School of Education's 4T (Teachers Teaching Teachers about Technology) Conference--Spring 2012.

October 5th is a BIG Friday in the majority of my fall Coursework.  For whatever reason, everyone decided to have everything due on this day.  With that being said, here I am at 1 AM in the morning making an attempt to fulfill another requirement for my coursework.  This "webinar view and blog" assignment started off a little shaky as I had trouble accessing the webinar that I was interested in viewing (From Fear to Facebook).  As a result I defaulted to watching the only one that I could get to work: Got Good Grammar? — Using NoRedInk.com to help students improve their grammar/writing skills while saving red ink!

Although the content of the webinar was not as captivating initially, it started getting interesting with the way the speaker - who is an English Educator - explained his use of a writing manual that he created for students to refer to when given feedback on their papers.  The manual contains explanations on the correct usage of grammar based on common mistakes that students make.  Therefore as opposed to providing detail explanations on the papers that he hands back, he provided a number that references an explanation in his book. I can see how much of a time-save this manual can be when grading NUMEROUS papers.  Additionally it is a benefit for the students because they do not have to worry about trying to translate their teacher's handwriting which may not be very legible.

Class 8/3 Reflection:

WOW the 2^nd session for today’s class was REALLY interesting today.  The first session was interesting in that it was captivating.  The 2^nd session was interesting because of the strange direction in which the conversation went.  I had to step out of the room to address an urgent matter.  When I returned I sensed a change in discourse and a level of tension in the room.  I turned to the person next to me and said, “I must have missed some exciting conversation.”  My neighbor shook her head, to indicate, “yes, you did.”  I do not know what happened during the brief period that I was out of the room but based on the conversation going on upon my return it is evident that there may be individuals with unique expectations for this course.  When I became aware that we were going to have a technology course I expected the class would expose me to tools that may be of help to me as an educator.    Which tools specifically, I had no idea.  But I was looking forward to becoming aware of what’s available.  And that’s exactly what happened.  So as you can see I did not have a prepared list of things that I wanted to learn about. . . perhaps because I am new to the educational field and was only aware of tools available to help me in my career at the time and not in education. What I did not expect was so much hands on experience.  That was a welcome surprise.  It felt like I was doing work for a class of 3 credits! J I am sure much of that feeling comes from the intensity of the program as a whole.  I just looked at it as a smorgasbord of appetizers. .. samplings of tools that are available for the purpose of remaining aware whether or not we will actually have the opportunity or desire the opportunity to utilize the tools in the classroom.  The key here is the exposure. 

At any rate moving on to the first half of class . . . . I truly enjoyed having the former SMAC students in to discuss with us their experiences with technology since the SMAC program, now that they are in the classroom with students.  Hearing their perspectives on technology use in the classroom, teaching pedagogy, and the purpose of education in general was enlightening.   

Edubloggers - http://blog.mrmeyer.com/

In yesterday's EDUC 606 class we talked about two opposing viewpoints regarding the need for teaching Algebra.  Thus it was ironic when I went to the edublogger site above that the blogger had just recently posted a comment on the same topic.  He titled the posting, "The NYT Asks the Wrong Question About Algebra."  The article that we reviewed in class was a proponent of Algebra.  The article that Dan blogged about was, in my opinion, not necessarily opposing Algebra, but the writer did not see the need to have the course as a requirement.  The writer of the NYT article stated that Algebra is important.  However he felt that the subject was an unnecessary stumbling block to too many people.  He quoted statistics on the number of people who dropped out of high school and college because they could not pass an Algebra course.  He did not mention, however, if these same people were also failing other courses.  I can't see someone dropping out of school of a course or two.  I imagine that these people would also have to be underperforming in a number of other courses in addition to Algebra to make that decision decision to drop out.  And such performance is probably associated with a bigger problem than being able to understand Algebra.  There could be a learning disability or a problem with reading comprehension for example.  Algebra has always been one of my favorite subjects.  I like it better than any other math that I have learned so far.  However, I do realize that Algebra or mathematics in general is not everyone's forte.  With that being said, I still need more evidence before I can even consider removing it as a curriculm requirement.  Mathematical concepts build upon each other.  Algebra is critical for understanding advanced mathematics.  Providing students, who do not plan to continue on in technical fields an alternative algebra choice should suffice without eliminating the requirement all together.  Additionally, I agree with Dan when he states the more appropriate question is, "How should Algebra be taught?"  Proposals for alternative teaching methods should be considered nationwide.  There are alternative instructional methods for teaching Algebra, but they are not nationwide.  Next week I am scheduled to attend the Secondary School Math Lab which will feature Dr. Robert Moses teaching high school students math at a summer camp.  He has a unique approach to teaching Algebra that I look forward to seeing in person.  He specializes in improving minority education in math and has a foundation in place called "The Algebra Project" to support this initiative.  

Edubloggers - A Difference (Darren K—HS Math)

I selected the above named Edublogger to read because this blogger is a High School Math Teacher.  I read a posting of his titled, ""60 000 times faster than text" . . . Really?"  The post was VERY interesting.  He received a request from someone asking for the citation of this supposed "fact."  The requestor mentioned that the statement is used so often but the source to the statement could not be found.  Daren did some sleuthing himself which lead to some circular references.  Eight days later from the request and he still has not found the source of this overly used statement.  I got a couple of takeaways from this incident.  First, with the increase use of the world wide web over these past 20+ years, more and more individuals have access to the internet and resultantly can publish virtually anything that she/he wants whether or not the information is true.  While this provides another means of communicating and exercising freedom of speech, it also results in the promotion of false information.  And for some odd reason, there is a portion of the population that assumes that whatever is posted to the internet is true, and that is not always the case!  That is why teachers, initially (back in the day when I was growing up) did not allow us to cite references from the internet.  Now, using references from the internet is more widely accepted with the understanding that careful consideration has been taken by the student to ensure the validity of the information source.  Which leads me to my next takeaway.  Teachers who utilize methods of inquiry to promote the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical skills in their students, are helping to equip students with the skills necessary to be able to make such determinations because they will not take everything at face value.

Class 7/27 Reflection:

Ok. I am NOT happy with K&J.  I do not appreciate the fact that K&J keep introducing me to technology tools that I like and that are beneficial for my use outside of this class!  LOL!!  It REEEALLY bothers me! [:-):-):-) Not really :-):-):-).].  The three hour session for this class flew by, and most of that time was in peer group discussion.  Who would have thought this could be possible?!?!  It was not wasted time either.  I learned from each and every member of my group.  What was nice is how everything fell into place. Before starting with the first presenter for Skype, we realized it was a good idea to send out everyone's handouts to each other before beginning the presentations rather than breaking up the flow and sending the handouts between the presentations.  As a result, Pete suggested that we each send him our documentation and that he would make them available via Dropbox.  It was a nice, unplanned segue into the Dropbox presentation. So we started with this tool first, instead of Skype so that Pete could show us how to access the documents for the remainder of the period. What really facilitated our discussion was the familiarity of the tools by members of the group.  For instance, Pete and another member of the group were already familiar with dropbox prior to this class.  All four of us were familiar with Skype and had experience utilizing the tool in one form or another except for me.  Evernotes had been utilized by 2 members of the group that were not presenting this topic.  All of this prior knowledge lead to great discussion because we were able to share and leverage members' personal opinions and uses of the tools.  The only tool that was not familiar to any of us was Diigo.

This learning exercise provided an informal way of learning amongst peers.  It also removed a portion of lecture preparation from the teacher and placed the responsibility onto the students.  Furthermore, the timing of the activity in this course works well as we now know one another better since the start of the MAC program which helps to create a "safe place" to make such an activity possible and effective for the participants.

Great job K&J!

Class 7/20 Reflection

I attended the 2nd National Convening of Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows—Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows: Changing the Educational Landscape that was held Thursday and Friday of last week.  Fellows from all over the country attended this event.  The first night Arthur Levine, President The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation was the keynote speaker.  He spoke on the rapidly changing technological society in which we live and the need to impart skills in future generations that will continue the momentum.  The next morning we heard from author and educator Dr. Sonia Nieto who spoke on her book, What Keeps Teachers Going in Spite of Everything.  She spoke about a group of educators on which the book was based and how, in addition to their backgrounds, each one of them has a unique and personal motive that drives them to continue in a profession that is not given the respect that it deserves. Following this session, I had to choose 1 out of 27 different seminars to attend for the morning session.  The seminar I chose to attend was titled, “Tech Savvy Teachers & Teens: Using Technology in the Classroom.”  There were a couple of other technology seminars being offered, however this particular session was the only one that I found that did not cover something that we have already covered or will be covering in EDUC 504.  I enjoyed this seminar tremendously.  Words cannot express that enough.  It was very enlightening.  Some of the main sites featured in this session included edmodo.com – a site that is used to publish lesson plans, homework assignments, quizzes, grades, and that allows one-on-one interaction between student and teacher and wallwisher.com – a way to post comments/feedback anonymously.  Another site that was highlighted included donorschoose.org this site is where teachers can write up proposals and grants for the purpose of soliciting needed items for their classroom, interested donors access the site and help fulfill the need when possible.  After lunch I attended another seminar that was on Standardized Mathematic Tests.  The seminar covered test taking techniques.  The last afternoon session involved Q & A of a panel of 3 current fellows.  The fellows shared their most embarrassing experiences that occurred during their student/1^st year teaching as well as how to manage the stress of working in an urban school and having a life outside of work.  It was a rewarding days and a half of networking and learning.

A Reflection on the readings for 7/20 class

Ok, I must admit I have never been one to sit around and play video games all day.  I recall when the first game system came out which I believe was Atari.  Since that time there have been many others, PlayStation, x-box, kinect, etc. . . . I have never owned any of these gaming systems.   I have played, and enjoyed immensely, Pac-Man, Tetris, Centipede, and Galaxian at arcades, amusement parks, and movie theatres; but to play them for hours on end . . . no.   These particular games, which are probably nothing like the ones discussed by Gee, I found relaxing – a nice way to unwind and mildly engaging.  So a lot of what elements that were covered in the assigned readings or the Ted video, I cannot relate to personally.  But I do know of family members and friends (youth and adult men) who spend a lot of time playing video games, and now on-line games where they play with others (people whom they often have never met) throughout the US.  It is astounding how this area continues to expand. 

Willingham (2009), in his book Why Don’t Students Like School? Talks about how we as humans are what I term, “lazing thinkers”.  He states that when possible we do not think we work from memory, drawing upon prior experience.  He goes on to say that humans enjoy thinking, however if there is a problem that requires too much thinking or too little thinking we do not do it.  These notions explain why lots of people spend lots of money on video games – video games that Gee describes as hard, long and complex in his article, “Good Video Games And Good Learning.”  Like Willingham, Gee talks about the games meeting the perfect balance – they cannot be too hard or too easy otherwise people would not buy them.

Jane in “Gaming can make a better world” addresses how people sometimes use gaming to escape the real world.  They are not successful in real life, yet they can be successful in in the world of games – and with little to no risk.  If as much time was spent on solving world problems that is currently spent playing games she feels that the world would be a better place.  Based on some of the elements that Gee describes of good video games, I can see why people get caught up in playing them.  For example, they are interactive.  The players not only interact with the game but with other players outside of the household through on-line gaming.  For some individuals who may not have a lot of friends or are shy, this form of gaming is a less threatening way to socialize.   Another example is the ability to take risks, even life threatening risks at no real cost.   Such risks are of course avoided in real life because people tend to shy away from risk.   Not to mention there is the ability to customize player/character selection.  In the world of gaming you can truly be whomever you want (with the caveat that you select from the available game characters).  Sadly some people are not happy with who they are and as a result they can for a while escape that unhappiness by being someone else, even though that someone else is fictional.