20 Things You Didn't Know About... Sugar

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Sugar

Moving to a Better Neighborhood Can Be as Effective as Drugs in Preventing Obesity and Diabetes, Study Suggests

Moving to a Better Neighborhood Can Be as Effective as Drugs in Preventing Obesity and Diabetes, Study Suggests

Reflection

The course I am completing today, June 26, 2011, has probably been the most influential course I have taken thus far. Much of my planning and instructional practices have already changed and will continue to change as a result of my participation in EDUC-6713I-3, Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas.

In the beginning of the course, I developed a G.A.M.E. plan to help me achieve a goal by the end of the course. My goal was to make APA citation a common practice by every individual in my classroom as well as to create a social network on Ning that facilitates communication and collaboration about content that is being studied in my classroom. First, I have progressed towards my goal because I have modeled proper APA citation. My current students are now familiar with APA citation and bibliographies as I have made it a habit to add bibliographies to handouts and PowerPoint presentations. I have also incorporated the use of quotes and proper citation into readings so that the students are now familiar with what is expected of them when reading/writing scholarly work. I have also learned one way to avoid copyright violations in regards to use of visuals as I often use Google Images to display images that enhance my PowerPoint presentations and explanations. In the media resource for this course, Dr. Arnie Abrams (2009) discusses fair use, meaning teachers and students can use certain songs or visuals without permission as long as it is being used in the classroom or for educational purposes. He suggests avoiding copyright violation by posting on a class or school website the following; “We are trying to follow fair use with the images and music that we use, etc. and if you have a problem with any of it, please contact us and we will review that and immediately take it off” (2009). I plan on discussing the issue of fair use with future classes as well as teaching and requiring my students to follow APA rules when citing resources. I revised my G.A.M.E. plan during the course as I did not have enough time to teach proper citation rules this year. Therefore, I have decided to spend the summer revising my curriculum, unit plans, and lesson plans in a way that I incorporate lessons teaching the students how to give credit where credit is due on a regular basis. I will include APA citation on all of my handouts and PowerPoint presentations for future classes. In regards to Ning, I have created a Ning Network for my Living Environment classes. I have learned how to navigate Ning and utilize all the tools offered on the website. I have explored ways I can have students blog in order to reflect on their learning, communicate and collaborate with each other, and support their learning. Next year, I plan to have the students write daily blogs connecting the mini-lesson for the day to their ongoing projects.

Using the G.A.M.E. plan process has been beneficial for myself as a learner and instructor but have found it helpful for my students as well. I have already introduced the students to the G.A.M.E. plan process. I explained the process to the students. I then had them listen to/read part of President Obama’s State of the Union Address and identify his goals for the nation, the actions he planned on taking to achieve those goals, and we discussed ways we could monitor the progress and evaluate whether or not he was achieving his goals. Finally, they evaluated their Mid-Term Exams and used the resulting data to create a G.A.M.E. plan to improve their performance. Having the students specify actions they would take to improve their performance was extremely helpful and the students were more inclined to follow through with the actions because they were decided upon by their selves. We had regular check-in appointments to monitor their progress. The following quizzes and exams were used to evaluate the effectiveness of their actions and some of the students modified their G.A.M.E. plans at least once. I have also started using the G.A.M.E. plan template for my lesson plans as it helps ensure I address the needs of the various different learners in my classroom. My professional goal for the upcoming school year involves differentiating and I have found the template extremely useful in planning differentiated instruction.

The skills I learned from taking this course have also caused me to make immediate adjustments to my instructional practice. First, I have adopted a problem-based learning approach to instruction for my class. I have modified my curriculum for next year so that each unit of study culminates not only with an exam, but also with a project that requires the students to solve some type of real-life problem. For example, I plan on implementing the unit plan I created for this course for the first unit of study, Introduction to Biology. During this unit, the students learn what it means to be alive. They learn about the life processes and the characteristics that are shared by all organisms. For their first project, they are to present a proposal for the adoption of a class pet. They have to research information about the organism, explore how the organism carries out the life processes, and explain how the class will maintain its health and happiness. To monitor their progress throughout the project, I will require the students to make blog posts to the class Ning network. I will also introduce the project at the beginning of each unit, so as I teach mini-lessons, such as the seven life processes, students will be required to blog about how the content they learned for the day, life processes, applies to their project or how they need to modify their project or conduct more research to incorporate or address the new content learned. By making regular blog posts, student learning is ongoing and students are constantly reflecting on their learning. Digital storytelling will also be a regular option for presenting their projects. Therefore, I will be teaching the students about digital storytelling as well as teaching mini-lessons on other software that can facilitate the presentation process, such as Jing, VoiceThread, etc.

In the media resource for this course, Dr. Katherine Cennamo (2009) states, “The ability to think creatively is our key to economic competitiveness.” Unemployment is one of the major concerns of Americans today. It is therefore the responsibility of an educator to foster that creativity in each of his/her students. Technology is one important way to elicit creativity in today’s youth. I believe it is important for educators to expose their students to technology and to teach students how to find/access the appropriate technology to address their needs. On January 25, 2011, President Obama gave his State of the Union Address. In it, he shares how he believes technology and education can solve the unemployment issue. He explains, “Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100 … so yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real.” Obama then goes on to explain how he plans on addressing this issue. “…This is our generation’s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race … We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology … an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people …” He recognizes that technology has changed the world in such a way that requires an employee to be technologically literate. This course has been extremely helpful in my effort to teach the new literacies in my classroom.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating technology across the content areas. [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Obama, Barack. (2011). State of the Union Address. [transcript]. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/25/remarks-president-state-union-address.

Monitoring

My Goal

• Make APA citation a common practice by every individual in my classroom.
• Create a social network on Ning that facilitates communication and collaboration about content that is being studied.

Progress Towards My Goal

• I have been referencing the textbooks and websites that have contributed to my lessons.
• Students are familiar with the bibliography section of both their handouts as well as PowerPoint presentations that they view.
• I have not cited the sources of the numerous visuals that I have obtained by using Google Images due to time.
• I have chosen to focus direct teaching on content as opposed to lessons on citation practices.
• I will focus on incorporating citation lessons into early lessons for next semester.
• I will continue to expose students to APA citation so they know it is common practice in my classroom.
• I have worked with colleagues on becoming familiar with Ning and its uses.
• I have incorporated the use of Ning into lessons and projects for next semester.
• Administration has agreed to purchase Ning subscription for the next school year.

Information and Resources

• I have found the information and resources that I need for citation and use of Ning during my experience as a Walden University students as well as during my collaboration with colleagues.

Modification of My Action Plan

• My action plan remains the same, however, the timeline by which it will be accomplished has been extended.
• I’ve decided to implement more of what I learned to next year’s classes. Proper APA citation will be taught and required of my students for next semester.
• The students in my classes for next semester will create a Ning profile and post blogs regularly.

Learning

• Modeling proper APA citation for students by exposing them to bibliographies on handouts and presentations makes it easier to require such a practice from them.
• Using Ning is similar to using Facebook and therefore it was easy for me to learn how to use it. Hopefully, the students will find as much ease as I did in learning how to navigate Ning.
• I can have students post blogs daily reflecting how the mini-lesson for the day contributes to their current project. These reflections can facilitate editing of projects as they learn what needs to be modified or added to their presentations or assignments.
• Ning offers a platform for peer editing. Students can collaborate with each other as they offer each other feedback and suggestions that can be used to improve upon their work.

New Questions

• How are images cited? If I take an image from a website, how do I know who is actually supposed to be credited for creating the image?

My Action Plan

Actions

1. I will cite all the references that I use in my instruction and ensure the students are aware of this.
2. I will teach the students how to cite references and resources and require the students to do so for all their work.
3. I will create a Ning social networking site for my classes and instruct the students how to participate and contribute to the site.

What information do I need to meet my goal?

• References on APA citation.
• "How to" information on using the various features on Ning.

How can I find the information that I need?

• Refer to the resources available through Walden about APA citation.
• Explore the Ning website and other web resources on using Ning features (ie. YouTube, Help section on the Ning website, etc.)
• Collaborate with a colleague that successfully implemented the use of a Ning site with his physics classes.

Steps Taken So Far:

• I purchased a yearly subscription to Ning.
• I have spoken with my colleague. He provided me a list of his lesson plans, rubrics, and links to his Ning site. I am to go over the documents, explore the Ning site, and meet him on Wednesday after our science department meeting to discuss any questions I may have.
• I have reviewed the documents on APA format and citation provided by Walden University.
• I have explored sites via a Google search on APA format and citation to see if there are student friendly sites available for my students to refer to.

My Personal G.A.M.E. Plan

Goals

Strengthen my confidence and proficiency in the following indicators in the NETS-T:

• VI(A) Model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use.
• III(A) Facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards.

What do I want to know or be able to do?

• I want to make APA citation a common practice by both myself and my students.
• I want to create a social network on Ning that allows students to blog and respond to content issues that they are currently learning.

What do I already know about the topic?

• I know how to perform APA citations.
• I know how to blog.

How will I know if I have been successful?

• My students will cite all their resources in their work.
• Citation of resources will be present on all work including my instructional tools.
• My students will use the Ning social networking site to communicate with me and others.
• My students will be proficient in communication via blogging.

Actions

1. I will cite all the references that I use in my instruction and ensure the students are aware of this.
2. I will teach the students how to cite references and resources and require the students to do so for all their work.
3. I will create a Ning social networking site for my classes and instruct the students how to participate and contribute to the site.

What information do I need to meet my goal?

• References on APA citation.
• "How to" information on using the various features on Ning.

How can I find the information that I need?

• Refer to the resources available through Walden about APA citation.
• Explore the Ning website and other web resources on using Ning features.
• Collaborate with a colleague that successfully implemented the use of a Ning site with his physics classes.

Monitor

1. Create digital copies of ALL my lesson plans and applicable instructional tools and ensure proper citation is present.
2. Add the presence of citation to grading rubrics used to assess student work.
3. Utilize the various features present on the Ning network.
4. Reflect upon the usefulness of Ning to both myself and my students and make appropriate modifications to increase utility.
5. Check for student understanding and ability to perform APA citations and modify lessons to address confusion/misunderstanding.

Evaluate and Extend

1. Reflect on whether or not I met my learning goals.
2. Determine the necessary modifications needed to achieve my learning goals.
3. Decide upon a plan of action to readdress my learning goals in the future.

My Action Plan

Actions

1. I will cite all the references that I use in my instruction and ensure the students are aware of this.
2. I will teach the students how to cite references and resources and require the students to do so for all their work.
3. I will create a Ning social networking site for my classes and instruct the students how to participate and contribute to the site.

What information do I need to meet my goal?

• References on APA citation.
• "How to" information on using the various features on Ning.

How can I find the information that I need?

• Refer to the resources available through Walden about APA citation.
• Explore the Ning website and other web resources on using Ning features (ie. YouTube, Help section on the Ning website, etc.)
• Collaborate with a colleague that successfully implemented the use of a Ning site with his physics classes.

Steps Taken So Far:

• I purchased a yearly subscription to Ning.
• I have spoken with my colleague. He provided me a list of his lesson plans, rubrics, and links to his Ning site. I am to go over the documents, explore the Ning site, and meet him on Wednesday after our science department meeting to discuss any questions I may have.
• I have reviewed the documents on APA format and citation provided by Walden University.
• I have explored sites via a Google search on APA format and citation to see if there are student friendly sites available for my students to refer to.

My Personal G.A.M.E. Plan

Goals

Strengthen my confidence and proficiency in the following indicators in the NETS-T:

• VI(A) Model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use.
• III(A) Facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards.

What do I want to know or be able to do?

• I want to make APA citation a common practice by both myself and my students.
• I want to create a social network on Ning that allows students to blog and respond to content issues that they are currently learning.

What do I already know about the topic?

• I know how to perform APA citations.
• I know how to blog.

How will I know if I have been successful?

• My students will cite all their resources in their work.
• Citation of resources will be present on all work including my instructional tools.
• My students will use the Ning social networking site to communicate with me and others.
• My students will be proficient in communication via blogging.

Actions

1. I will cite all the references that I use in my instruction and ensure the students are aware of this.
2. I will teach the students how to cite references and resources and require the students to do so for all their work.
3. I will create a Ning social networking site for my classes and instruct the students how to participate and contribute to the site.

What information do I need to meet my goal?

• References on APA citation.
• "How to" information on using the various features on Ning.

How can I find the information that I need?

• Refer to the resources available through Walden about APA citation.
• Explore the Ning website and other web resources on using Ning features.
• Collaborate with a colleague that successfully implemented the use of a Ning site with his physics classes.

Monitor

1. Create digital copies of ALL my lesson plans and applicable instructional tools and ensure proper citation is present.
2. Add the presence of citation to grading rubrics used to assess student work.
3. Utilize the various features present on the Ning network.
4. Reflect upon the usefulness of Ning to both myself and my students and make appropriate modifications to increase utility.
5. Check for student understanding and ability to perform APA citations and modify lessons to address confusion/misunderstanding.

Evaluate and Extend

1. Reflect on whether or not I met my learning goals.
2. Determine the necessary modifications needed to achieve my learning goals.
3. Decide upon a plan of action to readdress my learning goals in the future.