In yesterday's staff meeting there was an extended conversation about cell phones. This is not a new issue, but the problem that gets brought up every year is that it's hard to enforce a rule that is not practiced consistently. Some teachers don't allow students do use their cell phones in class (in accordance with the school rules); others do, on a situational basis; still others let students text as much as they want as long as the work is getting done; other teachers have been known to answer their own phones or text in the middle of class. There were also archly-oblique comments about the security staff, some of whom spend extensive time on their phones in the hallways.
The end of the discussion was a blanket statement: no cell phone use by students. Students may not even charge their cell phones in class, because if another student steals the cell phone, the teacher will be held accountable. "If we walk into a classroom and there are cell phones charging, we're going to have a problem," is the principal's quote.
Okay. So. In this environment, how does a teacher move forward with integrating the use of communication technology into class? Am I thwarted? Is all lost?
Well, it helps to have an ace in the hole. I'm fortunate to have a co-conspirator among the administrators, and he has already confirmed that, should there be a complaint about me allowing students to use cell phones for academic purposes, he'll back me up. Students will still be prohibited from using cell phones for non-academic purposes in my class.
We'll see how that works in practice. Meanwhile, I'm getting my Socrative quiz banks ready!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Use of Paper when "Digital" is the Buzzword
Yesterday during training on our on-line gradebook/attendance program, I asked a question of the developers: why isn't the "mock bubble sheet" page (which is essentially just a table with the students names at left) a printable document?
The administrator who was running the show jumped up and grabbed the microphone from the developer (who was in the process of saying, "Sure, we can do that.") and went into a brief...well, really I feel I have to call it a tirade...about how we're not supposed to be working on paper at all, and people should be avoiding printing out ANYTHING if they can help it, and none of our records should be being kept on paper, etc. etc. etc.
I think I managed to keep my temper once I regained the microphone, and firmly pointed out that I need to be able to keep records as I'm walking around the classroom -- a check mark here for a student being on-task, a note that so-and-so had dozed off and needed to be woken -- which I will input into the computer during my prep. I simply can't teach from behind the computer screen, I don't want to forget what behaviors I'm seeing, I want to award participation bonuses appropriate -- and, no, not everybody has an iPad.
Even in the digital age, some things are just easier with pen and paper, and easier still if I can just get an already existing form to be printable.
*grumble*
The administrator who was running the show jumped up and grabbed the microphone from the developer (who was in the process of saying, "Sure, we can do that.") and went into a brief...well, really I feel I have to call it a tirade...about how we're not supposed to be working on paper at all, and people should be avoiding printing out ANYTHING if they can help it, and none of our records should be being kept on paper, etc. etc. etc.
I think I managed to keep my temper once I regained the microphone, and firmly pointed out that I need to be able to keep records as I'm walking around the classroom -- a check mark here for a student being on-task, a note that so-and-so had dozed off and needed to be woken -- which I will input into the computer during my prep. I simply can't teach from behind the computer screen, I don't want to forget what behaviors I'm seeing, I want to award participation bonuses appropriate -- and, no, not everybody has an iPad.
Even in the digital age, some things are just easier with pen and paper, and easier still if I can just get an already existing form to be printable.
*grumble*
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Classroom Blogging
Updated to add link to article: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/educational-blogging
*****
In doing some research on blogging in the classroom, I've been reading an (admittedly outdated) article by S. Downes titled "Educational Blogging" (2004). This reading reminded me of the original meaning of blogging which sets it apart from on-line journaling; a blog was originally a log of one's web research, including links to and passages from information found on the web. Personal comments on these links and passages were intended as inferential observations of the research. Purely personal observations are not the same as blogging. I had forgotten this.
One passage of note:
A blog, therefore, is and has always been more than the online equivalent of a personal journal. Though consisting of regular (and often dated) updates, the blog adds to the form of the diary by incorporating the best features of hypertext: the capacity to link to new and useful resources. But a blog is also characterized by its reflection of a personal style, and this style may be reflected in either the writing or the selection of links passed along to readers. Blogs are, in their purest form, the core of what has come to be called personal publishing.
In the hands of teachers and students, blogs become something more again.
The article goes on to describe five major uses for blogs in the classroom, as described by Henry Farrell from the website (?) Crooked Timber.
First, teachers use blogs to replace the standard class Web page. Instructors post class times and rules, assignment notifications, suggested readings, and exercises. Aside from the ordering of material by date, students would find nothing unusual in this use of the blog. The instructor, however, finds that the use of blogging software makes this previously odious chore much simpler.
Second, and often accompanying the first, instructors begin to link to Internet items that relate to their course. Mesa Community College’s Rick Effland, for example, maintains a blog to pass along links and comments about topics in archaeology.15 Though Mesa’s archaeology Web pages have been around since 1995, blogging allows Effland to write what are in essence short essays directed specifically toward his students. Effland’s entries are not mere annotations of interesting links. They effectively model his approach and interest in archaeology for his students.
Third, blogs are used to organize in-class discussions. At the State University of New York at Buffalo, for example, Alexander Halavais added a blog to his media law class of about 180 students. Course credit was awarded for online discussion, with topics ranging from the First Amendment to libel to Irish law reform. As the course wound down with a discussion of nude bikers, Halavais questioned whether he would continue the blog the following year because of the workload, but students were enthusiastic in their comments.16
Mireille Guay, an instructor at St-Joseph, notes: "The conversation possible on the weblog is also an amazing tool to develop our community of learners. The students get to know each other better by visiting and reading blogs from other students. They discover, in a non-threatening way, their similarities and differences. The student who usually talks very loud in the classroom and the student who is very timid have the same writing space to voice their opinion. It puts students in a situation of equity."17
Fourth, some instructors are using blogs to organize class seminars and to provide summaries of readings. Used in this way, the blogs become "group blogs"—that is, individual blogs authored by a group of people. Farrell notes: "It becomes much easier for the professor and students to access the readings for a particular week—and if you make sure that people are organized about how they do it, the summaries will effectively file themselves."18
Finally, fifth, students may be asked to write their own blogs as part of their course grade. Educational Technologist Lane Dunlop wrote about one class at Cornell College: "Each day the students read a chunk of a book and post two paragraphs of their thoughts on the reading." In another class, French 304, students were given a similar exercise. Using a French-language blogging service called Monblogue, Molly, a business student, posted a few paragraphs every day.
All of this is, again, eight years old. I need to do more research into how teachers have implemented blogs effectively and what the stumbling blocks may be. But this has been a good start.
*****
In doing some research on blogging in the classroom, I've been reading an (admittedly outdated) article by S. Downes titled "Educational Blogging" (2004). This reading reminded me of the original meaning of blogging which sets it apart from on-line journaling; a blog was originally a log of one's web research, including links to and passages from information found on the web. Personal comments on these links and passages were intended as inferential observations of the research. Purely personal observations are not the same as blogging. I had forgotten this.
One passage of note:
A blog, therefore, is and has always been more than the online equivalent of a personal journal. Though consisting of regular (and often dated) updates, the blog adds to the form of the diary by incorporating the best features of hypertext: the capacity to link to new and useful resources. But a blog is also characterized by its reflection of a personal style, and this style may be reflected in either the writing or the selection of links passed along to readers. Blogs are, in their purest form, the core of what has come to be called personal publishing.
In the hands of teachers and students, blogs become something more again.
The article goes on to describe five major uses for blogs in the classroom, as described by Henry Farrell from the website (?) Crooked Timber.
First, teachers use blogs to replace the standard class Web page. Instructors post class times and rules, assignment notifications, suggested readings, and exercises. Aside from the ordering of material by date, students would find nothing unusual in this use of the blog. The instructor, however, finds that the use of blogging software makes this previously odious chore much simpler.
Second, and often accompanying the first, instructors begin to link to Internet items that relate to their course. Mesa Community College’s Rick Effland, for example, maintains a blog to pass along links and comments about topics in archaeology.15 Though Mesa’s archaeology Web pages have been around since 1995, blogging allows Effland to write what are in essence short essays directed specifically toward his students. Effland’s entries are not mere annotations of interesting links. They effectively model his approach and interest in archaeology for his students.
Third, blogs are used to organize in-class discussions. At the State University of New York at Buffalo, for example, Alexander Halavais added a blog to his media law class of about 180 students. Course credit was awarded for online discussion, with topics ranging from the First Amendment to libel to Irish law reform. As the course wound down with a discussion of nude bikers, Halavais questioned whether he would continue the blog the following year because of the workload, but students were enthusiastic in their comments.16
Mireille Guay, an instructor at St-Joseph, notes: "The conversation possible on the weblog is also an amazing tool to develop our community of learners. The students get to know each other better by visiting and reading blogs from other students. They discover, in a non-threatening way, their similarities and differences. The student who usually talks very loud in the classroom and the student who is very timid have the same writing space to voice their opinion. It puts students in a situation of equity."17
Fourth, some instructors are using blogs to organize class seminars and to provide summaries of readings. Used in this way, the blogs become "group blogs"—that is, individual blogs authored by a group of people. Farrell notes: "It becomes much easier for the professor and students to access the readings for a particular week—and if you make sure that people are organized about how they do it, the summaries will effectively file themselves."18
Finally, fifth, students may be asked to write their own blogs as part of their course grade. Educational Technologist Lane Dunlop wrote about one class at Cornell College: "Each day the students read a chunk of a book and post two paragraphs of their thoughts on the reading." In another class, French 304, students were given a similar exercise. Using a French-language blogging service called Monblogue, Molly, a business student, posted a few paragraphs every day.
All of this is, again, eight years old. I need to do more research into how teachers have implemented blogs effectively and what the stumbling blocks may be. But this has been a good start.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Skills Tutor
I'm in a brief mid-session break during training on Skills Tutor (www.skillstutor.com), an AIS addition for our district. This actually looks as though it will blend well with a flipped classroom -- the goal is to assign on-line sessions for students in their weak areas. The sessions include a diagnostic, focused tutorial lessons with immediate feedback, process quizzes, and final assessments. Students are instructed that if they do not achieve mastery (80%) success in two repetitions of a session, they should go to their teacher for further instruction.
Whoops, we're back in session. Will update later.
UPDATE (as promised):
Well, the presentation sort of fell short when the host site crashed, but I'm assured by our trainer that this _never_ happens and is a fluke. I hope he's right because I really want to use this program
Skills Trainer is easily customizable for individual students' needs, and it provides a bevy of reporting options. (Read: Really helpful for demonstrating intervention efforts and effectiveness at parent-teacher meetings and on APPR assessments.) I'm eager to incorporate it into my classes this year.
If any of you have used Skills Trainer, please comment about how it worked. I look forward to hearing from you.
Whoops, we're back in session. Will update later.
UPDATE (as promised):
Well, the presentation sort of fell short when the host site crashed, but I'm assured by our trainer that this _never_ happens and is a fluke. I hope he's right because I really want to use this program
Skills Trainer is easily customizable for individual students' needs, and it provides a bevy of reporting options. (Read: Really helpful for demonstrating intervention efforts and effectiveness at parent-teacher meetings and on APPR assessments.) I'm eager to incorporate it into my classes this year.
If any of you have used Skills Trainer, please comment about how it worked. I look forward to hearing from you.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Old and New
Okay, the last few days I've been doing decidedly non-technological prep. Well, it's technological to the extent that it involved the computer and the printer and the copier, but you know what I mean. So anyway, I've finally finished setting up 125 two-pocket folders for my incoming students, with the class letter in the left pocket, lined paper in the right pocket, and my business card in the slot. (I'll be adding pens to the folders as close to last-minute as I can stand.) I'm hoping that providing them with a minimal organization baseline on day one might help some of the more helpless among them.
I've also finally gotten around to sketching out my lesson plans for the first week. This includes planning what they're going to do online. I'm going to get them blogging as quickly as possible -- day two -- and start giving them videos to watch at home on the evening of day three. The video they'll be watching will give them tips and tricks for the following day's listening and notetaking diagnostic, plus a secret word. If they can write the secret word on the top of the diagnostic, they get bonus participation points.
Okay, yes, this is lightweight content and involves a reward economy, but I think that's how I'm going to get them into the idea of watching these videos. Most of my students are nothing if not mercenary!
As for blogging, I need to put together a guideline page for blogging directions and expectations. My starting ideas are that students are expected to write once a week in their class blogs, the entries must be relevant to the class material, and the students must follow appropriate language guidelines. I'm not going to start assessing blog entries yet; just doing them will be a good place to start.
I plan to research class blogging a bit more before school starts. I want to see what other people have been doing.
I've also finally gotten around to sketching out my lesson plans for the first week. This includes planning what they're going to do online. I'm going to get them blogging as quickly as possible -- day two -- and start giving them videos to watch at home on the evening of day three. The video they'll be watching will give them tips and tricks for the following day's listening and notetaking diagnostic, plus a secret word. If they can write the secret word on the top of the diagnostic, they get bonus participation points.
Okay, yes, this is lightweight content and involves a reward economy, but I think that's how I'm going to get them into the idea of watching these videos. Most of my students are nothing if not mercenary!
As for blogging, I need to put together a guideline page for blogging directions and expectations. My starting ideas are that students are expected to write once a week in their class blogs, the entries must be relevant to the class material, and the students must follow appropriate language guidelines. I'm not going to start assessing blog entries yet; just doing them will be a good place to start.
I plan to research class blogging a bit more before school starts. I want to see what other people have been doing.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Frustrated Grumbling
It is difficult to compose a confident letter to new students and parents about the technological advances in the classroom when I can't even get the printer to work!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Socrative
I wasn't planning on exploring Socrative today, but I was reminded of this site while going through materials I got at a recent EdCamp.
Socrative works to engage students by encouraging the use of texting, rather than discouraging it. It's also surprisingly easy (and free, which is a very good thing, in my opinion).
I went to the main page -- socrative.com -- and signed up my user name, password, and email contact. It then took me to the lecturer screen, where there are several options for question formatting and an automatically assigned room number. It also advised me to log in as a student on another device in order to test the program. Accessing m.socrative.com through my iPod Touch, I got a prompt to enter the room number provided by my teacher. So far, so good!
The student screen then told me to wait for a prompt from the teacher. On my teacher screen, I selected "True/False" which then prompted me to ask a question orally for students to answer on their devices. This screen also showed me a count of 0/1 -- the number of student responses out of the number of students signed into the room. When I selected "True" on the student screen, there was a brief lapse before the count switched to 1/1...and then a chart appeared showing that 100% of the respondents had selected "True."
There are many options for how to present questions, including pre-written questions and short-answer responses. Some of the formats allow students to vote on the responses once the initial questioning is done.
So far, I'm feeling positive about this, but I have some questions:
Socrative works to engage students by encouraging the use of texting, rather than discouraging it. It's also surprisingly easy (and free, which is a very good thing, in my opinion).
I went to the main page -- socrative.com -- and signed up my user name, password, and email contact. It then took me to the lecturer screen, where there are several options for question formatting and an automatically assigned room number. It also advised me to log in as a student on another device in order to test the program. Accessing m.socrative.com through my iPod Touch, I got a prompt to enter the room number provided by my teacher. So far, so good!
The student screen then told me to wait for a prompt from the teacher. On my teacher screen, I selected "True/False" which then prompted me to ask a question orally for students to answer on their devices. This screen also showed me a count of 0/1 -- the number of student responses out of the number of students signed into the room. When I selected "True" on the student screen, there was a brief lapse before the count switched to 1/1...and then a chart appeared showing that 100% of the respondents had selected "True."
There are many options for how to present questions, including pre-written questions and short-answer responses. Some of the formats allow students to vote on the responses once the initial questioning is done.
So far, I'm feeling positive about this, but I have some questions:
- I know this works on Smart phones, tablets, and similar devices...but I'm not sure how it would work with students seated at desktop computers. I think it should be the same, but would networking bollux the tracking?
- I need to make sure that students who do not have a compatible device are able to participate without feeling left out.
- This probably wouldn't be a good thing for actual graded work, as integrity could easily be compromised...but for informal review and other types of discussion prompts, it seems workable.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Getting Past the Basics
I once had a professor who had been my elder brother's professor in the same subject, some fourteen years earlier. Before I went to that class for the first time, my brother asked me to say hello for him, and to ask the professor if he still used the same note cards for his lectures.
I didn't need to ask. The age-yellowed, bedraggled index cards had clearly been around for those fourteen years, and perhaps longer.
It seems to me that being able to just pull out the same materials, year after year, and present them in the same style would be a wonderful time saver. I envy teachers who can do that. However, I am not one of them, much as I'd like to be.
If you're a teacher (and if you're reading this post soon after I've written it), then you're likely wrestling with the Common Core and APPR requirements. Among other things, both of these demand competency with "21st Century Skills." At first, I found this a nuisance...but I've since gotten the bug. Now I'm curious to see just how well I can implement new technology into my classroom.
I am not a technophobe -- in fact, I am one of the more technologically-comfortable members of my department -- but once we get past the user-friendly consumer stuff and into open-source materials, my mind starts to get a little boggled. So this should be amusing.
In the future, I'll post about my investigations and experiments with various technological developments. At the moment, my topics are likely to include innovative uses of the SmartBoard, how to "flip" a classroom, developing and awarding digital "badges," and using technology to bridge the teacher/parent gap.
I didn't need to ask. The age-yellowed, bedraggled index cards had clearly been around for those fourteen years, and perhaps longer.
It seems to me that being able to just pull out the same materials, year after year, and present them in the same style would be a wonderful time saver. I envy teachers who can do that. However, I am not one of them, much as I'd like to be.
If you're a teacher (and if you're reading this post soon after I've written it), then you're likely wrestling with the Common Core and APPR requirements. Among other things, both of these demand competency with "21st Century Skills." At first, I found this a nuisance...but I've since gotten the bug. Now I'm curious to see just how well I can implement new technology into my classroom.
I am not a technophobe -- in fact, I am one of the more technologically-comfortable members of my department -- but once we get past the user-friendly consumer stuff and into open-source materials, my mind starts to get a little boggled. So this should be amusing.
In the future, I'll post about my investigations and experiments with various technological developments. At the moment, my topics are likely to include innovative uses of the SmartBoard, how to "flip" a classroom, developing and awarding digital "badges," and using technology to bridge the teacher/parent gap.
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