My Thoughts on Effective Assessment.....

Since I'm a new teacher Dr. Michels has got me thinking quite a bit about what effective assessment actually is. In my opinion it is basically something that gives feedback to both the student and the teacher.

From a student's perspective they gain important feedback from both summative and formative assessment. For this assessment to be effective it needs to inform the student, whether it is positive or negative feedback. The same can be said for the teacher, the feedback they get from assessment is what will help them decide if they need to regroup, move on or change their teaching method.

For teachers constantly assessing their students can help lead to a successful classroom as students will be taught the content that needs to be worked on and students will not be rushed forward into new content. If they are rushed there could be big problems leaving the student farther and farther behind as the school year moves on. Effective assessment can stop this problem from occurring in the classroom.

So in my opinion effective assessment is the use of both summative and formative assessment strategies in the classroom that will benefit the students learning as they continue to move forward in the classroom.

Step-by-Step Procedure for Creating a Web Page Using Freewebs

There are a few free websites available on the internet so you can create your web page. Freewebs is the one that I used to create my first teacher website.

1. Go to http://www.members.freewebs.com/
2. Click on the orange Start Now. You will have to enter your information and create an account. Click on the blue button that says Go.
3. Next, choose a template. After you click on the one you want, it will ask you if you are sure. If you are click OK.
4. Choose a site title, what your site is about, and the location. Click the blue button that says Done. It may take a really long time for the page to load.
5. The next page you see is a “Welcome to Freewebs” page. You will have two choices: Help Me Build My Site or Start Building My Own. The first choice is best if it is your first time to do this.
6. Then you will pick the type of site you want—Personal, Professional/Business, or Clubs/Groups. Depending on which one you choose, it gives you basic pages and optional pages for your website. When you are done click OK.
7. Now you are ready to build your site.
8. You can update, add or delete pages or items and even change your template by logging into your account.
9. Your website name will be http://www.freewebs.com/username

Here are a couple of more sites that have free web pages:
Google
Geocities

Instructions to Convert a You Tube Video into a Power Point Presentation

Technology in the classroom is constantly changing and it will continue to be a challenge as we go forward toward the future. MySpace, Facebook and YouTube are becoming increasingly popular among students. I found that you can download a YouTube video and insert it in a PowerPoint presentation. I used it in my Psych presentation on "Bereavement Overload". Below are the instructions that I composed at the Psychology professor's request. Feel free to use them for your classroom presentations

1) Type in or click on the following web address: http://www.videocodezone.com/conversion.php. You can download AND convert on this website and best of all it is FREE!

2) Open another browser and go to http://www.youtube.com to find the video you want. All videos have a URL address that goes with that video. Highlight all of that video’s web address (URL) and paste it into the address bar that says FROM URL on the http://www.videocodezone.com/conversion.php. (see below)

Video Conversion From URL

3)

From URL: eg: http://youtube.com/watch?v=k66epna2Sss Output Format: 3GP/3G2 Video (.3gp) Audio Video Interleave (.avi) Apple Quicktime (.mov) Motion Picture Expert Group (.mpg, .mpeg, .vob) MPEG-4 (.mp4) AMV Video Format (.amv) Flash SWF (.swf) Game Psp(.psp) Divx AVI,Xvid AVI (.avi) Flv Video (.flv) Mpeg4 Mov(.mov) IPOD MP4 Video (.mp4) PLAYSTATION (PSP) MP4 Video (.mp4) MP3 (.mp3)

3) Then choose the VIDEO OUTPUT you want. The recommended video outputs are .mov and .mpg (.avi is not recommended).

4) Click on the CONVERT/DOWNLOAD button. (This will take some time so be patient.)

5) After a short time another web address will appear. RIGHT CLICK on that address and SAVE TARGET AS. You can save it where you want it on your computer.

6) Now you have a copy of that YouTube video on your computer that you can burn to a CD, insert into a PowerPoint presentation or just keep for future uses.

Tips on E-mail Etiquette

E-mail is an essential tool in the business world and is a major source of communication between employees to its use as a marketing tool. Having students learn good e-mail etiquette is very important in todays global marketplace. Here are some tips to sending a good e-mail correspondence.

• Consider composing offline
• Don't say anything you don't want others to read.
• Make the message relative to your audience.
• Write short messages limited to one idea and one screen.
• Get addresses correct.
• Use appropriate subject lines, descriptive and concise.
• Include a salutation and closing to personalize the message.
• Don't use all CAPS or all lower case.
• Resist humor.
• Avoid jargon, technical words, and shortened terms.
• Use proper punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization.
• Be concise - don't use unnecessary information.
• Don't use background formating, clip art, color type and unusual fonts.
• Use graphic highlights to enhance important information.
• Use a signature line with all your contact information.
• Double check (proofread, proofread, proofread) before hitting send.
• Make sure your message is sent.
• Do not send messages when you are ANGRY.
• Don't forward a message without permission.
• Be selective - send only to the appropriate parties.
• Consider cultural differences.
• Include just enough of the prior messages to remind the receiver why you are writing - just don't keep hitting reply.
• Last but certainly not the least - maintain and use current up-to-date virus protection.

My Praxis Experience....

I'm sitting here at my desk trying to figure out what to write about for my first blog when I look up and see my Business Ed Praxis score report I received in the mail yesterday. I had been working at the Webb City Jazz Festival all day Saturday so I didn't get to look at the mail until late in the day. I had been expecting it all week since the Praxis website showed February 9th as the date that the score reports would be mailed for those who took the January 12th test. At first I couldn't bring myself to open it to see if I had passed or would I have go through that "wonderful" experience again? I finally opened it.......

That test had been a concern in the back of my mind ever since I applied to the MAT program over a year ago. My concern stemmed from the fact it had been several years since I had taken any type of business class and had never taken a vocational business class. I was reminded again by Dr. Sawyer at Missouri State University that he was going to make it a requirement before I started student teaching. Missing the summer workshop because I was in Wisconsin working when my family made the decision not to move but stay in Webb City due to the tragic death of a family member only delayed the inevitable and that was that I would still have to take that test.

I decided to get a couple of study guides and sign up to take it in January because it was between semesters and I would have time to study for it and not worry about school work. Well it sounded like a good plan to me but I had forgotten that I am a procrastinator by nature and January 12th was approaching fast. The week before the test I set down to cram by going through the two study guides and downloading a retired test from the internet. After taking the practice tests and doing surprisingly well on them tempered my anxiety somewhat. The only area I appeared weak was on the Vocational Business section which unfortunately had the most questions. My 25 plus years of work experience in the business sector especially accounting appeared to be paying off.

Then I got sick on Thursday and was up most of Thursday night and all of Friday night. So I'm thinking - here we go again. I decided to go through with the test since it was too late to cancel and I'd already paid for it. I remember not being able to concentrate and my eyes were really tired so I spent most of the time up close and personal with the questions so that I could read them and they wouldn't be blurry. There were four people taking the Business Ed test and I was the first done with about five minutes to spare. I left that room shaking my head and wondering what did I get myself into? Normally I can remember questions and answers but I couldn't remember a thing. I told my wife when I got home that I probably only knew about 50% of the questions and hopefully if I got about half of the other questions through my "educated" or "common sense" guesses then maybe I would pass.

Now you see why I was so nervous and anxious about opening the Score report. Well I finally got the nerve and was extremely relieved when I saw that I wouldn't have to go through that experience again!