Just Me...

I love to learn! Nothing beats a group of teachers collaborating and discussing best practices. This past pweek, I have seen the following:

1. I have just watched the best math/technology integration EVER! The teacher addresses his students with a simple math question/number talk. The students are very involved in the lesson and all anxious to share their strategies. However, while students are solving their problem and getting ready to share their strategy, I notice one student get up and go to the computer. Yes, I had to follow. OMW...he had a digital math toolbox (on his website and his ipods). The student knew what strategy he wanted to use but just lacked the confidence to put it all together. I have seen students get up to move, look at other's work, or go get manipulatives BUT never go to a digital math toolbox. This is a man that is using technology tools to the fullest. He records one math discussion/number talk with his students per week and groups them accordingly. How, you ask? Simple use of a document camera/lightsmith. That is not all...with each lesson, he has math games listed along with internet links and activities. PLUS.....some orginal work from the students (mathcasts). Way to go SCOTT! Excellent math and school-t0-home connections. Great integration of technology with your math lesson.

LESSON - if you have new technology and STILL doing the same thing, then why are we buying these tools if we (teachers) are not going to use them to the fullest potiental?

2. Technology has the biggest AUDIENCE. Why are we not using it? Look at the tools...Blogs, disccussion tabs in a Wiki, and the one I have started using some with my personal children..THE NATIONAL GALLERY of WRITING. It is about the creative process not the tool. Saying I have a blog is saying I have a tool BUT what are you and your students doing with that tool?

3. Students have to POWERDOWN to come to school. Why? Teachers are still afraid of technology. Students are not afraid of technology. These tools are everywhere. My personal son came home with a 50 page booklet for robotics. He went straight to the internet to learn about robotics (YOUTUBE). Students want to learn in the NOW, not in the LATER. They know how to quickly access tools and find the information needed with visuals that we could only dream about receiving years ago.

4. There is NO limit on learning. It is an open highway. Where do you stand?

5. So when asked what technology skills do teachers need to have...ask yourself, what skills do your students have. Let them teach you. Turn them lose and give them a choice. They are not afraid to CLICK. It is their world.

6. Have you ever thought about the functions in the LEARNING PROCESS? The student has the ability to RECEIVE information, the student has the ability to PROCESS information, and the student has the ability to USE/EXPRESS information. How do you meet the expressive needs (oral expression, written expression, spelling, speaking, writing, encoding, doing, applying, demonstration, and understanding) of the learning process? Think about all the ways technology can enhance your curriculum in this area.

JUST ME

I had a peaceful day off. I sat next to the lake and surfed the net. I discovered/read a lot of new blogs that I am going to post to my daily readings on this blog. Check for these changes soon.

I came across this while reading a blog....I so want one of these....can you say ENGAGED?

JUST ME

What Thomas Friedman means when he says "The World is Flat"

What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution that have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This in itself should not be news to anyone. But the news that Friedman has to deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention to these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research (math and science) and design work as well. Friedman has more to say about what he now calls "uploading," the direct-from-the-bottom creation of culture, knowledge, and innovation through blogging, podcasts, and open-source software. And in response to the pleas of many of his readers about how to survive the new flat world, he makes specific recommendations about the technical and creative training he thinks will be required to compete in the "New Middle" class. As before, Friedman tells his story with the catchy slogans and globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books and his New York Times columns know well, and he holds to a stern sort of optimism. He wants to tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you to know you're going to be trampled if you don't keep up with it. A year later, one can sense his rising impatience that our popular culture, and our political leaders, are not helping us keep pace. --Tom Nissley

*This is a great book...a must read for teachers.

JUST ME...

Oh Dear! I am reading Leadership and Self-Deception, Getting Out of the Box because I really do not know what I want to be when I grow up. I keep questioning myself...do I want to go back to the classroom, if so which grade? Do I want to keep going and pursue Administration? Oh my word...
Self-deception actually determines one's experiences in every aspect of life. The extent to which it does that, and in particular the extent to which it is the central issue in personal and professional leadership (vii). It blinds us to the true cause of problems, and once blind, all the "solutions" we can think of will actually make matters worse. That's why self-deception is so central to leadership-because leadership is about making matters better(viii). Silence.....

MORE to Come..........

PAY ATTENTION

Why do so many teachers refuse to enter the digital age with their teaching practices?

Technology is ubiquitous, touching almost every part of our lives, our communities, our homes. Teaching without technology is no longer an option for teachers. PAY ATTENTION is a quick video (that has been around for about a year) that makes you think about your technology pedagogy.

Many teachers are just beginning to explore the true potential technology offers for teaching and learning. Integrating technology into classroom instruction means more than teaching basic computer skills. True technology integration is:

1. being actively engaged

2. having a global voice

3. group collaboration

4. frequent interaction/feedback/editing/writing

5. connection to real-world experts and real-life applications

6. research

7. expression

8. hands-on

9. knowing and implementing the ISTE tech standards (see below post) into everyday curricula

10. seeing technology as a tool not "one more thing"

11. seeing technology as part of the whole not separate

12. exploring

13. constructing/creating/producing

14. thinking/processing/problem-solving

15. broadcasting/filming/streaming/podcasting

I can't answer the original question but I will say that most teachers fall into one of the below categories:
1. Dabbler
2. Do old things in old ways
3. Do old things in new ways
4. Do new things in new ways

JUST ME...

Technology integration isn't about replacing what we do. It is about doing what we do better. It's about teachers and how we teach. It's about students and how they learn. Anything less is technology education, teaching substitution, or, worst of all, behavior modification.

Poor uses of technology in a classroom:
1. Technology education means taking time away from subject area learning and focusing on the acquisition of technology skills. Students should be engaged in meaningful learning experiences to help them demonstrate achievement of content standards.

2. Technology substitution....in this case, students use technologies to replicate activities they used to do without technology. Nothing is gained with substitution. The kids don't learn more, and time is often wasted. If students need to learn specific technology skills, then the teacher should help the students do so during a meaningful learning opportunity where the focus is on making progress towards meeting content standards.
3. The worst use of technology in a classroom, if we don't count dust collecting, is behavior modification. In this case, the teacher either "allows" computer use as a reward for completing "real work" or as a way to occupy students who have finished their "real work."

Appropriate use of technologies in classrooms:
1. Here is what technology is for: questioning, exploration, discovery, analysis, understanding, application, collaborating, and communication (global voice). This is also known as the learning process. Teachers need to ask themselves, "How can students learn the concepts central to this field of study better through the use of technology?"

2. I seem to hear the same two phrases used to support the use of technologies in schools, and they are both wrong (I think...remember this is JUST ME). One is "prepare students for the 21st century." The other is "life-long learning." Why do we, as educators, talk about preparing students for the 21st century? We are in the 21st century. Students need technological abilities now, both to learn and to live (LEARN IT, LIVE IT, EVERYDAY). Instead of talking about "preparing students for the 21st century," we should be talking about preparing students for their lives when they wake up each day. What is life-long learning? How do you know if students become "life-long learners?" Our job as educators is not to prepare "life-long learners." Our job is to help students develop the skills and abilities they will need to succeed in whatever path they choose. Instead of "life-long learners," we should be preparing life-long succeeders. The result is students who can ask questions, explore, discover, analyze, understand, apply, and communicate understanding.

I admit that computer labs can be used effectively, but only with great consideration for the learning objectives. The best uses of labs are either in a free-for-all setting in which students and teachers may come and go as needed or when they are used sparingly for whole class learning engagement in a meaningful learning activity (i.e., helping students make progress towards meeting standards). What works better under most circumstances is to put the computers into those classrooms where they will be used appropriately. Education research indicates that a 4:1 student to computer ratio seems to work best in most instructional environments. With most effective use, not every student needs a computer all the time, nor do all students typically need a computer at the same time. If the instructional design limits computer use to whole class exercises, then the instructional design also limits effective learning.

JUST ME...

Americans Believe Computers Have Positive Effect On Writing Skills
The 2007 Survey on Teaching Writing (PDF)

"Writing is the basis for most of our electronic communication today," said Richard Sterling, executive director of the National Writing Project. "The American public recognizes that our nation's educators need support for learning to use technology tools to teach writing in this digital age," Sterling said.

The majority of Americans responding to the survey (74%) believe that becoming proficient in computer technology should be a high school graduation requirement, ranking its importance just below that of reading (94%) and writing (84%). Further, widely endorsed support for learning to use computers at a young age (76%), along with the belief that writing should be taught in all subjects and at all grade levels (74%), suggest that the public views technology as integral to learning to write well.

In addition, Americans generally agree that:
A variety of computer applications contribute positively to students' growth as writers.
Creative applications such as PowerPoint presentations, doing homework on a computer, creating Web pages, writing blogs, and emailing friends and family actually help young people to become better writers.

Mixed views registered on some specific uses:
Spell-check programs received a mixed response, with 51% saying they hinder learning to spell, and 43% saying they help.
Instant messaging received a negative response, with 60% of Americans saying it gets in the way of young people becoming better communicators.

Interesting?

Look at this picture...does it mean anything to you?

Now read this letter (from a friend, Jann Montgomery-with permission to post)

I used to sit in my Grandma’s pantry for hours. I’d shut the door sometimes. I’d even brave turning out the light and sit there in the dark. It smelled like spices and cookies and my Grandma. I’d go in looking for treasures. I’d always find one too. When she knew I was coming, my Grandma would buy Buffalo Rock ginger ale. I’d spot the little bottles sitting on the floor of the pantry - yellow label, brown writing. But the best part was when I brought her one of the bottles. We would go in the kitchen together and she would let me pick out one of the special glasses that lived in the tall mahogany cabinet that no one was allowed to open without her. I’d always pick out the same one, the glass with the orange carousel giraffe on it. She’d put the ice in it – clink, clink, clink. I’d wait. She’d open the bottle with that familiar fizz. I’d wait. But the pouring, I could never wait. I’d inch my nose closer and closer to the glass until I could feel the bubbles from the fizz pop and burn in my nose.
I now have that glass, along with the rest of the carousel animals, in that tall mahogney cabinet that no one was allowed to open without her. I sometimes buy a Buffalo Rock, the one with the yellow label and the brown writing. I pour it myself and remember.

So, you tell me how powerful is writing? Students need to be empowered, emotional involved (Senses), encouraged to be creative... Blogs, Wikis, Online Journals, Digital Books, Creating books with Scrapblog, Digital Storytelling...etc...do have their place in the classroom.

Jann...a special memory for me would be the smell of my mom's cedar chest that was to become mine when I got married. The cedar chest stayed in the attic with my mom's wedding dress, pictures, high-school memorabilia etc. I can remember as a kid sneaking up into the attic just to see what was really in that cedar chest that was to become mine one day. I never did make it to actually opening it up and taking a peak until I was a freshman in high-school. I can remember the smell of fresh cedar the first time my mom sat down with me to share all of those love notes from my dad, pictures, her wedding dress, glasses...I felt so special to see all of the neat things that my mom had saved. I also remember her saying "It is time...time for this to become your hope-chest...a chest I hope full of wonderful dreams for you." My freshman year, my mom began to put things in my hope-chest... things for college and for the day I would get married. Many years have past with a lot of memories stored from that hope-chest. That hope-chest was destroyed in the March 2008 tornadoe that hit our house. Today, I own a piece of that hope-chest and the smell of fresh cedar still remains on that piece.