Friday, September 30, 2011
Week 3 Blog 1 - Now that our evenings are freer...
That sound?...It is some heads rolling out of Fenway Park - at least I won't have to try to type and read/watch during playoff games...
I like how Michael Wesch listed all those old axioms and shot them down one-by-one. We really need to change how learning is viewed. The genie is out of the bottle and nobody should want it back in. Experts who are good at memorizing facts should be grinding their teeth. Books and experts used to be sources of information. Now any bit can be accessed instantly. Amazing.
My students (4 classes) haven't picked up a pencil in our class all week. We have been on computers every day. I am learning/experimenting with them on wikispaces. Take a look - http://frenchandindianwarwiki.wikispaces.com/
Interest is up, participation is up, a few are spending hours at home working on them, the quality is very high. As they view each other's pages, a funny thing happened. Some kids asked questions of others, looking for peer feed back. Some said, "That's great - I better step up and improve mine." Some gained prestige by teaching others what they had figured out. All said very worthwhile.
I must not let the glitches bring me down. Actually, the kids are more patient with the "restarts" and "My whole page is gone!" headaches than me.
I know there is another level. More collaboration - more transfer - more connections. Time (and experienced peers) will help me sort this out. I see the potential - Any ideas?
Monday, September 26, 2011
Week 2 Blog 2 - Dylan was right
Week 2 Blog 2 - Dylan was right...but his voice is still annoying
How to be prophetic and dated at the same time - the message is the same, but even the "cutting edge tech" near the end of the video seems dated. So the same messages keep coming back - teach thinking, teach creativity, teach collaboration - the technology will just be the means or tools.
Does that mean that I have to think, create, collaborate? Do you know a website that has worksheets for that? Just kidding.
It seems like we are jumping past the tests/curricula we have. I have already chosen to ignore the Geography standards. Next year we will ignore the map's legend and go right to the tools of Google Earth. Yes, Linda, this is a reference to " the world is flat".
I remember finding a website on my classroom computer in the '90s that showed the contents of a library in China. It blew me away! My generation still thought of Asia as a very far away place. Now I could "be" there and in NH at the same time. Who knew the Jetsons would be here so soon. I always thought of modern times being half way between the Flintstones and the Jetsons.
So, I order our book from Amazon and, a couple days later, I open the package, smirking. I should have gotten this book on our kindle - there was something weird about reading about the latest in education tech in an old-fashioned book.
Chapter 1 has great ideas - really revolutionary and valuable. But John Stossel and my own experience make me believe we need big changes in the way education is viewed in our country and who controls the money and the message. But do we have the will to change?
"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life,son."
I feel like Rome is burning, and we won't even stand up to fiddle.
How to be prophetic and dated at the same time - the message is the same, but even the "cutting edge tech" near the end of the video seems dated. So the same messages keep coming back - teach thinking, teach creativity, teach collaboration - the technology will just be the means or tools.
Does that mean that I have to think, create, collaborate? Do you know a website that has worksheets for that? Just kidding.
It seems like we are jumping past the tests/curricula we have. I have already chosen to ignore the Geography standards. Next year we will ignore the map's legend and go right to the tools of Google Earth. Yes, Linda, this is a reference to " the world is flat".
I remember finding a website on my classroom computer in the '90s that showed the contents of a library in China. It blew me away! My generation still thought of Asia as a very far away place. Now I could "be" there and in NH at the same time. Who knew the Jetsons would be here so soon. I always thought of modern times being half way between the Flintstones and the Jetsons.
So, I order our book from Amazon and, a couple days later, I open the package, smirking. I should have gotten this book on our kindle - there was something weird about reading about the latest in education tech in an old-fashioned book.
Chapter 1 has great ideas - really revolutionary and valuable. But John Stossel and my own experience make me believe we need big changes in the way education is viewed in our country and who controls the money and the message. But do we have the will to change?
"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life,son."I feel like Rome is burning, and we won't even stand up to fiddle.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Web 2.0 Week 2 - "I hate paper!"
Twenty-two years ago my classroom computer didn't have enough memory use to a dot-matrix printer. I had to save my documents to a floppy disk and find someone with a "super computer".The internet and email hadn't made it to Belmont, New Hampshire. Tomorrow one of my classes will Skyping with a historian in New York about the French and Indian War on our Smart Board. How's that for time travel?
A few of us from our school braved the slippery weather last winter to attend a conference by Heidi Hayes Jacobs. It was eye-opening to say the least. Her presentation was well structured, while full of glimpses of her personality. She is so knowledgeable and her passion for school reform came through clearly every moment.
There were three take-aways that came home with me -
First, Heidi said, "I hate paper!" She thinks it is unnecessary and wasteful. It makes sense (for districts that are closer to the cutting edge of technology). Almost everything on paper can be used electronically. Before the conference I had a 2-drawer cabinet, a 3-drawer, and a dozen or so binders full of paper. All the papers were sent to the recycler.They are all saved electronically now.
Second, according to analysis of curricula around the country, we are preparing our students to be successful in 1985. Yikes! My lesson/unit that I will prepare for this class will totally ignore the Soc St standards of our district (and I'm the Soc St chair for our school). Gotta do what's right for the kids.
Lastly, my kids are given more choices to show what they know. When we do have independent projects, the kids can choose to make a prezi or website. I am always looking to add choices that involve technology.
Looking forward to the collaboration and learning!
A few of us from our school braved the slippery weather last winter to attend a conference by Heidi Hayes Jacobs. It was eye-opening to say the least. Her presentation was well structured, while full of glimpses of her personality. She is so knowledgeable and her passion for school reform came through clearly every moment.
There were three take-aways that came home with me -
First, Heidi said, "I hate paper!" She thinks it is unnecessary and wasteful. It makes sense (for districts that are closer to the cutting edge of technology). Almost everything on paper can be used electronically. Before the conference I had a 2-drawer cabinet, a 3-drawer, and a dozen or so binders full of paper. All the papers were sent to the recycler.They are all saved electronically now.
Second, according to analysis of curricula around the country, we are preparing our students to be successful in 1985. Yikes! My lesson/unit that I will prepare for this class will totally ignore the Soc St standards of our district (and I'm the Soc St chair for our school). Gotta do what's right for the kids.
Lastly, my kids are given more choices to show what they know. When we do have independent projects, the kids can choose to make a prezi or website. I am always looking to add choices that involve technology.
Looking forward to the collaboration and learning!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)