Online Research Tools and Resources

List some similarities and differences between these three articles.
"Vacanti mouse"   
"Mouse with human ear"
"Artificial liver 'could be grown'"

(Venn Diagram made using Lucidchart)

Which site do you believe to most credible?  Why?  What would you do next to determine which is accurate?

By the amount and type of information presented, I would have to say the ABC Science article, "Mouse with human ear" is the most credible. First, the url suggests reliability with the suffix of the site address being ".net" versus ".com." In addition, the author, Dr. Karl S. Kruszelnicki has an extensive repertoire stemming from his 32-year media career. In contrast, the other articles are not specific in identifying their writers. The article from ABC Science also addresses the false interpretations of other media sources, including the misconceptions that the ear grown on the mouse was both of human origin and a product of genetic engineering. The progression of research presented in Dr. Karl's article also shows in-depth research and excellent text organization that thoroughly discusses the subject.

The next step in determining the accuracy of the articles would be to find additional articles that could either confirm or dispute the information presented in each of the articles represented here. For example, in the Wikipedia article "Vacanti mouse," by clicking on the reference article, "Transplantation of chondrocytes utilizing a polymer-cell construct to produce tissue-engineered cartilage in the shape of a human ear," additional research from the scholarly article (considered to be reliable) would confirm the information in both the Wikipedia and ABC Science articles.

Based on your own research and experience, discuss what you have learned in this activity about credible information and how you might teach your students to evaluate websites and other online resources.

One thing that I have learned in this class and will remember always is this: Teachers are no longer responsible to teach content (students can Google practically anything). Rather, teachers need to teach students how to sift through the atrocious amount of information on the internet in order to responsibly choose the most reliable, trustworthy information out there. According to Angela Bunyi in the article, "Identifying Reliable Sources and Citing Them," the important task of teaching students how to find reliable sources and trustworthy information should start when students are first introduced to the internet, as early as first grade.

One place to start is creating a checklist for assessing the reliability of an internet source based on certain criteria, such as presented in the article, "Criteria For Evaluating Web Sites." Students should have to go through the process of verifying information on each website they visit prior to using information from that source. Richard Byrne's article, "9 Resources for Website Evaluation Lessons," contains links to a wealth of information for both assessing internet source credibility as well as lesson plans to teach this skill to students of all ages. This is an excellent source to start to gather ideas for preparing students to become more savvy, well-informed users of technology. As I am a middle school language arts teacher myself, I will definitely be creating a checklist for students to use in every research project and essay they will create this year.

**After further research and assistance from a fellow classmate (thanks Noel!), I wanted to amend my statement about the reliability of ".net" sites. Pages using the ".net" suffix is really a "catch-all" site that needs to be thoroughly investigated for reliability.

Flipping the Classroom

Discuss your thoughts about flipping the classroom. What are the benefits, challenges? How might you overcome them?

I had never heard of "flipping the classroom" before this EDCS 480 class. It is a new concept to me and at first I was skeptical because it seemed to totally go against the traditional way of teaching. However, after I began reading and watching the videos about this relatively new way of delivering instruction, I became more and more excited to try it in my own classroom!

As my interest in the flipped classroom increased, I did some of my own research about how I could use this method in my English Language Arts class. The idea that students would be able to view podcasts or videos of the writing process at home and then bring their pre-writing to class along with any questions or concerns they have is an awesome concept! Aaron Sams, a teacher at Woodland Park High School has had much success with the flipped classroom method of teaching. In the video "The Flipped Classroom," Mr. Sams discusses the advantages by stating that the students "show up for class to apply the things they learned at home or ask questions about what they learned at home." He reports that he is no longer that teacher who stands up in front of the class and lectures. "I walk around the class and help kids."

One of the downsides to flipping the classroom as reported by Alan November and Brian Mull in "Flipped Learning: A Response To Five Common Criticisms" is the notion that it makes the teacher much less important. However, according to Sal Khan in the video "Future Learning: Sal Khan," in a flipped classroom, teachers become vessels of experience, knowledge, mentorship, and humanity.

According to November and Mull, another challenge teachers report when using the flipped classroom model is the idea that kids don't want to sit at home and watch boring videos. As Paul Jantse, Carolyn Dusty, and Graham Johnson state in their video "The Flipped Classroom as a Vehicle to the Future," one of the exciting things about flipping the classroom is that teachers are able to unite content areas to make it more relevant for students. Sal Khan also addresses the idea of the "boring video" by affirming that he only makes videos that he is excited about. Therefore, his excitement translates through his videos and onto the students. He believes that in order for students to learn, they must have a desire to do so.

A huge concern for the teaching community is that students may not have access to the internet and technology they need to view the podcasts or videos at home. This was initially a concern of mine as well. However, as I began to work with my administrators, several options were presented to me that would make access to technology a moot point. As November and Mull state, there is also the option to create DVDs or to provide rentals of technological devices.

Another big challenge that could potentially hamper the success of a flipped classroom is accountability for watching or listening to content at home. According to November and Mull, one of the ways to assure student participation is, "Teachers should be posting thought provoking questions that guide students as they explore the at-home material." The thought that students may be bored or not engaged in the material may also be a challenge that has to do with accountability. Allowing students to be self-directed by providing instant feedback and interactive features, may cause the curriculum to become more interesting and promote student participation.

Overall, I firmly believe that flipping the classroom is a technique worth implementing. The notion that I can become a teacher who is interactive and involved rather than the boring type who stands at the head of the class is intriguing to me. The idea that students will be able to experience a classroom in which they truly love learning makes the flipped classroom the way to go!

Building a Personal PLN (Professional Learning Network)

How do you currently network and learn about teaching resources? What have you learned from reading and watching the resources provided? What will you do to expand your PLN?

I must admit that I haven't used very many online resources to gain teaching resources, even though the internet is chock-full of tools for educators to use. I have been very reluctant to network with other teachers outside of my immediate vicinity (my school), other than to look for unit/lesson plan ideas online.

I DO have personal accounts on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and more recently Edmodo, all of which I consider tools for establishing a Personal Professional Learning Network. The most used of these networking sites for me are Pinterest and Facebook. I mostly use Pinterest for DIY projects and recipes. However, after reading the article "Five follow-worthy ed-tech Pinterest boards" by Laura Devaney, I have added lots of tech-savvy pins to my "School Stuff" board! (Click here to view my Pinterest board.) According to Devaney, social media venues such as Pinterest are "continuing to influence how educators collaborate and teach."

Twitter is another tool that educators can use to engage and promote technology use in the classroom. In the article "How Twitter Can Be Used as a Powerful Educational Tool," Alan November and Brian Mull point out the effectiveness of Twitter as a way for students and teachers to connect globally. By tagging tweets and organizing them into accessible categories of information, students have access to authentic views of world events directly from the people who experience them. November and Mull also highlight the use of Twitter in the classroom by showing the actual connections made by a teacher and her students. There is much to learn from Mrs. Caviness's experience using Twitter, and this example sparked my desire to revive my own Twitter account.

The most recent tool I have found to be extremely useful is Edmodo. By joining communities (like Language Arts), I am able to connect with other Language Arts teachers around the world. Teachers post information, unit/lesson plans, ideas, and questions, on which other educators share their experience and knowledge. There is no formal protocol and teachers are very eager to help. In her video "Importance of a PLN in Education," Kelsey Wilkinson states, "With an online PLN, there are no limitations to who you can learn from and share ideas with."

The next steps to extend my PLN are to use these resources to their full potential. I will make a point to peruse and pin more targeted information for use in my classroom, post and glean information from other educators on Edmodo, and use my Twitter account both as a global connection tool as well as a learning tool for student responses.