In order to better serve our teachers, I established a limited number of Premium Spelling City accounts for my English teachers. This meant purchasing 600 student premium licenses. After establishing this service with the teachers and students in the English classes, I was approached by the B.Ed courses with a request for licenses for their department as well. Spelling City was really working well.
So, I purchased more licenses. Eventually we ended up with 1000 licenses for spelling city.
At the end of the semester it was important to me to evaluate exactly how helpful this service was, so I sent out a survey of all of the teachers who had the option to use it. I included the Math teachers, who did not use spelling city and they expressed a desire for the service but felt that it did not currently fit into their curriculum. I think that we may be able to encourage the math teachers to include Spelling City as an independent activity for at risk students.
Regardless, I have created a Prezi presentation on the results of the survey and would like to post the link here. You are welcome to examine it and post any comments you feel would add to the experience.
http://prezi.com/xlrvwo1x2cpi/spelling-city/
Wednesday
Tuesday
The How and Why of PLNs 2
The title of the following (older) post is a link to the Prezi presentation and The handout is here: http://www.slideshare.net/Jonessensei/personal-learning-networks-7623819
The presentation went really well, and I enjoyed sharing with the people who attended. I wish there had been a few more local teachers able to attend, but that is ok. I will be re-presenting this session at the Al Najah conference in May. Due to time constraints I will have to cut this 55 minute presentation into 30 minutes. This will be an interesting thing to do. I intend to cut out half of my beginning, where I explain what a PLN is, as well as cut a good portion of the research. As it is, the presentation was nearly 2 hours long with all the research left in. I cut it hugely before the presentation I gave. It is so hard to cut and figure out what people will want to know more about. I think if I skim the research and touch on the most important pieces it will work fine. I want to keep all of the section on How to build a PLN because there are always so many teachers in this setting who simply don't know how to do it at all.
I only wish I could do this as more of a workshop than a presentation. But I will offer for anyone who wants it, and I can always do videos on Teacher Tube of how to set up the PLN using my recommended sites. In fact, I think I will try that next.
Thanks to anyone who attended.
The presentation went really well, and I enjoyed sharing with the people who attended. I wish there had been a few more local teachers able to attend, but that is ok. I will be re-presenting this session at the Al Najah conference in May. Due to time constraints I will have to cut this 55 minute presentation into 30 minutes. This will be an interesting thing to do. I intend to cut out half of my beginning, where I explain what a PLN is, as well as cut a good portion of the research. As it is, the presentation was nearly 2 hours long with all the research left in. I cut it hugely before the presentation I gave. It is so hard to cut and figure out what people will want to know more about. I think if I skim the research and touch on the most important pieces it will work fine. I want to keep all of the section on How to build a PLN because there are always so many teachers in this setting who simply don't know how to do it at all.
I only wish I could do this as more of a workshop than a presentation. But I will offer for anyone who wants it, and I can always do videos on Teacher Tube of how to set up the PLN using my recommended sites. In fact, I think I will try that next.
Thanks to anyone who attended.
Thursday
The How and Why of PLNs
This Saturday (and again in May) I am doing a presentation on using PLNs. This topic is hot right now and it should be. This is a fantastic way of controlling the constant intake of information that we must field as teachers every day. It is also a good way of teaching the students to make appropriate educational connections that will help them in their future acquisition of knowledge.
Anyway, the title is a link to the Prezi presentation and I will have the slideshare handout document shared in a few moments. I just have to finish the last touches. Hope you find this useful.
Anyway, the title is a link to the Prezi presentation and I will have the slideshare handout document shared in a few moments. I just have to finish the last touches. Hope you find this useful.
Sunday
Workshops
Recently my presentations have been more focused for students, so I have not been posting a lot. Having moved into the Independent Learning Coordinator position, the students are my main concern and their independence as learners is my primary focus. I have added the link to one of my many presentations that I have been giving. This one is my favorite Tool, Snag-It. I am also working on a new presentation for TESOL Arabia on PLEs in the UAE. I will post it here before I present.
Monday
Expanding Reading with an Integrated wik
This year for TESOL Arabia in March 2010 I am presenting on a project that I tried out in my English class involving expanding reading using a wiki that integrated skills and encouraged student autonomy.
Thursday
More Resources
I have found a few new resources and want to get them up before the semester ends and I forget or lose track of these excellent resources.
http://stripgenerator.com/ Another great E-Comic site that allows comic blogging as well. I think it could be used in conjunction with a restricatable blog site to allow your students to create blog strips for regular concise writing practice.
www.emints.org Professional development for educators by educators, interesting start.
www.fykz.com Hong Kong Movies for subtitling
That is it for today, but I have so much more to share.
I can't wait for next year. I plan to do an entire semester of work with Xtranormal. There are people at the men's college who heard about it from my presentation (or from attendees... thanks guys!) who are now using it prolifically! I am so excited and can't wait to see what comes of this. These tools are a great way to motivate, to excite, and to produce so much in the way of language.
Xtranormal is also being examined at the lower elementary levels by teachers here in the UAE as well. I am so glad to have spread the news. It is exciting to know that your sharing is going somewhere.
http://stripgenerator.com/ Another great E-Comic site that allows comic blogging as well. I think it could be used in conjunction with a restricatable blog site to allow your students to create blog strips for regular concise writing practice.
www.emints.org Professional development for educators by educators, interesting start.
www.fykz.com Hong Kong Movies for subtitling
That is it for today, but I have so much more to share.
I can't wait for next year. I plan to do an entire semester of work with Xtranormal. There are people at the men's college who heard about it from my presentation (or from attendees... thanks guys!) who are now using it prolifically! I am so excited and can't wait to see what comes of this. These tools are a great way to motivate, to excite, and to produce so much in the way of language.
Xtranormal is also being examined at the lower elementary levels by teachers here in the UAE as well. I am so glad to have spread the news. It is exciting to know that your sharing is going somewhere.
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