This course helped me for the first time explore the use of Wikis, blogs and podcasts. I'm not sure when or if I ever would have used those tools during my life, but I see what I have been missing out on. Making a podcast was the most challenging and most rewarding tool I used. For the first time, I actually used my computer recording device. I had to download some extra software tools to help me edit and broadcast my podcast. My podcast could be heard from by people all over the world by placing the URL on a blog site or even iTunes.
I will continue to pursue professional development geared to technology integration in the classroom, because technology is always improving. I discovered that people put technology information on podcasts that you can subscribe to them from the iTunes. I have listened to some of them and learned something every time. One of the best ways to expand my knowledge of technology is to collaborate with colleagues that is already using technology to increase student’s achievements. If you see something working in another class, why not try to use what their doing to increase student achievements.
One long term goal I would like to set is to set up my classroom website where parents can visit any time they want to retrieve homework assignments, present/future projects, identify missing assignments, view progress reports and grades. Our district lesson plan website, “Oncourse” has that option to allow teachers to set up a website, but teachers in our district are not made to use it.
Another goal that I would like to set up within two years in my math class, is a textbook near free classroom. I would use the textbook only for lesson planning, but reframe the student from using it as an only source. I like to have students use real life experiences. With collaboration with my colleagues, we can come up with alternatives to the textbook, which are so confusing to the students anyway. Our textbooks are quickly becoming outdated, because the corporate world is using high tech digital devices to work out their numbers. The world is using scientific calculations and computers software programs to figure out tough calculations within minutes. Students need to learn how to use these various programs
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Profiling the Students of Today
Exploring the digital abilities and digital learning styles of the students in my classroom through a survey/questionnaire. This podcast reports the demographic profile of my classroom population. It also includes sound bites from my student interviewed to support my findings.
http://rsmith552.podbean.com/
http://rsmith552.podbean.com/
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Reaction to Partnership for 21st Century Skills
I just visited a web page called Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The site offers some many different ways to teach our students that I agree with. Our students will be competing with students from all over the globe for future jobs that requires skills dealing with critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, social responsibility, etc. I loved the idea that Partnership for 21st Century (P21), and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the three Rs and four Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation). I was surprised that so far, I didn’t hear anything about test scores. That’s a good thing, if you ask me. Getting students ready for the real world is more important than teaching student’s tricks and some strategies for passing a state run test. Both the schools and the businesses will benefit from this union. Schools will get technology resource, and the businesses get to choose from a pool of experience home grown potential prospects.
I didn’t see anything that I could have disagree with on the site. The implications I see that could come from this are that students will become more exposed to real life situations first hand. That could be an advantage for them on their resume. I could see some teachers balking at this idea, because it’s something different then what they been doing the last twenty plus years. Teachers naturally, get into that comfort zone and don’t want to leave it. I would love it because I love technology. What’s going on now in our classes, is not working too well. So I’m ready for change.
I didn’t see anything that I could have disagree with on the site. The implications I see that could come from this are that students will become more exposed to real life situations first hand. That could be an advantage for them on their resume. I could see some teachers balking at this idea, because it’s something different then what they been doing the last twenty plus years. Teachers naturally, get into that comfort zone and don’t want to leave it. I would love it because I love technology. What’s going on now in our classes, is not working too well. So I’m ready for change.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
How I Might Use a Blog in My Classroom
The Principal and supervisors are always asking the teachers in every subject area at our school to add more writing assignments in our lesson plans. As I read The Second Edition; ‘Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms,” by Will Richardson, he list many classroom uses of weblogs. The one I like for my class is posting prompts for writing on weblogs. I teach at an urban school district in a city that was rank as one of the poorest in the country. I teach math, science and social studies to special education students. My students are always talking about what they download from the internet or what they said on MySpace. Out of the 12 students I have only 1 student doesn’t have a computer with internet access. But that one student has relatives living near him that does. As a homework assignment I could start simple and post on my classroom blog, a writing prompt about reflection of today’s lesson or open ended questions related to one of the lessons they had. I would give credit for just participating. Since each student posting will see every reply to the post, I will allow student to respond to each other. I could talk to other teachers in the school and combine classes and homework weblog writing prompt. Maybe kids in my school will one day deviate from MySpace and spend more time with each other on the homework writing prompt. One requirement is that web lingo can’t be used like “lol” or “btw.”
Monday, February 15, 2010
No Player Left Behind
All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If after two years they have not won the championship, their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.
All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities, language issues, learning disabilities of themselves or their parents. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!
Talented players will be asked to workout on their own in the gym, weight room, and the field without coaches. This is because the coaches will be using all their practice time with the athletes who aren’t interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don’t like football.
Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th games. This will create a New Age of Sports where every team is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind. We call this the cookie cutter approach, where every player and every team comes out looking exactly like the other. If parents do not like this new law, they are encouraged to vote for vouchers and support private and chartered programs that can screen out the non-athletes and prevent their children from having to go to school with bad football players.
Only Bush could have dreamed something up like this. The scary part is that our politicians at the state level, think this makes sense.
All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities, language issues, learning disabilities of themselves or their parents. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!
Talented players will be asked to workout on their own in the gym, weight room, and the field without coaches. This is because the coaches will be using all their practice time with the athletes who aren’t interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents don’t like football.
Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th games. This will create a New Age of Sports where every team is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind. We call this the cookie cutter approach, where every player and every team comes out looking exactly like the other. If parents do not like this new law, they are encouraged to vote for vouchers and support private and chartered programs that can screen out the non-athletes and prevent their children from having to go to school with bad football players.
Only Bush could have dreamed something up like this. The scary part is that our politicians at the state level, think this makes sense.
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