PSU Northern Tier

Spring 08 Cathy Orshal 463

List of 6 assignments for the semester

1. 5 resources on a given topic listed in APA style

Oregon Trail

Col, Jeananda (1996-2008) Zoom Explorers, retrieved Feb. 9, 2008, from

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/l/lewisandclarkcloze.shtml

2002 Oracle Thinkquest USA. retrieved Feb. 9, 2008, from

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210182/index.shtml

Schanzer, Rosalyn. (1997). Nationa Geographic Society, Retrieved Feb. 9, 2008, from

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/west/index.html

The History Globe. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2008, from

http://www.historyglobe.com/ot/otmap1.htm

Trinklein, Michael (1997-2003). The Oregon Trail, Retrieved Feb. 9, 2008, from

http://www.isu.edu/%7Etrinmich/Oregontrail.html

2. Critque acceptable use policy

An AUP is a policy put in place to protect the school and the computer

users.

Our AUP states its purpose, tells what it prohibits, and the expected

etiquette of users. It also tells about security, consequences for

inappropriate use and a disclaimer that the district is not

responsible.

Students, parents, & staff must sign one each year in order to have

access to the network. Each student has their own password and must

log on for access. This has been done so they track each individual

and go back into their history to see if students (or staff) have been

in violation of our policy. This policy was updated in 2006. The old

policy was not as specific with the do's and don'ts. This one seems to

be pretty straight forward with what is expected.

Here is where you can find our districts policy.

http://www.towandasd.org/files/documents/policies/tasdaup.swf

3. personal class study

My plans for the future...........

This being my first year in third grade after 14 years in sixth grade has been interesting. I was afraid at first I would expect too much from my students, yet high expectations can bring wonderful things. It has been great watching them learn and enjoy reading. That has been our schools major focus all year. It is my first year using the 4-Block philosophy. This works well with technology, but it would be wonderful to get more technology into the classrooms. We are supposed to be doing work stations and I would love to have a computer station for my students to work at. Now they get to go to a computer lab twice a week.

I have a web page that I post each week for students and parents to use:

www.schoolnotes.com/18848/corshal.html

I like this site because each time I change the post it will notify all of my parents and students with a quick e-mail that will link them to my page.

Blogging might be a way for me to expand the page and have some better more modern functions. I have used the schoolnotes page for many years now and it is limited in many ways. I hope to possibly plan a way to connect the two over the summer.

This is the first graduate course I have taken in many years (almost 11). I have not taken courses since my two children. I run home each day and run them around and try to be the best mom that I can be. Yet those Act 48 hours are needed and my kids are in 4^th &5^th grade and would rather hang out with their friends instead of mom. So good friends have made this class possible as they watch my children each night we have class. As I get older I hope to have more time to continue with other classes that will help me continue bringing technology into the classroom.

Five years from now my son will be driving and soon enough they will be away at college and I will be able to stay afterschool and do more things in Towanda. I will most likely still be in a classroom 15 or more years instilling the best I can into each one of my students no matter what age they might be.

4. design an internet based lesson that uses the four learning styles

As we did this unit I used all 4 learning styles where students had to read, write, watch and create projects all dealing with the Iditarod race. This race starts the first Sat. in March each year.

Iditarod Unit

My class started this unit in February. We read the story of Balto. We also learned about the Serum Run and Diptheria which led to discussions on Immunizations. We found and traced the route on a map and viewed the slide show on Scholastic web site below. Then we did folder activites and games about Balto.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/serum_run/

http://www2.grand-forks.k12.nd.us/ms/iditarod/baltofoldermenu.html

This led us to the modern day Iditarod.

My students then read about the history of the Iditarod and each chose a musher to follow.

Once they chose a musher we went to iditarod.com and researched their musher and answered some questions about there musher and used their questions to then write a biography of the musher.

The class then created a large wall size map of the Iditarod trail from Anchorage to Nome with all of the check points.

Students then created a sled for their musher and put them in Anchorage.

Each morning students would check the current standings of their musher on the internet and move their musher through the check points.

Students enjoyed following along the blogs & videos about there mushers adventures on the trail.

http://www.midgefrazel.net/wqiditarod.html

http://www.iditarod.com/

In our learning centers through out March we also read a readers theater script about the Iditarod race.

http://web.archive.org/web/20031227090411/http:/www.iditarod.com/boss-script.html

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/readandanswer/iditarod/index.shtml?p

We also read Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner. Then we viewed the move and compared them.

We read A-Z books about Working Dogs, The Last Great Race

We did several map activities on Alaska and following directions.

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/usa/statesbw/alaska.shtml?p

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/geography/followinstructions/alaska/index.shtml?p

We did math activities and word problems dealing with the iditarod in our math station.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_lp302-02.pdf

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_lp302-04.pdf

Students also used some vocabulary words and used them to write stories. Some also took to writing songs and poems about there mushers. This was done in our working with words station and writing station.

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/alphabet/mcwords/iditarod/index.shtml?p

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/alphabet/matchwordsandpix/iditarod/index.shtml?p

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/alphabet/unscramble/iditarod/index.shtml?p

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/alphabet/spellingquestions/iditarod/index.shtml?p

(this one I put on overhead and used as guess the covered word)

http://members.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/alaska/iditarod/cloze/index.shtml?p

Poetry about the Iditarod was also put into their poetry journals.

These journals we do each morning. They get a few poems each week and students must pick one per month to memorize and record. This gets done during their work stations.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_lp302-04.pdf

http://www2.grand-forks.k12.nd.us/ms/iditarod/grandoldrace.html

http://www2.grand-forks.k12.nd.us/ms/iditarod/doodle.html

http://www2.grand-forks.k12.nd.us/ms/iditarod/watchdogssong.html

http://www2.grand-forks.k12.nd.us/ms/iditarod/iditarodracesong.html

Learning Styles

Each person has their own styles of learning, which are the ways we gather, organize and use the skills and knowledge we are presented. Some of the styles are perfectly suited for online learning, while others may not fit in with the online environment. Take a look at the characteristics of the 4 learning styles below and pick which one best matches with your style. Then click on the button "What kind of match?" to find out how online learning matches with your style.
Characteristics		Learning Style
		Visual/Verbal Learning Style
	Need written learning (board, overhead,etc)
	Like to use textbooks, pictures and notes
	Write out steps, explanations or highlight key points

		Visual/Nonverbal Learning Style
	Like to use visual representations
	Prefer visual assistance such as charts, graphs or pictures.
	Prefer to work alone
	Artistic

		Tactile/ Kinesthetic Learning Style
	Like to do "hands on" activities
	Prefer demonstrations and physical representation for learning
	Learn best when actually doing

		Auditory/ Verbal Learning Style
	Like oral learning such as lectures, audio presentations and discussions
	Like to speak and listen to others (interact)
	Prefer to talk things out