Well, it's already March and the school year is half way through. In my last post I wrote about my attempts to integrate technology despite our aging equipment. Here's an update on my progress:
Blogs:
My classroom blogs for Language Arts and Social Studies have been very useful in many ways. I have been posting essay prompts and thought-provoking questions for students to write about and discuss with each other. They also offer their thoughts on historical events, narratives, etc. and provide evidence from text to support their ideas. Since they can view each other's responses, this has been a good way to help some of my more reluctant students to get some ideas from those who are more inclined to articulate what they have learned. The blogs have also been a good place to post links to practice activities, videos, maps, and other content that our school server often blocks. I also post videos that we have watched in class so that students who were absent have access to the same content, and students who struggle with English have a chance to watch it again.
The negative side of expecting students to use these blogs are 1) it causes students to add more screen time to their day; and 2)some students have very sporadic access to the Internet for a variety of reasons, and 3) The more "unmotivated" students still don't find it more fun than any other homework assignment, so they don't want to do it.
I have tried to address these issues by asking parents to monitor students' screen time at home and giving them a time limit for visiting the blog. I only assign material to be used on the blog every one or two weeks. For students who may not have access, I allow them to use the classroom computer (we only have one) during class or after school to respond to the prompts provided during class. They can also write or type their blog comments and give me a hard copy. Another difficulty with the blogs is that the same unmotivated students who do not turn in regular homework do not like to visit the blogs either. What I thought would be a more fun way to do homework for them turned out to be just another homework assignment that they do not want to do. I haven't found a solution to this one yet! Motivating the unmotivated remains a huge challenge!
Collaborative Learning Projects
Using Google Docs, Slides, and Prezi, I showed my students how to work together on the same project from home. Some of them even started using Google Hang Outs to communicate. This has provided a relatively painless way for my middle schoolers to work together from home when they haven't been able to finish parts of their projects during class. So far they have really enjoyed doing these projects. I'm hoping that the novelty doesn't wear off for a long time, since this has helped them produce some very good projects.
On-Line Content
I teach in several different classrooms, and fortunately, each one is blessed with a computer and an overhead projector. For both Language Arts and Social Studies, I'm able to show students a variety of useful videos, slide presentations, maps, Google Earth, interactive "field trips" and games, such as content-related Jeopardy. However, I am careful to not have my students watching a screen every day, since they do enough of that at home already. I limit their classroom screen time to twice a week per class so that they are engaged in more hands-on, interactive activities, some of which are decidedly "low-tech."
Wish List for the Future
I'm still hoping to have either laptops or tablets for each student in each classroom to give them immediate access to content-related materials and presentation software. This would greatly reduce the amount of work they need to do at home, and would increase my ability to have them work in groups, not to mention increased oversight and involvement from me. The school has a computer lab, but it's nearly impossible to take my students there, due to scheduling conflicts with other classes. Therefore, to reach the next step of technology integration, upgrades in equipment will become essential.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Saturday, September 6, 2014
New School Year, but Old Technology!
Another school year begins! This year I am teaching seventh grade Language Arts as well as Social Studies for grades 6, 7, and 8. I'm hoping to incorporate even more videos and digital content this year, although our school's technology is aging and slow, kind of like me. We could really use some iPads or Chrome Books that would make it easier to use online content during class, rather than trying to use the school computer lab's old Dell desktops. It's hard to say if our school's server would even support iPads, but a teacher can still dream, right?
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Edmodo a Useful Way to Connect Students
My quest to learn new ways of strengthening our classroom community continues! Another teacher recently introduced me to Edmodo. Although I had heard that students enjoyed using it, I had never checked into it myself until this teacher added me to his classroom's Edmodo account as a way to "try it out." For years, I had been posting things on our classroom website, but it wasn't as interactive between students as Edmodo is.
The students can chat with each other about assignment requirements, ask questions, share information about school activities, etc. This helps to create an atmosphere of support and encouragement between peers, as opposed to contentious competitiveness, both inside and outside the classroom. Now that school is out, they are still chatting about the World Cup scores, their summer vacations, and family activities.
This is a great way for students to keep in touch over the summer in a "safe" way--each user gets an email whenever a user posts something, so there is no danger of "cyberbullying" on this site. If a student ever posts anything improper, which is highly unlikely, the teacher can discuss it with them immediately, and if necessary, block them from using the site.
Edmodo is yet another way to keep students connected to your classroom activities, but most importantly, to each other!
The students can chat with each other about assignment requirements, ask questions, share information about school activities, etc. This helps to create an atmosphere of support and encouragement between peers, as opposed to contentious competitiveness, both inside and outside the classroom. Now that school is out, they are still chatting about the World Cup scores, their summer vacations, and family activities.
This is a great way for students to keep in touch over the summer in a "safe" way--each user gets an email whenever a user posts something, so there is no danger of "cyberbullying" on this site. If a student ever posts anything improper, which is highly unlikely, the teacher can discuss it with them immediately, and if necessary, block them from using the site.
Edmodo is yet another way to keep students connected to your classroom activities, but most importantly, to each other!
Monday, May 19, 2014
I'm learning new tools, but I still like to hang on to some of the old ones...
Keep a Back Up--Glitches Happen!
Call me old-fashioned, but as much as I love using technology in my classroom, I still like some of the "old-school" ways just as much. Case in point: Glitches!
Today one of my colleagues was not able to access his on-line grade book during a conference with a parent when the server went down. This was a big problem, since the teacher doesn't keep any paper records. The parent was not able to view the updated grades while in conference with the teacher, which irritated the parent and wasted everyone's time. I still believe it's a good idea to keep a hand-written record, in addition to the on-line record, just in case!
Classroom Presentations:
The quest to build my repertoire of technology tools for the classroom continues!
I have learned that another great way to have students create presentations is Haiku Deck, which is an iPad app. It allows students to add vibrant visuals and text to create simple, interesting slideshows. It has been useful for creating visual representations of vocabulary words and summarizing lessons in Social Studies. Although I wouldn't want to have students using their iPads for the entire day, I am beginning to see more value in this useful tool.
I'm still getting used to Prezi. I'm not an expert, by any means, and so far, I still prefer Power Point for its simple, straightforward format. Prezi still makes me dizzy! I guess I still need more practice!
Each time we use a high-tech "cool tool," I still like to show students the "low tech" version as well. Some of them actually prefer creating semantic maps on posters or flap books to display on our bulletin board continuously, rather than using an on-line tool.
Research Papers:
What about plagiarism?
When students are working on research papers, they enjoy keeping track of their findings on a Google Doc. They create a table divided into three parts: The main idea and key details in the far left column, important reflections or inferences as to how it relates to their thesis are recorded in the middle column, and the far right column is to keep track of the source citation.
This system works well for students who are able to remain on task and are not tempted to "copy and paste" everything they find. Some students won't even bother reading it--they just hoard information, even if it is not necessarily relevant. Therefore, until students have mastered the research process and can be trusted, it still may be a good idea to use the old note card method. Students write one major piece of information per note card by paraphrasing information. They must include a reference to a particular source using a numbering system, page numbers, etc.
I have found that this old-school method is still useful to help students stay organized, avoid plagiarism, and create subcategories.
It's good to have choices in all that we do...
Call me old-fashioned, but as much as I love using technology in my classroom, I still like some of the "old-school" ways just as much. Case in point: Glitches!
Today one of my colleagues was not able to access his on-line grade book during a conference with a parent when the server went down. This was a big problem, since the teacher doesn't keep any paper records. The parent was not able to view the updated grades while in conference with the teacher, which irritated the parent and wasted everyone's time. I still believe it's a good idea to keep a hand-written record, in addition to the on-line record, just in case!
Classroom Presentations:
The quest to build my repertoire of technology tools for the classroom continues!
I have learned that another great way to have students create presentations is Haiku Deck, which is an iPad app. It allows students to add vibrant visuals and text to create simple, interesting slideshows. It has been useful for creating visual representations of vocabulary words and summarizing lessons in Social Studies. Although I wouldn't want to have students using their iPads for the entire day, I am beginning to see more value in this useful tool.
I'm still getting used to Prezi. I'm not an expert, by any means, and so far, I still prefer Power Point for its simple, straightforward format. Prezi still makes me dizzy! I guess I still need more practice!
Each time we use a high-tech "cool tool," I still like to show students the "low tech" version as well. Some of them actually prefer creating semantic maps on posters or flap books to display on our bulletin board continuously, rather than using an on-line tool.
Research Papers:
What about plagiarism?
When students are working on research papers, they enjoy keeping track of their findings on a Google Doc. They create a table divided into three parts: The main idea and key details in the far left column, important reflections or inferences as to how it relates to their thesis are recorded in the middle column, and the far right column is to keep track of the source citation.
This system works well for students who are able to remain on task and are not tempted to "copy and paste" everything they find. Some students won't even bother reading it--they just hoard information, even if it is not necessarily relevant. Therefore, until students have mastered the research process and can be trusted, it still may be a good idea to use the old note card method. Students write one major piece of information per note card by paraphrasing information. They must include a reference to a particular source using a numbering system, page numbers, etc.
I have found that this old-school method is still useful to help students stay organized, avoid plagiarism, and create subcategories.
It's good to have choices in all that we do...
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Sir Ken Robinson's Take on Education
Robinson's Lecture
British educator Ken Robinson's 2006 TED Talk brings to light the "real" goals of education: To produce more academicians and to feed our industrialist society. He poses a very bleak outlook on the public educational system in general, but mainly focuses on the idea that schools have killed creativity and self-expression in students.
He points out that educators are pressed with the task of educating tomorrow's leaders and preparing them for what lies ahead in the future, even though "we have absolutely no idea how the future will play out." His main premise is that education in its current form has completely erased students' motivation and creativity, despite the fact that the "children have an extraordinary capacity for creativity," and that "all children have tremendous talent, but we squander it" by immersing them in a system of competition and rigidity.
The public education system, he believes, has a strict hierarchy of subjects, placing math and science at the top, then languages, then social sciences, then humanities, and finally, the creative arts such as music, art, drama, and dance, are at the bottom. Any student who shows an interest in the arts but a lack of interest in other areas is deemed an unsuccessful student. The system places the most "useful" subjects at the top, and there is a continuous "protracted process of preparing students for university entrances," whether or not the degrees they earn serve any purpose. In such a system, "there is only one right answer" and "mistakes are the worst thing in the world." Students who fail to conform to this system see themselves as unworthy and may struggle with issues of self-worth for the rest of their lives. He contends, "Our educational system has mined students' minds the way we have strip-mined the earth."
Reflection
I agree with Robinson that our schools have become overly competitive, hierarchical institutions in which relatively few students will be considered "successful," and everyone else is just average or below, despite whatever talents they may possess. This is just a reflection of what society has always valued: The acumen to make money, get ahead, beat the competition, be leader of the pack, etc. This seems to be the way of the world--those who control the scarce resources and have "all the answers" will retain all the power. I doubt that this will ever change, but we can change our response to it. Students can be taught that, even if the world operates this way, they can retain a circle of influence within their own environment, and seek their own higher purpose, beyond the pursuit of wealth, status, and power if they so choose. To do this, we must continue to inform them of their options beyond just "getting into a top-notch university." It seems that getting high SAT test scores and collecting college acceptance letters has become a competitive sport, mainly for parents. If we place more emphasis on learning actual information rather than on test scores, students would feel less discouraged and more empowered to continue learning.
British educator Ken Robinson's 2006 TED Talk brings to light the "real" goals of education: To produce more academicians and to feed our industrialist society. He poses a very bleak outlook on the public educational system in general, but mainly focuses on the idea that schools have killed creativity and self-expression in students.
He points out that educators are pressed with the task of educating tomorrow's leaders and preparing them for what lies ahead in the future, even though "we have absolutely no idea how the future will play out." His main premise is that education in its current form has completely erased students' motivation and creativity, despite the fact that the "children have an extraordinary capacity for creativity," and that "all children have tremendous talent, but we squander it" by immersing them in a system of competition and rigidity.
The public education system, he believes, has a strict hierarchy of subjects, placing math and science at the top, then languages, then social sciences, then humanities, and finally, the creative arts such as music, art, drama, and dance, are at the bottom. Any student who shows an interest in the arts but a lack of interest in other areas is deemed an unsuccessful student. The system places the most "useful" subjects at the top, and there is a continuous "protracted process of preparing students for university entrances," whether or not the degrees they earn serve any purpose. In such a system, "there is only one right answer" and "mistakes are the worst thing in the world." Students who fail to conform to this system see themselves as unworthy and may struggle with issues of self-worth for the rest of their lives. He contends, "Our educational system has mined students' minds the way we have strip-mined the earth."
Reflection
I agree with Robinson that our schools have become overly competitive, hierarchical institutions in which relatively few students will be considered "successful," and everyone else is just average or below, despite whatever talents they may possess. This is just a reflection of what society has always valued: The acumen to make money, get ahead, beat the competition, be leader of the pack, etc. This seems to be the way of the world--those who control the scarce resources and have "all the answers" will retain all the power. I doubt that this will ever change, but we can change our response to it. Students can be taught that, even if the world operates this way, they can retain a circle of influence within their own environment, and seek their own higher purpose, beyond the pursuit of wealth, status, and power if they so choose. To do this, we must continue to inform them of their options beyond just "getting into a top-notch university." It seems that getting high SAT test scores and collecting college acceptance letters has become a competitive sport, mainly for parents. If we place more emphasis on learning actual information rather than on test scores, students would feel less discouraged and more empowered to continue learning.
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