Adding More Stress

This year, I’m teaching three different subjects for the first time and I love every minute! While loving three new preps might sound strange to some people, it's not to me since one of my favorite parts of teaching is developing the lessons. Consequently, this year, I am able to do that…a lot. So I spent tons of time thinking about all of the possible options for my course project, which is planned during this class and will be taught next semester. Given the time constraints, personal as well as the limitation of one quarter classes, and the choice of working alone or collaborating with a wonderful colleague, I opted to work with Susan Chubb to perfect and improve our stress unit.

During the last class, both Susan and I blogged about our stress project. Most of the student stress videos were interesting and effective. All of the student feedback about the project was very positive. In their reflections the students thought they learned a lot from the project by “creating the project and listening to other presentations”. Students said they learned from the “examples” in the films “rather than people sitting in front of the camera talking.” Most students liked the “comedy” in the videos and when they were “funny and creative”. As one student stated, the “…funny part which made me laugh and made me watch the video seriously until the end.” When they reflected about any difficulties they encountered, most thought they needed more time, in particular more time to film and edit. Though one student stated that the difficulties his group encountered “were having so much fun we couldn’t focus.”

Therefore, Susan and I decided we want to allow a little more time for their stress videos. In addition, we want them to blog about their experiences and post their videos on their blogs with their blog entry categorized as “health”. We think that expanding our current project, thereby adding more days of stress, makes more sense than trying to add something else to our already full units, especially given the time constraints of a one quarter class.

Here is one of the videos from this quarter:

Managing Peripherals When I Can Manage the Time

How do you manage the use of technology peripherals with students? What are some things you've learned and hope to implement?

Well…this may be a rather short blog posting since I really don’t use a lot of technology peripherals in my classroom. It’s not that I don’t want to… it’s just that I lack the time to really get to know them.

At best, I have a basic relationship with my Smart Board. The students enjoy using it and I see a lot of potential, yet the Smart Board still remains an untapped resource. To further complicate things, I learned, through personal experience, that different Smart Boards operate a little differently…so the two Smart Boards in my classrooms this year are not exactly like the one I used last year. I know tech help sessions are offered after school and some of them have even focused on getting to know your Smart Board, but these sessions always seem to conflict with a club meeting or a homework help session. Once again, it is all about the lack of time.

What I really need is some time for “messing around” with these different items and to incorporate them into some lessons. This is how flip cameras débuted in my health class last quarter and now they will be making a regular quarterly appearance. There is something to be said for having the time to play with and get to know peripherals and technology. (Susi wrote a great blog about this!) Having that time can yield tremendous results. For example, last year I gave my students about 45 minutes to play with Moviemaker. We were starting working on a photo essay project that traditionally used Powerpoint. I wanted to offer them another option so I provided some time for them to get acquainted with the program prior to starting the project. It was time well spent. The majority of students opted to use the new program with very satisfying results.

Teachers need time to try out technology, play around with it, and to share things that work. However, until that happens, my plan is to try to create some of this time for me…just as soon as I finish all of the other things that I need to do…

Image source: http://oncallweb.net/images/Computer%20smile.gif

Laptops In My Classroom

What are ways you manage the use of laptops in your classroom and what additional best practice ways might you add?

Regarding this topic, I really liked the activity we completed in class. What a great way for everyone to share their knowledge and best practices! After doing this and reading the other student blogs, I think this is rather repetitive. But here’s what I do:

• Make students responsible. The students get the lap top carts. During class, I keep an eye on the time and give them enough time to save their work and put their lap tops away. Students are selected to monitor the carts and to make sure that all of the lap tops are plugged in. These students must return carts and PLUG them in or bring them to the next classroom on the list.
• Monitor students. While students are working on the laptops, I constantly walk around the room, watching what they are doing, and answering questions.
• Tops down for instruction. When I give instructions, I have the students lower the computer tops. It is the only way that they truly focus on the oral and written instructions. I have them get the computers and log in before the directions are given because sometimes it just takes so long for them to get logged in!
• Get computer and log in as they enter the room. This is a big time saver. Not to repeat myself, but sometimes itjust takes so long for them to get logged in, that I’ve found I save a lot of time if they do this while they are settling down and writing their homework in their agendas.

Amazing Technology: The Mashed Potato Machine @ 7-11!

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Nets for Teachers and Administrators

How relevant are the NETs for Teachers and Administrators to being a "Good Educator" today?

As mentioned by other CoETaiL students (Martin & Gaby to name a few), the NETs for teachers are similar to teaching standards that have existed since I began teaching about nine years ago except they contain phrases like “using technology” and using “digital media”. They reflect our rapidly changing world and make educators realize the countless options now available to enhance student learning. They represent the logical shift away from only offering pen and paper options to utilizing all available resources.


Likewise, the same seems true for the NETs for administrators though I don't know much about the mysterious world of administrators.

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Student Learning And Technology

How can teachers and schools ensure that their students are learning what they need when it comes to Technology and Information Literacy?

Very simple: make it a priority.

• Provide professional development opportunities for teachers. Opportunities should include programs like the CoETaiL classes as well as providing technology sessions during early release days and teacher work days.
• Have a strong tech department to work with teachers and motivate teachers to use technology in their class rooms. Once teachers discover how easy, fun, meaningful, and engaging technology can be; most wouldn’t want to teach any other way.
• Have it supported by the administration.
• Have sufficient resources to support technology in the classroom. Make sure there are enough lap tops, head phones, microphones, etc. Ensure that the internet really works and that it's fast enough to support technology programs and projects.
• In addition to having all teachers teach and utilize technology in their classrooms for student learning, schools should offer meaningful technology electives and computer class options for students. This is especially important for middle school and high school students. They need to have a chance to deeply explore specific aspects of technology. For example, the ISB Middle School offers Flash Animation and Video Production as extra technology electives, giving students a chance to become an “expert” in another aspect of technology.

Whose Job Is It Anyway???

Whose job is it to teach the NETs and AASL standards to students?

Basically, the NETs and AASL standards are good teaching practices that all teachers should focus on in the classroom. In fact, many teachers do this naturally without really needing the standards. They are not much different from the usual teaching standards except that they contain technology words and terms. The responsibility of teaching these standards to students rests with all teachers. The class subject provides the content, Humanities or Health in my case, and these standards provide the focus for using technology as a way to deliver, work with, and enhance the content.

For example, maybe ten years ago an “innovative product” that would demonstrative student creative thinking and construct knowledge might have been a handwritten or typed “magazine” about some historic event, like the US Civil War. About five years ago, you might assign a similar project using Publisher. However, now, I’d assign the project (if I were still teaching Georgia Studies) giving the students different choices and options for incorporating technology. Their options might include covering the assigned content through the creation of:

• a class Wiki that becomes an “on-line” textbook,
• a news program/talk show filmed and produced using imovies or Photostory 3,
• a digital story using voice threads or imovies/Photostory 3 and Internet images,
• or an online newspaper or news magazine
  

In addition to having technology learning integrated within the content areas, I believe that additional classes in specific aspects of technology should be offered. ISB Middle School does this and often I utilize these students as “Tech Experts” during class activities so they can practice their skills and share their knowledge with others. At ISB many of these technology electives are taught by regular classroom teachers, often humanities, math, or science teachers, lending even more support to Kim’s wonderful statement: “We are all technology teachers”.

Image: http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2009_09_13_archive.html