Semester+2+Portfolio+2009

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=Introduction= My Voki Sock Puppet media type="custom" key="4222711"

Mike UnEarthed in Photoshop


=Mini Inquiry= “How can a class Wiki provide a forum for student-centred collaboration for review of key concepts in Science 8?” Visit my classroom Wiki called, "[|SESM for Dumees]" at sesmfordumees.wikispaces.com Read my read my blog post, "[|Mini Inquiry is a big wakeup call...]", my mini inquiry summary and reflections for June 2009.

= = =Reflections=

Monday, August 10, 2009
That was a whirlwind day full of mountains of information. It know doubt gets the gears turning in my brain about all sorts of projects and assignments to work on with my students. However, it now makes me more confused than ever about what my focus for the field study should be. I have too many projects on the go and every time a new technology is brought before my eyes, I want to try it and see if I can fit it into my courses. Once again, we are talking about storytelling and mind automatically wanders to how I could use storytelling to draw students' interest to Social Studies and Geography. I will definitely be exploring the timeline-building programs from CogDogRoo. While I do not encourage my SS students to remember dates because I myself suck at remembering dates, I do believe that timelines help bring context to a sequence of events in history. I like the idea of Comic Life as a way of improving my Confederation Comic Book assignment for SS10. Again, Google Earth tours and linking placemarks tickled my curiosity.

The afternoon started off with a whole bunch of frustration as I once again attempt to build a basic webpage using HCK, this time with the help of Kevin and Paul. I had given this a shot back in May before the summer institute with minimal success. When I attempted to continue from where I left off today, nothing seemed to work. So, what did I learn??? Ditch everything and start fresh again. After few minor glitches, here is what I finished the day with... [|First Class website]

Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Today, I was encouraged to see that I was able to introduce two resources to the class that my colleagues seemed interested to explore and possibly use in their own teaching. I realized that others shared my frustrations in building a website using HCK in First Class. While I had already built my site through Webs.com before our summer institute had begun, I had not actually tested it while using a Surrey School District computer. Now that I see my website works in Surrey schools, others can enjoy the relief of having another way to build their own website while avoiding HCK. Through my website, I was also able to link to another resource of which many colleagues seemed to be unaware. Registering for and using the digital Vancouver Sun newspaper can be used by elementary and secondary teachers for various current events projects. A teacher can find an interesting article that can be blogged or even shared during class to promote discussion. By answering questions from my colleagues, I was able to reflect on what else I needed to explore about these resources and I demonstrated to myself that I had acquired knowledge about these resources. I was able to show the class how to sign in to the website, scroll through the digital newspaper, view the photo gallery, or even share an article through a blog or email. These are tasks that I will need to accomplish when I introduce my own students to this resource in the fall of this upcoming school year.

Through the afternoon, Kevin expanded on storytelling using various technologies. Specifically, Kevin focussed on engaging students in literacy through media and technology. It may seem like a necessary skill, however I did not realize that the BC Ministry of Education expects students to learn "media literacy" as outlined in the IRP. I suppose it is a good thing that Kevin introduced more examples of what Grade 2 and 3 students are producing using technology. I used to think I had some technological saavy. But, if young students are producing such evidence of using technology, I feel like I have so much more to learn.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009
While the question and answer period was at times frustrating for everyone this morning, I did take quite a lot out of the subsequent discussion about how the field study should be organized. Although the example she used was about a student from a different cohort, I was able to relate Barb's explanation to my own questions of inquiry. My indecision about my inquiry question is something that I am not really surprised about. While there seems to be many differing opinions regarding the breadth of the inquiry question from the mentors and instructors, one thing is becoming more clear. I am not the only one who cannot make up my mind. This comes naturally from me in the first place. I can't decide what shirt to buy in the store. I cannot make a decision about where to travel to on the many summer days that I have off as a teacher. There always seem to be too many options on the menu in my favourite restaurant. But, I am realizing that I usually am always intrigued by the scope of the options that I am choosing from. This is no different when it comes to choosing my inquiry question. I am truly interested in exploring how a website like a wiki or a blog can promote a more positive learning community for the tripod of student, parent, and teacher. I take it so personally when I see the soaring level of apathy in young people because that is not the way I was brought up. This is why I believe communication with parents to encourage their concern and involvement in their sons/daughters education is so important. My own parents were incredibly involved in my adolescent life through school and extracurricular activities. They are the ones that instilled such a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed. I want my students to be able to experience these same feelings. If I can reach out and grab their attention through a website, it will be worth it. But, here comes that indecision again because I have other options on the menu. I also have a responsibility in the Social Studies department to produce a website that will bring more clarity and consistency to the curriculum for our students and the teachers. I also want to encourage blogging as a means of posting digital newspaper articles and stimulating discussion about current events. I want to provide a pool of online resources for my athletes whom I coach or am encouraging to get involved in athletics. I want to use storytelling as a medium for teaching and learning about social studies. I want to use Google Earth to promote my own Geography program in the school that always comes second to History courses.

Oh, I guess I barely scratched the surface in creating the Photoshop image of myself at the top of this page. The students seem to learn so much about digital technology and animation in this school. I was happy just to learn a little bit today so I can keep up and not fall too far behind. I am starting to feel old not knowing all of these technological advancements.

Thursday, August 13, 2009
Two major turning points in the week occurred today that gave me more confidence in what I can accomplish in LTT. My meeting with Marlowe was a positive experience as he listened to my plan for the Field Study and offered encouraging dialogue about what I could do with my students. I am happy to hear that Marlowe had taught at GP a number of years ago, so he has experience with the differentiated student population at our school. I hope that he can provide some insight into implementing technolog into a school with which he is already familiar. One of his suggestions for implementing a website into my grade 8 classroom included searching for a Parent Help Sheet that is posted on the Surrey School District website regarding Parent involvement in schools. I could also host a Website workshop for parents at the school late one night early in the school year. And sometimes you just need someone to provide a different perspective. I mentionned that I was considering giving the students and parents a weekly data collection sheet that required them to record how they were using the website throughout the field study. I had had reservations about doing this because I questionned the accuracy, reliability, or even honesty of the information provided by students or parents. Although Marlowe agreed that the information provided may be dishonest and unreliable, just simply being aware of the data collection sheet may just encourage parents to check out the website. I never thought about this.

The other turning point occurred in the afternoon when I attended a workshop by Kevin that introduced us to Google Earth. I have had a number of ideas swirling around in my brain for the last 2 years that have required knowledge and experience with Google Earth. I even wanted to do my storytelling assignment using this software but was unsure if I was capable of pulling it off. After reading some of the instructions for creating a Google Lit Trip and reading guides created on Kevin's wiki, I was apprehensive about even starting a Tour on Google Earth. After Kevin's presentation, I was inspired by the countless options to engage students. I went home and immediately started to build my Story Tour. I left the workshop wanting to explore the world of Google Earth more thoroughly.

Friday, August 14, 2009
I came into this day exhausted from many late nights this week as well as a lingering cold that I can't seem to kick. However, the show must go on. I walked into class this morning after one of those long, frustrating nights fumbling around with technology like Google Earth. I was having difficulty drawing the path to link my Placemarks on my Google Lit Trip. Yet once again, Kevin and Julia came to the rescue by providing explanations and suggestions for alleviating my problems. It was just another instance of collaboration and a support network that helps us all move through this program. By the end of the morning, I was sharing my Google Lit Trip with other colleagues in the class. I was excited and relieved. I think one of the most impactful experiences of this summer institute is the amount of collaboration that is occuring. I have talked to everyone this week even if it was just for a moment infront of someone's computer. I have learned little tidbits from so many people. We have all encouraged each other and brought various skills to the table. I have enjoyed this experience despite the late, frustating nights.

Once again, I was able to play with technology today even if it was just to get my feet wet. Despite my Apple product illiteracy, I had a moment to play around with an ITouch that I often wish I had. I also received some much needed clarity when it comes to digital photography. I spend so much time behind my camera when I am on vacation that I probably miss out on half of the experience. Some playtime and demonstrations by Julia taught me skills that I had some, but not enough, familiarity. Whereas I tried adjusting the manual settings on my camera before, now I truly learned how to use the shutter speed and aperture to get the effects that I have always desired. I learned how to set my shutter speed to remain open for more than one second to blur the movement of various things light water, flashlights, and even people (Julia was the model). Now I can spend less time trying to adjust my manual settings to take a photo of a waterfall on the Umpqua River in Oregon, and more time enjoying the roar of the water cascading or the mist casually cooling my face.

=Blog= Please visit my blog at [|dumouchelle.edublogs.com] to read reflections about readings and presentations during the spring classes.

=Story=

Google Earth Lit Trip (Tour)
In order to view my Google Lit Trip, you need to download a small file to your computer and open it in Google Earth. The file should open in the folder called Temporary Places. Once opened, you can follow the trip by double-clicking on each of the 'placemarks' in order in the Temporary Places sidebar. Each placemark is accompanied by photos and dialogue from the main character of the story. If a placemark box does not open, just double-click on the placemark. I hope you like it.

=Other Things I'm Working On=

Website by Webs.com
Here is a link to my Social Studies Department [|GP Social Studies]. It is a work in progress but it will become more of a focus as the year progresses...

Coach Dumouchelle Wiki
Another wiki that I have been working on is for the sports I [|coach].

HCK Website
This site is a work in progress. http://fcweb.sd36.bc.ca/~dumouchelle_m/home

Glogster
Poster yourself. media type="custom" key="4224259" width="68" height="64" http://dumouchelle.glogster.com/Mike-The-Human-Garburator-Dumouchelle/

Digital Photography












=Portfolio Summary= The 2009 Spring session was an eye-opener in many respects because of how much I need to learn as well as what I did learn. The mini inquiry conducted in May and June gave me a chance to introduce my students to the capabilities of using a Wiki to collaborate ideas focussing on big ideas as a means of review for the Science 8 final exam. This little project revealed a few important aspects of using technology in the classroom that I will have to give further consideration. Firstly, I realized very quickly that my students do not necessarily have the access to or knowledge of technology that I expected. I also found out that giving them an option to do schoolwork on the computer is not always going to encourage them to do it. I still have to consider how meaningful using the technology will be in stimulating their learning. As many other colleagues have also noted, I have to be prepared for glitches when using technology in schools. The summer institute really got my creative technological mind flowing with ideas as we were introduced to new possibilities. I only wish that I could have attended every one of the workshops that were presented by the mentors. I wanted to soak in as much as possible. I tried to attempt as many options as possible in order to tell my story but settled on something that I had had on my mind for over a year now, Google Earth. I know my story was really, really long but I was more concerned with becoming familiar with using Google Earth than telling my story. I think my portfolio demonstrates that I tried many things and this does not even cover the other ones that I experimented with other options like Timelines or Comic Life. Overall, the summer institute was the greatest highlight of the semester.