Sunday, July 22, 2012

Class 5: Getting into the Swing of Things!

My oldest daughter Zoe
So is the class half-empty or half-full?  Today is officially class number five of ten. . .seems like only two weeks since our first class. . .oh wait, it has only been two weeks.  I'm sure it feels like two months for some of you. . .but I digress.  We still have quite a bit to do; however, I am confident that everyone will finish the class without too much pain.  I have graded everything that has been due so far: The About Me page, Classroom 2.0/Journal 2, and the classroom newsletter. You should either have a grade or a comment for revision.  It was pretty awesome to be able to annotate right on your newsletters in Edomodo.  I am curious to see how the annotations look from a student account.

Remember way back to last Wednesday when everyone promised to have her/his paragraph written for the NETS collaborative writing assignment by Monday's class?  I hope so.  Tonight, I want to take a closer look at the narratives and discuss how to comment and revise your work in Google Docs.  I will also revisit Symbaloo, Journal 7 & 8, how to submit the Diigo assignment, and the Excel crossword.  Lastly, I will show you how to use Prezi to make an amazing web-based, non-linear presentation!  That should be enough for one day. . .remember those headphones for music and to watch Symbaloo or Excel tutorials. . .

Please don't forget to come to the lab early if you need help. . .

Today's Question: If you were taking this class pass/fail instead of for a grade, would your effort change?  Why or why not.

30 comments:

  1. I don't think my effort would change, the grade really isn't a representation of knowlege just how well one was able to conform to the teachers madness. So in that respect we are always trying to pass or fail.

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  2. My efforts would not change. The reason why I took this class is to challenge myself and to learn. Every time I take a class pass/fail, I ended up doing badly because when the going gets tough, I drop out cause it won't affect me at all.

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  3. No, my efforts would not change, for several reasons. First, I've gotten in the habit of trying to do everything to the best of my ability...so now it's hard to give myself permission to "coast." Then, there's the fact that I've paid a lot of money to take this class, so I want to get every last bit of instruction & benefit out of it. Finally, I encourage my students all year long to push themselves, so I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't do the same, regardless of what the final grade is.

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  4. I feel that my effort would not change. I feel that the work in this class is somewhat challenging, What is expected is knowing how to do an assignment and then learning from your mistakes.

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  5. I would still try with the same effort. Maybe back in High School, I would just do what I had to do...so I would just be happy to pass. Now I like school and take pride in it. I want to do good and do my best.

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  6. I would probably put in less general effort towards learning all the technological areas, however my overall effort and specific learning towards certain assignments would probably increase. Knowing myself, I know I would probably "goof off" on some assignment that catches my interest. Consequently I would be more free to explore that assignment, take risks, be creative, and have fun. Although a pass or fail wouldn't give me a forced incentive to learn a wide variety of different topics, a pass or fail would more than compensate for it by allowing my interest and creativity to be captured onto one thing.

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  7. Normally for other classes I think taking it for a pass/fail grade would make me work less but this class is more relevant and meaningful to my future in education. I actually haven't been thinking about my grade but instead have been focused on learning the skills needed to be a successful student in the class so I doubt changing the class to pass/fail would impact effort.

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  8. Usually with pass/fail classes in the past I have put in less effort, but I don't think that really applies for this class. I enjoy playing around with new things on the computer, so I don't see this class as really hard work. Plus, Im not as concerned about grades now as I was before, so I don't think it makes that big of a difference.

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  9. In terms of this class, I would work just as hard for pass/fail grading. I'm really learning a lot in this class and am looking forward to using these skills in the future.

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  10. I have never taken a class for a pass/fail, all my classes have been for a letter grade as far as I know. However, I do not think my effort would change for the worse. I always try to give my best effort when I do my work.

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  11. I don't think it would matter if it was a pass/fail grade system. Normally I try to show off what I know. The only time I might not care as much is if I'm swamped with my other classes.

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  12. I try to do my best work regardless, this isn't middle school!!

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  13. My effort would not change if this were a pass/fail class. In every class I take, I make sure to complete all assignments to the best of my ability. Even in classes that I took where, for example your 4 out of 5 best scores are taken, I always did all 5 instead of allowing just the only 4 that I did be for a grade. I am always striving to do by best, so I would do the same, even if this were a pass/fail class.

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  14. I still think I would try, but I don't think I would be the same amount of effort in. I am extremely competitive with myself and expect good grades, so I think I would put a lot less into my assignments.

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  15. I don't think it would matter to me if it was pass/fail. I am here to learn regardless, whether I pass with a letter grade or just pass, it doesn't really matter to me. The main goal is to be able to take what I learn from this class and use it to enhance the learning experience for my students.

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  16. I think it depends on certain assignments when we find new tools to use as a teacher i would try the same. but certain assignments with technology i already know how to use i would try less.

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  17. My effort wouldn't change but I would certainly be less worried when it came to reading the grade reports for summer. I'm would pass with either grading system (the power of optimism), but I would pay less attention to assignment details and such if it was pass/fail.

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  18. I think I would stay the same. The stuff we are learning is very interesting. I like the tools and resources we are being introduced to. I believe it depends on the subject. I am a bit technologically challenged so I need to try harder to either pass or get a decent grade. In other classes you really don't have to try as hard.

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  19. My effort would not change. I have taken classes where I do not need to well in the past, but I tried just as hard as any other class. I guess that's just part of my personality, that I try my best at everything I do!

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  20. My efforts would not change. I always like to give my best into my assignments. I would however, worry about my grade a little bit more; there would be a bit more at jeopardy. Worrying does not change my performance. I worry about assignments do matter how much pressure is on the line.

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  21. My effort would be the same, regardless of how the class was graded. I have an intrinsic motivation to do my very best. I know I wouldn't be as stressed out though about getting an A. I'm sure I would already know that I would pass, if it were pass/fail.

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  22. I once took a math 98 class in 2008 even though I had taken and passed statistics with an "A" in 2004, as a credit/ no credit class. I needed it to be a full time student for health insurance purposes. All I needed to do was submit the verification that I was taking the classes, and then could have dropped it or never gone. Instead, I went to every class, did so well that the teacher had me helping other students, and of course I got a "pass". Its just not in me to do anything without giving it 100% of my effort. Also, I am a total perfectionist. So, in sum, it wouldnt change anything for me. :)

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  23. I think in a lot of ways I might manage my time and do my "best" to obtain a desired result. Passing and an A are definitely different and would require two different levels of effort. However, to this point I haven't thought about what my grade may be until this question was presented. So, with this specific course I would have to say my efforts would not have changed.

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  24. Looking over everyone's answers, it appears as if all of my fellow classmates would maintain the same effort in this class! I applaud every single one of you! Sadly, I must say that my effort would definitely change. Not only does Cal State dictate a letter scale which determines our grade, there is a plus/minus system in place also. With no A+ options, that means there are 14 grade distinctions for our efforts put forth in a class- 14 options to prove how dedicated we are to a class on a distinct scale. Pass or fail leaves you with 2 levels of trying: trying and not trying. I really pride myself in earning the best, or at least trying to earn my best given on current life situations. If you told me I could try 7 times less than I already do and get the same grade, I would definitely take off several levels of stress and not try as hard. :) Plus, the fact that we have to earn a grade of at least C+ or better for the Credentialing Program makes a huge impact on my efforts, in a really positive way =D.

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  25. No. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I don't know how to do anything but overdo.

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  26. Due to the short length of the class and the number of assignments that are to be completed during that time, it would be hard to decipher the amount of effort to put forth in this class, in order to just receive a passing grade. I also believe that since there are so many components to each project, it would be hard to put forth only a percentage of effort (less than 100%) and not go through with the rest of the assignment as follow through with its completion. I also think that what we are learning is creative, fun, and engaging so it would be a shame to not invest the time and effort into it, for these resources and tools are extremely beneficial and can be used in our classrooms in the future. To not take advantage of everything we learn in here would be a shame. So no, I do not believe if I were taking this class pass/fail, my level of effort would change.

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  28. The grading system for this class does not affect the level of effort I put forth. I complete all the assignments to the best of my ability for the sake of doing a good job. As an adult student I don't believe that any assignment is worth not my full effort. I must explain that I have not always been like this. I was a very lazy student until I had my child and saw the practicality of successfully completing my education.

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  29. I would like to believe that taking a class for pass/fail would not effect how much effort I put into the class. I have always been a person who does more than what is asked of me when it comes to my academics. I would hope that my work reflects the time and effort I put into an assignment, whether it is graded or not.

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  30. I find that over all wither its a class based on pass/fail or grades I still strive to do excellent. Having grades gives me a extra push, for a A sounds better then a B.

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