John Jenkins Portfolio

Webquest

2010-11-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

htyert

Animoto Slide show

2008-05-15T23:40:00.000-07:00

This slide show was presented by Animoto.com. It's fast-paced modern style of presentation is a BIG plus!

Flat Stanley Slide Show on Picture Trail

2008-05-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

Picture Trail was a nice program as it was very user-friendly. I experimented with many of the designs and templates and found one suitable enough to at least display its potential. Although I don't care too much for all the glitter and bling, it was fun to experiment with all of Picture trail's many capabilities. Both Picture Trail and Flickr are both user-friendly, but Picture trail is a little more superior in it's features as well as with the ease of uploading the html.

2008-05-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Professional Portfolio Link below:

johnjenkins.weebly.com

Flat Stanley Video Project

2008-05-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

My lesson with the students was to first read the Flat Stanley book to them and introduce them to the assignment. Next I had them color and cut out their Flat Stanleys and then write in their journals about what they did with him while he was still in Saipan. When I returned to the class, they prepared letters to their "pen-pals" in the states and sent them off instructing the recipients to take Flat Stanley to various places in their location that are of historical or cultural significance. The recipients of these Flat Stanleys were also asked to log into the provided journal with an entry of where he went and what he did.

The students LOVED working on their Flat Stanleys and enjoyed every moment of the project from when I was there. They were a little disappointed that they had to cover their faces due to the fact that this was to be shown over the internet, but they were understanding. They loved the coloring and creative writing from their own journals. Most journals were about what the students did with Flat Stanley while on Saipan.

Since I've been a classroom teacher for 11 years, I have already had many experiences working with students on projects such as that with Flat Stanley. In fact, our class was a recipient of Flat Stanley for two years in a row. As you will see in the slide show and movie, Flat "Shawna" took a visit to a couple of sites in Saipan such as Bird Island and Old Man by the Sea (with the help of Photoshop of course). There are no changes that I would have made. But I DO like the idea of having the students put their own names next to the "Flat" as that gives each of them the chance to travel around the world to different locations. It also gives each of them a chance to do their own journaling with the cut out of themselves. I would also think about the ideas of upgrading the Flat Stanley project with more technology including Blogging (instead of journaling), e-mailing (instead of snail-mail), and using digital photo-editing (such as what I had done previously with my students).

What I learned most from doing this project, was how to "technologize" it into a creative movie and slide show. I also was able to put in some of my music into the background :). But the most important thing is that the students learned a lot with letter and journal-writing and also had fun reading their journals in front of the classroom. Overall, it was a fun and great learning experience!

View Flat Stanley Here from Jumpcut site.

Using Techlonology to assist Language Learning

2008-05-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

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1) I learned a LOT from this presentation assignment with regards to how to use power-point on the internet. Following the motto: "Death to Power-point," I was able to make my presentation interactive with various links that were used as examples for the point I was making from each slide. I also learned a lot about CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) as a major part of the research of the presentation. I found many of my resources to be very useful including the WIKI demonstration, which I wished we had more time to experiment with in creating flashcards.

2) I had the most difficulty with the Elluminate Live operations, specifically with attaching the URL addresses to post on the web-board for all to see. This slowed me down as I had to type everything in manually without being able to copy and paste for some reason. If I were to do this presentation again, I would hope to have more practice ahead of time with posting websites and operation features of the Elluminate Live. I had very little difficulty with the Slide-share program itself. I would have also liked to have had more time to experiment and dialog about the program examples especially with my WIKI flashcard activity. I would also probably tone it down on some of the goofy pictures, especially since this is intended to be viewed in a professional setting (I did edit some of the pictures in the slides for this reason).

3) I would definitely use this slide-share program again in my future online courses that I teach. This was a very beneficial resource for me.

2008-05-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

I've used rubistar many times in my teaching experiences both in Elementary School and for my college students. It is a great site and so easy to create rubrics for all types of activities and presentations. I would have to say that there are some things that cannot be assessed by means of a rubric. Turning the assignment in on time is an example of one that is either a "yes" or a "no." This is not really a dislike, but a limitation to what a rubric is able to assess. I will continue using rubistar 4teachers as part of my grading evaluations for all my students.

Crossword Puzzle in Excel

2008-05-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

1) I like how this activity allows for students and teachers to use Excel as well as to work on a fun educational activity game, such as with this word-search. To teach students to use Excel or any other program, it is recommended that it be applied to a practical hands-on activity. This will create high motivation as the project is authentic and fun (for both students and teachers).

2) It is important to keep parents informed about what goes on in the classroom, because parents need to be involved in their children's education. They need to be able to support what happens in the classroom, should homework assignments or in-class activities require extra assistance.

3) Yes, this project will most definitely help both students AND teachers to learn vocabulary as well as the technology of Excel.

4) I don't think I would do anything different next time for this project.

Web Quest

2008-03-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

The following link will take you to my web-quest: It's not for the birds Web-Quest.

1) I chose this concept because I thought it was unique and tied in with learning about the 50 states.
2) I chose this topic because my Uncle owns a bird farm in Southern California and thus I have an interest in knowing more about birds.
3) Web-quest is a great way for students to navigate through the web in search of specific tasks related to their assignments.
4) I learned a lot about Web-quest and that it is an option for students in becoming technologically literate.
5) I liked almost everything about the software, but there were some links that did not work properly even though I put in the correct URL address (such as with blogger.com and with a couple of my resource pages). I also wish that "Resources" were included in the template on the student page because I had to create links to get back and forth from the resources on the teacher page to the student page.
6) I would like to experiment more with the links and perhaps be able to provide students with more resources.

Critique of Engrade Software

2008-02-18T17:44:00.001-08:00

1) Above is a sample from my Drama in Education class which I used as the class to experiment with this software. (I hid the names of the students for privacy). This software is very comparable to what I am already using with grade-keeper. I like all the features and its user-friendliness. In addition to grade-keeper, students are able to send messages to the instructor (hopefully nice messages:))

2) I really cannot think off-hand what additional features would improve Engrade. It seems to have everything needed for a teacher. Perhaps there could be an additional option for the grades to be sent directly to a record-keeping department of the school, such as an "admissions and records" office. I would think that in addition to posting the grades online, it would be important for the Principal or office staff to be involved as well. Students' messages to their teachers may also need to be monitored or recorded as well--in case students write negative comments for a grade they received.

3) I cannot see any reason why this software would not be useful for classroom teachers. As I said before, it seems VERY useful and user-friendly. The only thing I suggest is that hard-copies of grades be kept on file in case an internet disaster strikes.

4) Students and parents will appreciate the fact that they can access their (their child's) grade online. Comments to the teachers need to be monitored and censored. If parents have a conflict with a grade or the teacher, it should be emphasized that a conference with the teacher face-to-face is more appropriate that trying to deal with it in writing

Gliffy Web of Three Little Bears

2008-02-10T01:49:00.000-08:00

1) The characterization I chose for this project were the shapes and images from Gliffy. I chose this idea as a way to web out children's stories such as The Three Little Bears, as an example of what student can do with their own stories that they read in class. Or in this case, what prospective elementary school teachers can teach to their students. The Learning outcome for this assignment is for students to use technology as a way to "map" out the story elements of any children's literature. This mind map will improve my student's learning of the concept from its colorful and professional looking design, which will enhance their ability to visualize the stories that they read.
2) The most important lesson learned from this assignment was from the features of Gliffy and how they were used to create.
3) I like the software of Gliffy and I wish it was free for life! Unfortunately, some of my students in the other class found it difficult and frustrating to use, perhaps due to the computers they were using at the time.
4) I would definitely use this program (or something else like it) again and I am not sure that I would change anything in my mind-maps, though I would want to use it again as an example for other stories that we may do in class.