Wicked Problem Project

WARNING-DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, I HAVE SEVERAL JING VIDEOS. HOWEVER, NO MATTER HOW I EMBEDDED THEM, THEY KEPT TURNING INTO THE SAME FILE. IT WAS REALLY CREEP. ANYWAY, YOU WILL FIND THE FIRST VIDEO AND LINKS TO THE REST AT THE END OF THIS POST.-SORRY

Tai Kimmerly

Tammy Maginity

CEP-812 - Apply Educational Technology to Practice

08/19/11

Wicked Problem Project

First of all, I would like to apologize to all of you who have been eagerly awaiting my post. I had some insane technical difficulties. You know the kind. My computer and I nearly parted ways via my car tires. My hard drive became so overloaded that my computer would not record anything. It even got to the point where it wouldn't let me uninstall programs because it didn't have enough space. So, many hours later, I have several videos for you. Normally, I would have converted them and linked them all together in one nice video, but it turns out that I no longer have the resources. So, here is my wicked project.

My problem and solution are focused on my method of recording every day assessments. Normally, I record assessments on class seating charts. Since I have 17 classes and 7 different areas to assess, that is approximately 119 different seating charts per marking period. That is if I only assess each area once. That is a lot of paper. To solve this problem, I knew that I would need a computer. However, as a music teacher, almost none of my assessments take place with me at a desk. Since most of my seating charts and plans are created on the computer, it would make sense to keep them there as well as their corresponding assessments.

I will be focusing on how a tablet can be used in an elementary music classroom as a grade book tool using Excel spreadsheets. This first sheet is simply a master seating chart. There is also a sheet for every area that I have to assess. Above each student’s name are three boxes. This gives you three opportunities to assess students within each assessment area. Each sheet looks exactly like this, except for the last. The last sheet is a summary sheet. It averages all of the grades upon entry. So, when it comes time to enter grades into your report card system, all you have to do is transfer the averaged grades.

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?

What is the TC knowledge for the solution?

What is the PC knowledge for the solution?

This technology supports my pedagogy in one main way. It will allow me to keep accurate records while assessing students in a meaningful way. Sometimes, recording assessments gets in the way of the actual assessment and affects the results. Using a tablet will allow me to have quick access to assessments and records without getting in the way of teaching.

While the use of a tablet will not directly affect the content of my lessons or the curriculum, it will allow me to focus more on my teaching of that content and the student learning. For this particular situation, the technology does not affect the content, except that it makes it easier for me to teach and record assessments.

The idea of this solution is that students will notice it less. This will allow me to have my class files that I need open and ready for the day so that I will be able to seamlessly assess students. For instance, if I am assessing singing voice, I can simply have the students lead the class in a song and I can jot down notes while I play the piano without them being any the wiser. This will not be used for one specific lesson, but daily. It is difficult to show the pedagogy and content knowledge because this is not geared toward one specific lesson, but daily activities.

 Wicked_Part_One
Wicked_Part_Two
Wicked_Part_Three
Wicked_Part_Four




Using Tablet PC's in Music Education

Excel Tutorials


http://www.fatwallet.com/


Excel Grade Book File

811 Reflection

Tai Kimmerly

Melissa Jane White

CEP 811- Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education

08/17/2011

Final Reflection

            Through this course, we have looked at many different teaching strategies and how they can involve technology. As a music specialist, my job is very different from most teachers. I see every child in the school two or three times per week. Most other elementary school teachers see their students for most of the day, every day. Since most of my classes last 30 minutes, with no time for setup or teardown in between, I have not been able to effectively add much technology into my classes.

            Through this class, we have explored UDL principles that show us how we can, by adjusting lessons, make material more accessible to all students. While some of them would be difficult in a music setting, such as helping a completely deaf student with a listening exercise, others, such as the use of manipulatives for students with visual impairments can also help students with 20/20 vision. Though not all of the items discussed in the face to face learning lecture will work for my classroom, things like “Inveractive Discussion with Experts,” will be quite useful. Wikis, however, may be more time consuming and problematic than simply having a class discussion. If I saw students every day, I might be able to ask them to do things at home. However, since I only see them a few times per week, music class is not enough of a part of their routine to expect them to remember outside work.

            Integrating web technologies forced me to think about what could actually be useful and appropriate for my classroom. Some technologies are simply not time efficient, or supportive enough of the material to be effective. And that is OK! Adding technology for technology’s sake is not the point. Adding technology to enable student learning and prepare them for a future rich in technology is the point. If the technology is not applicable, the students will know and the whole lesson will seem contrived and pointless.

            When I began these courses, my main goal was to come out with a better understanding of my MP3 player. Don’t get me wrong, I am interested in computers and know my way around them pretty well, I just didn’t really know what to say. I also wanted to learn how to integrate technology to improve assessment and engagement. That was what we were supposed to say, right? It is not that I wrote these things just to appease my professors. I truly did not know how far this could go. I knew nothing about blogs or wikis. I had never listened to, let alone created or understood the value of a podcast. Now I have these tools that I was unaware that I needed. Also not only can I use my MP3 player well, but since finding out about the new music cloud software, I do not need to use it at school! I can simply log into my account and have access to all of the music that I need.

            My new goals are a bit overwhelming. I have always had an interest in computers and how they work. I have never really understood them, but had a strong desire to know how to fix them, and even build my own. Throughout this summer, this desire has grown stronger and stronger. This may be because my computer is getting slower and slower. In CEP 812, I had to develop a solution for a “Wicked Problem.” The problem I chose to solve was my issue with keeping track of daily assessment records. Last year, I saw about eleven classes per day. Though I have folders for keeping track of their assessments, I would occasionally misplace them. There is also no system for averaging their grades. So, I developed a solution involving a tablet PC. I created a seating chart based grade book that automatically averaged and summarized each student’s grades for various areas. Though Excel worked fairly well, there are some things that I simply cannot or do not know how to make it do. Since Excel was not made for this purpose, I can’t really blame it. But if I knew more about how software functions, I may be able to write a piece of software specifically designed for my needs, as well as an android app to go with it. In order to do this, I am going to have to take some programming courses. Since I have not yet found a way to get on the masters pay scale with a degree in software engineering, that will have to wait until I am finished with my graduate degree. However, in the mean time, I will see what material I can find online and at my local library on the subject.

Professional Learning Plan

Group Leadership Project CEP 812

Our group used a video as the final product for our project. However, along the way we used several other programs as well. First, we used a PowerPoint slide show to organize our work. It gave us a great outline and foundation for our final video product. We also used Jing to make a screencast of a tutorial on how to create a Wikispaces account and how to get started with your first wiki. Then, an audio recording of our script was dubbed over the presentation and the Jing videos were added. Then the final product was posted to youtube, to be shared with all!

During the process of this project, I learned that many technical difficulties can happen. Jing worked well for the tutorial videos I originally created, but after converting them twice and putting them together in Movie Maker, the quality seemed to suffer. So, I decided to try and recreate them with CamStudio. The videos looked great, but every time I tried to do anything with them in Movie Maker, the program would crash. I was avoiding converting the files because of the quality issues from earlier, but after several days of attempting to edit the files, I gave up and tried to convert them with Prism video converter. At first, it worked very well. But half way through the videos, it started cutting things out and producing videos in black and white that were slanted. It was all so frustrating that I gave up and just used the original tutorial videos from Jing. They have a Moyea watermark on them and the sound changes, but in the end, Jing caused far fewer problems.

If I had to do this again, I would probably either try to find a tutorial made by someone else, or just buy the full version of Jing that can directly upload to Youtube. I would also learn to give up and try something else a lot sooner. Giving up is not always a bad thing. I wasted days worth of time trying to make a program work that obviously was not fit for the job I needed it to do. Overall, all of my group members were fantastic. They did their jobs well and as well as helped others when they could.

Online Teaching Experiences

Tai Kimmerly

Melissa Jane White

CEP 811- Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education

08/07/2011

Online Teaching Experiences

            As I read through the table at the end of the document, I was becoming a bit discouraged reading through the online experiences. Many of them seem not applicable or not time efficient enough to use with classes I see twice per week. When it comes down to it, I know it takes extra time to incorporate technology. Sometimes it is worth it, but sometimes it is not. However, there are several that could be very beneficial in the music classroom. One of which is “Interactive Discussions with Experts.”

            Although I am considered the music expert in my building, there are many things that I am not an expert on regarding music. For instance, I know very little when it comes to playing a guitar. Since I don’t have a guitar group, it is not that big of an issue. However, if I am teaching a song from another country, I can do one of several things. I can do my best through research to give students the background information of the song and help them with pronunciations. The whole thing might be much more meaningful coming from someone from that country, or an expert on that country and it’s language. Setting up a video conference with an expert on a specific topic would be a great way to engage and inform the students. We could even perform for our guest and receive feedback on the spot.

            Identifying pedagogy is a bit difficult in this situation. It would be a classroom discussion, but it could lead in an infinite number of directions. The guest could use a lecture or a more interactive approach. The guest may need guidance from me on how to approach the topic. He/she may have it already worked out in a way I cannot fathom. I will probably act as facilitator in this situation more than anything. I will need to make sure all of the right questions get answered without stepping on any toes or getting in the way of something great.

            As I stated before, many of the activities would be difficult to use in a music classroom. For instance, wikis are great education tools for classroom use, but probably not in my classroom. We often do group projects that require a lot of collaboration. The great thing is that the students are actually in my room working together on the projects. Separating them simply to require collaboration seems like a step backward to me. Often times, our collaborative activities are not discussion based, but composition based. It is very difficult to compose music in a wiki. I will keep my eye out for authentic and meaningful ways to use one that still fits the needs of my classroom.

Findings and Implications

Tai Kimmerly

Tammy Maginity

CEP-812 - Apply Educational Technology to Practice

08/07/11

Findings and Implications

            Though this project has not yet been implemented, I plan on implementing it as soon as school begins. Since it is summer, I have no students to practice with! However, in order to simulate how the excel file will work, I entered a fake class into my grade book, along with fake grades. The grade book automatically averaged all of the grades into a summary page. This is the information that I would enter into the students’ report cards, if they were real. The real challenge will be getting into the habit of using the tablet in my every day classroom. This will be the proof that the project is successful. If it is simple and handy enough to use on a regular basis, that is my definition of success. If I find myself jotting notes on pieces of paper because it is easier or more efficient than using my tablet, I will know that the project either needs changing or just will not work

            The problem of practice was focused on the recording and management of assessment results. Through an excel spreadsheet, I feel I have developed a very efficient system for keeping track of assessments for multiple classes and benchmarks. Grades will be kept in class files that I will be able to access through my Dropbox, or through Google Docs. I am going to try both methods with different classes and see which works better.

            If I tried anything like this again, I might contact someone with a greater knowledge of the program that I decided to use. While I feel very comfortable using Excel, and use it for a variety of things, I am sure there are better shortcuts that could make the process more efficient and effective. There are things that I would like to make a spreadsheet do, but am not aware of the program’s capabilities enough to accomplish it. It may very well not be capable of some tasks I imagine, I just don’t have the expertise to know.

Any lessons I learned are ones common to anyone working with a document on a computer. Save your work frequently. If something goes wrong, you don’t want to have to redo hundreds of cells worth of formulas. The benefit of using Google Docs in this situation is that it constantly saves changes. However, you also lose many of the formatting options available in Microsoft Excel. Also, buy your equipment at a store with a great return policy (not Toys R Us). That way, if your equipment doesn’t quite fit your needs, you can exchange it.

I also may decide to approach this project from a different perspective altogether in the future. If I knew anything about writing software, or had contacted someone who knew how to write software, I may have been able to accomplish some things that I could not accomplish in Excel. For instance, I would love for my grade book to be able to transfer grades into the school’s report card program. I don’t know if this is even possible, but if it is, that would be the next step.

Mobile Learning Lab

Tai Kimmerly

Tammy Maginity

CEP-812 - Apply Educational Technology to Practice

08/07/11

Mobile Learning Lab

      Honestly, I have absolutely no idea how I could involve cellular phones in my classroom in a meaningful and useful way. I see my students two or three times per week, and most of them do not have cell phones. I would actually have to buy a classroom set. I can think of many other things that I would purchase for my classroom before I would buy a set of cell phones. That being said, I would love to see how other music teachers use them in their classrooms. Maybe I am missing some wonderful application for them. Someone else in the class recently pointed out to me that he saw a concert where students did a rendition of a popular song on ipads. I am sure a similar thing can be done on phones as well. In the Cell Phones in Education group, I reached out to other music teachers to see what they have done with cell phones in their classrooms.

      In the polling section of this lab, I read about how teachers use cell phones to ask students questions through text messages. Maybe I am a 27 year old dinosaur, but I don’t have texting on my phone. I am cheap and do not want to pay the extra 5 dollars per month to become addicted to typing with my thumbs. That is exactly what would happen. I have however, done similar things with student clickers and it has worked very well. Since I do not have texting on my phone, I did not text the following survey to anyone:

 

      One thing that I do see as a possibility with mobile technology is the ability to text concert reminders to my parents. Right now, I send home countless reminders every year in paper form. I also send out reminders in the school news letter, email, class newsletters and planner reminders. However, I still get parents that tell me they never received the information. Maybe if they received a text message, they could immediately put the date into their personal calendars.

Wiki Lab

Tai Kimmerly

Melissa Jane White

CEP 811- Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education

07/31/2011

Wiki Lab

            I now realize that I probably should have added to a topic regarding education, but that did not occur to me until after I added to the Wikipedia article about raspberries. You see, I started the South Beach diet earlier this year and have since lost about twenty five pounds. During that time, I learned that the raspberry as one of the lowest glycemic loads when it comes to fruits. So, I found a webpage stating such and used it as a reference for my wiki fact. A screenshot is included below.

I created a wiki where parents can ask and answer each other’s questions regarding concerts and things they must order for their students. Linked to the main page is a page with any forms parents may need. I also created a page called Fun Stuff which houses a couple of widgets. I simply added this page just to use that feature because I hadn’t used them anywhere else yet. In the future, I plan to use them in better places. My new wiki can be found HERE.

I plan on adding to the “Idea Exchange for the EduTech Certificate Program” as soon as they accept me as a member. In the meantime, here is my entry:

Moyea: Moyea is a video file converter that successfully converts Jing files (swf) to a format that can easily be uploaded to youtube or any video editing program.

The reason this is important is because the free version of Jing does not allow you to upload directly to youtube. It also does not convert with most file converter programs. You end up with a video file that can only be shared via screencast. This allows teachers to create tutorials for their students that they can easily edit or upload wherever they wish. (Tai K. – White 07/31/11)

PART B – Storyboard and Script

Tai Kimmerly

Tammy Maginity

CEP-812 - Apply Educational Technology to Practice

07/23/11

PART B – Storyboard and Script

In this portion of the group leadership project, I personally participated in several ways. First, I helped Duane with the script. I wrote part of the “How to Create a Wiki” and the “Benefits of Using Wikis in the Classroom” section. Duane added to both sections as well. I will actually be creating the "How to Create a Wiki" tutorial with Jing in the next couple of days. I also went through the script and indicated what text went with each slide. I also did some basic editing of the script, but not much was needed.

Regarding the storyboard, there were a couple of other ways I participated. Karen created it with Google Presentation. While figuring out the script cues, I realized that more slides could be added for emphasis and engagement. So, I added some slides with sample pictures that could be changed or edited later after other group members gave their thoughts. I also found a couple of videos that could be used to demonstrate how wikis can be misused. They are from a current popular TV show that many adults may find familiar and entertaining. The storyboard can be found at STORYBOARD, and the the script can be found at SCRIPT.

Part C - Implementation

https://www.msu.edu/~kimmerl5/CEP811/WickedC.mp3

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Picture 4

Application of UDL Principles

 This assignment turned out to be a lot more difficult than I imagined. Sometimes there are no alternatives to how we present material. If I have a listening lesson, which this one is, there is no other way to present the material than to listen to it. A visual representation may be more confusing than providing nothing. And while I would love something that would provide vibrations that corresponded with what was happening in the music, I don't know if it exists. If it does exist, it probably exceeds my budget for the next two years. While I will try to apply these principles to my future lessons, I feel as though some of them simply don't work unless forced.

Scary Music UDL

Web-Conferencing

Tai Kimmerly

Tammy Maginity

CEP-812 - Apply Educational Technology to Practice

07/24/11

Web-Conferencing

            I met with one of my group members through Skype. Due to some miscommunications, I was not in attendance with the group for their meeting. This was very regrettable. However, it did give me a chance to use Skype and break out my new webcam. At first, I was frustrated by needing to download software. Normally I would not have minded, but I was on a friend’s computer. I had just spilled some green tea on my laptop computer and it was being understandably temperamental. So, in order to use Skype, and record the session, I had to download several different programs to someone else’s computer. I am pretty sure I removed them all when I was finished, but occasionally, other programs load beside the necessary software, only to be discovered later. After all programs were downloaded, it worked beautifully. I was quickly connected with my group member.

            The main problem I had was not with the programs, but with my email. The other people in my group seemed to have a lot of troubles with the program Vyew. While I was not able to experience it with them, I read about it in the transcript of their conversation. Apparently there was an issue with the audio and the viewing window was very small. I am aware that the Web-Conferencing lab asked us not to use Skype, but it was unfamiliar to me and the best option for me and the group member I met with. 
             Regarding educational use, I could connect my classroom with musicians, other classrooms or experts on topics we may be discussing. When I consider using it for professional development, many possibilities come to mind. I have several close friends who are also music teachers, but we rarely seem to be able to get together to discuss potential lesson ideas or other things that could help our teaching. We could set up chats, or create jing videos of things we are doing in our classrooms or programs we are using. I could use Skype to connect with other groups who meet to discuss similar things. I no longer need to travel far distances to find people with whom to discuss my field.

PART B - Application of TPACK

Tai Kimmerly

Tammy Maginity

CEP-812 - Apply Educational Technology to Practice

07/23/11

PART B - Application of TPACK

The technology supports my pedagogy in one main way. It will allow me to keep accurate records while assessing students in a meaningful way. Sometimes, recording assessments gets in the way of the actual assessment and affects the results. Using a tablet will allow me to have quick access to assessments and records without getting in the way of teaching.

While the use of a tablet will not directly affect the content of my lessons or the curriculum, it will allow me to focus more on my teaching of that content and the student learning. For this particular situation, the technology does not affect the content, except that it makes it easier for me to teach and record assessments.

The idea of this solution is that students will notice it less. This will allow me to have my class files that I need open and ready for the day so that I will be able to seamlessly assess students. For instance, if I am assessing singing voice, I can simply have the students lead the class in a song and I can jot down notes while I play the piano without them being any the wiser. This will not be used for one specific lesson, but daily. It is difficult to show the pedagogy and content knowledge because this is not geared toward one specific lesson, but daily activities.

PART A - Brainstorm Session

Tai Kimmerly

Tammy Maginity

CEP-812 - Apply Educational Technology to Practice

07/23/11

PART A - Brainstorm Session

My group used Vyew, but due to some miscommunications, I missed the session. I read the discussion after, though, and met with one of the group members again. Having an accurate record of what I missed was great, because I knew the things they decided on and what still needed to be done. The group was not a big fan of Vyew. Apparently there were some problems with the audio and the viewing window was very small. Although we were asked to not use Skype in the assignment, someone offered to review things with me through that method, so I went with it.

          Our presentation will be on using wikis in the classroom. We will be using SlideShare to present the material. Duane and I will be working on the script, Nicki on the wiki, Karen has the PowerPoint, and Jill will be voicing over the project. Those of us working on the script and PowerPoint are getting things done now, as well as our sample wiki. The voicing will be added later as well as a tutorial.

I was completely new to Skype, but it worked beautifully. I also tried to use Vodburner to record the session, but there were some glitches, so I used Jing. It cut me off right at the end of the conversation. So, I need to start using another casting program to record longer sessions. I have used Camtasia in the past to record a PowerPoint presentation, but it turned everything blue. I may have to try again.