Module Eight: 21st Century Assessment

Workforce Development: Every Teacher's Responsibility
Developing a workforce for the 21st Century is truly a challenge--what a pleasure having taken this class at this point in my career to learn better ways to connect with students--to develop their skills for the 21st Century. As I worked through the modules for 21st Century I enjoyed learning about Web 2.0 tools, blogging, del.icio.us and tagging. I develop a lot of projects so I enjoyed learning about the Big6 problem solving model and am so impressed with the resources and information that were included in each module. I did my best to do most of the reading and enjoyed the variety of educational materials whether movies, charts, or PowerPoints.

I would like to try blogging in my classes and will need to work with our technology person to see what I may or may not be able to do. I think that students need to be able to present a viewpoint and support that view with detailed information. Blogging is one way to build that skill. Other activities that I am trying to incorporate and practice are using "discrepent events" to encourage thought and using different questioning techniques. I even posted the words Who, Why, What, How, and To What Extent in the front of the classroom so that I have constant reminders to start my questions with these words to encourage higher level thinking and discussion.

I enjoyed reviewing essential questions, developing a project, and designing a rubric. I try to use projects as much as possible in the information and technology area to encourage students to relate their learning to life experiences. I had previously taken a class through our local Wisconsin CESA and learned to use project-based learning as a way to motivate students. I thought the module on developing essential questions was more specific than my previous training, and I enjoyed building upon what I already know about PBL.

If I had the opportunity to do this course again, I would like to spend more time reading information at different websites visited. I came across so many interesting links to websites that I would like to revisit and I was able to make good use of del.icio.us. I am absolutely thrilled to have learned about this Web 2.0 tool.

I would definitely recommend this course to all teachers who want to find a way to connect with learners in the 21st Century.

Computer 7 QuickQuest

WaterQuest
Computer 7 QuickQuest
Mrs. Bonnie Lang
School District of Gilman
Gilman, Wisconsin


Scenario

You are done playing dodge ball at noon hour in the gym and you are hot and sweaty! You go to get a drink of water to quench your thirst. As you lean over the drinking fountain, you look at the water coming out, you’re thirsty, you can’t wait, but—is it safe to drink?

Did you ever wonder how safe the school’s water supply is to drink? Is the water warm? Does it smell? Is it discolored? Did it taste good or bad? If you ever experienced any of these conditions, did you ever wonder why?

In this WaterQuest, you will work with a partner to find out if the school’s water is safe to drink. The water is supplied by the Village of Gilman and is monitored by the Gilman Waterworks Department.



Task

Define:
Potable water
Safe Water Drinking Act of 1996
EPA

Use the websites listed below each question to help find information about each.

1 What chemicals and minerals or contaminants are commonly found in water?

2 What are acceptable limits of contaminants?
2006 Annual Drinking Water Reporthttp://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dwg/report.pdf
Groundwater & Drinking Water Quality Health Standards/Advisories http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dwg/health/haltable.htm
3. How are levels of contaminants monitored by the state? In your town?
Groundwater & Drinking Water Quality Health Standards/Advisories http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dwg/health/haltable.htm


4. View the Consumer Confidence report using the criteria: Gilman, Taylor County
Consumer Confidence Reporthttp://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/dwg/data.htm

5. What does the report indicate about the Gilman Waterworks?

6. Are any measures taken in your school building to guarantee drinkable water?

Read the School District of Gilman’s Compliance Report

7. What recommendation would you make to principal about the school’s drinking water?


Product

Write a letter to the school’s principal explaining your investigation, process, findings, and recommendation. Follow the format guide for letters and address the letter to:

Miss Dawn Randall, Principal
School District of Gilman
325 North Fifth Avenue
Gilman, WI 54433

Your letter will be evaluated using the WaterQuest Rubric.

Module Seven: Creativity and Innovation in a Flat World

Developing the WaterQuest QuickQuest was an interesting process. To begin, I researched other quickquests and webquests online and in the readings to decide how to proceed. Being familiar with technology, I wanted to do a full WebQuest by creating web pages, links, and so on with all kinds of background information, resources, and other links. I decided the project was more than a QuickQuest and had to rethink how to break down a large project concept into several smaller projects. The QuickQuest I created focuses on beginning concepts of problem analysis to include necessary definitions and initial information gathering activities. The ultimate goal is for students to have an understanding of the "concern" and to develop a conclusion on the safety of their drinking water in the school building.

This WaterQuest in Computer 7 will be implemented to reinforce research and information gathering techniques as well as to reinforce letter composition and creation. Students will be expected to document their progress, to draw a conclusion, and to communicate the process to others.

Module Six: Information, Media and Technology Skills

Module Six-Activity 5 Communication

Educators need to learn more about Web 2.0 tools to communicate knowledge. Whether it is to encourage students to share ideas and reflect and think more critically or to learn more about changes in education and content areas—educators need to communicate in a way that is effective, timely, collaborative, and media-rich.

In exploring Module 6 readings and activities, I found the information on research websites useful and insightful. The del.icio.us website is wonderful tool for organizing and sharing research, and I would make this tool available to my students if it were accessible in our school. I plan to share information about “tagging” and the website to coworkers and students regardless.

The Evaluation Wizard offered through the Illinois Math and Science Academy will also help students decide whether a source selected is highly rated and worth considering as a resource. Using website and blog evaluations help to determine the validity and reliability of the information presented and ultimately the use of the resource in critical analysis of a topic.

The use of blogs as an educator if they are not filtered in a school district can be a useful tool to post projects and encourage feedback. In some districts, it is a tedious process to be able to create a web page and have it uploaded to the district’s website dependent upon design. The use of a free blog website would surpass district website restrictions and allow timely postings, links, instructions, and conversation.

I do think that websites that offer free space to share personal information are being overused and abused by many young people in our society and by those who have a criminal intent. Recently, a local news program commented on a newer website titled JuicyCampus.com. The concern about the website is that those who author or contribute to the website are not accountable for the information posted—the information can be completely falsified and can ruin a person’s reputation or more personally-self respect and self image. Issues related to freedom of speech and freedom of the press will continue to arise about these types of websites.

As written by Joyce Valenza on information literacy “Students need to be fluent for all information formats—traditional, current, and emerging. They should be able to identify a wide array of information and communication strategies and choose the ones that best meet their needs.” As educators, we need to keep current with information formats and help students learn to use them effectively.

Module 6: Information, Media, and Technology Skills

Module 6 Activity 1
Village of Gilman
Water & Sewer Issue

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/wm/glwsp/facilities/munifp.htm
The basic purpose of facility planning is to assess the condition of a sewerage system, establish a need for improvement, evaluate options to address system needs, and to identify the cost-effective alternative.
Google Web
Wisconsin DNR
Waste Alternatives

http://www.goerie.com/
Published: March 16. 2008 6:00AM
A vast array of pharmaceuticals -- including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones -- have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.
Google News Archive
Water Contamination

http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/ajas/ajas49619-627.pdf
Nitrite and nitrate are highly soluble and easily leach out of soil solution. Therefore, continuous application of cheese whey at higher rates may result in ground water contamination and eventually becomes a threat to human and animal health.
Directory of Open Access Journals
Water AND Contamination

http://md1.csa.com
Results of this study indicated that the nitrate and chloride concentrations in the groundwater of the central Wisconsin sand plains are significantly above background, and that the main source is the irrigated agriculture in the region.

Nitrate and Chloride in Ground Water Under Irrigated Agriculture in Central Wisconsin
Saffigna, PG; Keeney, DR
Ground Water Vol 15, No 2, p 170-177, March-April 1977. 3 fig, 4 tab, 18 ref.
Google Scholar
Wisconsin Ground Water

http://www.questia.com/
Results of a study suggesting an association between breast cancer and perchloroethylene (PCE; also called tetrachloroethylene) exposure from public drinking water. Women were exposed to PCE when it leached from the vinyl lining of water distribution pipes from the late 1960s through the early 1980s.
Journal article by Ann Aschengrau, Sarah Rogers, David Ozonoff; Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 111, 2003
Google Scholar
Wisconsin + Contaminated Water

http://www.questia.com/
The association between nitrate levels in public and private sources of drinking water and gastric cancer mortality in Wisconsin was investigated in a case-control study.
Gastric Cancer Mortality and Nitrate Levels in Wisconsin Drinking Water Rademacher, JJ; Young, TB; Kanarek, MS
Archives of Environmental Health AEHLAU, Vol. 47, No. 4, p 292-294, July/August 1992. 1 tab, 17 ref.
Google Scholar
Wisconsin Water Results

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/cfa/EL/Section/Clean.html
The Clean Water Fund Program (CWFP) is one of the subsidized loan programs included in the Environmental Improvement Fund (EIF). The CWFP provides loans to municipalities for wastewater treatment and urban storm water projects.
Google Search Web
Wastewater Facility

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dwg/report.pdf
2006 Annual Drinking Water Report—Wisconsin’s Public Water Systems
(Includes chart data on maximum permissible contaminant levels for drinking water.
Google Search Web
Safe Drinking Water

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9908924_ITM
Article describing how three wastewater-treatment plants in Wisconsin recently earned national and regional awards as outstanding examples of design and operation.
Google News Archive
Wisconsin Wastewater
“Village of Gilman”

http://www.wrwa.org/field.html
Ed Hendzel has over 22 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry. Prior to joining WRWA, Ed served as the Public Works Director for the Village of Gilman for over 17 years.
Google Web
“Village of Gilman”


When trying to decide key words and search engines to use for this activity, I had to think of what sources I wanted to draw from in gathering data. I wanted some quotes and examples of Wisconsin’s wastewater situation, I wanted to find people directly involved with Gilman, Wisconsin’s situation, and I wanted to find scientific studies on wastewater contamination and the effects on area residents. The search tool that gave me the best results for the scope of the project was Directory of Open Access Journals, Google Scholar, and Google Web. These tools may have worked best because the project is very specific to Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has much information developed on this subject. Search tools I found least effective were MagPortal.com and FindArticles.com. I was deterred most often by having to register and pay for articles.

Module Five: The Big6 Information Problem Solving Model

In this module, I found learning about The Big6™ very interesting and useful. One of our main goals as educators is to help students develop problem solving skills and the Big6™ is a well designed framework for integrating technology. Use of an organizer for the appropriate grade level allows students to learn a process that if used consistently can be applied to most situations in life as well as projects for school. Once students learn to think through the steps then they will be able to choose which ones are needed when solving a problem. The steps are pull out and need not be completed in a linear order and every stage does not have to take a lot of time as indicated in the article The Big6™ Skills Overview written by Mike Eisenberg. “It’s the smarter solution—one that helps students develop the skills and understandings they need to find, process, and use information effectively.” Ultimately, students are successful and we as teachers feel accomplished as well.

Module Four Team-based Problem Solving and Inquiry

Creative Process in Developing a Problem Statement

In developing the problem statement I chose, I thought about issues in the community in which we live. I wanted students to find relevancy in the scope of the project so that they would understand how finding a solution or alternatives affects them personally. The problem relates to their drinking water! I wanted my students to use their thinking skills along with their technical skills to organize, analyze, prepare, and draw conclusions from information gathered. A joy for me in teaching is seeing students use their technical skills to complete projects without being helped to create a chart or plan a database, etc.

A project such as the one I described could be separated out into different activities throughout the year such as defining the problem, research, guest speakers, gathering information, etc. I would keep the reporting activity for a time when students were proficient in using the technology. As stated I want to see students make the connection between their technical skills and the ability to use the skills to solve a problem. I expect my students to take ownership of the project, to work collaboratively with others in their group, and to be able to communicate their findings to others.

Module Two: Framework for 21st Century Learning

Upon reading the Partnership for 21st Century Skills information, I do believe that my school district has the most difficulty in 21st Century Assessment. The 21st Century Assessment supports a balance of assessments, including high-quality standardized testing along with effective classrom formative and summative assessments. Most teachers on staff assess using a standard test that coorelates with book materials. In addition, little evidence exists that staff in the district use any type of "balanced" measures to assess the educational system's effectiveness at reaching high levels of student competency. Most staff are not comfortable using assessment measures that seem to be non traditional and/or technology-enhanced.

Our school district is more advanced in 21st Century Learning Environments. The school facilities are available for community members as needed providing access to quality learning tools, technologies, and resources. In addition, the district is very supportive of student organizations that allow students to compete in 21st Century Skills and compete with other students throughout the state demonstrating the ability to work in a relevent, 21st Century context.

In support of 21st Century Learning Environments, the district created physical environments that support teaching and learning. Teachers have access to newer technologies and have been granted technology support to all projects as needed. The district hired a full-time technology coordinator who is readily available each day and is available to research and implement teacher's requests in using technology to enhance learning.

In reviewing the timeline of the 21st Century Teacher, I view myself to be at the upper end of the scale. I am an information technology teacher and have taught workshops on the use of technology in the classroom. I am continually reading and researching for newer technologies that may be beneficial in the classroom to help students learn 21st Century skills. I do not believe in purchasing newer technology just for the sake of having newer technologies available. Our district purchased a "whiteboard" which was stored in the IMC for two years and now is used in a classroom as a board upon which to project because it is white. Of course, a screen would be much less expensive and suit the purpose. I plan to expand my skills by continuing reading and researching how to use technology effectively to meet students needs. Many times I find myself reading to stay abreast of current developments in technology despite the fact that I will probably not use most of the products hitting the markets. I will continue to work on finding ways to develop students' 21st Century skills.

Module One: Defining the Need for Change--Activity 4

Module One: Defining the Need for Change
Activity 4 – Analysis and Discussion of the MILE Guide Assessment
Bonnie S. Lang
EDUC 744-965

The MILE Guide Assessment provided interesting but not surprising results of my perceptions of the School District of Gilman and its progress towards reaching the 21st Century stage in learning and teaching. I am a 10-year member of the district technology committee and have worked to develop technology plans with parents, business community members, other staff, administration, and students as well as others. I was a trained member of a Wisconsin enGauge team that reviewed and assessed the effective use of technology in schools beginning in 2004.

One of the recommendations given in the results of my online assessment was to plan collectively and strategically for the future. The district’s technology team is again in the process of developing the next three-year plan which is due in 2009. Critical factors in making progress are doing the research necessary to know which direction the district should take in trying to provide a learning environment that will reinforce 21st Century skills.

Our district has been a leader in implementing technology and will need to be careful to avoid becoming complacent. If we remain at the level in which we currently function we will begin taking a downward slide as other districts in our area may attain higher achievement because their goals focus more on 21st Century needs. We need to continue to look to the future—remember the past—but look to the future and provide what students need to learn to be successful and competitive in today’s and tomorrow’s society.

This involves professional development for all teachers including the ones who are nearing retirement and are in the classrooms educating students. The “good ole days” are gone. How we teach now needs to reflect what will be expected of students in the future. This of course presents a barrier because educators newer to the profession have passed rigorous educational programs, are current with newer teaching methods, and understand how to challenge students to think critically and creatively—while other older “more seasoned educators” may not see the need for professional development at this point in their career. I realize the focus is on the students needs, but I foresee this as a barrier so much support will be needed for staff so that they understand their changing role and how to make changes if needed.

A second recommendation was to improve assessments to measure 21st Century skills. This has been my concern for some time in the district. I teach information technology skills and assess students in my course to see if they meet the goals set forth in the technology curriculum. Gilman’s high school and junior high students compete in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competitive events and this activity provides feedback on student achievement. I would like to receive feedback from some source—I do not know what source—to measure students’ use of technology to enhance their learning. The district needs to develop a survey for outgoing students and students who have been away from the district for a year or more to find out if they were prepared for the “path” they chose. This survey needs to encompass more than the use of technology—it would need to be designed to provide feedback on all 21st Century skills. A barrier I foresee is the amount of time needed to prepare an assessment tool and to interpret results.

As far as improving assessments to measure 21st Century skills in the classroom, I foresee that staff would need continued professional development and possibly peer coaching to be more accepting. I am sure that many of my concerns will also be concerns that the technology committee has when we meet to develop the 2009 plan and continue to find ways to move towards 21st Century levels in learning and teaching.