May 4th-May 8th

15/5’s

This is the final week of the course and in typical fashion our site had a security breach and more corruption issues. I was mortified to learn that the mobile site for MTVT was taken over by a  Russian Porn Site. Kim has been extremely helpful in speaking with representative from blue host trying to troubleshoot the problem.  I am a bit relieved that the normal internet version is not experiencing these issues. We met as a team on Sunday for about an hour to discuss the remaining loose ends, the project documentation, and a few questions we had for Dr. Mims.

The program Maleware was purchased to eradicate the site issues unfortunately it did not work. Unfortunately, Dr. Mims had to purchase Site Doctor a $270 Program to clear out any threats.  Hopefully, this will rectify the problem. We were informed that the site will be down for a few days. I was shocked to learn how common this for Wordpress.  Especially, with the wordpress plug-ins.  Its just frustrating that someone would do this to an educational site. In any event,   I’m thankful this happened before Dr. Mims presented the site to room full of educators. That would have been really bad!

This week we focused on completing the testimonials videos.  I spent about three hours making a screencast using screen flow for my testimonial.  I also uploaded more teacher testimonial videos. Rick also had teachers submit testimonials that were uploaded to YouTube so that I could embed them into to the MTVT site. Kim also has submitted teacher and student testimonials. Since the site is down I will have to add these next week. Rick contacted Dr. Mims to get the final sign off on the project,  which we hope to have completed by Thursday (since in the last day of class).

I really enjoyed this class.  I think I have also developed an interest in instructional design. Once I complete this degree, I really would like to pursue this aspect of the degree or even build/create online courses or freelance for companies.

Wordpress was all trial and error and self teaching.  As I reflect on the this project, it is clear that having a site document all our work in one place is a great idea.  I am sure I will refer to this later on and even after graduation.  I learned so much this semester ( granted it was extremely time consuming dealing with the trial and error of Wordpress ) and found it extremely rewarding. I really enjoy the hands on approach to actually creating a final product.  I can write numerous papers but until I actually get first hand experience you don’t develop quite the same knowledge or appreciate.

My plan of action for the upcoming week is to add the testimonial videos and catch up on all my tv shows and sleep!

April 26th-May3rd

15/5’s 

April 26th-May3rd

This week we ran into some issues with Wordpress. First, Dr. Mims received an email that said Code Canyon (a plug-in I had purchased for the site) had a virus.  Around that same time, Kim found that Max Buttons (a plug-in she purchased) was corrupted.  In order to correct the corrupted file and eradicate the virus we had to contact Bluehost and they deactivated all of the plug-ins so that all that remained was the HTML coding.  This was not the solution we were looking for.  

Fortunately, with some ingenuity and a little luck,  the work was retrieved when Kim updated the plug-ins.  The issues was the plug in haven't been updating in over a year which caused some glitches in the system. Kim also removed the plug-ins we were not using. Since we began working on the site we have added and deleted numerous plug-ins. I still consider visual composer one of my favorite plug-ins.  It is an extremely user friendly plug-in that once you become confident and learn the ins and outs it is easy to use. The only issue I am having with this particular plug-in at the moment ( since the update) is that  visual composer can only be used through backend coding (or html).  I had to teach myself HTML in order to fix a lot of the issues with the frontend of visual composer.   My only concern is that we don’t lose what we created and I can finish off the project using the backend editor.

We met on Wednesday of this week for an hour and Dr. Weaver joined our group to discuss the showcase and hold our exit interview. We also discussed delegating out tasks to complete by next Wednesday.

I created two screencasts of testimonial interviews for using thinking routines that focused on Compass Points and Wordpress. I find that each time I use screenflow to create a screencast I learn something new.    Screenflow has numerous capabilities.  I would love to go to a training on screenflow.  In fact, once I get some free time I’m going to research what other options this program offers.   I also had to play with the color format since the site was changed to the old green after the updates.  There are numerous changes we need to make since we lost everything and the plug-ins were deactivated.  There are also widgets on the side of each page that need to be changed.

I also created more tabs for the “thinking routines in action” where I will be embedding teacher testimonials.  Our goal was to have a total of 10 videos by the end of this semester and I think it is possible to achieve this goal.  

This week we are tying up loose ends.  I created an updated treatment report that included the changes we made to the website.  These changes included: removing the name on the Edtech Tools  and updating the sites formatting; Module 2 name change from share exemplar to  creating and share exemplar lesson plans; as well as the updated content and images.  We also  added to the project evaluation summary ( which is a recap of the project and lessons learned).

We will be completing the treatment report, evaluation report and project evaluation to be submitted on Sunday.   

The next week will consist of finding teachers to participate in the testimonials, as well as adding teacher student testimonials to the site. These testimonials will be embedded in two places,the lesson plan and the tab folders for thinking routines in action.

15/5 April 19th-25th

15/5’s April 19th-25

This week we prepared for the presentation of our project showcase. We created a Google Slide presentation and met Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare. I also created a screencast to present the unique features of the website since Google+ can be unpredictable and can loose connection and audio.  So to avoid any issues and ease some concerns we created the Screencast.

I also created a digital poster using Glogster, which is one of the free web 2.0 Ed Tech Tools showcased in the presentation.  The reasons for this was to present our group’s Lesson Learned.

Our meetings lasted about an hour and half. We discussed the necessary changes provided from  feedback from teachers and Dr. Mims.  We also discussed the  the edits we needed to make to the Making Thinking Visible with Technology site.

After meeting with Dr. Mims on Tuesday we discussed some changes and additional things he wanted us to focus on for the site:

1.     Teacher & Student testimonials.

2.     Remove the name from the image icons on the Ed Tech Tools.

Dr. Mims was disappointed we did not have teacher and student testimonials.  Our goal is to embedded at least ten of these testimonials  into the site by finding teacher’s videos and students’ audio clips to contribute.  We will also have to provide our own testimonials.  Since I am in the middle of common core state testing I am going to try pull students at the end of the day next week to give an audio testimonials, as well as some teachers.  I assisted a fellow co-worker, Frank, in writing his technology Motorcycle lesson plan.  So I am confident he will provide me with a testimonial about using his thinking routine compass points.  I also have a resource room where I can reflect on my ZOOM in thinking routine.  

I removed all the title to the EdTech Tool kit.  There are other edits and changes we will make along the way.  Our main focus is obtaining testimonials of thinking routines.  

After seeing all of the showcase presentations I was extremely impressed. I really enjoyed Taylor, Taylor, and Wolf’s video presentations, I especially liked how they added humor. Unfortunately, I missed a majority of Claire’s, Jennifer’s and Tod’s presentation since we lost connection.  I had a difficult time hearing the audience when they were speaking and asking questions.  One of my big take a ways is best captured in this quote: “Many instructional designers, in an attempt to make content simple, takeout information.  The solution isn’t to take away content, but to present it in a simpler way.”

I do agree that seeing exemplar examples of final projects is a great idea to show future students.  It is extremely helpful to have a reference point such as previous groups website of their project documentation.  Having their end product to see would be beneficial even though each project is unique.

This next week we will be working on making the necessary changes suggested as well as playing with the formatting.  We will also be making changes to the site to make it more visually appealing.  This class was intense and the end is closely approaching.

April 13th -19th (15/5's)

April 13th - April 19th

15/5’s

This week I worked on finishing the Resource Page.  This page focused on Thinking Routines in Actions, Blooms Higher Order Thinking, as well as adding additional resource and formatting to all the resource tab pages.

I created Tabs for the video to follow the template in our instructional component.  However, I struggled to find a lot of video documentation of the thinking routines in action.  Even project Zero had a minimal selection of videos (which I was surprised to learn).  

We met twice this week Monday and Wednesday for a total of 2 hours.  Rick had colleagues test out the site. The biggest issue was that people were unfamiliar with Google Docs and were not reading the directions.  As a team we discussed a plan of action.  We made some minor changes to the site which included making changes to the tabs so that they proceeded in a step-by-step process for the learner to follow the specific order.  

We also learned that the Google Doc embedded view would require the learner to make a copy.  Instead the testers were changing the Google Doc Template that was supposed to be copied.  It was a minor change,which required us to change the public view setting to “anyone on the internet”.

We also discussed the project showcase and who will present what roles.

1. Background-Kim
2. How it was Addressed-Kim
3. Unique Features-Heidi
4. Evaluation-Rick
5. Changes-Rick
6. Lessons Learned-Heidi

As a team we would like to incorporate a thinking routine into our presentation.  At this point we are still working out the details.  Since I will be presenting Via Google + I will be focusing on the “Unique Features” of the site by showing my screen.  I will also conclude the presentation with “Lessons Learned”.

I have been working on the site for the most part every day a few hours a night and my weekends have been consumed by this.  I am looking forward to the presentation and the final exit interviews.  My goal was to take a break from the site for a day or two and I performed a final run through on Sunday with a fresh pair of eye to make some content and formatting changes.  

As a group we are still meeting bi-weekly and it is a great opportunity for us to discuss of progress, as well as what still needs to be accomplished.  I find that it it is extremely important to keep a regimented schedule, especially with a large project like this.  In addition, being in constant communication is vital; everyone needs to be aware of changes of ….

The next plan of action is to meet next week Monday and Wednesday. Rick will give a breakdown of the final evaluation trials.  We will prepare for our showcase presentation and review the site for preparation of the showcase.  I am so glad we  followed a strict schedule of due dates and tasks to complete! I can’t imagine saving this to the last minute. I don’t think it could be accomplished, with all the research and Wordpress learning curve.

April 6th -12th

15/5s

Resources	6 hours
Lesson Plan/Motorcycle	3+ hours
Site Review (2 Peers)	30 min
Team Meeting	1 hour
Research Tutorials/ Resources	4 hours
Symbolism Lesson/Routine	1 hour

This week the formative evaluation, including a screencast, was due. We met as a team on Monday and discussed tasks, to do lists, and modifications.  Documentation was approved for the treatment report and instructional strategy.  I can’t believe the end of the semester is nearing and will be here before we know it!

I attempted to create an essential grid to make a page of all videos.  Essential Grid is a plug-in for wordpress. I have had no success so I am relying on visual composer to create the format for the testimonials of thinking routines in action. This week was Spring Break, which I have been counting the days down until. Unfortunately, my entire family ended up with the stomach flu.

My main focus this week was finishing up lesson plans for submission in which i had to create, modify and write. I also had to work with a coworker on his lesson plan.  It is a tedious task, but I feel the more you write the more confident you become with the process. I almost have the ISTE and 21st century skills memorized at this point I have looked at them so many times.   I also edited the resources tab.  We wanted to add visual and scaffold the individual pages. There was a lof of information on a page and we wanted to make it visually appealing and inviting. We didn’t want to overwhelm the learner.  I have been researching and adding information and images throughout the week.

We have also received feedback from the teachers’ testing the site.  I have recruited two teachers and I have nagged them everyday since we are on vacation. I will be bringing them coffee at work on monday and forcing them to complete the survey if I don’t receive feedback by Sunday night!  The feedback we have received has been positive and some minor changes are being made on a daily basis.  We will be make changes to the very end and likely after. Every time I log in I’m making a change it could be as simple as spacing change to content.   

Next week we will be focusing on the showcase presentation for the upcoming week. We will follow a bi-weekly meeting schedule to create a to-do list and keep in communication through our Google community.

March 30th-April 5th

March 30-April 5th

23 hours

Formatting Powerpoint Google Slides	1 hour
Treatment Report Thumbnails	2.5  hours
Treatment report Splash Page	1.5 hours
Team Meeting	1 hr. 30 min
Lesson PLan Symbolism	*Need to create student example (2 hours)
Lesson PLan Water Cycle	Updating 1 hr
Lesson Plan Nation Divided	Updating 1.5 hours
Lesson PLan (13 Colonies) Writing	2 hours
Reformat EdTech Tool Kit Action Buttons	6 hours
Printer Icon/re format only shows on specific pages	1 hour
Emails/Google+/To Do List	2 hours
Resources/Began adding resources videos/editing	3 hours

This week the second part of the treatment report was due.  On this part of the treatment report, I included the splash page, various color formats, and tab locations. I decided to sketch these out because I did not want to make any unnecessary changes to the homepage which was designed months ago based on Dr. Mims color choices.  I also added screenshots of all the modules to the the thumbnail pages.  These updates and documents were added to the existing treatment report which I created last week with the screencast. I happened to get ahead of myself and reported on everything last week.

All assignments were completed on time and turned in prior to due dates. (Treatment Report)

I am also working on numerous lesson plans to add to the MTVT website. Drafting lessons is a tedious process as well as updating existing lesson plans to follow the MTVT lesson plan template. I am meeting with two teachers to do a test run of the site this week to provide feedback.

To update the EdTech Tool Kit, I also added more resources to the EdTech Tool Kits with description, video tutorials and links for pInboards and times lines.  I also had to change all the buttons to action buttons and include “access” to each of the sites so that the learner knew where to click. We also had the printer button added on each page.  I had to use short code to only place the printer button on lesson plan pages and tutorials.  This process took sometime to figure out, but once I figured out the coding it was a quick fix. I am learning about so many free Web 2.0 tools that I often find myself trying several out and being led off task.  Usually because I want to see how I could implement them in my own class.  I realize I can do this once the class is over and I have the time to play around with these tools.

The Resource Module is also being updated with images and site design formating.  I have just begun this process but will continue to work on this particular element throughout the week.  

Our team met on Wednesday and we once again delegated tasks, talked about ideas, and decided how to tweak certain elements on our site.  Kim completed all the tutorials and they are great. We decided to break the tutorial up into individual topics because learners may not want to sit through an 8 min tutorial when some questions could be answered in two minutes.  I think this was a great change and will be extremely beneficial in the tutorials and helping the learner create their own MTVT lesson plan.

Rick is still waiting for Feedback from Dr.Mims on the site we hope to hear from him soon since a majority of the site is almost complete.  We once again utilized a to-do list and I have been in constant communication with Kim throughout the week.  This upcoming week I hope to finish my lessons and will be updating the resource module.  I will also  be completing the group members evaluations and self evaluations on Google Forms. We will meet as a team to discuss our next plan of action on Monday.

March 23-29th

March 23-29th

22 +Hours

Treatment Report / Screencast	7 hours
Sitemap Gliffy	3 hours
Community/Communications	3 hours
Lesson Plans	2 hours
Pre and Post Test	Team
TEAM MEETING Wednesday and Sunday	1 hr 30 min 1 hour = 2.5 hours
Ed Tech Tool Kit, Finish building pages	2 hours
Section 4 Power Point Rick send to Heidi	Power Points Completed Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4                  2 hours Formatting/Adding/Updating ppts

This week the Instructional Strategy and Treatment Report was due. It was completed and turned in on time.  I created the screencast for the Treatment Report and Kim created a screencast for the Instructional Strategy.  We both used screenflow and a Google Doc to create the documentation for these reports.  I also created a sitemap using Gliffy to make a visual of our MTVT site layout as well as screenshots to document as thumbnails.  I also added A Nation Divided Lesson Plan to the Google Community to be added to MTVT Exemplar Lesson Plan Module by Kim.  I also had to reformat and add information to the power points so that Kim could begin to create the tutorial screencast.

I am still creating separate pages for each of the EdTEch Tool Kit.  I am also continuing to research tutorials and free web tools.  This is a bigger task than I anticipated. My goal was to complete this by Sunday however I think I may need a few days.

As a team it is important to stay on task and follow deadlines since the end is quickly approaching. I am still posting a to do list and it is important that members adhere to the time table.   

When doing the screencast of the treatment report I feel like It would have been easier to show the actual site however content is still not fully developed and I am anticipating changes will be made as we continue through this process. It is clear to see that each of the reports we had to write play a significant role in the development of our project and its content.  These reports are extremely time consuming however it forces us to focus on the task at hand.

We also met as a team for an hour and half on thursday and discussed tasks and the to do list.  We also went over ideas for our evaluation of the site and Fair’s SME review.  We need to create a survey for Fair so that she can document what worked and what changes need to be made. I am still waiting on information regarding the Social Media Page and PLN which has been in question for a few weeks. Rick made a Google Forms question survey in which we plan on creating a rating system to identify what sections of the tutorials the learner will need to focus on.

Kim has created all the lesson plan uploads/templates and we are still waiting on more submissions. She has been adding awesome features such as a hovering application and the print options.

I am also working on four more lesson plans to submit.  I hope to complete the lesson plans over the easter break.  Kim and I are also going to try and create a page of thinking routines in action using the plug-in, Essential Grid, so it formats the videos in a grid appearance. We will begin working on the Evaluation Documentation as well as the Thumbnails to present next Sunday.  

Today we held another team meeting to discuss our plan of action for the upcoming week so that I can create a to do list in our Google Community.  We have been checking in on daily basis and sharing. I also have been communicating with Kim via text and email regarding site updates and changes.  

March 8th-22nd

March 8th-15th

25 Hours

26 Hours

Total for two weeks: 41 hours

Create Template For Icons	Organized 4 hours
Researching Link/Tutorials	Free WEb 2.0 Tools Resource Links Common Core/Blooms	4 hours
Learning  Wordpress Plugins Purchased two programs	Reading, Watching Tutorial videos, Practice on my Wordpress Site	8 hour
Editing Contents analysis	Final Edit	2 hours
Social Media Links	Created Links/ New Page in Wordpress/ Researched Floating and Social Media Feather	2.5 hours
Conference with Kim 3/15/15	Tabs, Page Format for Wordpress	1.5 hours
Media Gallery Widgets	Building Pages/ video/images/text Coding	4 Hours
Started Thumbnail page/Screenshots Documentation	Screenshots/Descriptions	2 hours
Updating SmartSheets WBS Schedule/Meeting Calendar/Email contributors/To Do List	Updates/To Do	1 hour

Wordpress Search box/ Removing Widgets

Lesson Planning with Contributors

March 16th- 22nd

To Do List
Resource Links for Ed Tech Toolkit	Continued Creation of ED TECH Tool Kit Links and tutorials	15 + Hours
Power Point	Design/Revisions	6 hours
Email Tod T. Lesson Plan	Specifications for Updating Lesson Plans	30 min
Buttons	Plug In Button Max Learn how to create linking buttons	2.5 hours
Content Analysis	Edit	1 hour
Team Meeting 3/18/15	Discuss progress Questions for Dr.Mims Up dates and To Do list	1.5 hours
Buttons/Back Buttons (red) Links	Red Buttons with links to resources using MAx Buttons	Heidi
WBS	Schedule/Updating	30 min
Powerpoint /Submit to Heidi	Format and Edit Powerpoint Tutorials Visuals?Color/Style	Add Images/Bullet points *Write Script
Treatment Thumbnail	Compile pages/descriptions for Thumbnail

These past two weeks have been extremely intense.  At this point, we are actually creating instructional resources for our MTVT Website.  I have spent countless hours, most of which I probably lost  track of the time on, researching and learning how to use add-ins in Wordpress. I quickly learned that sometimes free is not always the best way. I ended up purchasing two add-ons for Wordpress, Visual Composer and  Essential Grids. These add-ons were difficult to learn, but I think I am developing an understanding of the diversity of add-ons for the site. (The expense was also outweighed by my sanity)  When I was first given the news that wordpress was the only website tool that we could use for the project, I was intimidated and stressed. However, after countless hour of trial and error, l have made some ground but likely only scratched the surface of the web tools and applications of Wordpress.   Despite the fact I was initially apprehensive, I now understand why Dr. Mims requested we use Wordpress to develop the site.  

The assignments due this week were the content analysis, which we finished last week, but had to do some final edits. Kim will be presenting the content analysis via screencast.   There were no other assignments due this week. However; there was a list of tasks for us to accomplish.  Once again, I created a to-do list which delegated our tasks and kept us on track. I feel that the to do list is more beneficial for our team to follow rather than the WBS Smart Sheet I created.  Nonetheless, I recognize the benefit of the WBS Smart Sheet as a presentation device for the client.

Personally I need to track my time more effectively. I typically spend more time than I actually document because I look back at the to do list which takes a week to complete and I forget how much time I actually spent on a task. As I reflect on this project, I have come to the conclusion that I am underreporting the actual time. However, I view this project as a learning curve and it is something I will have to pay attention to in a real world setting.   

My entire weekend was dedicated to this class from Friday until Sunday night (as well as everyday after work).  This is a much larger task that I anticipated because the majority of my time is spent learning how to use plug-ins and coding in Wordpress.  

Kim created tabs for the lessons plans and a uniform template for all of the lesson plan examples. She also created tabs for the Lesson plan tutorial which is is extremely user friendly and follows systematic procedures in which the material is “chunked”.  Links are also provided in the lesson plan template to assist the learner in creating a MTVT lesson plan.

I learned how to create buttons by using the add-on, Max Buttons. We choose the color red so that it is a visual indicator that there is an important link to provided additional information. Buttons are linked to resources.  

I also worked on the powerpoint template. We will provide four tutorial videos using powerpoint and screencast to present the material and content for creating A MTVT lesson plan. These tutorial videos will be broken in to the four major sections with and explanation of each. We want to use visual cues and bullet points with a script for Kim to use to create the screencast. The power points are a simple white with blue font and the visuals we want to make simplistic and visually appealing.

I also created a new Ed TEch Tool kit with a compiled list of image icons, as well as links to a tutorial video,  sites and descriptions. The learner will click on the free technology tool image that will take them to a separate page which will provide the learner with  an overview of the technology tool and how to utilize that technology tool in the classroom to Make Thinking Visible with Technology.  

Unfortunately, at this point, we have not received many  responses for lesson plan submissions. However, Tod sent me his so I was extremely excited to receive it with the revisions!! I am a little stressed but confident more contributors will be be forthcoming.  I also want to do a few changes to the lesson plan I created for the site in the upcoming week.  I will also be seeking out additional contributors. I will continue to work on my thumbnails for the website development.