Melanie+Laiveling

=Melanie Laiveling=

I am a second year Secondary Education major focusing on Math. I am also working towards a Spanish major/minor and hope to teach English as a second language someday. I am 19 years old and from the Cincinnati area, graduating from Seton High School in 2009. I have two brothers and awesome parents. I joined the "Big Brother Big Sister" program of Greater Cincinnati last year and met my wonderful "little sister" named Shalon. In my free time I enjoy reading (I'm a sucker for Nicholas Sparks books), listening to music (mostly Country and Christian but some Classic Rock), playing the piano, and golfing and I love hanging out with my family and friends. I have been a waitress at a Frishes restaurant near my house for a little under a year and a half and really enjoy working there. My technology experience consists of taking computer classes in grade school and high school and creating reports in PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel. I have been navigating the internet for many years and have previously created a wiki for my high school English class. I worked on my high school newspaper and I was editor of my high school yearbook and used programs such as Adobe Pagemaker and Adobe Photoshop. I have always wanted to be a teacher because I enjoy the opportunity to help others and make a difference.

Contact information: laivelme@mail.uc.edu

= = =** My Artifacts **=

media type="custom" key="7412899"

__Name of Technology Tool__: Live Binders __URL Location of Tool__: www.livebinders.com __Is there a video or tutorial to learn how to use the tool__? Yes __Is the tool free__? Yes __Can I pay to upgrade for more options__? No __Would you, as a teacher, use this tool__? Yes __Who uses this tool__? Anyone could use this tool - for personal or professional use __What does one use this tool for__? Anyone can use this tool for a variety of things: as a place to gather recipes or craft projects, as a way to organize a vacation, as a way to gather helpful information for your students __What is the educational value of this tool__? This tool is great to use as a teacher. Not only can you put websites in your online binder, but you can put Power Point presentations and Word documents. A teacher can organize their tabs very effectively to provide lots of information for their students. For example, a math teacher could have main tabs for 1. Presentation (with sub tabs: a) the Power Point or Word presentation and b) an equation sheet) 2. Video tutorials (with several different video's they can watch if they need extra help) 3. Practice (with sub tabs: a) a Word document with several questions and b) the answers to the questions and how to solve certain ones) and 4. General (with sub tabs: a) Syllabus b) Contact information c) School information and d) any extra information about clubs (for example, JETS) or standardized tests (such as the AP exam or Ohio Graduation test) ) __Student's Name__: Melanie Laiveling
 * Tech Tool Presentation: Live Binders**

__Title__: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics __URL__: http://www.nctm.org/ __Summary__:This website is great for math teachers. Every month there is a new, practical, real life math problem that would be fun to work out with your students as a warm up. There are many wonderful tips a variety of topics (tips for starting off the school year right, tips for using real data and current events to create math problems, and tips for encouraging the support of parents). With a subscription, you can access a ton of extra resources. __Student's Name__: Melanie Laiveling         **Lesson Plan Idea** __Student's Name__: Melanie Laiveling __Title of Lesson Plan__: Mean, Median, and Mode __Grade Level__: 9 __Subject__: Mathematics __Standards, Benchmarks, and Indicators__: "Organize, analyze and display single-variable appropriately. Solve verbal problems involving mean, median and mode. Utilize web resources to access data for analysis." (From the website, but I couldn't find ODE benchmarks that would relate to this Lesson Plan). __Brief description of lesson plan__: This lesson plan teaches Mean, Median and Mode through use of the internet and finding real life examples to use these things with - analyzing data from websites such as McDonalds, Ben and Jerry's and the NBA. __Website__: []
 * Web Resources: NCTM**


 * My Grading Rubric:** http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&module=Rubistar&rubric_id=1959266&

= = = = = My Reflections =
 * A sample test from EasyTestMaker.com:** http://www.easytestmaker.com/user/TestPrint.aspx?TestID=dc30f488-a82d-40b0-bf61-cbc2b93b342b&TestVersion=1&AnswerKey=False&Preview=True

= General Reflection =

In class, I have been most amazed by how many resources are out there for teachers. Wordle, Live Binders, Wiki Space, Google, Teacher Tube (and I could go on and on) are just some of the fantastic resources out there. I knew the internet is a great tool, but I never realized how much information is out there for teachers. I am so thankful to have learned about these websites because I can see myself using many of them in my own classroom. The possibilities are endless and there are always going to be more websites created. Now that I know they exits, maybe I will be inspired to find some more!

Having a CECH Library day was very beneficial. I have learned how to navigate the CECH Library so much better! And I now feel confident about how to search and find things that I might need. I was amazed at the wonderful resources our library has. As a high school math teacher, I figured there would not be as many fun resources in our library for me to use. But I was so wrong! There were great tools to use - videos, books, projects - and I have to compliment the library, they did a great job of finding them! I can't wait to use them later on in my teaching career. I am excited that I will always have access to the CECH Library.

I think Hughes High School is doing a fantastic job! It is almost intimidating how hard working these teachers and staff members are! But the school is a great idea and I love the fact that it is so focused. They really know what they want and they are not afraid to go after it. It is such an impressive and unique school and I am very excited to see how they do academically in the future.

= = = Reflections on the ISTE National Educational Technology Standard = = = Standards can be found at: http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx

**Standard #2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments**
//Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:// //(c) customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.//


 * As a future educator, a major concern of mine is that my students will take something from my class. One of the very first building blocks of teaching is to appeal to all your students different learning styles. If a student cannot retain information because they are learning in the wrong way, then that falls on the teacher. This is a responsibility of the teacher: to make sure your students have the opportunity to learn. In this day and age, there is no reason a teacher cannot appeal to many diverse learning styles. With so many resources available, tools to use, and ideas to build off of, a teacher should be able to accomplish this basic building block. In this class, Computer Tools for Teachers, my favorite activity was the lesson on Antarctica. In this lesson, our teacher set up six different stations. In each station, there was a new activity in which to learn about Antarctica. Each activity was different and could appeal to all types of learners - a video for your visual learners, a tape recorder with sounds for your auditory learners, a question and answer sheet for your active learners, etc. Each activity was hands on, used a different type of technology, was fun, and was interesting. Our teacher designed and developed this lesson to use as many resources as possible - the internet, maps, books, videos, tape recorder, etc. Not only does this diverse and keep your classroom fun and interesting, but your students have the opportunity to be creative, bounce ideas off of each other while working in groups and, most importantly, identify with a certain lesson based on their learning style.**

**Standard #5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership**
//Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:// //(c) evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.//


 * As I read this teaching standard, I cannot help but reflect on my own teacher of this course, Patti Pentecost. Let me take this standard step by step. Professor Pentecost is continuously improving her professional practice and modeling lifelong learning because she has returned to the teaching profession. After several years of pursuing a different lifestyle, she has decided to work hard to become a teacher once again. Professor Pentecost is constantly finding new digital tools and resources to teach. Then, as I go out into the working world, I will be able to use these tools I have learned. She not only lists the tools or websites, but she introduces many ways in which we can use these tools - both as students and as teachers - to support our learning.**

**Standard #1.** **Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity**
//Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:// //(a) promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.//


 * This standard makes me think of one of the major projects of this class - creating and implementing our own lesson plan. While creating our own lesson plan, we were encouraged to be very creative. We were given all the tools and many ideas, now it was our turn to invent our own unique lesson plan combining and thinking of new creative ideas. In this Computer Tools for Teachers class, we were taught many great technology tools that could be used in our own classroom. Seeing so many examples of great tools available to us really sparked creativity in our own lesson plan. My group bounced many great ideas off each other for our lesson plan - the possibilities were endless! In the end, we were able to invent our own spin. This standard and sub-part were very applicable in this situation.**

**Standard #1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity**
//Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:// //(b) engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.//


 * This standard really hits on the purpose of this course (Computer Tools for Teachers). The whole purpose of this course is so that we (the students) can use these computer tools in our own classroom once we graduate from the University of Cincinnati. This is about as real as it gets! This class is designed to help us discover better ways to teach our own lesson plans and solve our own "problems". In this class, we have discovered some fantastic internet websites and other resources (such as the CECH Library) in which we can use in our own classroom. Not only this, but we have also found some great websites and databases and learned more about how to navigate our college's library via the Library's website to aid us in our teaching process. When creating our own lesson plan for a high school algebra class, we were able to solve an authentic problem: we needed a way to easily graph equations on a pre-drawn grid to save time. We used our knowledge of a wonderful teaching tool - the Smart Board - to solve our problem. By using this technology, we were able to clearly and easily teach the "students" how to graph an equation. This is just one example of how real-world issues can be solved using digital tools and resources.**

**Standard #4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility**
//Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers:// //(a) advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.//


 * This standard has been taught since grade school. Teachers have been pounding this lesson into students heads from the very beginning. Everything must be sighted; no plagiarism. In high school, we are taught MLA format and how to specifically and professionally sight our sources. However, it was not until this class until I realized how teachers much be extra careful to do this as well. There are so many wonderful resources that a teacher can and should use, however, a teacher must be extra careful when it comes to using these resources. In this Computer Tools for Teachers class, we were given a very informative piece of paper with copyright information. The layout is easy to follow and helpful: it has the type of medium (printed material, photos, videos, music, internet, etc.), what the medium is more specifically, what a teacher can do with it, and extra fine print information. I can see myself referring back to this sheet of paper when I become a teacher because it is a great starting point. It gives helpful information very quickly so you have something to work from.**

= Final Reflection =

Computer Tools for Teachers. The title is so obvious. However, when I entered this course, I never expected to learn so much! I figured we would cover the basics of PowerPoint, Excel, and Word and maybe learn how to use a Smart Board and how to use a projector. I am embarrassed to admit my low expectations. However, I am so glad my expectations were surpassed. Learning about Wordle, Delicious, Survey Monkey, Live Binders, Teacher Tube and so many other resources have been great! I had no idea there was so much available! There is so much room for creativity with these websites. In class, we also discussed practical ways to use these websites in a classroom. This was very helpful because it got the ball rolling in our minds about how we would like to apply these to our own classrooms. I have had several great ideas and ways to use these technology tools in my own classroom. Without this class, I'm not sure if I would have ever found these websites.

Another big project of this class was implementing our own lesson plan. This was great experience! I had no idea we would have to take on such a project, but it was fun! It helped remind me why I am taking Calculus and Linear Algebra classes. It reassured how much I want to become a teacher. This project was great practice and I am so glad we were given this opportunity. Working in groups was very nice - especially because many of us have never carried out a lesson plan before. It is especially nice that we can learn from other classmates mistakes as well. Learning through mistakes is always wonderful - and because this was a new "project" for many of us students, we definitely made a lot of mistakes! However, we were able to learn a great deal from them. I learned so much from this class - websites to use, ideas to consider, how to carry out a lesson plan, and what it means to be a teacher who can use technology in his/her favor. I am so glad this wasn't a typical computer class!