The teachers have officially been back at work two weeks as of yesterday and as usual they have kept us over in the technology realm hopping with requests. This past week has proven itself to be even more interesting than ever - our one and only technician was out sick for several days and it was all left up to me, the technology coordinator, to "save the world". Thank goodness he was well enough to come back to work and prevent me from having to have a crash course in scripting.
This being only my second year (and first full summer) in the job, I noticed a few things:
#1. That eight week summer break is not long enough. There are at least three more projects I would like to have completed but never found time for them.
#2. Whoever installed the networking equipment in our primary building did not understand the importance of electrical outlets in close proximity to the network jacks.
#3. Order furniture for new computer labs at least three months in advance instead of six weeks. Even if the manufacturer, distributor, shipping company, and customer are all in the same state (OK, Texas is a big state) you would think it would be only a matter of days to have tables delivered but apparently this is not the case. Of course, if they had shown up all in one piece the first time, it would not have been such a big issue.
Starting Monday, the students come back. Maybe I'll have time to start planning next summer's projects ;)
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Teacher Meme
I left the classroom over a year ago now, but Dr. Pezz over at The Doc is In tagged me with the Teacher Meme:
1. I am a good teacher because…I connect with my students. I feel that it is important for me to know about my students so that I can help them learn based on their prior experiences and personal interests.
2. If I weren't a teacher, I would be…I don’t know. I grew up the son of a teacher and I fought that career path throughout my life. Somehow I ended up married to a teacher and possessing a degree is biological sciences - an area where a shortage of teachers existed in Oklahoma at the time. I took a chance as a teacher and found that I belonged in education.
3. My teaching style is…fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. Sure, I planned lessons and outlined semesters but often my week long lesson plans were outdate about 15 minutes into the first class on Monday. If the students asked the right questions (and maybe some wrong ones too) then we could go for days on something I had not even intended to study. The semester long trebuchet project with my junior/senior physics class comes to mind.
4. My classroom is…loud. I taught science. I firmly believe that while some science can be taught sitting on the rear end - it was more effectively learned by actively participating in science - creating science if you will.
5. My lesson plans…were done weekly - and worthless often by the end of the first class on Monday. But they were done, just to make the building administrators s happy.
6. One of my teaching goals is…make sure that every student succeeded in learning. It might not be that same for each student, but every student had an opportunity to learn in my class and I wanted to make sure that every one of them my class knowing something about science or about themselves that they did not know when they entered my class.
7. The toughest part of teaching is…dealing with kids that made more money selling drugs than I made by teaching. These kids were not in school to learn, they were there to make money. Even some of those found something to learn in my class - but there was one I missed. His verbal and physical behavior got him removed from school before I could reach him. Such a loss of potential.
8. The thing I love most about teaching is…the interaction with the students - that moment when a student's eyes gleam with understanding as they explain a concept they once had struggled with to one of their peers.
9. A common misconception about teaching is…that it is easy. My seven years as a classroom teacher were more stressful than any other job I have ever held (including running a summer camp for hundreds of Boy Scouts).
10. The most important thing I've learned since I started teaching…be flexible. Students are usually pretty flexible if they understand the reasoning - in fact they are usually generate the need. No single student is ever exactly like any other student, therefore no class of students is ever exactly like any other class. Planning lessons for a semester at a time and never straying from the plan is a sure method for causing a disaster - even if you have been doing it for 25 years.
If you read this meme and have not yet been tagged - consider yourself tagged.
1. I am a good teacher because…I connect with my students. I feel that it is important for me to know about my students so that I can help them learn based on their prior experiences and personal interests.
2. If I weren't a teacher, I would be…I don’t know. I grew up the son of a teacher and I fought that career path throughout my life. Somehow I ended up married to a teacher and possessing a degree is biological sciences - an area where a shortage of teachers existed in Oklahoma at the time. I took a chance as a teacher and found that I belonged in education.
3. My teaching style is…fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants. Sure, I planned lessons and outlined semesters but often my week long lesson plans were outdate about 15 minutes into the first class on Monday. If the students asked the right questions (and maybe some wrong ones too) then we could go for days on something I had not even intended to study. The semester long trebuchet project with my junior/senior physics class comes to mind.
4. My classroom is…loud. I taught science. I firmly believe that while some science can be taught sitting on the rear end - it was more effectively learned by actively participating in science - creating science if you will.
5. My lesson plans…were done weekly - and worthless often by the end of the first class on Monday. But they were done, just to make the building administrators s happy.
6. One of my teaching goals is…make sure that every student succeeded in learning. It might not be that same for each student, but every student had an opportunity to learn in my class and I wanted to make sure that every one of them my class knowing something about science or about themselves that they did not know when they entered my class.
7. The toughest part of teaching is…dealing with kids that made more money selling drugs than I made by teaching. These kids were not in school to learn, they were there to make money. Even some of those found something to learn in my class - but there was one I missed. His verbal and physical behavior got him removed from school before I could reach him. Such a loss of potential.
8. The thing I love most about teaching is…the interaction with the students - that moment when a student's eyes gleam with understanding as they explain a concept they once had struggled with to one of their peers.
9. A common misconception about teaching is…that it is easy. My seven years as a classroom teacher were more stressful than any other job I have ever held (including running a summer camp for hundreds of Boy Scouts).
10. The most important thing I've learned since I started teaching…be flexible. Students are usually pretty flexible if they understand the reasoning - in fact they are usually generate the need. No single student is ever exactly like any other student, therefore no class of students is ever exactly like any other class. Planning lessons for a semester at a time and never straying from the plan is a sure method for causing a disaster - even if you have been doing it for 25 years.
If you read this meme and have not yet been tagged - consider yourself tagged.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The Wi-Fi Controversy
A continuing discussion about the safety of Wi-Fi seems to be occurring on the other side of the pond in England. Apparently the Professional Association of Teachers is demanding an inquiry into the safety of Wi-Fi as some claim that it causes cancer. Doesn't this sound like the cell phone argument here in the U.S. a few years back? While it might really be a concern, no one seems to talk about FM and AM radio waves that are bouncing around our neighborhoods.
The argument seems to be ongoing based on some of the news articles…
February 2, 2007
April 23, 2007
April 28, 2007
May 21, 2007
Is it truly a concern or just more media fear tactics?
The argument seems to be ongoing based on some of the news articles…
February 2, 2007
April 23, 2007
April 28, 2007
May 21, 2007
Is it truly a concern or just more media fear tactics?
EduApps are FAKE?
I just could not resist responding to some discussion that is occurring over on Miguel Guhlin's blog Around the Corner (Link #1 Link #2). Dean left a comment stating that educational Web 2.0 applications (EduApps) that mimic mainstream Web 2.0 applications are FAKE. He says
That's like saying the you shouldn't drink Pepsi because Coca-Cola was the original. Isn't it about personal preference? Sure YouTube serves a much wider audience, but TeacherTube has a niche of providing a place for educators to find/posts videos that are intended for educational use. TeacherTube does not miss a REAL audience, it is for a SPECIFIC audience. The fact that content filtering software does not block TeacherTube is a moot point.
There is a difference between "walled garden apps" and EduApps freely available on the Internet. For example, some people might say that we should be using Second Life while others might advocate Multiverse - which can be downloaded and run on a local server - blocked from use by outsiders. Multiverse is definitely a "walled garden". Do students get an idea of what to expect from virtual environments though? Absolutely. Do they get a full experience by interacting with people from around the world? Depends on how the Multiverse is set-up, but probably not. However, both applications have value and should be explored for educational uses.
And what about MOODLE? MOODLE has wikis, forums, chats, etc. built in, but they are typically located behind some sort of username/password. My district locks our MOODLE to our students and faculty - does that make it FAKE? I mean, just because the apps are not available to the general public, are they not worthwhile? Does it not support teaching and learning and provide students with authentic learning experiences?
So what's my point? EduApps have a valid role in teaching and learning. We should evaluate them just like we would mainstream applications and apply them as most appropriate for our students, in our schools, and within our communities (both physical and virtual). We should utilize technologies as they become available because we are preparing students jobs that haven't been created yet (paraphrased comment of Richard Riley - also see Did You Know?). How do we know what they are going to need to know? The only thing we can do is prepare them for a lifetime of learning.
Transparency: I work in the same school district as the creators of TeacherTube and while I do support their efforts, I support the efforts of all people creating new Web 2.0 applications.
I also continue to advocate the use of tools like youtube over teachertube. Teachertube is fake. I realize it helps to subvert districts which block but it misses a real audience.
That's like saying the you shouldn't drink Pepsi because Coca-Cola was the original. Isn't it about personal preference? Sure YouTube serves a much wider audience, but TeacherTube has a niche of providing a place for educators to find/posts videos that are intended for educational use. TeacherTube does not miss a REAL audience, it is for a SPECIFIC audience. The fact that content filtering software does not block TeacherTube is a moot point.
There is a difference between "walled garden apps" and EduApps freely available on the Internet. For example, some people might say that we should be using Second Life while others might advocate Multiverse - which can be downloaded and run on a local server - blocked from use by outsiders. Multiverse is definitely a "walled garden". Do students get an idea of what to expect from virtual environments though? Absolutely. Do they get a full experience by interacting with people from around the world? Depends on how the Multiverse is set-up, but probably not. However, both applications have value and should be explored for educational uses.
And what about MOODLE? MOODLE has wikis, forums, chats, etc. built in, but they are typically located behind some sort of username/password. My district locks our MOODLE to our students and faculty - does that make it FAKE? I mean, just because the apps are not available to the general public, are they not worthwhile? Does it not support teaching and learning and provide students with authentic learning experiences?
So what's my point? EduApps have a valid role in teaching and learning. We should evaluate them just like we would mainstream applications and apply them as most appropriate for our students, in our schools, and within our communities (both physical and virtual). We should utilize technologies as they become available because we are preparing students jobs that haven't been created yet (paraphrased comment of Richard Riley - also see Did You Know?). How do we know what they are going to need to know? The only thing we can do is prepare them for a lifetime of learning.
Transparency: I work in the same school district as the creators of TeacherTube and while I do support their efforts, I support the efforts of all people creating new Web 2.0 applications.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Introducing Web 2.0...
My school district hosted a day of professional development for the teachers that are new to the district this week. I expected it to be the usual series of "welcome to our school district" presentations by each of the service areas, kicked off by the superintendent, but about halfway through his presentation something else transpired. He usually selects a video that is motivational or humorous (from which he always draws some point to drive home), but this time….he used the "Are You Paying Attention" video created by the Jordan School District. Now, I had been planning on offering workshops on different aspects of Web 2.0 throughout the year, but wow….by using that video he really set the stage for my workshops.
I have started putting my list of workshops together already and here it is:
1. Welcome to Web 2.0 (General overview, heavy in globalization)
2. Researching the Net (Website credibility, Backlinking, The Wayback Machine)
3. Sharing/Finding Information (RSS, Search Engines, Social Bookmarking, Technorati)
4. Virtual Learning Environments (Moodle)
5. Wikis (Wikipedia, Pbwiki, Wikispaces, Google Docs, Moodle Wikis)
6. Blogging (Wordpress, Blogspot,Typepad, Moodle Forums, Bloglines, Google Reader)
7. Podcasting (Audacity, PodSafe Audio)
8. Video Streaming (YouTube, TeacherTube, Google Video, Windows Movie Maker, Final Cut Express)
9. Connecting Beyond the Classroom (Skype, Twitter)
What other resources should I cover? Other Web 2.0 tools that you think are invaluable that I have left off? I'm sure I've left something off...
I have started putting my list of workshops together already and here it is:
1. Welcome to Web 2.0 (General overview, heavy in globalization)
2. Researching the Net (Website credibility, Backlinking, The Wayback Machine)
3. Sharing/Finding Information (RSS, Search Engines, Social Bookmarking, Technorati)
4. Virtual Learning Environments (Moodle)
5. Wikis (Wikipedia, Pbwiki, Wikispaces, Google Docs, Moodle Wikis)
6. Blogging (Wordpress, Blogspot,Typepad, Moodle Forums, Bloglines, Google Reader)
7. Podcasting (Audacity, PodSafe Audio)
8. Video Streaming (YouTube, TeacherTube, Google Video, Windows Movie Maker, Final Cut Express)
9. Connecting Beyond the Classroom (Skype, Twitter)
What other resources should I cover? Other Web 2.0 tools that you think are invaluable that I have left off? I'm sure I've left something off...
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