Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thing #4 Video Hosting (YouTube)
I've uploaded video to both Teacher Tube and to YouTube in the past. It's pretty simple. Sites like these are useful for sharing lesson ideas and getting new ideas visually. I think students could also use other people's video ideas for inspiration for their own projects.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thing #3 - Video Web Connecting
My kids have been using Skype for awhile to stay in touch with some of their international friends, so this one isn't very new to me. My favorite ideas for application in the classroom are: guest lecturers, visits with museum curators, and sharing class productions. There are of course many more applications depending on the subject taught.
Monday, July 19, 2010
#2 Word Generators 2
I guess it's time to get the ball rolling and finish 11.5 More Things. I'm having real motivation problems (I'm really enjoying summer vacation and all things NOT educational), but I do see the end is near, and if I'm going to earn hours for the all-important flex day in January, I'd better get on with it.
I've loved Wordle since last summer and 23 Things. I've used it for posters in my classroom and I've even made rather evil word banks for students to use on vocabulary tests. WordSift is more left-brainish, so not as appealing to me, however I can see students making use of the suggested links.
Glogster is a fun site, and students love photo manipulation, so this is a very useful alternative to traditional posters. Yes, students need to be a bit more organized to turn in their posters online, but most students are capable of using this technology. Some students still prefer to use printed projects from Glogster on traditional poster board to create a kind of collage effect which can be very cool. Voice Thread didn't do much for me, perhaps because of the very dry narrator. It appears to be much more complicated and in-depth than my needs require.
Animoto is cool, but it reminds me of Windows Movie Maker but with fewer options. Windows Movie Maker allows you to create videos of any length with more ways to manipulate pictures and music. I can see how students would really get into Voki - they would LOVE making their avatars talk. This could be a cool alternative to traditional presentations.
Bookr would be a neat alternative to visual presentations in Social Studies and Science.
I've loved Wordle since last summer and 23 Things. I've used it for posters in my classroom and I've even made rather evil word banks for students to use on vocabulary tests. WordSift is more left-brainish, so not as appealing to me, however I can see students making use of the suggested links.
Glogster is a fun site, and students love photo manipulation, so this is a very useful alternative to traditional posters. Yes, students need to be a bit more organized to turn in their posters online, but most students are capable of using this technology. Some students still prefer to use printed projects from Glogster on traditional poster board to create a kind of collage effect which can be very cool. Voice Thread didn't do much for me, perhaps because of the very dry narrator. It appears to be much more complicated and in-depth than my needs require.
Animoto is cool, but it reminds me of Windows Movie Maker but with fewer options. Windows Movie Maker allows you to create videos of any length with more ways to manipulate pictures and music. I can see how students would really get into Voki - they would LOVE making their avatars talk. This could be a cool alternative to traditional presentations.
Bookr would be a neat alternative to visual presentations in Social Studies and Science.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
11.5 More Things: #1 - Inspiration & Registration
A funny thing happened during this past week since summer vacation started: I haven't thought about school, staff development, or even writing my thoughts on campus issues - not once! All those very important issues somehow don't seem quite so urgent now. Now, though, it's time to begin this summer's staff development, "11.5 More Things."
The video in lesson one both intrigued and annoyed me at the same time. The whole networking method of research certainly opens numerous possibilities to the student, but at the same time, I can't help but wonder if face-to-face interaction might also inspire the student to examine even more possibilities - a kind of thinking-out-of-the box experience. Perhaps if this research was a class assignment in which each student explored a part of the whole via networking then returned to class and shared their findings through presentations, then students would benefit from both worlds.
I think I was most annoyed by the graphics, or lack their of, of the video. I no longer find the simplicity and quaintness as charming as I did last summer. However I recently saw a CNN commercial using a similar technique, minus the hands. It mus be a thing.....
The video in lesson one both intrigued and annoyed me at the same time. The whole networking method of research certainly opens numerous possibilities to the student, but at the same time, I can't help but wonder if face-to-face interaction might also inspire the student to examine even more possibilities - a kind of thinking-out-of-the box experience. Perhaps if this research was a class assignment in which each student explored a part of the whole via networking then returned to class and shared their findings through presentations, then students would benefit from both worlds.
I think I was most annoyed by the graphics, or lack their of, of the video. I no longer find the simplicity and quaintness as charming as I did last summer. However I recently saw a CNN commercial using a similar technique, minus the hands. It mus be a thing.....
Sunday, June 6, 2010
I'm Back!
Hello dear Blog. I've been away far too long, but now that yet another school year has ended and another glorious summer vacation has begun, I plan to devote more attention to you. This summer's on-line staff development begins tomorrow, so some of my posts will be devoted to that, but I also hope to post some personal observations and thoughts about both education and life in general. So let the summer begin and the reflections commence!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Ramblings of A Frustrated Teacher
Last day of summer vacation…. I always experience mixed emotions about going back to school at summer’s end. I mourn the end of summer vacation and all my glorious free time, but I usually also look forward to seeing colleagues, meeting new students, and planning new and interesting projects for my classes.
This year, though, I find myself faced with a different set of emotions, or maybe I should say concerns. I’ll still enjoy reconnecting with school friends, and I’m still happily anticipating a new set of students. I even have some fun, worthwhile projects already planned, but sadly, I’m not looking forward to the upcoming school year.
Thanks to the tremendous dedication and diligence of the entire staff, our school remains “recognized” by the state for the second year in a row because we have successfully accomplished the heretofore seemingly impossible: encouraging and teaching the most economically diverse middle school population in the district, perhaps the city, to raise TAKS scores to the “recognized” level. Undoubtedly our students are proud of their accomplishments, and certainly our staff is pleased, yet I dare say I’m not alone in dreading the year ahead.
You see, despite our terrific TAKS scores, our school is broken. A year ago, the staff discovered that, based on the school’s discipline statistics, an unnamed group of people “in the community” judged our campus to be bigoted and racially biased. Because of this perception, our discipline continuum changed considerably. Disruptive children were minimally disciplined in order to keep them in the classroom where, in theory, they could continue to prepare for TAKS. In time, many students from varying economic backgrounds realized that unless they brought drugs or weapons to school, punishment for disrupting instruction and order in our school would be innocuous at best.
As educators, we must strive to teach the entire child. Of course enabling our students to score as highly as possible on standardized tests is a crucial part of our job, but we are also largely responsible, especially at the middle school level, for training young people to become responsible citizens. Part of this task includes teaching appropriate social interactions within a community. When students are allowed to disrupt the school community with nominal consequences, we desperately fail in our charge. Ultimately our students are the ones we harm, not facilitate, with this lasses-faire policy. We inflict a grave disservice upon our children by teaching them that we tolerate undisciplined behavior in our school community.
Understandably during the past year, morale among the staff plummeted as teachers became increasingly frustrated with the lack of disciplinary support they received. When disciplinary concerns were voiced, the responses, in essence, failed to validate the concerns and indeed often belittled them. Frequently staff members heard that since our TAKS scores were recognized, “we must be doing something right.” Unfortunately, an “us against them” relationship developed between administrators and teachers, an attitude that only escalated an already tense and stressful situation.
So, our school is broken, but surely not beyond repair. What must we do to mend our school and restore it to an outstanding educational institution which encompasses the needs of the whole child, which teaches individual responsibility as well as test-taking skills to all children regardless of economic status? Clearly the answer lies in team work, cooperation between teachers and administrators, and open lines of communication. Our teachers undoubtedly enrich their students’ lives with academic subjects and learning tools, but they must also dig deeper into their bags of disciplinary tricks and perhaps utilize more creative forms of classroom management techniques in order to help students develop self-discipline and individual responsibility. When the bag of tricks is depleted, teachers and administrators must work collaboratively with students to remedy discipline shortcomings. Finally, administrators must appreciate all the teacher has attempted before involving the administrator, and realize that now stronger measures are warranted.
Unmistakably, mending our broken school will require great effort, dedication, and cooperation. As a staff we possess an infinite pool of resources to accomplish this mission, but together, and only together, can we succeed.
This year, though, I find myself faced with a different set of emotions, or maybe I should say concerns. I’ll still enjoy reconnecting with school friends, and I’m still happily anticipating a new set of students. I even have some fun, worthwhile projects already planned, but sadly, I’m not looking forward to the upcoming school year.
Thanks to the tremendous dedication and diligence of the entire staff, our school remains “recognized” by the state for the second year in a row because we have successfully accomplished the heretofore seemingly impossible: encouraging and teaching the most economically diverse middle school population in the district, perhaps the city, to raise TAKS scores to the “recognized” level. Undoubtedly our students are proud of their accomplishments, and certainly our staff is pleased, yet I dare say I’m not alone in dreading the year ahead.
You see, despite our terrific TAKS scores, our school is broken. A year ago, the staff discovered that, based on the school’s discipline statistics, an unnamed group of people “in the community” judged our campus to be bigoted and racially biased. Because of this perception, our discipline continuum changed considerably. Disruptive children were minimally disciplined in order to keep them in the classroom where, in theory, they could continue to prepare for TAKS. In time, many students from varying economic backgrounds realized that unless they brought drugs or weapons to school, punishment for disrupting instruction and order in our school would be innocuous at best.
As educators, we must strive to teach the entire child. Of course enabling our students to score as highly as possible on standardized tests is a crucial part of our job, but we are also largely responsible, especially at the middle school level, for training young people to become responsible citizens. Part of this task includes teaching appropriate social interactions within a community. When students are allowed to disrupt the school community with nominal consequences, we desperately fail in our charge. Ultimately our students are the ones we harm, not facilitate, with this lasses-faire policy. We inflict a grave disservice upon our children by teaching them that we tolerate undisciplined behavior in our school community.
Understandably during the past year, morale among the staff plummeted as teachers became increasingly frustrated with the lack of disciplinary support they received. When disciplinary concerns were voiced, the responses, in essence, failed to validate the concerns and indeed often belittled them. Frequently staff members heard that since our TAKS scores were recognized, “we must be doing something right.” Unfortunately, an “us against them” relationship developed between administrators and teachers, an attitude that only escalated an already tense and stressful situation.
So, our school is broken, but surely not beyond repair. What must we do to mend our school and restore it to an outstanding educational institution which encompasses the needs of the whole child, which teaches individual responsibility as well as test-taking skills to all children regardless of economic status? Clearly the answer lies in team work, cooperation between teachers and administrators, and open lines of communication. Our teachers undoubtedly enrich their students’ lives with academic subjects and learning tools, but they must also dig deeper into their bags of disciplinary tricks and perhaps utilize more creative forms of classroom management techniques in order to help students develop self-discipline and individual responsibility. When the bag of tricks is depleted, teachers and administrators must work collaboratively with students to remedy discipline shortcomings. Finally, administrators must appreciate all the teacher has attempted before involving the administrator, and realize that now stronger measures are warranted.
Unmistakably, mending our broken school will require great effort, dedication, and cooperation. As a staff we possess an infinite pool of resources to accomplish this mission, but together, and only together, can we succeed.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thing #23: Summarize Your Thoughts about This Program
Technology is like a box of chocolates - so many tidbits to discover and enjoy.Like the delicious all-chocolate piece, I was already familiar with some of the tidbits in 23 Things, but I believe I came away from each Thing with a new tasty tool, skill, or insight into technology and how to apply it to my classroom. Here's a few of my observations:
- My "Favorite Things" include the ones covering Google tools, especially Google Reader, image/text generators, and finding, embedding, and using video. Google Reader enables me to stay current in topics that interest me like never before, and the image/text generators and video applications offer many possibilities to add a touch of creativity to documents or assignments that might otherwise be somewhat bland.
- Overall the program encouraged me to delve deeper into the opportunities technology offers and provided me with interesting new tools to use both in teaching and privately.
- I can't believe it, but I LOVE blogging! Admittedly, I was skeptical when first instructed to start a blog, but before long the blog bug bit, and I was hooked. I actually look forward now to creating new posts, reading comments on my posts (sadly very few, but still nice), and following other players' blogs and even professional blogs, especially the political ones. The infinite opportunities for blogging in education excite me, but are also somewhat frustrating because so seemingly few of us are interested in and willing to utilize this tool to reach and collaborate with colleagues, students, and event parents. Unfortunately the wheels of change tend to roll at a snail's pace in our field.
- With my newly discovered fondness for blogging, I eagerly sought friends and colleagues also playing 23 Things, but I found it a little difficult to find blogs to follow by authors I actually know. Following the blogs of educators from other districts was helpful and informative, and it was helpful to see SBISD bloggers identified, but it would be even better if bloggers were identified not only by blog title but also by name. Making this information available might encourage those teachers working together to share ideas specific to their school and learning environment.
- Would I play again with L2P? You bet! When does the next game begin? My only hesitation would be playing during the school year for fear that I would spend more time playing than teaching. Summertime, however, is a perfect time to play.
- Describe 23 Things in one word? Enlightening
- More detail? 23 Things broadened my technological horizons while providing a worthwhile and fun summer staff development experience.
Thanks, team captains, for developing and organizing the game and giving me the opportunity to play!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Thing #22: Nings
What a good idea! Nings could be used in a variety of ways in education, and since kids love Facebook and MySpace, they should really buy into using a Ning sponsored by a teacher, coach, club sponsor, etc.
At first I thought that the most successful application of class Nings would be in college, or maybe in upper level high school classes. But then I thought about how many of my own students have requested to "friend" me on Facebook, something that is strictly forbidden in my personal Facebook rules. So I decided to try out using a Ning this coming year. I'm not sure exactly how I'll use it yet, or if my students will even be interested (since so few of them ever visit my school web page), but I've set up a Ning account and will work on the page over the next few days. Who knows, it might never be visited, or I might decide it's folly and delete it before it ever gets started. Guess we'll see....
At first I thought that the most successful application of class Nings would be in college, or maybe in upper level high school classes. But then I thought about how many of my own students have requested to "friend" me on Facebook, something that is strictly forbidden in my personal Facebook rules. So I decided to try out using a Ning this coming year. I'm not sure exactly how I'll use it yet, or if my students will even be interested (since so few of them ever visit my school web page), but I've set up a Ning account and will work on the page over the next few days. Who knows, it might never be visited, or I might decide it's folly and delete it before it ever gets started. Guess we'll see....
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thing #21: Podcasts and Videocasts
I enjoyed this Thing, especially learning to use Photo Story. It's like an advanced PowerPoint. It's also very similar to software I've been using to create DVD's of our family vacation photos. I like that you can tell a story without narration too. Sometimes images paired with music creates a more powerful message than the spoken word. My students would enjoy using this on a variety of projects, but I think I'd like to see them create a story that documents the process used in creating a final product. Here's my Videocast. It was fun!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thing #20: YouTube, TeacherTube and Zamzar
I enjoyed this Thing. It was fun to explore videos that actually pertain to what I teach. I found YouTube easier to use than Teacher Tube. When searching TeacherTube, I kept forgetting to specify "video," so my search took longer. Buffering on TeacherTube also tends to take awhile longer than on YouTube.
Here's what I found on YouTube. I've enjoyed this group for awhile and have shared another of their videos with my students in the past. Once I saw them create a full-size elephant with shadows!
Here's what I found on TeacherTube. A handy, quick tour of a theatre to use when I introduce parts of the theatre and theatre etiquette.
I've actually used Zamzar before to convert a YouTube video to DVD so I could share it with my students on a larger screen. Now if I only had an Active Board (Smart Board?) in my classroom so I could show videos on the really large screen. Alas, I'm but a Lowly Elective Teacher, so I'm at the bottom of the list of Teachers Worthy of Active Boards. I'll put that on my Perfect World Dreams List....
Hey! These are the first videos I've embedded! My how far I've come....
Here's what I found on YouTube. I've enjoyed this group for awhile and have shared another of their videos with my students in the past. Once I saw them create a full-size elephant with shadows!
Here's what I found on TeacherTube. A handy, quick tour of a theatre to use when I introduce parts of the theatre and theatre etiquette.
I've actually used Zamzar before to convert a YouTube video to DVD so I could share it with my students on a larger screen. Now if I only had an Active Board (Smart Board?) in my classroom so I could show videos on the really large screen. Alas, I'm but a Lowly Elective Teacher, so I'm at the bottom of the list of Teachers Worthy of Active Boards. I'll put that on my Perfect World Dreams List....
Hey! These are the first videos I've embedded! My how far I've come....
Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards List
I was pleasantly surprised at how many of the award winning sites I'd heard of and how many I'd actually had experience with.
I chose Etsy.com to play with. I especially like that all the items on Etsy are handmade. So much creativity! It's well organized and easy to maneuver. I enjoyed looking at all the cool handmade items and making a mental list of possible Christmas gifts. Unfortunately, I don't see much use for it in a school setting, but it's lots of fun for personal use!
I chose Etsy.com to play with. I especially like that all the items on Etsy are handmade. So much creativity! It's well organized and easy to maneuver. I enjoyed looking at all the cool handmade items and making a mental list of possible Christmas gifts. Unfortunately, I don't see much use for it in a school setting, but it's lots of fun for personal use!
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