I have grown leaps and bounds. Looking back I was not sure how I was going to implement technology into my daily teaching practice. Now, it is imperative that I use it. I mean I can do some stuff without it but why should I? I have it, I know how to have my students work with it and I am helping the environment in the process...Haha How you ask? Well I have a secret goal/experiment to cut back on my paper consumption. So at the beginning of each semester we are given a new box of paper that I believe has 8 or 10 reams of paper. Well I had 1 ream left over from last year. So I believe I am into my 2nd ream from the box. So, that means that I have used so far 2 reams and a portion of the 3rd. Those reams have been mainly used for tests, quizzes and attendance sheets. Which will be cut back with my new goal of using google forms to make my tests and quizzes.
This has all been helped by me being called to be the technology specialist at my school. Me and my team of other 8th grade teachers are facing the learning gap with 21st century ideas. We are learning new things daily and we are growing while helping our students grow. I look forward to learning how to better help my students. I want to say that I am so proud of some of my EL students. They have grown to the level that they can be removed from the EL program. We will watch them closely but I think they will be removed come January. That makes me happy. I think that it is through technology they have grown. Ok rant over.
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So my project is based on the flipped model. One of the things that sold me on this approach of teaching is giving the power of learning directly to your students. I love the concept of just being a “facilitator” of knowledge and they come to me or I provide them with what I want them to know. One thing that I discovered is that they can learn at their own pace. It builds their confidence because they find the answers to the questions they need and they all learn in their own way.
When I first started trying to flip my class I was worried about what exactly I would do. Dr. Helen Hawley gave me the simple formula it goes like this. In flipped classrooms, you want to take the passive learning and have the students do that. For example the lecture or reading or the video watching, you have the students do that on their time. Now, lectures or powerpoints or readings can all be given to the students, you may need to record lectures and post them somewhere that is accessible for them (google classroom, a blog…) then the stuff they would have down at home is then done with the whole class. So basically you take the passive stuff for the the students to do on their own and have them do active things during class time. Something else that Dr. Hawley coined was student driven learning. Student driven learning is at the base of flipped learning. They become the master of their own ships. They control and have the power to make or break themselves. Now for those of you who want to still have some control you just choose how much “self learning” you give them. I already implement flipped learning into my class. I am going to amp it up next year (January) so my students are going to be more accountable for their education. I give assignments to my students all through google classroom. My school is in the process of becoming a 21st century school. I look forward to using this a lot in my class. The first thing that comes to mind is common core...well not really common core but a long time ago before common core was a thing I went to a school called Virginia Commonwealth University. I was in the middle of deciding what I was going to do FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! (We all know that didn't) I actually wanted to teach English and was starting to take courses geared for that. The problem was in the state of Virginia they decided to be innovative and came up with a set of rules or as Darling-Hammond calls a standard of learning. Virginia came up with these standards and in fact they are one of the few states that did not adopt the Common Core standards. They made what is called the SOL’s or Standards of Learning or S*** outta luck! haha so I'm going to school and I am deciding if my chosen path is what I really wanted to do. I took one class and it talked about what Virginia was doing with these SoL. I really couldn't get over the fact that the state was going to dictate what I (a qualified, trained, certified professional) needed to teach my individual students. So my job (electrical work) looked more and more enticing and I eventually only took a BA and started doing electrical work.
So what does all of this have to with this blog? John Dewey’s quote, “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must we want for all children in the community. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon, it destroys our democracy” So I have been trying to come up with the words to say in this blog post for a couple of days now. In short what I want to say is that the above quote has everything to do with our government and the current education system. If we as a country (family) can’t provide (or don't) the best educational benefits for every child then it has essentially failed at in it’s purpose. If we do not educate correctly and the kids are the future of our country then we fail to build for the future because we do not properly show them how it is suppose to be. It’s kinda the if you don't know the past you are destined to repeat it thing. Also, the word equitable. I love that word. The education system needs to be equitable not equal. You know the picture of the three kids looking at the game. My VP uses in every training that she gives. But, it is so true. We need to service the actual needs of our students not make it a one size fits all education. 1. The key ideas I found from the different speakers was that creativity was being extinguished from our students. Sir Ken Robinson said it best when he said,
"What these things have in common is that kids will take a chance. If they don't know, they'll have a go. Am I right? They're not frightened of being wrong. I don't mean to say that being wrong is the same thing as being creative." But fear of taking a risk is what kills adults creativity. We as adults don't go back after we fail and think of it differently. We have become frightened of being "wrong". "We stigmatize mistakes. And we're now running national education systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make. And the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities." Another quote from the videos says There was a wonderful quote by Jonas Salk, who said, "If all the insects were to disappear from the Earth, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the Earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish." And he's right. How thought provoking is that? John Seely Brown continues with this same thought that the institution is what is driving creativity out of it's students. As people who are educating the future, we have to let our students be "willing to fail constantly, and look for adjacencies all the time from peers. In turn there will be spikes of incredulity around the world. And they learn and then give learning back to others. He also said that without digital media this kids would not have been able to grow the way they did. I feel John Seely Brown summed up what all these videos are trying to say. He asked and answered the question. He said. "How do we prepare our children for a world of flux? It is not a skill but it is a disposition." My personal findings fit with the other things in this class by the use of technology. I have thought and have been further supported by the different things we have studied in this class that the school and the education I received when I grew up is nothing like how I should and attempt to teach my students. I remember in the 8th grade my teacher talked about us getting into groups but that never happened. Haha I was always writing correction sentences. Today thought we are suppose to have collaboration almost everyday. Computers and the use of technology that never happened except in my Computer Information System class. As far as creativity in my classes now I strive to keep the kids open to expressing themselves. One thing I need to work on is allowing them to make mistakes. If I am to implement a mistake free curriculum I am not sure how to implement my grades. I as of now wonder and don't penalize for late work except after the quarter is over. It is hard to change their once the quarter grade is given. John Seely Brown's slide said for building the 21st Century Challenge: 1. Preparing our students for this world of constant change! 2. Perhaps we need to rethink how we actually learn- especially the tacit. 3. What we need to learn & 4. Creating a resilient mindset in our students – ability to change, adapt, re-conceptualize and engage in deep listen with humility. I will apply Mobley's 6 insights into my class by having a more self-centered learning model. A version of the flipped learning model. The thing that I feel I will struggle with is grading. Well maybe not that but allowing my students to not being afraid to make mistakes. I mean in theory this should already be the process. But, sadly it is not. The whole education system is set up to have a right answer and unfortunately a wrong. There has been talk about our district changing our grading system to not being a letter grade but by being graded on their comprehension of the common core standards. I feel that is a step in the right direction as far a breaking the mold and holding students accountable for a real thing they can control. I also think that this will help with number four on his list. If we start having kids allowed to be creative we will start having this spread faster around the school. Kids will feed other kids their creativity and it just grows. Soon enough the school will be a built on creativity. Which will raise the moral which will ultimately raise grades/and "test" scores. A. I wanted to try something new this year...Let me restart...It all started last year when I was told I was going to move classrooms. I packed up everything and was ready to move. I then got the phone call minutes before I started moving stuff that I was going to be staying in my class. I was relieved because moving stuff was going to be time consuming but my new classroom would be bigger!! I was looking forward to that so much!!! I have thought of many different ways to consolidate space in my class. What I have come up with is to get rid of the desks and put in tables for two. The kids could collaborate and have active learning! My principal told me to hold on she will see what she can do but I'm not holding my breathe. I have looked up plans to make my own tables. The video I chose today is about seating and for a 21st century classroom we need to accommodate for the movement that we expect our kids to make. If you look at all the big tech companies or even think about the 4c's. One has to consider the setup of the room. Students have to have the freedom to move around and to think and process. Also, collaboration, it is crucial to have the room set up to collaborate. B. In the video (the link is at the bottom) the teacher shares how he read a post from someone about how students should not use flexible seating and should "stick to desk and chair" teaching. He then precedes to show us his extremely large classroom (jealous) with all of the multiple types of seating arrangements. He then told and showed us his newest type of seating he acquired some sleds that he let the kids sit on. Where he did not share a lesson this video was a good example of the concept of flexible seating in a classroom. C. I learned that first off the concept of flexible seating comes from the thought of turning ones class into a 21st century classroom. I also, had confirmed my own thoughts that wanting to streamline my classroom the way I did is not far off from successful teaching practices. I saw interesting ways to use space in the classroom. D. Could I use this lesson? Absolutely! In fact I do in certain ways. I don't have the space that he does but my class is set up in groups where that does allow for talking this is the reason I set it up that way. You always have your team to support you. I also don't have a seating chart so there is flexibility for kids to move around the room. It is funny though that kids generally sit in the same seats though. I wonder if that is leftover residue from always having assigned seats or kids desire the consistency. I give this video a 5.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3p-_cm77SM
So I think I was confused about what I was suppose to post so this is my attempt to rectify the situation. So I was very touched by what Sir Ken Robinson said in his Ted talk. This really hit home for me.
"There are two models of quality assurance in catering. One is fast food, where everything is standardized. The other is...where everything is not standardized, they're customized to local circumstances. And we have sold ourselves into a fast-food model of education, and it's impoverishing our spirit and our energies as much as fast food is depleting our physical bodies." How true this is! We need to customize to our local circumstances. What my kids in downtown Vallejo may be totally different from what someone from Marin needs. So what I am going to do is customize as much as I can. I also feel that technology can close that gap. I am going to teach and prepare my students for the future by using mainstream methods such as classroom. I am fortunate to have enough computers in my class because of my ELD classes. Another point I feel I should make is in my school the kids have all brand new computers and chromebooks. But, us teachers are working with mismatched outdated computers. So this year our principal (with our school site council) has approved new computers for the teachers. We need the things to be able to use all the new technologies we want our students to use. Another thing I would like in my classroom would be tables and chairs. It saves on space and they are easier to work with. Ok I just recieved an email saying I was good for tomorrow so I will end this rant. And use this as a buffer. "Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with gold and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half-light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." And every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly. -Sir Ken Robinson quoting W. B. Yeats This speaks volumes to me. "So when we look at reforming education and transforming it, it isn't like cloning a system....It's about customizing to your circumstances and personalizing education to the people you're actually teaching. And doing that, I think, is the answer to the future because it's not about scaling a new solution; it's about creating a movement in education in which people develop their own solutions, but with external support based on a personalized curriculum. In this room, there are people who represent extraordinary resources in business, in multimedia, in the Internet. These technologies, combined with the extraordinary talents of teachers, provide an opportunity to revolutionize education." -Sir Ken Robinson These quotes help me to want to further my education so I will be able to better serve my students. I feel with the help of the following technological advances it will help my overall arsenal of teaching fleshes. 1 First case is Plickers. If you are unsure of what plickers are they are that little square that is similar to a upc that you scan. I would guess this would not have been used but within the last maybe 3-5 years. Below is a button to a link of the how one can use this technology in a classroom. I actually have a set and I love checking for understanding like maybe real quick at the end class to see who understands what. I can also use it is formative assessment. This can also save time with grading as it takes about 1-2 mins to upload the students answers and you have instant knowledge of who got what correct. You as the teacher have the opportunity to show the kids names or not. Could I use this in my lessons? Abosulutly, I made mine last week and I have plans to use them next week. (note print out on cardstock) https://plickers.com/ 2 So in my district we have not fully become a google district. In fact I just received a set of classroom computers. I have spent the last week going over classroom procedures and computer etiquette. So, my second case is google classroom. Well more specifically daily journals set up through google classroom. In my english classes I have struggled with keeping tabs of my students writing journals. It is a mess of papers and a constant fight for them to find them/keep tabs on them. So, through google classroom I have found a way to go paperless with their journals. So, this can be used as a "Do Now", you could have various journal set up for them. Anything you wanted them to with paper can be done with this. How will I know that my students are learning? I can check it instantly or at my leisure to see if they have completed their posts and/or make comments to have them redo parts or whatever I feel the papers need. The only real video I could find about these journals does not really apply to English exactly but the concept he talks about can work great. What element does this apply to? I feel it could apply to many from feedback to daily assessment, to practicing a students actual writing/typing ability. My last piece of technology is Class Dojo. I wanted to use it last year but I never got around to setting it up. So I told myself I was going to do it this year. In this case study I have seen how it is used as a great classroom management tool, that positively reinforces the students. If used correctly it will make your students compete with themselves to be on task. The following link is to a blog that speaks to how to be effective with this tool.
Blog post I like to start over fresh with my more "active" students as often as I can. How do I know the students are learning? Well I know that my students look forward and enjoy the management system. They all get quite when they hear the buzzer and perk up when they hear the chimes. I also award extra credit and pizza parties after a certain amount has been met. I feel that this paired with Culturally Responsive Learning can control and shape your classroom environment. I currently use this in my classroom. We have it backwards. I am afraid to say that we have kinda done it to ourselves as well. Linda Darling-Hammond brings up point after point of how our current educational system has for lack of better term flatlined. Why is the world becoming flat? The world has all of these technological advances but we still struggle with education. It reminds me of when I lived in Brazil. We had all of the modern commodities you can think of, internet, indoor plumbing and cell phones. However, just because the technology existed does not mean the people had it. They didn't even have their basic needs met but they had the 50" TV. We have all of these opportunities but we or should I say a select we can take advantage of them. This isn't just a race issue this is a money issue. So in my own little world what would I change? Music, mountains and mammoths are things that I think about on a regular basis. I constantly think about music. When I was younger, I would judge my peers by what they listened to. Mountains are in my thoughts as forms of different challenges that each of us face. We all climb our different mountains, some with help and companionship and some all alone. We may not see the top but we know that it is there. But Mammoths? Really Adam?!... How do mammoths play into your thoughts?
So going back to music thing, I like a lot of underground music that may seem obscure and esoteric to those on the outside. That is the way I like it. It is like a little club that a few people are in and have privy to speak your "language" and know the code. I have always gone to my music as a source of education and confidence. I even ran a blog which was titled "Music for the Working Man". I would tell people that the music I listened to was building my intelligence. As any young person I sometimes struggled with my own self confidence. One day as I was listening to this band named Pelican I heard their song "Mammoth" (which is the video to the right > ) and it really spoke to me. When I listen to this song it makes me feel as though I can overcome anything. I literally see me standing at the top of a mountain looking out over what I have just overcome. I feel so powerful! I can do anything! This feeling, this power, is what I want the kids, no, no My kids to have when they are in my classroom! I want them to be able to face their mountains and become the conqueror that I know they are. I want to prepare myself the best I can and be able to be the sharpest tool to help them to achieve their goals. |
Adam
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