(1) Record Keeping: Teachers have a professional responsibility to monitor, record and communicate student progress. Many schools and districts have adopted networked grading systems, and some publish grades on secure websites. Use a your school's gradebook program to develop a report for a real or hypothetical class of ten or more students who are assessed on five or more assignments. Submit a printout of your gradebook and the detailed report card (progress report) for an individual student. If you do not have access to such a program, you may use Gradekeeper or download a sample shareware "gradebook" program. (2) Assessment: Teachers must regularly assess student progress. Many textbook publishers make test construction easier by providing test generators, software which allows the teacher to quickly compose tests and keys from question databases. Test generators allow the teacher to input questions, and often provide databases of questions the teacher can select from. *TPE-tip A well-structured exam may be used as an artifact for TPE3, Interpretation and Use of Assessments. Use a test generator to construct an exam composed of questions you have selected from existing question banks. Software such as Examview allows teachers to develop tests and post them on the Internet. Take this short physics quiz generated with the Examview, or this geology quiz made with Quizmaker. Include a screen capture of your score 1
(actual score is inconsequential) and discuss the benefits and problems associated with online testing. The following is a test which contains hidden answers. Mi nombre 1. Qué significado tiene el nombre Esperanza? El significado es espera y es muy largo. 2. Además de la niña que cuenta la historia, quién se llamaba Esperanza? La bisabuela tiene el mismo nombre que Esperanza. 3. Por qué dice la narradora que es mala suerte nacer en el año chino del caballo si eres mujer? Es mala suerte porque las mujeres que nacen en este ano son muy fuertes e independientes. 4. Qué hizo el bisabuelo de Esperanza pare que su bisabuela se casara con él? El bisabuelo tuvo que raptar a la bisabuela. Se la llevo a la fuerza. 5. Cómo se quisiera llamar Esperanza? Esperanza se quiere llamar Susana, Maritza, o Carla. This is the answer key of the previous test. Mi nombre 6. Qué significado tiene el nombre Esperanza? El significado es espera y es muy largo. 7. Además de la niña que cuenta la historia, quién se llamaba Esperanza? La bisabuela tiene el mismo nombre que Esperanza. 2
8. Por qué dice la narradora que es mala suerte nacer en el año chino del caballo si eres mujer? Es mala suerte porque las mujeres que nacen en este ano son muy fuertes e independientes. 9. Qué hizo el bisabuelo de Esperanza pare que su bisabuela se casara con él? El bisabuelo tuvo que raptar a la bisabuela. Se la llevo a la fuerza. 10. Cómo se quisiera llamar Esperanza? Esperanza se quiere llamar Susana, Maritza, o Carla. The above results are an example of a test generated on the computer with a testgenerator software. By having students take these types of exams, they are able to obtain instant results. It is also easier for teachers because they do not have to spend a great amount of time correcting papers at home. This type of tests work if they are formatted as multiple-choice questions. As seen in the above example, the open-ended questions were not graded. (3) Communication: Students benefit when teachers clearly state their expectations in written form. When these expectations are availalbe on the Internet, all students and parents can benefit, particularly students who have been absent. A variety of commercial resources exist with which teachers can post calendars, homework assignments, and other important documents. 3
Put your class assignments on the web at Yourhomework, SchoolNotes or similar service. Include a screen capture of your published assignment schedule. (4) Presentations: Presentation software provides teachers the opportunity to display text and graphics in a slide show fashion. PowerPoint and Keynote are two of the most popular presentation tools. Teachers and professors make extensive use of presentations, but many are concerned about the potentially negative effects such presentations can have on instruction. *TPE-tip A well developed educational presentation can serve as an artifact for TPE 4, Making Content Accessible, or TPE 10, Instructional Time, if used with presenter tools. 4
After reading the articles on the educational use and abuse of presentation software, summarize how presentations should be constructed and delivered to maximize learning and minimize abuse. Locate and and download one or more PowerPoint presentations relevant to your teaching needs. Include the URL of the location from which you obtained them and summarize the PowerPoint and where in your curriculum you will use it. Make a PowerPoint presentation to teach a lesson in your subject area, keeping in mind the principles you have outlined above and the guidelines provided (see tutorial). Provide an electronic copy of your presentation as well as a 3-slide or 6- slide per page summary in the portfolio. Using iphoto (Mac), Picasa (Windows), or similar slide viewer software, create a photo library for your discipline. Create two or three slide shows from the library. Include a screen shot of the slide sorter window for one of your shows. Presentational software should be use appropriately in order to be effective. Many educators tend to misuse this software and end up with negative results. Presentational software should be a visual tool and not something that students read and write notes from. For example, a good PowerPoint presentation should not include lots of text. It should have lots of pictures and the main points. It is something to guide the instructor and not to disconnect him or her from the class. There should be interaction between students and teachers during the presentation. The following is a PowerPoint presentation for a Spanish class for native Spanish Speaker. It contains lots of pictures and the main points of the presentation. It does not include lots of writing or notes for students to copy. 5
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(5) Other resources: Complete three of the following, using content related to your curriculum whenever possible. Use Timeliner to create a timeline relevant to the curriculum you teach. Develop an educational digital video. Construct a professional resume using Word. Develop a concept map with graphics and text. Create a crossword puzzle or other puzzle relevant to your class. Create and conduct an on-line survey form for one of your classes. Find the lowest cost of a specific piece of equipment (projector, computer, digital camera, etc.) for your classroom, or the best airfare to attend a professional conference. www.puzzlemaker.com - Educators are able to create puzzles and word searches to help students review vocabulary and other assignments in a fun way. 7
The software, Imagination provides teachers with great tools to incorporate in their classroom. Tables and concept maps help students reinforce their learning. 8
This is a Spanish conference that I found and that I would like to attend. It is in New York City on July 28 th. The following is the cheapest airfare from California to New York. 9
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