This past weekend I had the chance to attend MACUL 2014, a conference focused around technology and education. It was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan at Devos Place and the Amway Hotel. Yes, there were enough presentations to fill the rooms of both buildings. This conference was my first professional conference; the experience was delightful. Being cramped together in a room other professionals and experts brought out fun conversations.
The second session I attended discussed and modeled different ways to use photography and videos to engage students. The point was well made as the lesson engaged the entire room of educators to converse about the proposed math problem. The problem was to find the number of packages of frosting would cover a three layered cake. I would like to say that we as "experts" spent too much time on talking about the problem, the various assumptions we should make, and the different ways to attack the problem. I would have liked to hear more about how to enact the lesson effectively because we would love to have the engagement level that was in the room, not all students have the background knowledge to engage at that level. Nonetheless, I think the model lesson showed what could be possible. What I took away from this session was that pictures and videos can make textbook problems or story problems become real for students.
I came in with the expectation of picking up some tips and tricks to use in the classroom. Through my somewhat accidental choices, the other two sessions I attended did not necessarily give my practical tips to enact in my daily teaching practice but rather served as informational sessions.
The first session's presentation focused on the legality of providing student access to online classes as an alternative to classic classes. So the first 30 minutes were law and legal heavy but the conversation shifted towards practical uses. Two of the main questions that were brought up were "how do we ensure students don't cheat during online tests?" and "do we require students to be physically present in class?"
The last session was do's and don'ts when implementing a 1:1 structure. Administrators from Midland gave recently learned advice and insights from their previous year's project. I unexpectedly enjoyed this presentation as I was actually contemplating leaving within the first 10 minutes. I wanted to employ a 1:1 in my classroom at some point in the future. This session informed me about how difficult that may be. I can't just bring 40 computers into my classroom and begin to use it. It is not that simple. There needs to be precautions set up. Parents need to be notified. The network must be prepared for more traffic. Insurance policies must be set. I was glad to hear of that before I applied for a grant.
Beyond the conference itself, the surrounding time was well occupied with bonding experiences with my cohort. I was accompanied by two wonderful people, Leah and Eliza, in my drive to Grand Rapids from Ann Arbor. They did well to keep me awake with some great karaoke and a touch of real talk. Leah and I shared the music culture of our middle school lives (e.g. Get Low by Lil' John and The East Side Boyz). After the conference, we were able to have a taste of the food culture GR has to offer. Finally, I had the honor to be accompanied by Leah on the way back as well. If you know Leah, I wouldn't have to say it was a party.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Monday, November 18, 2013
Flipping a Classroom with Jon Palmer
A few weeks ago, I was graced with a presentation by Jon Palmer and how he flipped his classroom. Jon now produces physics videos for a living. Overall, I thought he presented his experience with flipping a classroom well. He was able to show us the vast difference between his classroom after he flipped it.
The video of his traditional classroom was an hour of calculus based physics on the board while students sat and took notes. This is what you tend to see in honors or ap physics. His flipped classroom was completely different. In this video, students were standing at different places around the room. I recall a few working on a demonstration/lab in the back of the class while others were asking him questions about practice problems or some other confusion in the front of the class. It looked like a perfect example of what a flipped classroom should look like.
The problem I have is that it is a perfect classroom. It seems that all his students were motivated and actually watched the videos at home. I have high doubts that I will teach a demographic such as that. Friends of mine are in student teaching in a classroom where the mentor teacher is flipping the classroom for the first time. They are struggling with students not coming prepared for the work in class. The mentor teacher happens to allow them to spend class time listening to the lecture that was supposed to be done at home. With little consequence, it seems that they are voluntarily reverting back to the traditional classroom with a virtual teacher. I can't imagine that helping their learning.
Of all the arguments against flipping the classroom, I find this the most challenging. How do you set up your classroom so that students will find the motivation to watch these lectures at home? It seems that all the advocates for flipping a classroom I have met do so because they teach in a demographic that it is motivated, or the class was an elective class where people knew they would get a flipped classroom. Forcing a class to be flipped... Does it work?
The video of his traditional classroom was an hour of calculus based physics on the board while students sat and took notes. This is what you tend to see in honors or ap physics. His flipped classroom was completely different. In this video, students were standing at different places around the room. I recall a few working on a demonstration/lab in the back of the class while others were asking him questions about practice problems or some other confusion in the front of the class. It looked like a perfect example of what a flipped classroom should look like.
The problem I have is that it is a perfect classroom. It seems that all his students were motivated and actually watched the videos at home. I have high doubts that I will teach a demographic such as that. Friends of mine are in student teaching in a classroom where the mentor teacher is flipping the classroom for the first time. They are struggling with students not coming prepared for the work in class. The mentor teacher happens to allow them to spend class time listening to the lecture that was supposed to be done at home. With little consequence, it seems that they are voluntarily reverting back to the traditional classroom with a virtual teacher. I can't imagine that helping their learning.
Of all the arguments against flipping the classroom, I find this the most challenging. How do you set up your classroom so that students will find the motivation to watch these lectures at home? It seems that all the advocates for flipping a classroom I have met do so because they teach in a demographic that it is motivated, or the class was an elective class where people knew they would get a flipped classroom. Forcing a class to be flipped... Does it work?
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Lets talk about Race Baby
Lets talk about you and me. Lets talk period.
I stumbled upon an Edublogger by the name of Jose Vilson. He recently posted about the problem of not talking about race and other social identities in schools and especially in education reform. People who are making much of the policies for education happen to be of privilege. Many are advocating policies following neo-liberalist ideals such as the bill that lifted the cap of charter schools in Michigan.
Lets stop there for a second. I have a hard time believing in capitalism working for those without privilege. If we take Argentina under Carlos Menem's rule for example, he put into place various neo-liberal policies following the advise of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which caused the collapse of an entire country! The lack of regulation had allowed international corporations and other individuals to siphon the money out of Argentina. So I have a problem with FOR-profit charters. Even without all the history, isn't there something wrong with benefiting and profiting from the education of the country's children? Shouldn't the maximum amount of money be put into use for the children? (And staff need to be paid reasonably too.)
This is where policy makers may find themselves blind, believing in what worked for them instead of working for those who were not so lucky or privileged to start with. The problem is that we aren't talking about privilege and social identities and how those are integrated into the well being of a school. The bigger problem is how do teachers or administrators even begin to bring up the issue? As you may know talking about social identities, race and sexual orientation in particular, can be "awkward" or have people on edge. No one wants to say the wrong thing and create an argument.
How do we find a way to portray that arguments are okay and that they build knowledge if approached in the right way. Just like in a classroom, making mistakes and being wrong is okay but you need to be able to build that culture in the classroom first. Those ground rules need to be set. A routine must be followed. The mindset and participation should come after. But it is different for adults is it not?
I commented on the post with an example of how my group of Residential Advisors had clashed over a one conversation. Ironically, we are trained to talk about such issues. I hope this is not the case for the majority. I hope that this is a case where expertise was a problem. Maybe the lack of social justice training in the teacher population will make it easier to set up a safe space. Hope.
I stumbled upon an Edublogger by the name of Jose Vilson. He recently posted about the problem of not talking about race and other social identities in schools and especially in education reform. People who are making much of the policies for education happen to be of privilege. Many are advocating policies following neo-liberalist ideals such as the bill that lifted the cap of charter schools in Michigan.
Lets stop there for a second. I have a hard time believing in capitalism working for those without privilege. If we take Argentina under Carlos Menem's rule for example, he put into place various neo-liberal policies following the advise of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which caused the collapse of an entire country! The lack of regulation had allowed international corporations and other individuals to siphon the money out of Argentina. So I have a problem with FOR-profit charters. Even without all the history, isn't there something wrong with benefiting and profiting from the education of the country's children? Shouldn't the maximum amount of money be put into use for the children? (And staff need to be paid reasonably too.)
This is where policy makers may find themselves blind, believing in what worked for them instead of working for those who were not so lucky or privileged to start with. The problem is that we aren't talking about privilege and social identities and how those are integrated into the well being of a school. The bigger problem is how do teachers or administrators even begin to bring up the issue? As you may know talking about social identities, race and sexual orientation in particular, can be "awkward" or have people on edge. No one wants to say the wrong thing and create an argument.
How do we find a way to portray that arguments are okay and that they build knowledge if approached in the right way. Just like in a classroom, making mistakes and being wrong is okay but you need to be able to build that culture in the classroom first. Those ground rules need to be set. A routine must be followed. The mindset and participation should come after. But it is different for adults is it not?
I commented on the post with an example of how my group of Residential Advisors had clashed over a one conversation. Ironically, we are trained to talk about such issues. I hope this is not the case for the majority. I hope that this is a case where expertise was a problem. Maybe the lack of social justice training in the teacher population will make it easier to set up a safe space. Hope.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
MinecraftEdu
Do you all remember when Minecraft was all the rage? It was a simplistic game with low graphics, simple game play, and basic extras. When I first played Minecraft, I found myself in its survival mode where you had to find shelter by sundown to keep yourself away from the zombies and other monsters that lurk the night. I had to break dirt, wood, and turn to mining different minerals to advance my options and keep myself alive.
Below is another example of a simulation. This time it is used for science to simulate sending a signal down a nerve. The players had to step on plates that would activate a light. The situations in which the light would turn on were changed to simulate various conditions such as not enough "neurotransmitters" and shortened open gates.
I think it would be tough for many to get the handle of how the mechanics of Minecraft work. This is needed to monitor and troubleshoot problems that may arise in pre-made game templates. Although at this point in time, I was unable to find a large number of resources for using MinecraftEdu. Using this platform would put much responsibility on the teacher to be creative to create a simulation or a game that would fit into a lesson. I believe that the neurotransmitters simulation was something the teacher created on his own because of the isolated system that was so specialized.
Again, the programming that must be used is a completely new and different language that anyone has ever interacted with. The programmer must move and place items down to fit logic structures and other structures. I have seen people create working scientific calculators from a binary system which Minecraft can be used to simulate. As a side note, this would be an amazing tool to use in a programming class.
I think MinecraftEdu would make a teacher's job more fun. That is, after a few years when it seems that you are repeating the same material, activities, and jokes every year. This provides a route for teachers to get creative and truly engage their students. Given a few years into my teaching, I would love to try and program a few simulations for Chemistry. I am hesitant for Physics as the in game physics may not be representative. Anyway, this is a few years down the line. I'll make sure I come back to this.
Shortly after that, the developers started to add more and more combinations of items to make new items. Using sandbox mode and an open source code, players soon came up with their mods and new game modes. The new items allowed for more and more elaborate game modes. I remember playing a game where you could gain levels for skills you used (various weapon use, acrobatics, etc.), there was an economy in the game, and you could make guilds to battle each other. All of which were added in a mod for the server.
People have modded Minecraft in a similar fashion toward educational goals. The video below shows and excellent example of a Minecraft Roleplaying Game that is true to historical facts. Students would pay through the game which would be representative of historical cites and embark on quests that would have students learning about specific events.
Below is another example of a simulation. This time it is used for science to simulate sending a signal down a nerve. The players had to step on plates that would activate a light. The situations in which the light would turn on were changed to simulate various conditions such as not enough "neurotransmitters" and shortened open gates.
I think it would be tough for many to get the handle of how the mechanics of Minecraft work. This is needed to monitor and troubleshoot problems that may arise in pre-made game templates. Although at this point in time, I was unable to find a large number of resources for using MinecraftEdu. Using this platform would put much responsibility on the teacher to be creative to create a simulation or a game that would fit into a lesson. I believe that the neurotransmitters simulation was something the teacher created on his own because of the isolated system that was so specialized.
Again, the programming that must be used is a completely new and different language that anyone has ever interacted with. The programmer must move and place items down to fit logic structures and other structures. I have seen people create working scientific calculators from a binary system which Minecraft can be used to simulate. As a side note, this would be an amazing tool to use in a programming class.
I think MinecraftEdu would make a teacher's job more fun. That is, after a few years when it seems that you are repeating the same material, activities, and jokes every year. This provides a route for teachers to get creative and truly engage their students. Given a few years into my teaching, I would love to try and program a few simulations for Chemistry. I am hesitant for Physics as the in game physics may not be representative. Anyway, this is a few years down the line. I'll make sure I come back to this.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Tech Tools In Use: Fakebook
Fakebook!
Check it out! http://www.classtools.net/FB/home-page
Fakebook is a site that is customized to look like Facebook. The idea is to engage students into creating a Facebook profile for a fictional/historical character and therefore has great usage in history or English classes. As a project, a student can create a profile and fill it with the appropriate information about a character. The site allows a student to be able to customize the about me, friends list, profile picture, and wall posts. Imagine Harry Potter using Facebook with multiple posts from Ron and Hermione while being harassed by Draco.
Although, it was designed specifically for characters or intelligent beings (fiction or nonfiction), it is possible to use it for inanimate objects as well. This leads us into the ability to use it for Science and Mathematics. Take a look at the humorous Fakebook I created with a few others.
http://www.classtools.net/FB/1007-MEimAF
We made a page for the element Strontium. We had it's birthday set after the Big Bang, it's family (Alkali earth metals) and that it struggles with multiple personality disorder for its different isotopes. We also made some chemistry/romance jokes on the wall. My favorite: Flame posted "You and me have wonderful chemistry. You make me Red Hot!" Get it? Because when burned Strontium emits heavily in the red spectrum.
Although it has its uses, I don't believe I would use it for anything else but an element project but I am unsure if knowing one element in depth is all that useful. Maybe my vision of its use is too limited. In class, the presenters tried to pitch that it was usable for a debate. Debating using scientific evidence is something I would use rather often in my class but never would I use Fakebook as the medium for a debate. It happens to be only editable by one person at a time which makes it tough to debate online. And in class it works too slow when you must create a new post for every new person who talks. It is just not plausible.
Overall, I do not believe I would use Fakebook in my classroom given my limited knowledge and view of its uses. If someone can pitch me an idea that would prove truly useful, my ears are open.
Check it out! http://www.classtools.net/FB/home-page
Fakebook is a site that is customized to look like Facebook. The idea is to engage students into creating a Facebook profile for a fictional/historical character and therefore has great usage in history or English classes. As a project, a student can create a profile and fill it with the appropriate information about a character. The site allows a student to be able to customize the about me, friends list, profile picture, and wall posts. Imagine Harry Potter using Facebook with multiple posts from Ron and Hermione while being harassed by Draco.
Although, it was designed specifically for characters or intelligent beings (fiction or nonfiction), it is possible to use it for inanimate objects as well. This leads us into the ability to use it for Science and Mathematics. Take a look at the humorous Fakebook I created with a few others.
http://www.classtools.net/FB/1007-MEimAF
We made a page for the element Strontium. We had it's birthday set after the Big Bang, it's family (Alkali earth metals) and that it struggles with multiple personality disorder for its different isotopes. We also made some chemistry/romance jokes on the wall. My favorite: Flame posted "You and me have wonderful chemistry. You make me Red Hot!" Get it? Because when burned Strontium emits heavily in the red spectrum.
Although it has its uses, I don't believe I would use it for anything else but an element project but I am unsure if knowing one element in depth is all that useful. Maybe my vision of its use is too limited. In class, the presenters tried to pitch that it was usable for a debate. Debating using scientific evidence is something I would use rather often in my class but never would I use Fakebook as the medium for a debate. It happens to be only editable by one person at a time which makes it tough to debate online. And in class it works too slow when you must create a new post for every new person who talks. It is just not plausible.
Overall, I do not believe I would use Fakebook in my classroom given my limited knowledge and view of its uses. If someone can pitch me an idea that would prove truly useful, my ears are open.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Technology In My Placement
Hello, It's been a long time since my last post. I came back to talk about the technology available in my placement at Detroit School of Arts. They happen to have a plentiful amount of technology but some feel outdated and much of it is unused.
Detroit School of the Arts has been renovated from its original approximately 10 years ago. I am unsure of how or where they got it, but Detroit School of Arts is a gold mine for rather recent technological advances in the Arts! One of their majors (the school has majors which is similar to college programs for majors where students have set classes they must take) is radio technology. Below is just one of the rooms that the school holds for radio broadcasting. They actually host a classical music radio station from the school! They had all the rooms from a studio, phone screening room, to the place that a person would sit and talk into the microphone (second picture). There was one huge room with multiple sound boards and various other controls but I was unsure of that that was used for.
The school obvious has instrumental and vocal music majors. Therefore, the school also has multiple practice rooms for music. Some were smaller rooms designed to fit maybe 2 students and their instruments. Others were larger which could fit around 6 students and a keyboard.
There happens to be a keyboarding class that I had the opportunity to observe. The keyboards would be connected to a computer that could evaluate each student's playing as well as record their keystrokes.
The theatre students have their own program where they have the chance to learn lighting and sound for the various events and shows put on by the school. This picture below happens to show the schools smaller stage. I have yet to see it be used. It seems that the larger stage is more convenient to use for school wide functions as it can hold the large number of students.
Detroit School of the Arts has been renovated from its original approximately 10 years ago. I am unsure of how or where they got it, but Detroit School of Arts is a gold mine for rather recent technological advances in the Arts! One of their majors (the school has majors which is similar to college programs for majors where students have set classes they must take) is radio technology. Below is just one of the rooms that the school holds for radio broadcasting. They actually host a classical music radio station from the school! They had all the rooms from a studio, phone screening room, to the place that a person would sit and talk into the microphone (second picture). There was one huge room with multiple sound boards and various other controls but I was unsure of that that was used for.
The school obvious has instrumental and vocal music majors. Therefore, the school also has multiple practice rooms for music. Some were smaller rooms designed to fit maybe 2 students and their instruments. Others were larger which could fit around 6 students and a keyboard.
There happens to be a keyboarding class that I had the opportunity to observe. The keyboards would be connected to a computer that could evaluate each student's playing as well as record their keystrokes.
The theatre students have their own program where they have the chance to learn lighting and sound for the various events and shows put on by the school. This picture below happens to show the schools smaller stage. I have yet to see it be used. It seems that the larger stage is more convenient to use for school wide functions as it can hold the large number of students.
Overall for the arts, I believe that their technology that they have are used well and frequent. That is not however the case for the classroom. My placement classroom happens to have 2 white boards, a projector, and a smart-board. The smart-board is more often than not used as a projection screen. I am unsure if it works or if we don't know how to work it. We also barely use our projector, which has been interesting to watch. It seems that all I've known throughout my years in school is Powerpoints and transparancies. It seems that I am going back in time where the chalkboard (well, whiteboard) is the primary form of visualization. As I asked other teaching interns, I have seen a similar theme that technology isn't used often in the traditional academics.
My mentor teacher was leading the set up of a haunted house when we came across a studio video camera, one of the ones that you would see in a news broadcasting room with the screen that shows that script and that a person can stand on. My mentor teacher mentioned that they have a lot of technology laying around that no one knows how to use anymore. Sometimes I worry that there are other technologies that are hidden away waiting for students and teachers to tap into.
Overall, I find that it may be a lack of resources that is causing the under use of technology at my placement. The school is a magnificent building when it opened and still is. Although these days, I have found that the school is under enrolled and under staffed. Half of the science rooms are not in use during this year. Maybe there isn't enough specialists to cover all the technology available for student and teacher use. I am just postulating.
I do hope that DSA can come back to its former glory and then grow to fulfill it's full potential in terms of enrollment, staff, and the use of technology.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Conceptual Diagnostic Tests
I recently read a few of Physics Teacher Frank
Noschese’s “Action/Reaction” blog. A question was posed to him about How can you show a teacher who thinks he/she is meeting the standards that he/she is actually not? For me, this is ridiculous that a science teacher will stand his ground on this issue without firm evidence. Sometimes, I believe, that this evidence can come from student's grades but this is bias. Student's grades are based on the assessments that you believe fit the standards. The problem is that you do not know for sure if your assessments are valid or reliable. Good thing there are trained professionals doing just that.
Maybe the evidence is coming from standardized test designed by professionals to measure those select standards. These tests will have been proven to be valid and reliable when testing for the standards. With this evidence, I can more firmly believe that the teacher is doing his job. But there's one more problem with this evidence. What if the teacher is teaching to the test or the students can reason through a story problem with math skills and linguistic skills instead of actually understanding the concepts?
Frank Noschese mentioned that there exists Conceptual Diagnostic Tests for this reason. He states that, statistically, students far underperform on these tests as compared to what would be expected with other means of assessment. In other words, students can do well on classical tests and exams without knowing the concepts. Noschese suggests that taking this CDT as a pre and post test will show how much physics a student will actually understand and how well you taught it. When a teacher examines the data of poor performance, he/she will realize that something needs to change. This would be the best way to convince teachers who are long veterans that something needs to change.
Will I enact this? Hecks yeah I will. I will add it to my Evernote list of must do teaching practices.
Maybe the evidence is coming from standardized test designed by professionals to measure those select standards. These tests will have been proven to be valid and reliable when testing for the standards. With this evidence, I can more firmly believe that the teacher is doing his job. But there's one more problem with this evidence. What if the teacher is teaching to the test or the students can reason through a story problem with math skills and linguistic skills instead of actually understanding the concepts?
Frank Noschese mentioned that there exists Conceptual Diagnostic Tests for this reason. He states that, statistically, students far underperform on these tests as compared to what would be expected with other means of assessment. In other words, students can do well on classical tests and exams without knowing the concepts. Noschese suggests that taking this CDT as a pre and post test will show how much physics a student will actually understand and how well you taught it. When a teacher examines the data of poor performance, he/she will realize that something needs to change. This would be the best way to convince teachers who are long veterans that something needs to change.
Will I enact this? Hecks yeah I will. I will add it to my Evernote list of must do teaching practices.
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