Cleared the driveway with the snow blower
Shoveled stairs and the deck too
Kids are sledding on the hill in the yard
And some are building snowmen too.
Christmas music's on my mp3
And I'm sitting down with my lap top
Watched the K-12 conference keynote speaker with my eyes all agog
And now I'll share my thoughts through this blog.
I was excited to watch superkimbo online
She teaches at my school and lives in my home country.
Did you know that I'm a TCK from many years ago?
From before computers and color TV.
I know I work better when I collaborate
It's just my style or personality
Perhaps I learned this because of how I grew up
And kids need to also 'cause that's the way the world will be.
The thrill of learning all this technology
I'll connect with colleagues around the world who, like me,
Want to youtube, skype, blog, ning and wiki
And be a part of the world digitally.
We can make the world a smaller place.
By showing kids how others live and work and play and speak
Then they'll make friends across the seas
And maybe, then, we'll all live happily.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Creativity and Take a chance
Dear Sir Robinson,
I’d almost forgotten about Ben and Asa. Fifteen years ago I was working at an elementary school as a special education teacher. At that time classroom teachers were just beginning to implement hands on math instruction that used lots of manipulatives to “discover” math concepts before we put them on paper. I had two boys who really struggled to learn math. We built things to learn how to measure. We cooked to learn fractions. We danced to learn division.
Our new math curriculum uses some manipulatives, incorporates teaching umpteen different strategies and we’ve extended the class period to 75 minutes so they’ll have plenty of time. The math lessons “spiral” and are designed to revisit previous taught concepts, preview upcoming concepts and introduce or continue on with the current lesson all in one day. It’s all still on paper. It is no wonder some kids a swirling!
Until this year I’ve been away from teaching math in my role as a reading teacher/specialist. This year I have fallen into teaching math again. This time it’s six kids and it’s boys and girls. They’ve got a pretty good handle on anything that can be memorized. They have NO idea how, when or why to apply this knowledge to everyday situations that require math. It’s time to start building, cooking and dancing again. They don’t have to sit still. They will learn things they will need to know for real life and probably be able to use the skills again on their own. It’s real and they may even decide they like math.
Thanks for the reminder of what works.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Links to the article
How do I do this? I've tried the link button that is just above the composing box, but that didn't work. Is it because I'm using Safari?
Turning on the Lights
Prensky, Marc. "Turning on the Lights." Educational Leadership March, 2008: 40-45. Web. 12 Oct 2009. .
Do you agree with Prensky's notion that requiring students to "power down" in school actually impedes their learning?
I agree and disagree at the same time. Technology is a powerful learning tool IF it is being used for learning. It IS powerful BECAUSE it is entertaining, engaging, fast paced and nearly limitless. In that sense not being able to use technology is almost disabling. At the same time, the entertainment qualities can also become a distraction. The lack of limits is scary. There are some things we may not want to know that could be forced upon us.
How might allowing students to use technological devices in class help or hinder their learning?
The use of technology in the classroom is helpful. I have 5 computers in my classroom and yes; I know I’m lucky. My students use these computers to practice their reading, phonics and math skills. Being able to use the Lexia software and access online math games helps to take some of the drudgery out of practice. Lexia is a “smart” program that keeps track of student’s answers and can increase or decrease the level of difficulty automatically. It also allows teachers to monitor their use and alerts us to areas where students are not making progress. It spits out fancy reports and offers resources for direct instruction. I also use Read 180 a product put out by Scholastic.
What place do you see in the classroom for laptops, cell phones, mp3 players, social networking sites, Wikipedia, and other technologies?
We use laptops throughout our school for the Lexia software mentioned above. The machines are also available for publishing writing, for research and other projects.
What is your school's policy regarding technology in school?
Kids aren’t allowed cell phones or handheld games during the school day.
Do you believe your policy meets the needs of your students? If so, why? If not, what changes would you make?
My school is K-5 and at this level it is enough. We teachers are learning and slowly incorporating what are, I hope, the best ideas and uses of technology for students. Blogs to publish writing, share books and photo projects and hopefully much more to come.
How can teachers and administrators balance the desire to stay up-to-date with the need to always make sure that teachers can use the techniques and technologies that best suit their students?
We need to try it for ourselves and try it with our kids. What works one year may not work the next. What works for one kid may not work for another. We no longer make every child write with his/her right hand, yet we haven’t got every child plugged in either.
Do you agree with Prensky's notion that requiring students to "power down" in school actually impedes their learning?
I agree and disagree at the same time. Technology is a powerful learning tool IF it is being used for learning. It IS powerful BECAUSE it is entertaining, engaging, fast paced and nearly limitless. In that sense not being able to use technology is almost disabling. At the same time, the entertainment qualities can also become a distraction. The lack of limits is scary. There are some things we may not want to know that could be forced upon us.
How might allowing students to use technological devices in class help or hinder their learning?
The use of technology in the classroom is helpful. I have 5 computers in my classroom and yes; I know I’m lucky. My students use these computers to practice their reading, phonics and math skills. Being able to use the Lexia software and access online math games helps to take some of the drudgery out of practice. Lexia is a “smart” program that keeps track of student’s answers and can increase or decrease the level of difficulty automatically. It also allows teachers to monitor their use and alerts us to areas where students are not making progress. It spits out fancy reports and offers resources for direct instruction. I also use Read 180 a product put out by Scholastic.
What place do you see in the classroom for laptops, cell phones, mp3 players, social networking sites, Wikipedia, and other technologies?
We use laptops throughout our school for the Lexia software mentioned above. The machines are also available for publishing writing, for research and other projects.
What is your school's policy regarding technology in school?
Kids aren’t allowed cell phones or handheld games during the school day.
Do you believe your policy meets the needs of your students? If so, why? If not, what changes would you make?
My school is K-5 and at this level it is enough. We teachers are learning and slowly incorporating what are, I hope, the best ideas and uses of technology for students. Blogs to publish writing, share books and photo projects and hopefully much more to come.
How can teachers and administrators balance the desire to stay up-to-date with the need to always make sure that teachers can use the techniques and technologies that best suit their students?
We need to try it for ourselves and try it with our kids. What works one year may not work the next. What works for one kid may not work for another. We no longer make every child write with his/her right hand, yet we haven’t got every child plugged in either.
World without Walls
Richardson, Will. "World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others." Edutopia 12 2008: n. pag. Web. 10 Oct 2009. .
It’s now 2:52 pm. I started this assignment at 7:00 this morning. What is wrong with me! I read the article and come across the links and CLICK! I’m off in another world. And I keep clicking and clicking and clicking. I came across many useful ideas, blogs and sites. Which one do I use first!
Is this how kids feel when they’re online?
Richardson states, “These tools are fast changing, decidedly social, and rich with powerful learning opportunities for us all, if we can figure out how to leverage their potential.” Figuring out how to funnel this energy into a useful purpose IS the most challenging part. We want what we invent/create/design to be useful, to provide some sense of accomplishment and achievement. In a blog post on Classroom 2.0 one-teacher states:
I don't believe that technology is supposed to make life easier, but that it's supposed to enhance your life. However, there is a limit to the amount of extra work that I'm willing to do in addition to everything above-and-beyond that I already do. By Kerin Ho Mayne on July 11, 2009 at 8:47am
I hear her. It’s overwhelming and I’m on the fence. I want to go forward and re-invent how I support students learning because I know they’ll find it as exciting as I do and at the same time I want to avoid mayhem and it’s really easy to get pulled into doing work 24/7.
Do kids really view technology as a learning tool? There are two teenagers, seniors who will graduate next spring up stairs right now. I’m going to go ask.
Me: Do you think that your school has integrated the use of technology into your classes?
Them: Oh, yeah…everything is a powerpoint these days. We have projectors. We can e-mail our stuff.
Me: Are there any restrictions that you feel impede your learning from technology.
Them: The firewall keeps out a lot of sites. Not even the teachers can use YouTube to show us how to do stuff.
Me: So how do you access the information you need to know?
Them: At home.
Me: What is technology to you?
Them: (pointing to the X-box) That! Entertainment.
So … not a scientific survey by any means and maybe it was bad timing on my part because they were in the middle of a game. I’m pretty sure they have the technological know how. There are times when I’ve asked for help with my Mac and my son can show me lickety-split what I’ve tried to do on my own. But is he learning digital citizenship, collaboration skills, and how to produce high quality work? I think that SHS has begun to embrace the new paradigm, but is more or less as on the fence as I am.
It’s now 2:52 pm. I started this assignment at 7:00 this morning. What is wrong with me! I read the article and come across the links and CLICK! I’m off in another world. And I keep clicking and clicking and clicking. I came across many useful ideas, blogs and sites. Which one do I use first!
Is this how kids feel when they’re online?
Richardson states, “These tools are fast changing, decidedly social, and rich with powerful learning opportunities for us all, if we can figure out how to leverage their potential.” Figuring out how to funnel this energy into a useful purpose IS the most challenging part. We want what we invent/create/design to be useful, to provide some sense of accomplishment and achievement. In a blog post on Classroom 2.0 one-teacher states:
I don't believe that technology is supposed to make life easier, but that it's supposed to enhance your life. However, there is a limit to the amount of extra work that I'm willing to do in addition to everything above-and-beyond that I already do. By Kerin Ho Mayne on July 11, 2009 at 8:47am
I hear her. It’s overwhelming and I’m on the fence. I want to go forward and re-invent how I support students learning because I know they’ll find it as exciting as I do and at the same time I want to avoid mayhem and it’s really easy to get pulled into doing work 24/7.
Do kids really view technology as a learning tool? There are two teenagers, seniors who will graduate next spring up stairs right now. I’m going to go ask.
Me: Do you think that your school has integrated the use of technology into your classes?
Them: Oh, yeah…everything is a powerpoint these days. We have projectors. We can e-mail our stuff.
Me: Are there any restrictions that you feel impede your learning from technology.
Them: The firewall keeps out a lot of sites. Not even the teachers can use YouTube to show us how to do stuff.
Me: So how do you access the information you need to know?
Them: At home.
Me: What is technology to you?
Them: (pointing to the X-box) That! Entertainment.
So … not a scientific survey by any means and maybe it was bad timing on my part because they were in the middle of a game. I’m pretty sure they have the technological know how. There are times when I’ve asked for help with my Mac and my son can show me lickety-split what I’ve tried to do on my own. But is he learning digital citizenship, collaboration skills, and how to produce high quality work? I think that SHS has begun to embrace the new paradigm, but is more or less as on the fence as I am.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
My Blogroll
http://www.eledblog.com/
This site offers teachers a place to connect to other professional learning groups. For example at my school we are beginning to use the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for writing instruction. There's a PLG on this site that blogs about Units of Study. I'll be able to learn form them and perhaps they'll learn something form me!
http://www.thereadingworkshop.com/
This blog is maintained by a 6th grade language arts teachers. His students use this for assignments calendars, sites for practice and for posting their work. How cool is that?
I'm looking for a site for Literacy Coaches who want to discuss strategies/protocols for working with PLGs. Any suggestions?
This site offers teachers a place to connect to other professional learning groups. For example at my school we are beginning to use the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for writing instruction. There's a PLG on this site that blogs about Units of Study. I'll be able to learn form them and perhaps they'll learn something form me!
http://www.thereadingworkshop.com/
This blog is maintained by a 6th grade language arts teachers. His students use this for assignments calendars, sites for practice and for posting their work. How cool is that?
I'm looking for a site for Literacy Coaches who want to discuss strategies/protocols for working with PLGs. Any suggestions?
Orchestrating the Media Collage – Jason Ohler
Literacy was reading and writing well. New literacy is reading and writing well that also includes the use of technology because of the addition of computers and the internet. Ohler recommends eight guidelines for teachers.
1. New literacy is a collage –collection – of text and visuals.
2. Writing well is critical for being a digital citizen…it’s out there and public.
3. Art is a part of the collage and thus students need to be knowledgeable consumers and producers of art.
4. DAOW- digital, art oral and written – oral performance, because it can be recorded and posted for the public – is also part of literacy.
5. Fiction and non-fiction – understanding and ability to write both.
6. Being able to work individually and collaboratively, worldwide.
7. Digital citizenship – using digital tools responsibly.
8. Fluency in the use of the digital tools.
I'm heading in the right (and write!) direction because ~ Teachers themselves need these new skills in order to effectively teach students the skills they need in the new world.
My philosophy has always been that teachers are learners so, ~ Be willing to experiment and learn along with your students. Be a conductor of the technology orchestra to help students become skilled at being a part of the global community.
1. New literacy is a collage –collection – of text and visuals.
2. Writing well is critical for being a digital citizen…it’s out there and public.
3. Art is a part of the collage and thus students need to be knowledgeable consumers and producers of art.
4. DAOW- digital, art oral and written – oral performance, because it can be recorded and posted for the public – is also part of literacy.
5. Fiction and non-fiction – understanding and ability to write both.
6. Being able to work individually and collaboratively, worldwide.
7. Digital citizenship – using digital tools responsibly.
8. Fluency in the use of the digital tools.
I'm heading in the right (and write!) direction because ~ Teachers themselves need these new skills in order to effectively teach students the skills they need in the new world.
My philosophy has always been that teachers are learners so, ~ Be willing to experiment and learn along with your students. Be a conductor of the technology orchestra to help students become skilled at being a part of the global community.
Summary: Taking the Digital Plunge – Bill Ferriter
A new era of teachers teaching teachers: Teachers learn by sharing what they know with colleagues. In this 21st century sharing is enhanced by using the internet to connect with other teachers worldwide and helps teachers learn the new skills in which students must also become proficient. Students may learn the new technology independently yet may need guidance in using the tools appropriately in a worldwide community for learning or demonstrating what they have learned.
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