Video Teaching Mini Lesson

Jeremy and I created a puppet show on one of Piaget's four stages of development, concrete operational. We were able to teach this stage any way we wanted to, but felt that a puppet show would be the most entertaining. Performing the show was nerve wrecking, and fun at the same time. The last time I performed a puppet show was probably early elementary school. Click here for video.

The hardest part for me was uploading the video. It took me several attempts to upload it online. I finally decided that maybe my internet was too slow. I went to work the next day and attempted to upload the video on Vimeo. It worked instantly. Now I know to upload all my videos at work :)

Overall it was a stressful but fun experience. I think it was worth it and plan on creating future short videos, maybe puppet shows. This would be a great idea to do with the students, when they are presenting projects, especially with the various privacy options.

Concrete Operational Stage from Jennifer Becerril on Vimeo.

Analyzing Student Data in a Spreadsheet

 I surprisingly enjoyed doing the spreadsheet on Google. I love the fact that I could calculate the average, sum, median of rows/columns of numbers instantly.  I've had some experience using Microsoft Excel, but never on Google Spreadsheets. I started by watching the video tutorials, it was pretty straight forward. It was super easy and fast using Google spreadsheet. I feel like it's lot more user friendly then Excel. 

Click here to access the spreadsheet. 

Looking at the graph we could see that the majority of the class that scored below average performed better as the class progressed. All but one student improved on the last test, Queen.  Queen,  was slowly improving but she scored 5 points lower on test 10. Most of the students had steady improvements. Approximately half of the students had significant improvements and did better then the class average on the last test. For example Dan received a 170 on test 6, and improved on several of the following tests. He scored 215 on the last test. It also looks like a couple of students like Katherine, had on and off days. Where they improved significantly on one test and  did worse on the next.

As a teacher, I think I would follow up with the students that are performing poorly and see how they are understanding the subjects.  Also, I think it would be a good idea to stay after school to have a help session for the students that need the extra assistance. I would probably check up on what's going on with the personal lives of the students that have had unstable test scores.

Multi-Media Project

Screenr is a tool that records what you are doing on your screen including sound. Screenr can be used for sharing online tutorials, Powerpoint Presentations, videos and much more.

Teachers could used Screenr to share step by step tutorials for researching online, solving a math problem, reading stories, understanding Web 2.0.  It would be great for students to access these tutorials when at home. For example, there were several times where I understood solving a new math problem in the classroom. Then I came home and forgot how to do the problem. If I had internet access and my teacher posted a tutorial on the subjects we were learning I would be able to access the video and refresh my memory.

The tool is pretty simple to use. First you sign in using your Twitter, Facebook, email. Then you click record and record for up to five minutes. After that you are able to easily share wherever.

I created a Screenr on accessing an online stories.  

OTEN Conference

I was fortunate to attend the Oregon Technology and Education Network conference.  At this conference I attended three different presentations. The first presentation was the keynote speaker. Joe Morelock, a teacher in the Canby school district. He shared information about technology uses in his school. The second presentation was by Michelle Childers, an elementary teacher at Forest Grove. She spoke about her experiences using podcasts in her classroom. The third presentation was by Serena Fyer, another elementary teacher at Forest Grove. She shared information about using smart boards in the classroom.

I really enjoyed the conference. I learned about the uses of technology in the classroom that I never considered.

Check out my Yodio to get a brief summary and reflection of the presenters.

My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is known as the next generation of the Web. Originally internet was really static and had basic htmls. Then came Web 2.0, which is known to be more dynamic and versatile. Web 2.0 includes websites like Youtube, Facebook, Wikipedia, Bloggers, and many more. The web is more functional and organized with Web 2.0.


Facebook is a great example of Web 2.0.  Facebook allows you to share your opinions, communicate with friends, post photos, share links, play games, advertise, and lots more. Facebook was recently said be used in organizing for social change.


Tiny URL

Tiny URL is a handy online tool used to shorten really long urls. You can shorten:

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Display-Globa lly/dp/B003FSUDM4/ref=amb_link_353259562_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIK X0DER&pf_rd_s=center-10&pf_rd_r=11EYKTN682A79T370AM3&pf_rd_ t=201&pf_rd_p=1270985982&pf_rd_i=B002Y27P3M 

into: http://tinyurl.com/KindleWireless

Check out TinyURL for your long urls.
Watch this You Tube tutorial for more information. 

Tiny URL is useful for teachers and students. I've had several experiences where a teacher shared a linked on a white board or power point. The students copied the link and went home to type up a link that didn't work. It could have been due to a missed or incorrect letter. Tiny URL would eliminate this problem. Tiny URL is helpful with successfully sharing important websites with long URLs.

Google Docs Group Project

The purpose of our project was to experiment and become more familiar with Google Reader. To access our project follow this link: Reader Project.

At first  my learning curve was really steep. I had no idea  what Reader was and I hardly ever read blogs or followed websites. I read a brief description on Reader’s website, but I was still confused. I then decided to watch a tutorial on Youtube. After watching the tutorial I felt more comfortable with Reader.

I think this tool would enhance teaching/learning because it is great for managing blogs. It could be time consuming to check all 30 students blogs to see if someone made any changes to their blog. Google reader is helpful because it would let the individual know if there have been any changes to a blog.

I contributed in every section of the blog. I listed bullet points of the effectiveness of Google Reader, and a summary of my experience.

Google Docs Group Project

The name of our project is creatively named Assignment # 2.  The purpose is to explore Google Docs and how we may be able to use it in our personal or teaching lives.  Here is a link to our group project: Assignment # 2.

This project was my first experience using Google Docs, and I learned a ton. After exploring Google Docs, I used it for one of my home work assignments for Grad Sem. I loved how it automatically saved my work and that I was able to access my projects anywhere any time. 

Google Docs is great to use in education because it encourages collaboration within a group. For example, I may share my ideas and my partners may add onto to what I have written and add their own. 

I worked alongside with Jessica and Kelsie. Both had great ideas and I added to their ideas. I also shared  an example of a table that may be used to gather statistics.

I don’t consider myself an expert yet in Google docs, but so far it has been user friendly and a useful tool that I know I will continue to use.

Blogs in the Classroom

I have never heard of or considered blogging in the classroom. I am fascinated by the posts, videos, and student participation in the blogs I saw (  http://huzzah.edublogs.org/ ).  I think there are several benefits in having a class blog. 

Blog leads to a whole different approach to the student - teacher dynamic. Teachers are able to provide a safe zone for student opinions. Students are able to put time and effort into writing reflective  responses that would possibly not be presented otherwise.  Blogs are beneficial for students that may be timid to share their opinions out loud in the class. People appear more real when they share about themselves.  Students could get to know their teacher and each other better and develop a type of bond, which may lead to more motivation and interest in school.

Blogs encourage writing and reading. Blogs may be helpful for students to increase their vocabulary and spelling. Once a student is online, they have easy access to a thesaurus, dictionary, and search engines. Search engines may also encourage further curiosity and the need to explore. I know with me personally, when I am looking up something on Google or Wikipedia, I tend to research other related topics. 

Blogs are great for sharing class assignments and projects with students and parents.  Parents may feel more involved in their child’s education and are encouraged to participate.  Blogs can promote collaboration between the school, students, parents, and community, which is important for a student’s success.

There can be negative effects to a classroom blog as well. For students that don’t have computers or internet, it could create a division in the class room; between the students that have computer/internet access and the students that don’t.  If a blog were incorporated in this situation, something would have to be done to make sure everyone has realistic equal access to computers and internet.  

I would personally like to have a classroom blog, but I don’t have any great ideas yet about cost effective access to computers/internet. The only idea I have so far is access to the Public Library or school library, but that may be unrealistic for parents that work long exhausting hours. I’m sure I will figure something out when the time comes.

My Bio- post 1

I grew up in the Willamette Valley with my two sisters and little brother. For the first eighteen years of my life I lived cities heavily populated by working class Latino families, including my family. Both of my parents didn’t graduate from high school. I am the first out of my family, including extended family that went to college. 

After high school I moved to Corvallis and started Oregon State University.  I was shocked to see that there were very little Latino college students. I was fortunate to get involved in Latino clubs. My first year at OSU, I observed that all the Latino students knew each other and helped each other. Even the three Latino professors were very involved.  I took a couple amazing Ethnic studies courses were I learned a form of history that was never taught to me before. I was amazed learning about Corky Gonzales and the Chicano movement. I treasured learning that Latinos are not lazy, drunk, beaners that take away from the society.  I learned to be proud of my cultural heritage. 

I still live in Corvallis. I enjoy living in a town that is rated as one of safest small towns in the nation. It is nice seeing people freely ride their bikes at any time of day or enjoy relaxing in well kept parks. I appreciate not having to worry about my house getting graffitied or my tires slashed. I am impressed with the amount of trust the high schools have in their students. The Corvallis high school students can leave campus during any time of day and are trusted to return.  My high school had security guards at both exits making sure we didn’t misbehave.  It saddens me that not everyone can live with such privilege; that not everyone has the same opportunity to live in a safe, collaborative community, or go to great schools. It makes sense how the privileged continue to be privileged and the oppressed continue to be oppressed.

 An older woman once called me a dreamer, but not in a good way; I think she was a pessimist. I believe I am a realist, but I agree, I can be a dreamer.  Hopefully the cycle of oppression will one day end, and everyone will have equal opportunities. But for now I hope to make a dent one person at a time. As  Mother Teresa once said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

All my life experiences and inspirers have led me to want to become a teacher.  I’m not really sure what grade yet. I’ve been going back in forth with each grade level: Elementary because they are still innocent and caring or high school because they need the extra support and encouragement. Ideally I would prefer teaching all grades. I’m sure in the end I probably will.  If I were to teach high school or middle school, I would like to teach Spanish and Ethnic studies.  In elementary school, I will most likely be teaching multiple subjects. I would like to incorporate information in diversity and oppression, and teach my students to be proud of who they are. 

Currently my hobbies are spending time with my family, partner, and friends. I work full time so I really enjoy relaxing on my days off and watching movies. I really enjoy movies with happy endings and movies that make me smile.  I like going to parks and reading a book on the grass under the shade.  I enjoy cuddling with my dog and cleaning up after his mess, actually not really.  But I do enjoy my dog; he’s a very loving creature. I also enjoy crafts, like scrap booking.  My interests are social justice, but I’m not really an intense activist, but I hope to lead by example and kindness.