The categories I created for my rubric were behavior, participation, and organization. I chose Labels-Accuracy from the Rubistar as a category. The points started out at 3 (being the highest) and 0 (being the lowest). Below is a link to my rubric:
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BxsaBtml2NN1MjUzNGQ4ZjMtZTgyMC00YmI1LWJlOTktNTY4MGM3NDU0Mjc2&hl=en
Another web tool that I learned about was the Big Bus Testmaker. This is an easy website that allows teachers to make a test. I created a test on “The United States of America Map Test”, and had a blast doing it. Well, until I had to re-type it because I did not save the correct way. I asked questions like “What’s the state capital of Mississippi?”, and “How many states border Mississippi?” Geography is a passion of mine and it’s something that I am good at; it was great to learn how to create something for my future students without getting a headache. The Big Bus Testmaker was extremely easy to use, and I will definitely use it again. I have included the link: https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=29db9cd907&view=att&th=12acf80cd6b8a90d&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_gdks8z281&zw
The final web tool experience I had in class that day involved creating a track. TrackStar is a site that allows teachers to collect various websites and share them with other teachers. This is a great little piece of information to know! I had to create a track of five topic-related sites pertaining to my United States of America map lesson. The sites ranged from pictures of the states, state capital, state birds, plants, etc. Almost any information a student would need to know to create a map of the United States would be in these five sites. I could not get into the Trackstar site. It was saying that my user name and password did not match; it would not give me my password. Therefore, I listed the sites below:
http://www.50states.com/
http://geology.com/state-map/
http://city-data.com/top1.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/
http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/
These were really neat sites that teachers could collect information from if they wanted to create a lesson on the United States. I can honestly say that I created a fun lesson and I will definitely use it in the future if I get a chance.
