Sarah+Williams



Sarah Williams I have been teaching mathematics in Southern Maryland for seven years and pre-engineering for three. It is my goal to incorporate technology into my classroom with the intent to meet each student at his/her level. I have an advantage over most educators due to the fact that I have a computer lab in my classroom. I feel obligated to use technology as much as posible for meaningful learning experiences for my students. The purpose of this wiki is to share resources and ideas for reaching this goal.

Sarah, I have to say, I am impressed and amazed with what you are able to do. This must be so fun for the students. I teach high school math but as you know, teaching algebra and geometry to the students does not grab their attention like the hands on projects that you must do in this class. My first thought however is that for a two day lesson in 8th grade, it seems like there are a lot of standards to cover. You appear to be very organized and you know exactly what you need to start, as well as throughout the lesson. I do not know much about the course you are teaching but day one is pretty vague. I understand you are using a packet but for someone like me on the outside, I am not sure what you are doing in terms of programming. Could you possibly elaborate more on what the students will be doing or what you will be covering.

How will students know they are meeting their goals and how will they know they have solved the problem? In terms of your assessment, how are they graded? Is there any rubric or numerical grade given? For a two day project, how long are your periods? Are they a traditional 40-45 minutes or are they a block period which is about an hour and a half?

You seem to know exactly what you are doing but for us and grade purposes, you may want to try and be a bit more specific on some of the steps in terms of what the students are doing and actually performing.

-Jason Gunderman

Jason, This project is really fun for the students as well as challenging. I have taught it for three years now, and it is one of my students' favorites. All the information is included in the packet, so I did not elaborate as to all the aspects involved. The periods are 84 minutes, which is why the entire unit should take each class eight days to complete. I have included the unit rubric at the very bottom. Thank you for your kind words.

Problem-Based Learning Sarah Williams WaldenUniversity

Dr. Suzanne Lebeau EDUC-6713I-4 Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas April 1, 2012

Standards for Technological Literacy Standard 1: Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics and scope of technology. Standard 2: Students will develop an understanding of the core concepts of technology. Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of the relationships among technologies and the connections between technology and other fields of study. Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design. Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design. Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving. Standard 11: Students will develop abilities to apply the design process. Standard 12: Students will develop the abilities to use and maintain technological products and systems. Standard 17: Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select and use information and communication technologies. . || 1. Creativity and innovation 2. Communication and collaboration 4. Critical thinking, problem 6. Technology operations and concepts Instructional Objectives: Students will use the design process to plan, program, and build a mechanism according to a specific problem. || Organization of materials needed including: All packets need to be copied including both the lesson and accommodation packets. || Day 2 |||| 1. Introduction to Automation Through Programming Whole-class instruction will be used to read through the introduction and procedures for the lesson. 2. A brief description of the role of each engineer is given. Students will choose which engineer they would like to assume the role of for the assignment. 3. Students will be grouped so that each group consists of one mechanical, one electrical, and one computer engineer. Special consideration will be made according to IEP accommodations and personality of students. 4. In groups, students will read through the first problem. Students will document their thoughts through the design process steps and save the Microsoft Word document on the H drive. 1. Students will meet with their group to review the design process steps planned the previous class. 2. Students will attempt to solve the first problem using the design process, the fischertechnik pieces, the interfaces, RoboPro Software, the screw drivers, and the base boards. Scaffolding is used in the first task in order to assist students in solving the problem. 3. Students will document their progress throughout the process. 4. When a solution is found, students will communicate their results to the teacher. 5. Students will reflect in their GTT notebooks regarding the experience with solving the first problem. || Packet Design Process Document on the G drive Design Process Document on H drive Fischertechnik parts Wires Interface boxes Base boards Screw drivers RoboPro Software GTT notebook || Accommodations and Extensions: A packet with the required Fischertechnik parts will be given to those students with IEPs. Back-Up Plan: In case of problems with technology, focus should be placed on the manner in which the mechanism was built. Also, students could build more than one mechanism to solve the problem or solve an additional problem. Design process steps could be documented in the GTT notebook instead of using Microsoft Word. || LESSON REFLECTIONS AND NOTES: Students will be actively engaged throughout the lesson. Emphasis should be placed on the collaboration between the three engineers to solve the problem. Also, emphasis should be placed upon documentation of the design process, specifically, rationale regarding decisions made. Daily emphasis should be placed upon unit rubric expectations. || Social Networking Sarah Williams WaldenUniversity
 * = Daily Lesson GAME Plan = ||
 * Lesson Title: Automation Through Programming |||| Related Lessons: Gears and Mechanisms ||
 * Grade Level: 8 |||| Unit: Automation and Robotics ||
 * ==GOALS== ||
 * Content Standards:
 * ISTENETS-S
 * ==ACTION== ||
 * Before-Class Preparation:
 * Fischertechnik parts
 * Wires
 * Interface boxes
 * Base boards
 * Screw drivers
 * RoboPro Software
 * Electronic copy of the design process steps on the G drive
 * During Class ||
 * Time |||| Instructional Activities || Materials and Resources ||
 * Day 1
 * Note student groupings, environmental modifications needed, etc: Students are grouped according to interest and ability. Each group will consist of a mechanical, electrical, and computer engineer. ||
 * ==MONITOR== ||
 * Ongoing Assessment(s): Informal observation of group progress will be made throughout each day. Teacher will conference with each group each day to check on progress and question decisions made.
 * ==EVALUATE AND EXTEND== ||
 * Be specific and include the evaluation that you will use for this lesson:

Dr. Suzanne Lebeau

EDUC-6713I-4 Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas April 8, 2012 Standards for Technological Literacy Standard 1: Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics and scope of technology. Standard 2: Students will develop an understanding of the core concepts of technology. Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of the relationships among technologies and the connections between technology and other fields of study. Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design. Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design. Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving. Standard 11: Students will develop abilities to apply the design process. Standard 12: Students will develop the abilities to use and maintain technological products and systems. Standard 17: Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select and use information and communication technologies. . || 1. Creativity and innovation 2. Communication and collaboration 4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making 5. Digital citizenship 6. Technology operations and concepts Instructional Objectives: Students will use the design process in order to solve a specific problem. Students will use a wiki in order to communicate possible solutions to a problem. Students will use a wiki in order to suggest possible improvements for solutions. Students will use Fischertechnkick parts in order to build a mechanism. || Organization of materials needed including: Fischertechnik parts Wires Interface boxes Base boards Screw drivers RoboPro Software Electronic copy of the design process steps on the G drive Individual students access to class wiki: http://gateway2technology.wikispaces.com/ Digital camera Lesson packet GTT notebook || Day 2 Day 3 |||| 1. Students will meet with their group to read through the remaining 10 problems. Students will predict possible challenges and brainstorm solutions for each problem. 2. Each group will post predictions on the class wiki. Students will read through each group’s predictions and comment or make suggestions for improvement. 3. Each group will then choose which problem they would like to solve and develop a plan for action. 1. Students will meet with their group and review the plan for action. 2. Students will attempt to solve the next problem using the design process, the fischertechnik pieces, the interfaces, RoboPro Software, the screw drivers, and the base boards. 3. Students will document their progress throughout the process. 4. When a solution is found, students will communicate their results to the teacher. A picture will be taken of the mechanism built. 5. Students will reflect in their GTT notebooks regarding the experience with solving the second problem chosen. 1. Students will meet with their groups to post a reflection on the class wiki. Students will reflect based upon their predictions and actual experience throughout the design process. 2. A picture of the solution will be added to the wiki. 3. Students will review the other groups’ solutions and reflections. || Lesson Packet Design process document on G drive Class wiki Design process document on G drive Fischertechnik parts Interfaces RoboPro software Screw drivers Base boards Digital camera GTT notebook Class wiki Digital camera || Accommodations and Extensions: A packet with the required Fischertechnik parts will be given to those students with IEPs. If students finish quickly, assignment of another problem will be given. Some students will be able to post the picture from the digital camera to the wiki independently, while others will need assistance either from the teacher or another student. Back-Up Plan: If Internet issues occur, students will be required to build and wire the mechanisms only. Also, in this case, all documentation will take place in the GTT notebook instead of the design process document. || LESSON REFLECTIONSANDNOTES: It is challenging for students to be methodical in their thought processes for this type of activity. Many students will want to start building right away. Emphasis should be put upon critically analyzing decisions made before building commences. For this reason, students must post their ideas and read others' ideas before any building is done. Daily emphasis should be placed upon unit rubric expectations. || Sarah,
 * = Daily Lesson GAME Plan = ||
 * Lesson Title: Social Networking |||| Related Lessons: Automation Through Programming ||
 * Grade Level: 8 |||| Unit: Automation and Robotics ||
 * ==GOALS== ||
 * Content Standards:
 * ISTENETS-S
 * ==ACTION== ||
 * Before-Class Preparation:
 * During Class ||
 * Time |||| Instructional Activities || Materials and Resources ||
 * Day 1
 * Note student groupings, environmental modifications needed, etc: Students are grouped according to interest and ability. Each group will consist of a mechanical, electrical, and computer engineer. ||
 * ==MONITOR== ||
 * Ongoing Assessment(s): Informal observation of group progress will be made throughout each day. The teacher will conference with each group each day to check on progress and question decisions made.
 * ==EVALUATE AND EXTEND== ||
 * Be specific and include the evaluation that you will use for this lesson:

I like how you used the wiki as a place for students to place their predictions. Then having students respond on the wiki is a strategy I never thought of using. Each student will have their own space they can always go back to. Unlike blogging sites where the information builds and builds and builds, making it difficult to find sometimes. I like the idea of using the wiki in such a structural manner for the students and myself. Would you assign students each a color to use to help in differentiating their information? That way you can create a legend and they know what their color is for easier interaction. I like your lesson structure as well. Nice job.

Mary Karen

Mary Karen,

My students each have a login and password for the computers, so I figured I would have them use their logins as their identification. This way, students are not putting their names on the Internet and I am able to easily identify them. Thank you for the kind words.

Sarah

Sarah, This sounds like a really cool project. It is giving the students a lot of choice and freedom. Can more than one group the same problem? I bet the students like using all the different parts and pieces to solve the different problems. Do all students have access to the same wiki? This might be confusing to students if they are trying to communicate to each of there group members. Could each class create their own wiki to communicate on? Although i think that having everybody comment on one wiki will help groups with ideas to the different problems. This is a very good skill building activity. It is great that each group uploads a photo so that each of the members can add insight on the class wiki.

Ben Ben, Each class has their own page on the wiki. My school has block scheduling and I have one A day and one B day pre-engineering class. It does help to have one wiki which everyone is working on. Sarah Digital Storytelling Sarah Williams WaldenUniversity Dr. Suzanne LebeauEDUC-6713I-4 Integrating Technology Across the Content AreasApril 15, 2012 Automation Through Programming Social Networking || . Standards for Technological Literacy Standard 1: Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics and scope of technology. Standard 2: Students will develop an understanding of the core concepts of technology. Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of the relationships among technologies and the connections between technology and other fields of study. Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design. Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design. Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving. Standard 11: Students will develop abilities to apply the design process. Standard 12: Students will develop the abilities to use and maintain technological products and systems. Standard 17: Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select and use information and communication technologies. . || 1. Creativity and innovation 2. Communication and collaboration 5. Digital citizenship 6. Technology operations and concepts Instructional Objectives: Students will use digital story-telling resources in order to communicate results of mechanism built. || Images of student work from previous lesson are uploaded to the G drive on the network Creation of a Delicious stack including several digital story-telling resources || Day 2 Day 3 |||| 1. Whole-class instruction will take place reviewing different resources for digital story-telling. Students have access to a delicious stack which I published. 2. Students will meet with their group to decide upon which resource will be used for their project. 3. Students will use the images of their mechanisms and screen shots to create a digital storytelling project which conveys the solution to their problem. 4. Students will reflect in their GTT notebook regarding the resource chosen for the project. 1. Students will continue working on their projects, documenting progress and challenges involved throughout the process. The projects will be saved and the URL for the project will be added to the class wiki. 2. Students will reflect in their GTT notebook regarding their progress with their project. Students will communicate need for additional time, if any. 1. Each group’s project will be viewed by the class as a whole. 2. Students will share their review of the resource chosen, including successes and challenges. || Delicious stack of possible resources Images from the G drive Screen shots from the H drive || Students are grouped according to interest and ability. Each group will consist of a mechanical, electrical, and computer engineer. || Accommodations and Extensions: Students will be given assistance with images and screen shots as needed. If students finish early, exploration of a different digital storytelling resource will be conducted. Back-Up Plan: If the computer lab is not functional, the laptop carts will be reserved for student use. || LESSON REFLECTIONSANDNOTES: Students will be using resources which are probably new to them as well as me, so flexibility is required. Daily emphasis should be placed upon unit rubric expectations. || Unit Rubric
 * = Daily Lesson GAME Plan = ||
 * Lesson Title: Digital Story-Telling |||| Related Lessons:
 * Grade Level: 8 |||| Unit: Automation and Robotics ||
 * ==GOALS== ||
 * Content Standards:
 * ISTENETS-S
 * ==ACTION== ||
 * Before-Class Preparation:
 * During Class ||
 * Time |||| Instructional Activities || Materials and Resources ||
 * Day 1
 * Note student groupings, environmental modifications needed, etc:
 * ==MONITOR== ||
 * Ongoing Assessment(s): Groups will conference with the teacher daily to assess progress.
 * ==EVALUATEANDEXTEND== ||
 * Be specific and include the evaluation that you will use for this lesson: Students will be graded based upon a unit rubric which incorporates all three lessons.
 * CATEGORY || 4 || 3 || 2 || 1 ||
 * Working with Others || Student was an engaged partner, listening to suggestions of others and working cooperatively throughout lesson. || Student was an engaged partner but had trouble listening to others and/or working cooperatively. || Student cooperated with others, but needed prompting to stay on-task. || Student did not work effectively with others. ||
 * Reasoning || Uses complex and refined reasoning. || Uses effective reasoning || Some evidence of reasoning. || Little evidence of reasoning. ||
 * Use of Manipulatives || Student always listens and follows directions and only uses manipulatives as instructed. || Student typically listens and follows directions and uses manipulatives as instructed most of the time. || Student sometimes listens and follows directions and uses manipulatives appropriately when reminded. || Student rarely listens and often \"plays\" with the manipulatives instead of using them as instructed. ||
 * Strategy/Procedures || Typically, uses an efficient and effective strategy to solve the problem(s). || Typically, uses an effective strategy to solve the problem(s). || Sometimes uses an effective strategy to solve problems, but does not do it consistently. || Rarely uses an effective strategy to solve problems. ||
 * Images || Images are clear and greatly add to the reader\'s understanding of the procedure(s). || Images are clear and easy to understand. || Images are somewhat difficult to understand. || Images are difficult to understand or are not used. ||
 * Wiki || In-depth problem-solving steps are posted to the class wiki. || Most problem-solving steps are posted to the class wiki. || Some description of problem-solving steps are posted to the class wiki. || No post is made to the class wiki. ||
 * Wiki- Responses || Two constructive responses are made to another group\'s ideas via the class wiki. || One constructive response is made to another group\'s ideas via the class wiki. || One weak response is made to another group\'s ideas via the class wiki. || No response is made via the class wiki. ||
 * Digital Storytelling || A well crafted presentation including multi-media is created which shows the process of building a solution to the problem. || A presentation including multi-media is created which shows the process of building a solution to the problem. || An attempt at a presentation is made, but incomplete. || Little or no attempt is made to create a presentation. ||