Horizon Finally Reached

Wooohooo!!! Today is one hell of a glorious day folks. I've finished my ICT Portfolio!!!!

To view the final product please visit: www.krystalrpearsonswiki.wetpaint.com. I tried to create links so that you could actually see the items I produced however some took a very long time to upload while others will selectively work :P. Feel free to make a comment or provide a statement of support =).

Good luck to all those still motoring along to complete their portfolio and best wishes for your finals =).

Over and out,
*Krys*

Marathon #2

Yes today was a big day but I'm very pleased with my progress =).

Today I focused on completing:

1. Context and Belief Statement
2. Descriptions for all ICT items and
3. The rubrics for all ICT items.

Because my lecturer has not yet posted the portfolio guidelines I decided that a 300 word limit for 1. and 2. were reasonable. Additionally I concluded that a one page rubric will be quite sufficient for assessing each ICT item. Currently I have only two rubrics. The first rubric is designed to assess student's ability to effectively use MS Publisher and MS Excel. The second rubric on the other hand, will assess student's ability to use the provided MS Word document so to accurately execute graphics calculator functions.

So lets regroup and reflect on what is left to be done:

1. software OR website evaluation,
2. statement of support (obtaining and providing one),
3. contribution to a peer's Wiki,
4. uploading all the documents I said I'd upload onto my Wiki space.

So far I think that's about it. No doubt I'll remember something as soon as I post this blog. Well I guess that's it from me for now.

Until next time; take care,

*Krys*

Marathon Effort

You wouldn't believe it folks!

Yes I have finally completed all my ICT items- YAY! Hopefully by the end of the day I will have posted them on my wiki site- www.krystalrpearsonswiki.wetpaint.com. Please feel free to visit and give me some advice, I'd love to know what you think. However, it may be difficult to understand what and how they are doing to be used within the classroom as I have yet to write the 'Descriptions' for each ICT item. Therefore it may be best to wait until I have these completed first.

I am still a little confused as to how I will present my Excel item. Orginally I thought we were required to produce the print screens of the functions students will be required to use. However, I am under the impression that maybe I am supposed to provide an example of the finished product. I will try and get some clarification on this by the end of next week from my lecturer =).

Until next time,
*Krys*

Lesson Plans Completed- woohoo!!!

Hello Hello Hello,

Wells I’ve finally completed two lesson plans that clearly highlight how and where two of my ICT items (Word with graphics calculators and Excel) are integrated into the unit. I think by completing these lesson plans, this will assist me in describing how the appropriate incorporation of these ICT items will ensure a more productive and effective learning experience for students.

I have not created a lesson plan to show how Publisher fits into the unit. However, my unit plan should be sufficient. Students only use Publisher when they are required to complete the assessment task for the unit. In saying this I will not be developing the actual assessment task sheet. Rather I will just describe the task requirements and students outcomes.

Tomorrow I plan to focus on either:

• View and analyse suggested context and belief statements to get and idea of what my lecturer is looking for, OR
• Start constructing the descriptions for my ICT items.
  Wish me luck…

Cheerio,
*Krys*

ICT Item Dilemmas

Howdy troopers,

Well it’s is now week 12 and after this weeks lecture I have come across a slight dilemma with how I will actually produce print screen for the graphics calculator (GC) tasks. Unfortunately due to the fact that I do not have a special cord that connects the handheld GC to the computer which runs the program TI-83 plus, I cannot produce print screens that demonstrate how the GC will look on the board. I did contemplate on taking digital camera shots of my handheld GC to demonstrate what the projector will produce on the board for the students. I have spoken to my lecturer about this concept but unfortunately I can not use this idea.

As a consequence I have decided to alter my ICT item so that screen prints can be posted. Therefore I will use the digital photographs to make a word document that will explain how to perform a statistical analysis on a GC and the output they should receive.

At this stage I will stick to my initial plan of using Excel and Publisher for my other two ICT items. Luckily with these two programs I will be able to produce print screens easily. In my portfolio I plan to provide actual examples of the documents that students will produce during the class activities or for the assignment.

Currently I have spent about two weeks now waiting for my lecturer to develop the specific guidelines for each of the portfolio sections. Unfortunately they are still unavailable and the due date is fast approaching. I have decided that I cannot wait any longer as I have other assignments I must also complete. Hence my plan is to really get stuck into this portfolio in the next week =). So from here on in, my posts may be more frequent then they have been in the past.

Until next time; take care and be sure to enjoy the rest of your week and weekend =)
*Krys*

Unit Plan Completed

Howdy all!

Well the majority of my day has be spent working on my ICT portfolio. My aim was to basically sit down with my Portfolio Plan and really think through how I was going to:

1. Present my portfolio on my wiki and in hardcopy,
2. Ensure my ICT items are integrated such that student learning really is enhanced,
3. Present each ICT item as evidence within my portfolio and
4. Identify 'important topics' to cover within my belief statement.

I did have some success in completing my unit plan which highlights where and how my ICT items will be incorporated into the year 8 statistics unit. However I feel that a detailed lesson plan will really demonstrate how these item will compliment my teaching practices so that student learning and understanding is best facilitated and thus enhanced. Constructing these lesson plans will 'force' me to think how these ICT tools will help students and how I can implement appropriately. Consequently this is also assist me in writing a more concise and direct description for each ICT item.

I am hoping to complete the lesson plans in the next couple of days. This ofcourse will depend on how I go with my 5 other assignments- ahhh the joys of being a Uni student =P. Currently I am also hoping that Max will post the guidelines for the final submission of the Protfolio really soon too.

Well that's it from me! Take care troops and I'll check in with you later,

*Krys*

MY WIKI!!!

You wouldn't believe it folks... but this wee wittle cookie just set up her very first Wiki site woooohoooo!!!! My intesion is to run this website in conjuction with my Blog.

This Blog will be primarily used to keep you informed of my progress and will redirect you to my Wiki where I will actually showcase some of my works =). I have also created some space on my Wiki site where you can leave comments on individual components or the whole website in general. I urge to take a squiz as often as you can and lend some as advice.

Opps... yes well the web address of my wiki site you be helpful wouldn't it? So here it:
http://krystalrpearsonswiki.wetpaint.com/

Wells happy viewing folks and I'll catch you next time,
Cheerio
*Krys*