WPP - Final

Wicked Problem:  Plagiarism
Wicked Solution:  PlagiarismBeGone website
Wicked Presentation geared toward students:  Xtranormal video

My Wicked Need:

My Wicked Problem has nothing to do with the discipline that I teach. But, my Wicked Problem does affect many students in my classes. Students plagiarize. Often. This has become such a prolific occurrence, that I need to find a solution to this Wicked Problem.

Through a survey I conducted, I found out that half of my current students haven't learned about plagiarism and how to avoid it in a formal setting. My students are adults in college, and I am just stunned at the lack of education on this topic prior to enrolling in college courses. When I think about it, this just isn't my Wicked Problem, it is a Wicked Problem for our entire society as we neglect to educate students on the purpose of copyright laws. Not guiding them in this regard causes confusion regarding plagiarism. Students don't seem to find value in avoiding plagiarism beyond their own personal consequences and even then, they are only careful to follow enough rules to avoid getting caught stealing the words and ideas of others.

This Wicked Problem is complicated in my case by the fact that I teach World Religion courses. I don't have the opportunity to take up a good deal of official class time to teach students about plagiarism. They are supposed to know this information prior to enrolling in college courses. This means that part of my problem is that my solution needs to stand apart from my current curriculum. I need a solution that can operate outside of our class lectures and assignments, yet be thorough enough to guide students in their own education regarding copyright law and avoiding plagiarism.

Additionally, my Wicked Problem is made more complex by the sheer volume of resources available to students and the low quality of many of those resources. It seems that students have difficulty finding the exact type of information they need amongst the voluminous amount of information on the internet. And, they have difficulty discerning which information is just right for their circumstances. Therefore, I feel that my solution must also provide students with curated information.

I have created a Weebly website in order to solve my Wicked Problem.  The Weebly covers topics ranging from the definition of plagiarism, why we use citation methods and how to avoid plagiarism.  The website is called PlagiarismBeGone and can be found at plagiarismbegone.weebly.com. I also created an Xtranormal video for my students to entice them to visit the site. I'm hoping this video will compel them to once and for all, understand plagiarism, learn how to avoid it, and strive to apply the correct methods of citation in all work they produce.

I chose this platform as the solution to my Wicked Problem because it solves the three aspects of my Wicked Problem of plagiarism.  Firstly, the PlagiarismBeGone website educates students on the topic of plagiarism and why we need to avoid it.  Secondly, it provides all the relevant information outside of my course curriculum, and thirdly, curates all this relevant information so that students don't engage in their own wayward searches on the topic.

The research I conducted on the method of teaching students about plagiarism provided some insightful material that helped me approach my Wicked Problem Project in a pedagogically strong manner.  One source in particular struck a chord in me as it made such a solid connection between learner and teacher.  This article was written by Jonathan Bailey titled "How to Teach 'Generation Plagiarism' About Plagiarism", in a publication called "Plagiarism Today".  Mr. Bailey articulated that the best methods for instilling the importance of avoiding plagiarism stems from two core principles.  First, it is necessary to  remove the fear of committing plagiarism, so that students feel more comfortable in submitting work in the first place.  Secondly, it is imperative to explain why the rules of proper citation are in place.  All other articles I read provided some version of these ideas and this article summed it up very precisely.  So, that is how I approached this project.  My goal is to empower students to take matters into their own hands so they don't have to fear the dreaded plagiarism through the understanding of why we use all these rules of proper citation.

I drafted a plan. It is to require students to visit my PlagiarismBeGone website during the first week of courses and to make them responsible for the material through a written assignment. Students will need to write a short paper on some aspect of copyright law and actually use proper citation methods throughout the paper. I will also encourage them to use sources other than print, such as video and audio clips, screenshots, and the like, so they get practice citing all types of sources.

The website itself is made on Weebly, which allows the user intuitive functions and navigability. There are several pages and tabs titled: Plagiarism Defined; Terminology; Avoiding Plagiarism; Try It!, which is a page connecting the user to tutorials and videos; Citation Methods; Consequences of Plagiarism; a blog regarding the consequences of plagiarism; and a contact me page. These pages are the ones that I have implemented thus far based on the ideas from research regarding removing fear in students and instructing them on why avoiding plagiarism is necessary. These pages provide students with a simplified explanation of the concepts that make sense to one that has not been exposed to the topics of copyright and plagiarism in a formal manner. When I complete CEP 812, I plan on adding many more pages in order to provide even more in-depth information to students. I plan on including a printable checklist for students that they can use for their assignments that will help them identify if they have included all the necessary components of proper citation in order to avoid plagiarism. I will include a Creative Commons page as well, so that students themselves can engage in sharing their material with others, and vise versa. An example page will also be incorporated into the site in which students can view actual examples of proper and improper citation and try to properly cite themselves. And, I would like to include a page on public domain in an attempt to get students to understand what this concept means and how to know whether a source, phrase, fact, etc. is actually part of the public domain, or not, and what how to properly include this type of information in their own work.

Thus far, I feel that this project has been successful. I have had many students ask me follow-up questions regarding the information on the website, have accumulated some good feedback from them on a survey I sent them regarding the quality and usefulness of the PlagiarismBeGone website. If they are asking questions, they have read the material on the site and if they are telling me in the survey that the site has improved their general knowledge of plagiarism, then I feel this project is a success at this point. Also, at the time of writing this post, I have graded about half of the Mid-Term papers submitted from this group of students and have encountered zero incidents of plagiarism. That, in and of itself, was worth the effort in creating the website. Students have indicated that they will use the website throughout this semester to help guide them in preparing assignments, will use it in future semesters for the same reason, and would recommend the site to friends. Even if I can't reach every student, I feel successful in reaching many of them at this point. Next semester, I will know I am successful once I receive the first week assignments in which students write about copyright while having properly cited each and every source used in that copyright paper. Ahhhhh, how sweet success will be...still have my fingers crossed.

TPACK:

Technology/Pedagogy:
The PlagiarismBeGone Weebly site is available at all hours of day, which is more than can be said for the instructor. Students will have access to the information any time that it is needed, which will aid students in applying proper citation methods because they won't have to wait for an instructor's guidance. The Weebly site is intuitive in functionality and navigability, so students will easily be able to access information needed. Also, the information, on the Weebly site, is compartmentalized and presented as a formal, academic unit. The information can be used all semester, as well as in future semesters, after our course is completed. The website reduces the fear of plagiarism because plagiarism is defined in simple terms as opposed to being shrouded in mystery. Also, it also informs students why rules of citation need to be followed as a method for adhering to copyright laws.

Technology/Content:
The information on the PlagiarismBeGone website will serve students of multiple levels. Some students need just a bit of specific information regarding plagiarism or citation, while others need a more comprehensive education on the topic overall. The website meets the student where the student needs to be met. The information is available at the time it is needed and provides an in-depth coverage of the topic that couldn't be provided by an instructor in one meeting, email message or web conference. The Weebly provides a service to the student that is reliable and comprehensive.

Pedagogy/Content:
The goal is to erase the fear of plagiarism because the fear causes confusion, which compels students to plagiarize even more. Copyright, citation methods, and discussions ranging from the roots of the topic to the application will help reduce the fear because the students will understand why instructors require them to use proper citation methods. When students understand the root of the issue, which is ownership of words, then, they are more likely to conceptualize the need for proper citation methods. This seems to be a missing link between students and the avoidance of plagiarism. Also, students can depend on the material in the website because it is pertinent to their success in assignments, is available at the time they are composing assignments and is curated to ensure accuracy and dependability. Additionally, it provides them the opportunity to contact me to discuss any issues.

Implementation:
What surprised me the most in the implementation process of the PlagiarismBeGone website was the urgency of the need for a site. Plagiarism is rampant, as many of us know, but this is the worst plagiaristic semester I have ever encountered. Within the first two weeks of the semester, 1/4 of my students engaged in plagiarism on some level.

The bumps I encountered while implementing the site were related to the Weebly technology itself, especially the free version. I had envisioned the site to be filled with certain elements that Weebly didn't allow. I purchased a Weebly subscription so that I would have the ability to add such elements as audio clips. Even so, I would like it better if I could design the site more precisely, instead of just using the stacking method. I'd like to add elements on the entire screen, not being restricted to placing widgets and such on top of each other.

The delights of this implementation is that the ideas just kept flowing. Students sent me suggestions via the survey I sent them, and the list of new elements I want to add, just keeps growing. Students indicated that they would like more examples of inappropriate and appropriate citations, more exciting graphics, a discussion on what constitutes public domain, and the like. It is great that I can keep adding to the site to enhance its value for students. I made a more detailed podcast regarding the implementation, if you would like to have a listen.

Findings and Implications:
Although the PlagiarismBeGone website wasn't implemented as planned, as much of the information I intended on including, I couldn't execute prior to to the deadline of this assignment, I'm glad I had to publish what I did have ready. This provided information to students that urgently needed that information. Now I can add additional information over time without worrying that students are "stranded" without a reliable source of information regarding plagiarism.

I have seen evidence of success already. One such piece of evidence come in the form of remarks from students themselves. One student said, "I think she pretty much nailed everything there was to get about plagiarism. Everything from quoting to paraphrasing was mentioned including potential consequences of plagiarism that were initially considered harmless." This is a really good quote! My students are so eloquent...LOL! There is more. Another student said of the site, "I think that it pretty much covered plagiarism. Job well done Tracy!" How do I get such great students?

Additionally, I have seen an improvement in citation methods and Work Cited pages of students, have had many students email questions regarding their techniques indicating that they want to make sure they understand the rules and I have had much less plagiarism since the implementation of PlagiarismBeGone.

I wouldn't have changed anything about the implementation of the project as I learned from all the bumps in the road.  I have changed my initial plan regarding how I will use this website.  Initially, I thought I would use it on an "as needed" basis referring students to it when they plagiarized, or had questions regarding citation methods.  Now, I am going to require students to work through this website as part of the first week curriculum.  They will be responsible for the material through a required assignment.  My view of the urgency of this Wicked Problem of plagiarism has changed throughout the course of working on this project, and I don't think it is fair to students to let them continue on in courses without this information.  It is imperative they receive it.

I think we should approach all our Wicked Problems as projects.  We can self impose deadlines, rubrics, and requirements in order to give structure to the project and get it implemented so that solutions can be found.  Instead of always working around our problems, I think we should attempt to tackle them in a way that provides good pedagogy to our students.  Many of our Wicked Problems can be solved by finding the sweet spot within Technology, Pedagogy and Content.

Sources:

Bailey, Jonathan, "Three Kinds of Plagiarism:  Part 1", Plagiarism Today, N.p. 6, Sept. 2005.  Web. Oct. 12, 2012
Bailey, Jonathan, "Three Kinds of Plagiarism:  Part 2", Plagiarism Today, N.p. 4, Oct. 2005.  Web. Oct. 12, 2012
Bailey, Jonathan, "Three Kinds of Plagiarism:  Part 3", Plagiarism Today, N.p. 27, Oct. 2005.  Web. Oct. 12, 2012
Bailey, Jonathan, "How to Teach 'Generation Plagiarism' About Plagiarism."  Plagiarism Today, N.p. 24, Apr. 2010. Web. Oct. 12, 2012
Communication Across Curriculum/Plagiarism and Avoiding It, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2012. Web. Oct. 2, 2012
Hall, Jonathan, "Plagiarism Across the Curriculum:  How Academic Communities Can Meet the Challenge of the Understood Writer", Across the Disciplines(Vol 2/Feb. 5, 2005). Web. Oct. 7, 2012
McCabe, Donald L. and Trevino, Linda Klebe, "What we know about Cheating in College", ProQuest Education Journals(Jan/Feb 1996). Web. Oct. 7, 2012 
"Put an End to Plagiarism in your Classroom." Education World, N.p., n.d. Web. Oct. 7, 2012
Paul Robeson Library/What is Plagiarism?, Rutgers University Libraries, 2012.  Web. Oct. 2, 2012
"Real World Examples", The Library, UC San Diego, 2010, Web. Oct. 12, 2012
Vaughan Memorial Library/Writing a Paper & Citing Sources, Acadia University, 2011. Web. Oct. 2,  2012
Vaughan Memorial Library/"You Quote It! You Note It!", Acadia University, 2004. Web. Oct. 2, 2012

Group Leadership Project - Final

My hard-working group is number 4.  The members include Ariel, Suzanne, Charlene and myself.  We used Camtasia, Screenomatic, and iMovie to record and edit our tutorials and then placed them on YouTube for easy viewing.  The first introductory tutorial was captured using Screenomatic, then produced and edited in iMovie, while the tutorials regarding creating an account in Google and beginning a Google Hangout were captured and edited using Camtasia.  All the tutorials were then uploaded to YouTube for easy viewing by our group, our instructor, our class, and now the planet.  The first tutorial was created in iMovie as that is the technology available to Suzanne that she desired to learn more about.  It is excited how easy it was to upload to YouTube, so that was a good learning experience.  The second and third tutorials were made using Camtasia.  We initially wanted to use Jing because, as a group, we wanted to develop a good command over a free technology.  But, the final tutorial, which is really the most crucial information, exceeded the time limit, of five minutes, that is allowed with Jing.  Initially, when we were planning our tutorial, we realized we would be limited in time using Jing, which is why we decided to break our tutorial into three parts.  Actually, I think this "limitation" benefited us, even though in the end we didn't use Jing.  As a group, we believe that the tutorials better serve our users by being separated.  This way the users can decide which tutorials are important to them and watch just those units without having to sit through an entire tutorial to get to a specific part that interests them.  Also, it is easier to watch a smaller tutorial again, if needed later, as a refresher.  Please feel free to check out our tutorials.  You can watch an Introductory tutorial, covering the overall usefulness of Google +.  You can also view one illustrating how to set up a Google + account.  These first two short tutorials are available to help those who need this information before going forth to the third tutorial, which demonstrates how to begin a Google + Hangout, record the Hangount and then upload it onto YouTube.

I learned a good deal through this group project.  Firstly, I reinforced my love of Google Hangout.  Not only did we cover this technology in our tutorials, but we used it to communicate with each other, so I guess you can say we 'practice what we preach'.  I have developed a greater command of its functions and am much more comfortable using it than I was before I began this project.  Even though I didn't work on the actual production of the tutorials, as I was part of the storyboarding and scripting team, I did learn about Jing.  I have never used it before, but have now worked with it since we have started the project.  I like seeing the little Jing "sun" peeking out at me from the corner of my computer screen.  I also learned a good deal about group work.  We didn't hesitate to begin our project, and I am really glad about that.  Even though we are all hard workers and contributed equally to the project, we still needed all the time.  Part of that is due to our distance from each other and schedules.  Some of us can work on MSU projects during the day and some can only work at night...some really late at night.  Had we procrastinated, I may have experienced some anxiety relating to meeting the deadlines.  So, even though we didn't have to frantically work to meet our deadlines, I still learned that projects like these should never be put on the back burner.   At the time of writing this blog posting, one member of our group has no power and may not for a while because Hurricane Sandy blew it out.  Because that group member contributed in a timely manner, none of us worried about her work.  We told her to just worry about herself and keep safe.  She is safe.  What a relief.  So, in summary, I learned how to confidently use Google Hangout, Jing and how to keep procrastination tendencies at bey.

I did, reluctantly, learn something else from this group experience.  I hate to say it, but I learned the benefit of storyboarding.  This was a painstaking process in this project, and I'm not sure I would use storyboarding for a tutorial of this nature and duration in the future.  I would definitely use an outline, and probably one that was pretty detailed, but not a storyboard, necessarily.  If I needed to create a tutorial that was more complex and was of a longer period of time, then I can see how storyboarding would be valuable.  Having said that, I couldn't even fathom starting my final WPP without storyboarding because that project is comprised of many elements that I had difficulty visualizing at first.  So, the group storyboarding assignment really helped me get working on my final WPP assignment.  It was a way that I could conceptualize such a big project and also work on each piece individually.  I will keep using storyboarding when I need it in the future.

What would I do differently if I had to produce a similar product in the future?  I think I would set some deadlines for each specific task on the "to do" list.  After the vision of the project was established, the plan constructed and the work load was divided amongst the members, I would set some "due dates" for the particular tasks.  I think this would have helped me in planning my own schedule, for the most part.  Also, I would know just when the current phase was ending and the next one beginning.  We did give ourselves some soft deadlines, but no hard dates.  Even if the dates had to be adjusted for schedules or because we just couldn't get the work done by that particular date, I think this would have helped, me, at least, execute the project with more efficiency.  But, other than that, I think all the struggles we had were part of our own learning experience and I don't think removing the struggles would have made the final product any better.  The goal here is to learn as much as possible in this short eight weeks of class and I certainly accomplished that while working on this Group Leadership Project.

Group 4 rocks!  :)

Professional Learning Plan

This exercise of visualizing my Professional Learning Plan has been beneficial to me.  I think the process of working through some of the suggested questions in the Portfolio rubric and also reflecting back on my Personal Growth Plan from CEP 810, was a thoughtful endeavor that I'm not sure I would have carried out without direction to do so.  I'm glad I had the opportunity to indulge in this process because it forced me to acknowledge the progress I have made, which is so much more than I could have ever imagined prior to enrolling in the CEP program.  And, I have purposely mapped out a plan for myself to continue learning, that I'm sure I will follow because it is an actual plan, not just an intention.

The transcript of my presentation is below.  I have created a my Professional Learning Plan in a Prezi presentation using a technology that I have never used before.  Thanks to my group mate, Suzanne, I was inspired to use Screencast-o-matic to record the narration and capture my Personal Learning Plan Prezi presentation.  It was great fun using a technology I haven't used before with one that I have.

What makes sense to me, as I consider my Professional Learning Plan, is to create a visual representation so that I can lay out all the aspects of my professional and personal learning goals.  A visual representation illustrates for me the various branches that stem from the knowledge I’ve gained since enrolling in the CEP program at MSU.  I tend to think in metaphors, and trees are wonderful metaphors of learning.  We start of with just a seed of knowledge.  We get water from the guidance we are given by others who have gone before us.  We get nutrients from the ground, which is the knowledge we choose to absorb from the world.  If we get the right amounts of water and nutrients, we become a tree of knowledge whose branches grow thick and spread, as our knowledge grows thick and spreads.  Finally, our leaves bloom so that our knowledge can be witnessed and bestowed upon others.

As we learned in the last weeks of CEP 812, it is just as important to reflect on personal learning as it is to develop professional skills.  As I begin this process, I consider three categories of previous professional learning.  One iss my work at Henry Ford Community College in creating four online classes.  Another element is conferences that I have attended, one of which was the recent EduTech Conference at MSU.  

Finally, I reflect on my courses in the MSU CEP program.  I revisited my Personal Growth Plan, which was one of the first assignments I completed all the way back in CEP 810.  What I’ve discovered through this revisitation is “I’ve come a long way, baby!”  

I stated in that Plan that I’d wanted to expand my general knowledge of technologies so that I could instruct students on selecting technologies that would develop their 21st century skills.  I feel I have certainly accomplished that!  In my Personal Growth Plan, I also stated that I wanted to be fluent in RSS feeds and blogs, which really makes me laugh given my extensive use of blogs in all three CEP courses.  I never would have fathomed I would be so comfortable with blogging before I started this program.  And, I indicated that I would like to become more fluent in social networking.  I can check that off the list having used Twitter and Google + for all kinds of assignments in this program.

As I progress in reviewing my Personal Growth Plan, I notice I mentioned I envision being able to provide students with a seamless educational experience wherein their learning in the classroom can be meshed with their learning in life.  This is an ongoing project that I must address as I continue to sprout new branches and continue to grow into a tree of knowledge.

I visualize growing and blooming leaves in several areas.  

Firstly, I’d like to enhance my Social Networking with students.  I’d like to use Twitter and other social networking tools to allow students to connect with each other, me, or our course material outside of class time.  My thought is that I’d like them to have a forum in where they can “deposit” information as a way to bring others into their learning moments outside of class.  My first experiments will be with Twitter and then maybe Facebook.  I plan on starting a Twitter feed for my three online sections next semester that will serve as a place where students can tweet about conversations or experiences they have, people they meet, places they visit, symbols they notice, and the like, that is related to our course material, which is world religions.  I feel like these learning moments are probably more significant than the ones that happen in class.  We now have the technology for networking at any place and time, so I’d like to seize those learning moments.  I’d like students to share those learning moments with our whole class.  I think this will enhance overall learning, make the learning process more enjoyable as well as reinforce 21st century skills.

There is another area that I wish to grow.  I want to increase my Personal Learning Network and spend real, quality time engaging in learning communities in order to keep up with emerging educational technology.  I want to build Personal Learning time into my days as part of my work schedule.  This is such valuable time well spent that will only make all the other hours of work so much more productive.  I want to have a Personal Learning hour each day so that I can continue to grow, giving me the knowledge to lead my students in their growth.  I’m thinking this will be my “coffee hour” in the morning.  I can read through my RSS Reader feeds to get just the information I’d like to absorb to strengthen my knowledge overall.  

I will also begin using what I have learned in the CEP courses in order to grow in practice, not just theory.  Next semester, I will not be taking any classes at MSU, which will free me up to integrate a whole, very large, list of educational technologies that I have learned about through the CEP courses, into the courses that I teach, which will all be online.  I’m going to require students to work through my WPP, which is a website on plagiarism.  I’m actually going to require this of all 90 students during the first week of our semester.  I will then assign them a writing assignment, in which they will be required to discuss copyright law, while employing proper citation methods.  Plagiarism is a wicked problem right now, so I feel this will be very beneficial to students and to me.  I’m also going to use the technology I learned through our Group Leadership Project, which is Google Hangout and hold weekly Hangouts with students on particular topics, record them and post them on YouTube.  I hoping this will broaden their understanding of our topics as well as identify specific problems students may be having as they read through the class material.  And, I’m going to create some really good instructor introduction pieces for each new unit using technologies like Voki, GoAnimate, and even Mindomo concept mapping, which will map out our tasks for the week.  I’m going to use all these technologies to teach students and I’m also going to create some assignments in which students have the opportunity to express what they have learned using these technologies as well.

Another way I can grow is to keep learning more.  I plan on applying to the MSU MAET program, which I will do as soon as I am finished with CEP 812.  I loved every minute of the Certificate Program and I want more.  I’m hoping that I am accepted into the program so that I can discover what else I don’t know and learn that.  

I plan on attending more conferences, possibly the MACUL conference this year, continue to develop my PLN, and be sure to build in Professional Learning Time each and every day.

21st century skills are not a focus in many of our schools in the United States, and I’d like to help change that.  Maybe I can make small changes in the lives of some students now, that will help them to make bigger and better changes in our world in the future.

The future is bright, I can grow, and the possibilities are endless.

Mobile Learning Devices Lab

I enjoyed checking out the unbelievable amount of resources in this lab.  Holy cow!  That's a lot of apps.  I am interesting in iPads in the classroom, not just in my own college classroom, but in my son's fourth grade classroom.  I, of course, am not his teacher, but so many of those apps would really enhance their learning.  Also, I would like to see his classroom use flip cameras.  I find that those nine year olds really have a good eye for how the world should be presented.  My son, like most nine year olds, I'm sure, really has a knack for making movies from the creation process all the way through the editing process.  I'd like to see more work in his classroom revolving around the use of cameras.  I think they could really illustrate learning that way.

Another aspect of the lab I really liked was the Classroom 2.0 site.  I think I could get some really good ideas there and plan to follow the groups and posts on that site.  I posted a comment on the board of the  Classroom 2.0 site.

Additionally, I created a Poll Everywhere poll.  I had never used this tool before, but I think that I will certainly do so when I get back in the classroom.  Right now all my classes are online, so I don't have the opportunity to engage with students face to face.  I think that I can use this tool often in the real classroom.  We have conversations in every class where we touch on sensitive topics and I think this tool will certainly help to get the class warmed up and engaged in discussing the types of topics that society often tells people not to talk about in public.  One of the two biggies, namely religion, is what we talk about in my classes everyday.  Since I don't have a class right now, I created a poll that I could give to my son, who is nine, and some of his "colleagues".  His school does not use much technology in the classroom, much to my chagrin.  If I could just get through to the administration and teachers that our children are falling behind by not using technology in their classrooms, I would be a much happier parent.

In previous years, I have used technology in the classroom, with little support from the Dean of my department, as well as other instructors.  However, I wasn't deterred.  I had students create digital stories as a Final Exam project as an alternative to a traditional research paper.  In this project, students utilized their own flip cameras, or their own cell phone cameras to capture original video and incorporate that into their stories.  Additionally, they had to use some type of movie making software, like "iMovie" to produce the film.  These stories also had to be narrated, so they also used tools, such as Audacity to narrate over their moving and still pictures.  

I have also encouraged the use of cell phones and other devices in class, especially in group work.  On days before a big unit test, I would hold "study sessions" where students would be grouped together to work on writing essay type responses to questions that could appear on the test.  In these groups, they were researching the questions and then relating the information to the rest of the class.  The groups were encouraged to use their mobile devices as a source for research.  Then they had to record their findings in the LMS via those mobile devices so that all the groups could use all the research to help in studying for the test.  The class really loved this activity. 

Additionally, at any given point during class, I would ask students to google something, like a picture or a particular type of website that could then be shared with the rest of the class.  I would either plug their device into the big screen projector, or just have the student relate what was found for the class.  I found that the students liked engaging in research right then and there to answer a question or provide an image that would help the class understand a concept.  Sometimes they would ask if they could do this for the benefit of the group.  I would come prepared with such things for class, but hope that they asked questions beyond the material I provided.  Students tend to ask really crazy questions about religion...they want to know the really weird stuff.

Even though I am not in a real classroom now, I want to start a Twitter feed in my online classes that will serve as a reactionary platform to add a different dimension to our class.  I feel that there are many more learning opportunities out in the world that teachers aren't tapping into.  How often I have heard students say that they wished I was with them at some point outside of class because this really interesting "thing" happened at some point relating to our course material.  This really bugs me because they are experiencing something that causes them to think of the class and the class material.  Why can't we tap into those moments?  I think those are the real learning/teaching moments.  Those are the moments when students are teaching themselves at that point because they are applying the knowledge learned in class.  I want to have a Twitter feed going in which my students and I can tweet about "things" that happen related to class.  It might be a thought, a conversation had with a friend, a picture they take of a religious symbol, a website they stumble across, a place they visit.  These are moments in which one can react to something relating to world religions.  I hoping that this will provide a way for all of us to be enriched by someone else's learning moments.  

The challenges I see are really related to getting this Twitter feed up and running.  It isn't hard to start a Twitter feed, bit being that my classes are online, I will need to incorporate all this information into the LMS, which I really don't care for, but that is perhaps a whole other blog post...LOL!  And, I will have to send out email messages giving information on the project as well.  Another challenge is the grading of such an activity, which may be a logistical issue since the Twitter feed lies outside the LMS.  And, being that the Twitter feed won't be linked within the LMS itself, I feel like this makes the class a bit disjointed.  The Twitter assignment doesn't have to be perfect the first time around and I have to be willing to experiment to see how it goes.  I will work around these challenges because the idea of capturing learning as it is taking place out there in the world is really exciting, and inspirational, to me.

Part D - Findings and Implications of WPP

Unfortunately, my WPP did not get implemented as planned.  I wanted to have the entire PlagiarismBeGone website complete this semester for students to use immediately.  I finished a good deal of it, but still have many pages, tabs and ideas to integrate.  As the deadline for this assignment was nearing closer, I decided to get the most basic information out there for students to use.  Even though this wasn't my plan and I only did it to meet the requirement for my CEP 812 course, it really ended up being the absolute best plan for my project overall.  Firstly, I got some good information out there about two weeks prior to a Mid-Term research paper deadline for a section of students.  This particular section needs the information more than any other section I have ever had in history.  So, I'm glad I got some information to them in time for them to use for their papers.  And, I don't think I can tolerate that much more plagiarism, so this is really good for my sanity, as much as it is for their grades and general understanding.  Additionally, getting part of the project implemented means I won't just keep waiting and waiting until it is "complete" because when is that?  I plan to keep adding material over time, so there really is no end date.  This keeps me on task.  Also, I have already received some really good feedback from students regarding the functionality, appearance and usefulness of the site, which I wouldn't have received had I waited to go public with the site.  That feedback will guide me as I go forward in developing the website.  Sometimes, unplanned circumstances end up being better than the planned ones...this is the case here.

I do already feel that the PlagiarismBeGone website has been successful on some levels.  I have seen noticeable improvements on assignments as it relates to plagiarism and proper citation since encouraging my students to visit the site.  Not all work has been perfect, but I can see that they are attempting to work in more quotation marks, proper citation and...yes...I can hardly believe I am writing this...Bibliographies.  Yes!  Seriously, I have seen improvement in just a couple of weeks.  I'm very, very happy with this.  The real test will be the Mid-Term papers...fingers crossed!  Also, I sent out a survey to my students asking questions about the usefulness, functionality and additional materials they would like to see on the site.  Most students indicated that the information was useful, that it is was easy to access and easy to understand.  Almost all of them indicated that the site had improved their understanding of plagiarism in general as well as methods of citation.  Even if I only reach half of them, I'll feel successful.  Most students indicated they will use the information contained in the website this semester and also in future semesters and would recommend the site to a friend. :)  They have also given specific feedback as to what other information could be utilized by them.  {***********One comment in particular stated that the site "needs more resources", which I do plan on adding, while another mentioned that more "Examples of plagiarism" would be beneficial.********}  Again, I hardly believe I am typing this, but I actually think they are glad they have the source and hope that it can serve them beyond just this class.  Wow!  If that isn't success for a teacher, I don't know what is. {********** One student said, "I think she pretty much nailed everything there was to get about plagiarism. Everything from quoting to paraphrasing was mentioned including potential consequences of plagiarism that were initially considered harmless."  This is a really good quote!  My students are so eloquent...LOL!  There is more.  Another student said, "I think that it pretty much covered plagiarism. Job well done Tracy!"  How do I get such great students?  ***************}

I'm not sure I would change anything about the manner in which I implemented the PlagiarismBeGone website, at this point, anyway.  I have learned so much from the bumps in the road that I am glad I encountered them.  What I will change, however, is that I will require this content to be covered beginning next semester.  Although this is not my subject area, I am now finding that this is such an important topic, that I will integrate this into the curriculum of each and every class that I run from now on.  For my online classes, next semester, I am going to develop a packet that will cover plagiarism, copyright law and citation methods the first week of class.  Students will be responsible for the material in some form of an assessment at the end of the week and, I will expect very good citation methods to be employed on each and every assignment in the course.  Even though plagiarism has little to do with my curriculum of World Religions, I don't feel that I am doing my job as an instructor, if I don't at least expose students to that which can be their ultimate downfall, which of course, is plagiarism.  At this point, I think it is important enough to re-work my courses to allow for some good lessons on proper citation methods and how to avoid plagiarism.

The lesson that another person may benefit from knowing about my experience with this Wicked Problem is that maybe we should make all our Wicked Problems into Projects.  I have been bothered by plagiarism for so long, frustrated with the lack of knowledge of students on the topic, and concerned that I am not doing enough to help the situation.  So, when this WPP was presented to me, I took the most wicked of my problems and began to tackle it.  The final product has not come to fruition yet, but I have already witnessed some benefits.  Students are getting the message, attempting to apply the information they are learning and telling me what else they would like to know about this topic.  Taking on my Wicked Problem has really made it less wicked.  I feel better about the where my students are getting good information and know that I can send them to a place that will provide a solution to this problem for them and for me.  My advice would be to think of every Wicked Problem as a project and work toward a solution...even if it isn't perfect at first.  The amount of work put in to developing a good WPP, will certainly outweigh the amount of work put out previous to the WPP being implemented.

I will definitely endeavor to repeat this process again.  Firstly, as stated above, the PlagiarismBeGone Weebly is going to be a part of each and every class I hold from here on out.  I will continue to develop this site and require that students are responsible for this information in my courses.  In another way, I plan to take on more of my Wicked Problems in a similar fashion.  I may not create websites, but I will strive to use the technology tools that are at my disposal to provide students with knowledge that is presented in a clear, practical platform that will serve as a positive learning experience that they will benefit from in my class, future classes, and in their professional environments.  How I carry out such a project may change, depending on the need, but what won't change, is my determination to not let Wicked Problems get the best of me and my students.

I Wordled my Blog!

WPP Part C - Implementation

I have a Wicked Problem.  My Wicked Problem is plagiarism.  To combat it, I created a Weebly website.  I did this so that I could send my students to one website that contained all the information needed to understand what constitutes plagiarism, why we practice certain citation methods, how to avoid plagiarism, as well as other information relevant to this topic.

As you will discover in more detail in my podcast, the surprise I encountered while implementing my Wicked Problem Project was the urgency of a solution to my wicked plagiarism problem.  Once I started this project, I knew I could not stop because I currently find myself in the single worst semester for plagiarism I have ever experienced as an instructor.  I'm finding plagiarized assignments about three times per week.  Plagiarism is rampant and I am very exhausted from dealing with it.  Two days after I implemented the plagiarism website and asked students to check it out, a student plagiarized.  I'm not sure why this surprised me...I guess it is because I am trying to get students to grow academically.  It was, however, very nice to be able to send that student that plagiarized to the website knowing that he would have all the tools he needed to carry on without indulging in plagiarism on another assignment.  

As is the case with any project of wicked proportions, this one involved getting over some unexpected bumps.  One of said bumps was the limitations of Weebly itself.  Prior to beginning the project, I had envisioned a website incorporating a good deal of bells and whistles.  Unfortunately, the free version doesn't grant the user the ability to use all the bells and whistles.  For instance, the free version of Weebly doesn't offer audio uploads.  So, I bought a Weebly subscription.  It cost $40.00 for a year.  Now I can add audio, if I'd like, but there are still some creative limitations in Weebly, such as the stacking of information.  Widgets and the like can only be stacked on top of each other, not side by side, or in other places on the screen.  If I find that the Weebly site is very helpful to students, I may considering taking the content from the Weebly to begin a website from scratch that is hosted on "Go Daddy!" or something.  This way I can customize it to be exactly how it will best serve students.  I haven't had any student comments regarding the functionality of the site itself, but I would like to make some improvements in this area.

What delighted me most was that the ideas just kept coming, even after I implemented the site.  As I worked, I thought of more useful pages and information to incorporate into the plagiarism website.  Also, students asked me some questions after I had given them access to the site, which indicated some additional areas that needed to be incorporated into the site.  So many new ideas were flooding my brain, I didn't have enough time to build them all into the site...yet.  But now, I have many elements that I can work to include in the site over time.

My Weebly site is called PlagiarismBeGone and you can check it out, if you would like.  At this point in time, it includes pages on the definition of plagiarism, terminology, how to avoid plagiarism, interactive tutorials, citation methods, the consequences of plagiarism, a blog, and my contact information.  I have tried to use very straight forward and easy to understand language that will enable students to come to a full understanding of the topic of plagiarism, why we practice proper citation methods, and how to avoid plagiarism.  I'm hoping the students find the curated material less confusing than conducting their own wayward search and that students of many levels can utilize the information contained within.

Maybe if I just keep hoping and working with students, one day plagiarism will be gone...yes, that's a bit unrealistic, but an instructor can always dream, can't she?

GLP Part B - Storyboard and Script

My group is Group 4.  The members include Ariel, Charlene, Suzanne and myself.  I am happy to say that we have created a Script and a Storyboard in preparation of our final Group Leadership Project presentation.  I could sing the praises of the members of my group as each and every one has been present for group meetings, has contributed to our numerous Google Docs, commented throughout the process, indicated when ideas were "too much", or when we needed "more", and brought their wonderful sense of humor.  This assignment doesn't require such discourse, so I will just say that our group meshed very well.

As a group, we tried to organize ourselves by our strengths, experience as well as our desire to learn.  We each expressed the areas that we felt strong in and areas in we would like to grow.  This complex mixture of expertise and desire to work with the unknown, landed us in various roles to offer advice to each other, learn from each other, and just plain 'ole experiment with elements of our project that some have never worked with at all.  We broke our project into two phases:  the prep phase and the execution phase.  Ariel and I were tasked with the prep phase.  Ariel's concentration was to be on the Script and my concentration was to be on the Storyboarding.  Having said that, it is almost impossible to work on these elements in isolation, so it wound up that we both worked on both elements together as it became evident that the Script and Storyboard are really interdependent.  Keep in mind, that nothing was finalized without the input from Charlene and Suzanne, who were certainly contributing to the framework and details of both elements.  Alas, both the Script and Storyboard are complete and ready to view.

As we go forward, Charlene and Suzanne will be at the helm as they are going to drive the execution boat.  Charlene will record our tutorial, which is really three mini tutorials, in Jing, of course based on the Script and Storyboard.  She will record an introductory tutorial of about three minutes in length; another tutorial of about three minutes in length showing how to create a Google account; as well as a final tutorial, of about five minutes in length, illustrating how to commence and record a Google Hangout.  Once that is complete, Suzanne will edit the tutorial into a refined work of art, adding transitions, sounds, and the like where appropriate.  Again, all members of the group will be available to contribute ideas, commentary and the sometimes needed humor, while the second phase of our project is being created.  We have even toyed with the idea of all of being present in the tutorial video as "invitees" of a Google Hangout.  I'm looking forward to seeing the project come alive...moving from words on a page to a narrated video.

Part A - Brainstorming Session (GLP)

Our Group is number 4.  The members other than myself include Suzanne, Charlene and Ariel.  We were all present when we met on Sunday, October 7, to brainstorm about our Group Leadership Project.  We were pretty organized because we had started a Google Doc earlier in the week and were brainstorming about our brainstorming before we actually engaged in the brainstorming.  This proved quite beneficial as we had an organized and straight forward meeting together in which we stormed our brains and planned our project.

Google Hangout was our meeting venue of choice.  {**************In our Google Doc we decided on Google Hangout, mainly because it was free, available to all of us, and we could learn how to record our session in it, which is something none of us had done, but wanted to learn to do.  We were interested in learning a new web conferencing tool to build our repertoire.  I have used Adobe Connect myself, as an administrator, which is why I didn't feel the need to utilize that web conferencing tool.  I was finding the threat of way too many adds on Vyew daunting, just thinking about it.  And the other web conferencing tools featured in the lab either cost money or were ones that I didn't think I would use often.  As a group, we wanted to learn something that would be of value to us, not just for this assignment, but in our teaching careers.  All of my students can have access to Google Hangout and will understand how to use it.  The entire group felt this way as well and we thought we would like to become fluent in Google Hangout.  We learned a good deal from our experience and I am eager to learn more.******************}   The advantages of the Google Hangout technology were that we had no problems using it, and it was free.  We could all hear and see each other well, while we each contributed, typed, planned and checked out internet resources as needed.  We could all accomplish all these tasks independently on our own single computers, while sitting in our respective homes, resulting in a very productive meeting.  Additionally, we recorded our session, not worrying about the length of it, knowing that it would be accessible later on You Tube.  Our brainstorming session can now be viewed online and is accessible to anyone with the link and an internet connection.  This is another advantage because it means that there would be no problems with downloading or accessing the video of our brainstorming session at a later date.  This is a really nice feature of Google Hangout that I am sure I will use often in the future.  Also, on Google Hangout, we could share our screen, watch You Tube videos together, play games, and the like.

One of the disadvantages of using this technology was really a matter mechanical issues with my computer.  Unfortunately, my computer, a brand new Mac, was spinning it's Beach Ball of Death and wouldn't allow me to share my screen much, but the capability is there.  Next time, I will close out some other applications prior to beginning a Hangout and maybe this won't be an issue.  Nonetheless, we were able to plan out our project and agreed to meet the following Sunday on Google Hangout to follow-up on our progress.

During the brainstorming session, we chose to make a tutorial of LiveBinders, a technology that replicates a three ring binder.  This digital binder can organize material, including videos, graphs, polls, websites, etc., much like a tangible three ring binder would.  Later, we chose to switch out the technology, but I will get to that below.

Being that most of us have used Camtasia, but not Jing, we decided to go with that technology to capture our tutorial.  I am happy to use this technology because it is a free technology that I have not used, so getting familiar with it will benefit me as a student and teacher.{************We plan on making three separate tutorials using Jing.  The first will be an introduction to Google Hangout, including a discussion of how it can be useful to teachers to connect with their students, students to connect with students and maybe even teachers to connect with teachers, if need be.  The second tutorial will illustrate how to create a Google account and use some other Google tools.  The third tutorial will feature Google Hangout and how to set up a Hangout, how to broadcast "On Air", screen share with various tools and how the "On Air" session is uploaded onto You Tube.  We don't mind that Jing has some time limitations because we thought that breaking our tutorial into sections would allow teachers to view whatever section is needed by them.  For instance, some teachers may already have a Google account set up and not need to view that bit of information.  Or, a teacher may need to watch the tutorial more than once.  Having the tutorial in sections would be more convenient in that instance so the teacher wouldn't have to watch a long tutorial just to get to specific elements of the tutorial. **************}

We divided our work into two main sections.  One subgroup will be the structural creators, and the other  will produce and edit the tutorial itself.  We all agreed, however, that we will keep Google Docs up and running for each section so that we can all be involved in the entire production of our project.  We decided that we will be better informed about the final product and learn more this way.  Therefore, Ariel and I will be responsible for deciding which elements of the technology will be taught in our tutorial and will create the storyboard and script that will be approved by the other members of the group.  We will work together through a Google Doc.  Charlene and Suzanne will then be responsible for bringing the storyboard and script to life in Jing, and then editing it to perfection.  And, this will also be approved by Ariel and I.  At the time of writing this post,  we are working on the storyboarding phase of the assignment.  We plan to have a full group meeting again on Sunday, October 14, in order discuss the storyboarding and script writing status.  I would expect all work in this area to be completed Wednesday, October 17 in order to prep the Part B Group Leadership Project for submittal.  Once we are satisfied with the storyboarding element, Charlene and Suzanne will begin producing and editing our Jing tutorials featuring Google Hangout.

It is good that we developed such a solid plan at our brainstorming meeting, because the day after our group met, we decided to change the technology that would be featured in our tutorial from LiveBinders to Google Hangout.  At the class Adobe Connect session, on Monday, October 8, with our wonderful instructor, Carolyn, Charlene and I were asking questions about some elements of our projects, when we suddenly felt an urge to feature Google Hangout in our tutorial.  We emailed all the members of our group and they agreed, being that none of us had invested that much time in learning LiveBinders yet.  We had invested some time developing the plan for our project, which we kept in tact.  We merely switched out one technology for another and have since carried on without skipping a beat.  We had such a good experience using Google Hangout at our brainstorming meeting, that this technology really seemed to be a more natural fit for us.

Part B - Application of TPACK

1.  TP(Technology/Pedagogy)
My WPP uses a website technology, Weebly, in order to serve as a resource that can be accessed by students as needed throughout the semester.  I've chosen a website as the platform for this resource because it will always be accessible at any time, day or night, and believe me, many students work well into the night when I am sleeping soundly.  This technology is familiar to them as the Weebly sites provide intuitive functions because they are constructed like many websites on the internet.  Students will understand how to navigate through the website without any lessons on how to use the technology.  My pedagogy for this particular project is to approach the topic of plagiarism as an academic unit by providing a formal setting for the information and also to give students a person to consult with on the topic, leaving it open for discussion throughout the semester.  This information is not part of my core curriculum as I am a teacher of world religions, so I cannot justify taking a portion of our semester to cover this topic as a unit in our class.  It must be something that the students work on outside of our class.  My intent is to empower students to develop their knowledge and understanding of plagiarism and to use this knowledge, not only in their current class with me, but in their future courses in college, as well as in the workplace and anytime that this knowledge is needed in life.   It will absolutely impact each and every assignment submitted by a student in my class as writing is required in two assignments each week in my online courses.  This information can make or break a student.  If plagiarism is committed, they will receive a zero for the first assignment and be removed from the course, with an "E"as a final grade, on the second offense.  I therefore, need a technological tool that is easily used by students and accessible, without intervention from me, that will guide them on how to avoid plagiarism, reducing the number of students faced with the undesirable consequences of engaging in plagiarism.  I will, of course, stress to students that I am available to discuss plagiarism and and answer questions, however, I need this tool to inform, provide specific instructions, give practice and then provide students the ability to assess their own knowledge.  The Weebly blends technology and pedagogy seamlessly.

2.  TC(Technology/Content)
The Weebly is a way that students can access the material related to plagiarism on whatever level is needed at the time of encountering the Weebly.  Some students don't know the definition of plagiarism, at all.  Some have a vague idea about plagiarism, but don't know how and when to apply the rules of proper citation.  Some students know about plagiarism, but don't understand how proper citation plays into the picture.  What most students seem to be lacking, is the knowledge of copyright and ownership of "words", which is the whole reason plagiarism is illegal and why proper citation methods exist in the first place.  Therefore, the Weebly meets the student at the point in which the student needs to be met.  A student can access the materials that she needs without having to work through the subject matter that is already known by that student.  If a student only needs to confirm the mechanics of a style of citation, such as APA, then he can just access that information.  If a students needs to understand the definition of plagiarism, then she can read through that portion of the material on the Weebly.  The Weebly will provide comprehensive coverage of the topic of plagiarism and the student can use the portions of the topic that serves her, specifically.  And, because the Weebly never sleeps, unlike the instructor, the student can find the information needed at the time that it is going to be used, which fosters learning and retention.  The student can access the material and apply it immediately as the student is working because the Weeby will be up and running as long as the student has an internet connection.  On the Weebly, one will be able to become educated, interact with the tutorials, assess and test one's knowledge of the topic, and have access to my contact information if questions linger or clarification is needed.  The Weebly technology will comprehensively present the content in a way that just one instructor can't.  Email, the LMS, a Google Hangout, or telephone call cannot provide students a thorough encounter with plagiarism like the Weebly plagiarism site can.

3.  PC(Pedagogy/Content)
I would like to erase the confusion associated with plagiarism, as the confusion seams to cause a fear of plagiarism, which ironically seems to generate more instances of plagiarism.  My pedagogical approach for this project is to present the topic of plagiarism as an academic unit, explain why plagiarism needs to be avoided, and also give the student the opportunity to consult with me regarding plagiarism.  Through the use of the Weebly site, plagiarism will become a topic that causes less confusion and fear in students.  The content will be presented to students in a way that educates them on copyright and authorship and distinctly illustrates proper citation methods.  Receiving the material in a compartmentalized platform that covers the content from the very roots all the way to the applied practice, will serve to enmesh the pedagogy and the content.  The student will find that the content is reliable in every sense of the word.  The content is directly pertinent to the success of the student, not just in the student's current class, but in all classes, and all throughout life.  Also, the student will find that the content is available when the student needs it, even potentially after the course with me has come to a close.  Also, the content is already curated, meaning the student is not going to have to conduct an independent internet search, which may result in mixed messages, scattered information, information that is not detailed enough, and information from sources that are less than sound.  Most importantly, the student can rely on the fact that the newly obtained understanding of plagiarism is correct.  The student will learn the definition of plagiarism, the foundation of it, or copyright, how to avoid the consequences of engaging in plagiarism, as well as assess one's own understanding of the topic.  The pedagogical goal is to give the students a well rounded study of plagiarism, similar to the experience one would gain in an English class.  When students can learn the material needed in order to avoid plagiarism and then assess their own understanding of this topic, then the goal has been met.  As long as real learning is occurring, students are becoming empowered to observe the rules of copyright, avoiding plagiarism and feeling they can consult with me to develop their skills in this area, then the pedagogical and content goals of this teacher, will be satisfied...alas.

WPP Part A- Description of Need or Opportunity

I need a tool to help students fully understand plagiarism.  My students are in college.  It is surprising to learn how many of them know little about plagiarism or how to avoid it when writing assignments.  From the survey results I've received from students thus far, I've discovered that about half of them have never formally learned about plagiarism in an educational setting before attending Henry Ford Community College.  Some have learned about it from other sources, and some have not learned about it at all.  This is quite shocking to me on one hand, but on the other, I see evidence of this more often than I am comfortable with.  This semester about 1/4 of my students engaged in plagiarism on some level within the first two weeks of class.  Being that I teach world religion courses, and not English courses, I need a comprehensive and reliable resource for students regarding plagiarism, that is not part of the regular curriculum.  I also need this tool to deliver information on multiple levels because some students understand some aspects of plagiarism, but have misconceptions about other areas of it.

I will create a Weebly.  This Weebly site will discuss the definition and scope of plagiarism and also methods for proper citation in order to avoid plagiarism.  It will serve as a repository of different types of information and interactive elements that will be useful to students who hold various levels of misconceptions on the topic.  The Weebly site will be used on an "as needed" basis throughout the semester, and I'm sure it will be used often.  When plagiarism occurs, I will certainly send students to the Weebly site to get the information they need to help them be successful in my course, as well as future courses and in the workplace.  I will also have a link to the Weebly site in the online courses that I run, so that students have access to it at any point that they choose to check it out.  This will provide an extra resource at the click of a button that can educate them at the time that they need it.  They will no longer have to research a topic they understand superficially, which in and of itself is worth the effort, as this type of research generally yields poor results in this area.

I plan on continuing to research more resources, but I have found a good deal of resources thus far to help implement my Weebly plagiarism project and my Diigo account is filling up fast.  My gracious instructor has advised that there is some wonderful information in "21 Things 4 Teachers" and "21 Things 4 Students", which I will certainly use as a guide regarding copyright and Creative Commons.  These sites get to the root of plagiarism by discussing copyright so students understand the whole reason why proper citation is needed, instead of just learning about citation as a "rule" to follow.  I have also found many tutorials and short films, and such, in MERLOT.  What I like about the two examples linked above is that they address the topic in a thorough manner and present it in a way that makes sense and in a format the promotes learning.  I plan to link to some of these tools in the Weebly to provide another platform for education.  Some of these tutorials and films are well made and there is no need to recreate the wheel in this regard when the resources are of such high quality and willing to be shared by the authors.  As far as content goes, in addition to the above, I will also be writing much of it myself.  Also, I plan on using the results from my student survey to help refine the kind of information presented to students.  This will help guide me in my overall plan.  These resources will serve as examples of how information is presented, what type of information is important, sources for interactive elements as well as resources that will be used by students directly.

I plan to get the Weebly up and running this semester so that students can begin using it as soon as it is finished, within a few weeks or so.  At this moment, I envision tabs on the Weebly covering the topics:  Plagiarism Defined, with tutorials; Avoiding Plagiarism, which will highlight citation methods; Copyright; Creative Commons; Consequences of Plagiarism, which may include an active blog where students can share  stories; and Resources.  {******I initially planned to have the entire Weebly site completed by November 20.  If this proves too daunting of a task, I will prioritize giving the most attention to the home screen, defining plagiarism, explaining copyright, and providing resources and tutorials promoting proper citation methods, such as APA, MLA, etc. ********}  I expect to then continue the use of the Weebly as a repository for new and interesting information that I find and build the site over time.  Beginning with next semester, I plan to have students take a quiz for assessment purposes and then require them to visit the Weebly site and take another quiz afterward.

{******I have read some articles, one written by Jonathan Bailey, that explains how to teach about plagiarism in a manner that actually helps students.  Tackling plagiarism as an academic unit really helps in eradicating the occurrence of plagiarism, instead of just expecting students to comply with the rules of plagiarism, although they haven't been formally instructed about it's meaning or purpose.  One key component related to this is to have students learn why avoiding plagiarism is important.  Many think of it as just some random set of rules that they are supposed to follow for some reason.  Stressing the importance of individuality, credit for work and copyright will aid students in deepening their understanding of why they should observe these "rules", which will in turn make them more likely to find the practices valuable enough to employ themselves.  Additionally, providing students with a person to consult about the topic, instead of just instilling fear about it, will also go a long way in alleviating the prolific nature of plagiarism for today's students.  I will use information such as this to help guide me in constructing my plagiarism Weebly and believe that these strategies will help this project be successful.*******}  I will be able to assess success of this project, if the scores improve from the assessment quiz to the quiz after working on the Weebly site.  But, I think the most fulfilling sign of success for me will the absence of plagiarism throughout the semester.  And, I would hope that some positive student feedback would also occur.  I expect that students will be happier having been educated on plagiarism so that the issue is no longer something on which they struggle to understand and apply.

A Funny Thing Happened with Technology (CEP812)

Feel free to view my movie about a funny thing that happened with technology a few years ago.  It is my very first iMovie (I just bought a Mac).  I had so much fun making it and working with iMovie.  I admit, however, my son...he's nine...had to help me troubleshoot a couple of times.  I should be proud of that, not embarrassed, right?  Anyway, I hope you don't think my movie is too corny...or maybe that's the point of this assignment.  Thanks for taking the time to watch!

Favorite Technology...so tough to choose just one

Please have a listen to my podcast regarding my current favorite technology.  It really is hard to choose just one technology that is my favorite with so many new ones emerging every day.  My laptop has to be the piece of technology equipment that I use the most.  I am a moody worker.  Sometimes I can work away in my office at home, but sometimes I need to work in a busy cafe, my favorite being Starbucks, or a cozy cafe, like "Meant To Be" cafe in downtown Farmington.  Or, at the library, outside in the summer, in an airport, and any place that I can get a wifi connection.

For the purposes of this assignment, I think Weebly is my favorite non-hardware technology.  I like creating a site that is useful for my specific purposes and the purposes of my students.  I feel that my Weebly site has greatly increased in my WR 130, Introduction to the Study of Religion, online students, the deep learning, retention of information and internalization of our subject matter.  It provides the "campus" effect of an online class wherein I give my take on the more formal resources assigned in the class.  Providing my interpretation of the material and how that particular material fits into the larger scheme, seems to help students engage with the subject matter in a less superficial manner.  I think I am in good company when I say, we instructors like that!

Introduction to CEP 812

Hello everyone in CEP 812!  I am Tracy Marshall.  Below is some information about me and my interests.  I expect to have a wonderful semester and grow a good deal as a result of it.

Please feel free to view my Voki introduction.

I'd say that my education passions focus around 21st Century Skills.  I'd like students to begin thinking about technology as a tool to build success.  No longer is education and technology afforded only to the wealthy.  These tools that can help one communicate effectively in our global society, provide a means to develop one's academic skills in general and serve as an aid in learning that is suitable to all types of learners.  I would like students to understand that technology goes far beyond socially interacting with friends.  If used with a purpose, technology can empower any individual that wishes to succeed by building one's communication and collaboration abilities and preparing one for the professional world.

I work at Henry Ford Community College as an adjunct instructor teaching World Religion courses.  I have created four different courses that run on a rotating basis.  Since I mostly work online, I have captured some pictures of a few of my courses and pasted them below.  They are my labor of love and are always morphing.

I look forward to meeting everyone this semester, working together and learning lots of great stuff!

This is a photo of the introductory page of WR 130.

This is a photo of the introductory page of WR 233.

This is a photo of the introductory page of WR 131.

CEP 811 - Final Reflections

I think one of the best strategies I have taken away with me from this course is to be always in consideration of UDL Guidelines.  Not only will this help those students in my courses that have some types of learning disabilities, but will help all students.  When I kept these guidelines in mind while creating my lesson plan and StAIR assignment, I could see how this would benefit so many people in so many ways.  Of course, I can't squeeze in every guideline in every assignment, but just keeping these guidelines in mind for all lessons, both online and in campus classes, will certainly enhance each lesson and provide a more enriching learning experience for all students.  I can't wait to go forward with this new knowledge to see how lessons, lectures, assignments, and all aspects of online and campus courses are improved. 

I also learned that many projects take a good deal of work.  This is wonderful!  If I spend a good deal of time preparing a lesson, like a StAIR, I can use it forever...and trust me, I will use the StAIR I created in CEP 811, until the day I am no longer a teacher.  I can use this StAIR for four different world religion courses that I teach, both online and on campus.  And, I think this particular StAIR will really help students understand a topic that they generally get very little training in...understanding the meaning of symbols.  Putting in some good time on the front end, will certainly pay off for students.  My symbols StAIR is a ready made tool for all students to use.  I am very happy about that!

Integrating technologies in this class helped me realize how I can really customize lessons to fill some needs that I have.  World Religion materials...good ones anyway...aren't easy to come by.  Usually, world religion is the last discipline to be incorporated into the pre-made technology tools out there...I really have to search for quality You Tube videos, tutorials and the like.  There are plenty of less than scholarly materials available, but not good academic ones.  I have learned that I can really just make my own.  They will be more tailored to my courses anyway.

In CEP 811, I have certainly continued on the path of my long-term goal, which is to learn more about educational technologies and put them to use.  Working with them is really the only way to understand how they can be used for strong pedagogy, and I have certainly used some technology this semester.  I like that I have been able to think specifically about good teaching strategies while using the technologies this semester because without good teaching strategies, technology doesn't serve learners well.  And, I have come away with some materials that I can use right away in my courses.  It doesn't get much better than that!

I don't want to pile on too many goals on my plate, but sometimes I just can't help myself.  I have come to really love this process of integrating best teaching practices and technology.  I have begun to think about some dream jobs, so one goal is to sniff around and see what job opportunities are out there.  I am also strongly considering apply to the MSU MAET program.  But, aside from that, I want to keep up with original goal of learning as much as possible about educational technology and use that knowledge in my courses.  I plan to use the materials I created in CEP 811 in the Fall semester, and am going to work on getting those placed into the LMS before the semester begins. 

I can't wait to begin CEP 812!

Share Activity - CEP 811:session 6

As I was working through the Online Experience Guideline of the Michigan Merit Curriculum, I was familiar with most of the technologies and have even used many of them in my courses.  Electronic Portfolios is one of the technologies that I have seen used in courses of some colleagues at the College, and, I believe in them whole-heartily as a technology that can teach students valuable 21st century skills, as well as give them a practical product they can use for career opportunities outside of their college educational experience.  As I was thinking about them and how they really don't fit into my courses because I have to teach my subject matter, which is world religions, a thought began to blossom.

Hmmmmmmm...my mind began contemplating...an idea is in there somewhere...and then, it bloomed.  What if I had students create an electronic portfolio describing themselves as a follower of a particular religion, preferably not their current one?  Hmmmmmmm.  How would this be a pedagogical value?  Well, it is known in the world of academia, that providing students to opportunity to defend a position other than the one held personally by them, or otherwise put themselves in the shoes of another, is a good teaching strategy.  In order to understand a differing point of view, one needs to really internalize that point of view and come to know how a person holding the differing point of view thinks. 

Therefore, I would like to create an assignment wherein a Muslim student, for instance, creates an electronic portfolio detailing her life as a Hindu, for instance.  The portfolio could include a biography section, which may be fictional in nature, detailing that she was born in India and how she grew up in a wealthy caste, and what her life was like.  She could have a philosophy section explaining a type of religious concept that she holds dear; list of religious practices, perhaps with photos; a "favorite sacred text" section, in which she'd link to a favorite sacred passage and explain its meaning and how it relates to her life today; and on and on.  Many of the elements could be not true to her real life, but be included in the portfolio in the same way that authors write historic fiction novels.  The information would have to be accurate, but it doesn't really apply to her life.  An assignment of this type would involve good research techniques, develop writing skills of a technical as well as creative nature, provide practice using 21st century skills to conduct electronic research, find digital and copyright safe images, music, etc.  And, a student would become familiar with an electronic portfolio to use in the future for professional reasons.  Hmmmmmmmm.

I think the technology that would be most difficult to use from the Online Experience Guideline would be online simulations as this really doesn't blend well with my discipline of religious studies.  I can't really justify putting a simulation of a frog dissection in my class.  Also, I can't see that online gaming would be compatible either.  World religions is usually the last category of academia to be included into educational applications, so I would highly doubt I'd find anything applicable to my content.  Other than those two technologies, I think I could use pretty much every other category of technology in the table provided in the Online Experience Guideline.  It is fun to contemplate the wonderful assignments just waiting to be produced with all those great tools out there!