Views From the Lamb's Herd

The Cell Phone Questions

2011-12-01T16:59:00.000-05:00

If you have stumbled upon my randomly-updated blog, then you have most likely come around to hear of some of the things I have to say about the usage of cell phones in the classroom. Out of the group leaning that way, many will have stumbled due to a project that is assigned to them for graduate school, and while I absolutely love the program that said school is using, I am disappointed that they have given a project of such low order thinking in a program that is supposed to promote higher order thinking skills. I have mentioned this to a few of the people that I know that are professors in the program, but still, the project has not changed.

So, even though I am starting out somewhat ranting, please know that this is meant as constructive criticism. So, let's start with what I see as issues to a project that states "Find a teacher that has used cell phones in class and ask them questions about the following things." These questions will be posted below. In 2008, I would say that this would be a very beneficial course of action to follow, as the use of cell phones was so new, there was nearly nobody doing it. I received a ton of inspiration from Liz Kolb when I saw her at NECC in San Antonio (NECC is the old name for the ISTE Conference), and I dove right in. I started using Poll Everywhere with one of my classes, and the kids were so enthralled by having a reason to follow the rules that they immediately turned their phones off and put them away so they wouldn't have them confiscated for accidentally having them ring in class. They now had a reason to follow the rules, so I went to my principal to ask for permission to use cell phones in my classroom (the old "ask for forgiveness" routine). So, if this idea has been around for over three years, why are we still asking questions about starting to use them in schools?

Now, I know that there are still many schools out there with a zero tolerance policy. In my classroom, my policy is, "If you're getting all of your work done, then why would I care if you send a quick text message? It's a lot less disturbing than yelling across the room!" Yet many are still shocked that I would allow such a thing, but you know what? This is the world our students are living in and need to prepare for. They need to learn how to balance all of the different tools they have available and to properly utilize them to be productive. When I see a kid texting in class (and getting all of their work done), I often have a short conversation with them about ways they can use the device more productively by challenging them in new ways. For each student it's different, and they each get a different idea from our discussions. If a student is just on their mobile device (cell phone, iPad, iPod, etc.) and not being productive, they first get a warning, then the device is confiscated. A privilege has been abused, and a consequence handed out. So I'm not just that teacher that allows free use of the devices. And in my flipped classroom, it's a privilege that works out pretty well.

So we are now in a time where we aren't just talking about cell phones, but mobile devices. So the fact that this project is still only asking about cell phones is disappointing to me. Why aren't all mobile devices included? And why is it still a low-level project? I have had hundreds of emails from students in the same program ask the same questions, and I often am bombarded by twenty or so emails all within 3 days. Having to answer the same questions over and over is monotonous on my end, and I am sure that the instructors have seen the same answers over and over. I feel bad that there are times in the year that I do not have time to respond due to other obligations, and some students are left searching out other avenues. I have suggested that I could to a short recorded video for the program and answer the questions that way, or even have a time mutually set up to do a synchronous web interview or webinar, but alas, this university (again, I am not bad mouthing the university. I really, really do like what they offer, and recommend the program to many) has not agreed.

So, I do want to help spread the word of integrating cell phones and mobile devices in the classroom. I also want to be able to keep my sanity and not have time for anything else. I also want to prove a point that a new higher-order thinking project needs to be designed in place of the current one to provide a better educational opportunity for these graduate students, and, in turn, their students. These graduate students are tasked with "interviewing" me through email. Well, I am going to respond to all of the questions I get from this program here in this post. If you have questions beyond these and have a genuine interest for integrating mobile devices into your classroom, I will respond. Just be patient. I am a full time teacher, and my students and duties do still come first, but I will get around to further questions.

So, here are some of the most common questions I receive.

1. Does your school currently have a policy on cell phone use?Our policy states that all mobile devices should be turned off and out of sight unless given permission to use in class by the teacher for educational purposes. As I allow a pretty lenient use of the devices in my class (as stated above), I consider being able to be more productive while multitasking to be a very educational purpose, as that is a 21st Century Skill our students will all need when they move beyond high school.

2. How long has this policy been in place?I think it changed sometime in 2009. I was actually a rule-breaker when I first used cell phones with my students to gather evidence of their learning by utilizing Poll Everywhere. The policy was that all phones needed to be turned off and out of sight during all school hours. Period. But I knew my students all had them, so why not utilize them in a more effective way? After piloting, I approached my principal for permission, or, if things took a turn against what I did, for forgiveness.

3. What are the consequences for students who abuse the policy?We are to confiscate the device and take it to the office to be held there for one week. A student may have a parent come to the office to retrieve the device in exchange for serving time in a Saturday detention. I am not a big fan of this policy, as we don't take away a student's voice box if they speak out of turn, but I really don't have many issues where I have to enforce the policy either. And when I do have to enforce it, it's usually pretty warranted, and does lead to an educational discussion with most of the students affected.

4. How did parents react to the use of cell phones in the classroom?My students' parents were ecstatic! It used to be that they were paying large sums of money for students to be social and to entertain themselves with the devices. Now, for that same price, not only are they being social and entertained, but they are being productive (and learning how to be more productive)! Who isn't happy about getting more bang for their bucks? On top of that, parents can receive updates through text messaging services (used to use TextMarks, now use Celly) including assignments and notices about upcoming assessments.

5. What do you do for students that do not have their own cell phone or text messaging plan?Luckily for us, we were part of a grant program known as Classrooms for the Future (CFF) that provided technology and instructional support for our core secondary classrooms, so there is a computer cart in my classroom that students have access to. Any service that I have used with cell phones can be accessed on those computers, or students could share their cell phones. If there was an issue of recording audio, often a computer or land-line could be used in place of a cell phone. I always make sure to say, "If you don't have your cell phone today..." instead of, "If you don't have a cell phone..." as I don't want to point out that a student may not have this all-important piece of social status (flair), and it seems as if they just kept it at home, in their locker, or they could choose to state that they don't have one.

6. Could you briefly describe a project your students completed utilizing cell phones?The project itself really had nothing to do with cell phones other than for delivery. I wanted my students to have a better understanding of quadratic equations, so they researched a way that quadratics could be applied to something they enjoyed. As research commenced, students narrowed down their topics, and some even learned about some higher level mathematics that they would not see in the classroom setting that school year. One student dabbled into Calculus years early, another moved into some Physics, all through the gateway of quadratics. A few years earlier, I would have had students write a report on their findings. Instead, students wrote a script, submitted it, discussed it with me, did more research and experiments, revised, and resubmitted, all before the cell phone came into play. Once the script was approved, students recorded the script through a phone call using a service known as Yodio and the project was done. See my class wiki for the projects. There are so many different services out there now that allow for recording like this, and be aware that you might find a service you like one day that might be gone the next or charge you for use.
So, in the end, this wasn't a cell phone project. It was just a project that integrated cell phones. As the students knew they'd be using cell phones, they were excited about the project. By connecting to something in their own lives, they were even more excited. So here is my higher-order project assignment for you: What can you do in your classroom to better reach your kids, where integrating mobile devices is not the purpose of the project, but a way to enhance it.

So for all of you that are here just for your graduate course, here are the answers to the questions you were probably going to ask. For those that were unable to benefit from my knowledge prior to this post, I am sorry I couldn't help. As educators yourself, I am sure you understand how precious time is for me. And for anyone who wants to know more, feel free to contact me! Maybe we could have a full conversation on twitter, via Skype, over email, or even face-to-face.

Another First Day

2011-08-29T18:42:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that I have just completed my ninth first day of school as a teacher and twenty-seventh first day of school overall. The first day has always been a whirlwind for me, and it never feels as if there is enough time to do that which I had planned. Some periods I met for less than 30 minutes, another met for the full 42 minutes, and I saw my 9th period kids for all of 3 minutes. I often wish that we had a different set up for our first day, but when all is said and done, there really isn't much you can do different from what we are doing with what we need to do. In the end, it's just a matter of dealing with what's given.

And, of course, that is the problem I am facing this year. As of today, there will be 178 student enrollments (some students come 2-3 times a day) that roll through my classroom on even days and 161 on odd days (my study hall numbers vary), and I am wondering how I will meet the needs for each of these students. Each of these kids is going to have a different need that I must meet and adjust for. How will I be able to do this?

Luckily, working in a flipped classroom will make up for some of the necessary adjustments. Students will have a choice in how to receive the information to apply to the content. They could view a podcast where they can see problems and hear me talk about the topics. They could work through the slides for the podcast without the audio and try to figure out the steps and create reasons why those steps work. They could take the notesheet and work on filling it in by trying things out and verifying it afterwards. This is a process that worked quite well with my Integrated Math 2 students last year, and I'm curious to see how it works not only with my Geometry students, but in classes that are as large as they are. The big question is will I be able to assist the students that need it in class, or will I not be able to get around to them? Will they step up and collaborate as I envision they will? Time will tell.

In order to deal with both the sizes of my classes and the potential for collaborative learning, I've adjusted the way my classroom is set up. No longer will I arrange in rows and columns, but instead in clusters that allow for students to better work together with those around them and allow for me to move around the space. I had used a very similar configuration last year, and it lent itself quite well to work in the classroom.

The next question is how do I adjust for assessment (or should I even do so)? I would love to be able to trust my students so that they do not borrow work and answers from each other and truly see what they know and don't know, but we all know high school kids, and the temptation to look at another's paper is something that is difficult to overcome. I don't have the time to adjust desks for every assessment, and different classes will be assessed on different days, so how do I account for this issue without driving myself crazy?

The importance of reflection and what it means to be a teacher

2011-08-22T14:56:00.000-04:00

All too often, I find myself running from one place to another, often feeling like a chicken with its head cut off. There are days where I am moving constantly from the moment I wake until I am finally able to fall back asleep. I am sure there are many more teachers out there that find themselves in the same position every day, as well.

Yet I find that when I get a chance to look back on what has passed, I find that there are many things that I have missed, be it some of the connections I used to make with my students or a better way to get my content through to my students. This is such an important part of who I should be as an educator, but by not taking the time to reflect, I miss the chance to grow.

One week from now, my classroom will be full of students once again. That means I need to be at the top of my game. Anytime I am with students, if I am giving any less than my best, then I am not doing my job. That is the pressure of being an educator, and that is what I knew what I was getting into when I enrolled in the math education program at Millersville University back in 1998.

This push to remember to reflect comes from a summer where I attended two weddings where former students of mine were getting married. These two students were class officers for the class that I co-advised, which also happened to be ther group of students that started high school when I began teaching at A-C. Through planning prom to announcing some names at graduation, I grew quite close to those two students, and as the bride of this couple was looking to become a teacher, I was also able to give advice toward doing so. They are such a fun couple, and I was so pleased to know that they wished for me (as well as many of my colleagues) to celebrate their special day with them.

The second wedding was this past weekend, also for a couple from the same class. I knew that these two former students had also thought highly of me in their time here, and I was able to help them and their families through some difficult times. The bride from that couple gave me a thank you card while she was a junior (I keep all cards, photos, and other keepsakes given to me by my students), and I just happened to reread this card today as I was setting up my classroom. She thanked me for the help she received, but there was one statement that really hit home, where she wrote, "Thank you for being someone I trust. And the only person who has never let me down." How powerful a statement is that? I don't know of any other profession where such an impact can be made on a young person. Again, it was an honor to be able to celebrate their wedding day with them.

Of course, I have many other letters and thank you's from parents and students that I reread or post to remind me why I became a teacher. I need the reminders that the long hours are worth it, especially in today's climate where teachers are being blamed for many of the ills that we face. Well, I say, blame away. I will ignore those statements and continue to fight for what I know is right for my students.

So this year, even though I only have 12 graphing calculators for my class of 32 students, I won't complain about it. I will deal with it. I will press my students to try and find a solution to the problem, as I know there are other tools out there I can use, such as the Desmos, Inc. free graphing calculator. I will continue to work on my flipped classroom by trying new things, work at making more connections to the real world, and reflect on what works and what doesn't. And I will remind myself that my willingness to do things differently and trying to make math interesting is what made me a good teacher in the past, and continuing to incorporate those ideas will help me grow into a great teacher.

Zen.do - A Great Way to Study

2011-04-12T14:30:00.002-04:00

Often, students may find it difficult to study for quizzes and tests, especially for those that are for things such as the periodic chart or assessments that are heavy on vocabulary. Most students do find flash cards to be helpful, but often it takes a lot of time to complete them. And the students would need to have flash cards to make them on.

This is where Zen.do comes in! Zen.do is a new service that allows for a user to create flash cards directly from their notes. The first step is to create a free account so that you can not only create, but save and access your flash cards at a later date. Once an account is created, there are three simple steps to take to create your flash cards. These steps are shown in the photo below, and will open up for you when you go to create a new set of flash cards.

Step 1: Title you document - This is done so that you can keep your flash cards organized. This can be very helpful for studying throughout a chapter. Older flash cards can be studied in preparation for a test or even the final.
Step 2: Create flash cards as you take notes - This can be very easy to do, especially if teachers provide notes in a digital format. Just copy and paste the notes, delete that which is not needed for studying, and add a hyphen and an answer. Whatever is placed beyond the hyphen will be on the back of the flash card, while whatever is places before the hyphen is on the front.
Step 3: Save and review - Once this is done, your flash cards are ready to go.

As this is still a new service, it doesn't yet have all of the features one would prefer to really take advantage of using flash cards as a study device, though they are working on them. Among the features in development are the option of being able to share flash cards (great for study buddies or for teachers that want to provide them as extra resources to students who are struggling), the ability to add pictures, and a mobile app for access on the go!

For more, visit zen.do and play around to make your own flash cards!

UPDATE: It appears that zen.do is now Study Egg. You may have noticed that if you tested the link above. I'm looking forward to checking it out this year, and I'm excited that they have an iPhone app, too!

PETE&C 2011 Cover It Live

2011-02-14T08:45:00.001-05:00

PETE&C 2011

PowerTeacher Gradebook: Quick Launch

2011-01-03T10:45:00.000-05:00

Pearson, the provider of our Student Information System (PowerTeacher), is constantly updating the product it provides us. This is both a good thing and a bit of a pain. Like, when you try to launch your gradebook, you have to scroll the whole way to the bottom of the page after reading all of the updates (which have been listed for months)

before you can launch your gradebook!

Or do you really need to scroll? Pearson did listen to some of the complaints of having to scroll through all of that text, and they have provided us with a "Quick Launch" button. I refer to it as the "non-scroll launch." You can do this in two simple steps while signed in to PowerSchool.

1. Click on the "Gradebook" button in the left pane.

2. Click on the "Quick Launch" arrow. This does the same action as clicking on the "Launch Gradebook" button at the bottom of the page, though it saves you from having to scroll.

I think this is a step in the right direction to speed up the process of opening our gradebooks quicker. I would be happier if the "Quick Launch" button was on all pages. But we can only hope, for now.

Goodbye, Delicious!

2010-12-17T12:57:00.002-05:00

Big news yesterday on the tech front! It was announced that Yahoo! would be eliminating around 600 positions, and in the process, eliminate a series of services, the most important in the field of education being Delicious. [Update: Yahoo! appears to not be closing down Delicious, but selling it. Still, it is important to remember to create backups of things you want to keep around.]

This is big news for those of you that use the service. Delicious was one of the early sites that allowed for social bookmarking. Instead of just bookmarking a site for you to visit at a later time, Delicious allowed for bookmarking online, so you (or any number of friends/colleagues/students) could also access the same bookmarks anywhere in the world, as long as they could get online. After reaching great success, Delicious was bought by Yahoo! But now Yahoo! seems to be ready to drop the service. There is a possibility that customer feedback might force them to keep the service a bit longer, but don't hold your breath. So, if you use this service, now might be a good time to back up your bookmarks and upload them to a new service. Steps will be provided after an exploration of an alternate service.

One service that could act as a replacement to Delicious is a service known as Diigo. Diigo, like Delicious, allows for bookmarking and sharing over the web, but it also includes a few features, including groups. The use of groups allows you to not only share bookmarks in your own list, but also in a list that you share with others. I use one with other Pennsylvania instructional coaches (formerly CFF), educators on Diigo, and there is even one for virtual manipulatives for math.

If you are working with students and want to easily share a series of links to websites, creating a group in Diigo is one great way to do that. Create a group for your classes by period or by content area (government, geography, etc.) and allow the kids to not only access the links, but also share with the group as well. When bookmarking, remember to enter tags to help organize your bookmarks and also add short descriptions to provide information as to what can be found on the site. If sharing with a group, just select that group when sharing.

Below is a screenshot of how you would bookmark in Diigo using their new Google Chrome extension.

You can find extensions for various browsers here. You will notice in the screenshot that there are also options to bookmark a site as private (only you see the bookmark) or to read later. Other tools allow for open discussion of items on the page. You can highlight important text (again, both privately or publicly) as well as leave a sticky note to share ideas about the content with other readers.

So the real question now is how do you get your Delicious bookmarks into Diigo? You can follow along with Diigo's instructions, or follow the screenshots below.

1. Sign in to Delicious. Select "Settings" in the upper right hand corner of your screen.

2. Select "Export/Backup Bookmarks."

3. Export your bookmarks. This will create an HTML file that will allow you to import your bookmarks into Diigo. Make sure you do not change the extension on the file, and be aware of where it is being saved.

4. Sign in/create a Diigo account (it's free!) then select "Tools."

5. Select "Import from Delicious (HOT)" from the list on the left. This is a feature that is being used quite a bit since the announcement.

6. Select your HTML file that you downloaded in step 3 and click the "Import Now" button.

You will now have all of your bookmarks saved in Diigo. Diigo also offers an educator account here. You can upgrade an existing account if you did not know about this. While in the educator account, you can create class groups there. Learn more about the educator account here.

YouCanBook.me: Efficient Appointment Booking

2010-08-31T10:33:00.002-04:00

One of the new things I have going this year is a way of booking me for instructional technology coaching. I am using a service known as YouCanBook.me to help keep appointments with teachers and staff more organized by allowing people to see the times I am available for collaboration, planning, just-in-time professional development, co-teaching, and a variety of other needs that go along with my instructional technology coaching.

YouCanBook.me connects to your Google Calendar to view times when you are busy and shares times you are available through a webpage or widget (see below). To set up, you must give permission to YouCanBook.me to access your Google Calendar. You might want to create an account specifically for use with this tool, as opposed to a personal calendar you may already have set up within Google. Remember, you can copy events from one calendar to another if you like.

Once the connection is made, you have a lot of options you can set up for use. You can choose when bookings can start and end, and how long they will last (the free account provides for 15, 30, and 60 minutes) and what days are available. You can also add events directly to your Google calendar and list them as busy so they do not appear in your possible booking times. On the booking form, you can add and delete various fields for use (the Captcha field will remain to help ensure you are not spammed). There is a confirmation notice that is sent, and reminders are an option, as well. When a booking is made through YouCanBook.me, it sends you a notification and creates the event for you in your Google Calendar.

This tool may not help out many high school teachers, but you might be able to think of a use for it. This is definitely a great tool for other tech and instructional coaches out there to help manage their time.

To see how teachers can book me, click here or view the embedded calendar below this post. I will delete any events readers create in my calendar, so feel free to try it out to see how it works.

Finds of the Week: May 24-28

2010-05-28T14:53:00.014-04:00

Since I began blogging, I have been sharing great resources that I have stumbled across or that have been shared with me. But I often forget how important it is to remember that when you are thinking about integrating a tool into your classroom that you are doing it to help enhance your lesson, and not just to use it for the sake of using it. I have offered some small suggestions on how some of the tools can be implemented, but that doesn't mean that there aren't uses out there that haven't been thought up yet. I often need to remind the teachers on my staff that I am available to discuss these types of issues, even if it is only on a limited basis, being a half-time technology integration coach.

During a meeting with a teacher, we will look at the lessons the teacher has identified and discuss what the goal of the lesson is and then determine what, if any, technology could be implemented. There will be times where technology will take away from the lesson and integration won't be recommended. Of course, implementing a new technology could be a bit unsettling for a teacher who may not be completely familiar with the particular tool, but I am also available to go in and coteach in their classroom with them. Again, I am only available certain periods in the day, and if absolutely necessary for one of my teaching periods, there is always the possibility that I can get a cover for my own classroom. Our elementary teachers have another person available to them, but I also let them know that I can assist them with finding resources for their classroom if they give me enough time to find what they require.

So whether you need some resources, you want to have someone to bounce ideas off of, or you need some "just in time" training, make sure to use the resources that are available to you in your tech directors, tech integration coaches, and librarians!

And speaking of resources, here are some great finds for the week!

1. Google Docs Self Grading Quizzes - The end of the school year. A time of finals. And having to get senior grades in immediately. And waiting in line at that Scantron machine! Here's Google Docs to the rescue! Through this Screencast-O-Matic, a wonderful educator (I wish I knew who he was so I could give him proper credit) has shared how anyone can use Google Forms and Spreadsheets from Google Docs to create a self-grading multiple-choice quiz or exit ticket. There is a slight learning curve to setting up your spreadsheet and form, and you have be a little familiar with using formulas within spreadsheets, but once you have it set up, it is a breeze to use. And you can even let your students know what their grade is as soon as they submit their answers. Talk about immediate and timely feedback! As a bonus for you, you get a breakdown of how each question was answered in the summary for your form.

You can view the screencast below or click on the link above to see how to set up your own form and spreadsheet.

2. bomomo - Here is another site that's for our art teachers out there, or for other teachers that want to get that creativity shared with their kids. I don't have much of an artistic talent, but knowing some of our students, I'm sure they can come up with some extraordinary pieces of art with a tool like this.

Bomomo is a free web app that works in Firefox, Safari, and Chrome (and I'm told in many other browsers, too) and allows a user to get to work as soon as the site loads. There is a level of experimentation that goes along with using the site, but this experimentation also can lead to so interesting discoveries. When you have created something you like, you can save it as a low or hi resolution jpg.

3. Quizinator - Have you ever left your laptop at school, created a quiz or worksheet on your home computer, and then forgot to save it to a flash drive or email it to yourself? Or what if you want to share with other teachers? Quizinator is a site that allows you alleviate these problems and even to make it easier for you to create a multitude of worksheets and quizzes. With Quizinator, a bank of questions is kept from questions you enter, and you are able to select the questions you want and rearrange them using drag-and-drop. Once your document is complete, you obtain a PDF version for printing or posting online.

Quizinator has stated that they will always be free, but they are planning on adding premium features on top of what is currently offered. You can follow them on twitter (@quizinator_en) or read their blog for even more information and ideas. This resource was shared on twitter via @thadhaines.

Find of the Week: May 17-21

2010-05-24T15:48:00.000-04:00

A day off on Friday meant I was unable to get the weekly blog complete. But wait! Here it is (just a few days lat). I think next year, I'll spread out the postings and post when a great tool or resource is found or shared. In the meantime, here is on great resource for the end of the year!

Cybraryman - This site was shared with me a few months ago, and I have taken my time perusing the site as there is A LOT to see. The Cybrary Man (real name: Jerry Blumengarten, or @cybraryman1 on twitter) has done such a wonderful job of gathering, identifying, and sorting so many great resources.

We begin by looking at the resources he has collected for parents. On this page, Cybrary Man provides resources that help parents deal with a wide variety of concerns, including how to deal with bullying, parenting tips, and communicating with children.

There is a selection for students, too. Here, resources are shared for the various subject areas, as well as tips for selecting the right college, study skills, test preparation, and connections to sports.

Of course, as an educator, you'll find plenty of resources for yourself, too. These resources are organized by job title (administrator, counselor, librarian, new teacher, etc.), grade level, or content area. One of the best parts of the site, especially here at the end of a school year, very well could be the Teacher Tools area, where you'll find things such as awards, certificates, and teacher comments.

Just exploring the resources Cybrary Man has provided could fill up the remainder of your school year and summer planning. Check back often, as many of the links will change, with old ones going away and new ones popping up.

Finds of the Week: May 10-14

2010-05-16T14:14:00.000-04:00

This week, we look at some resources for our non-core area teachers.

1. Music4Education - This is a great site that provides sample lessons and resources for music teachers. The sample lessons are provided in a variety of formats, from Word documents to websites. Of course, as with any sample lessons, they can be tailored to fit the needs of your classroom.

The provided resources are through delicious. These are resources that have been collected by a music teacher. As they are on delicious, you can take advantage of the features of social bookmarking.

2. RealAge Videos - RealAge has a great collection of videos that can be used in both the FCS and Health classrooms. Among the collections of videos are videos for healthy eating, cooking tips and techniques, fitness, workouts, YOU and your body, and beauty and skin care.

RealAge isn't just videos, either. There are plenty of resources for helping you to live a healthy lifestyle. These resources can help with a multitude of lessons across content areas.

3. Keyarts - Pennsylvania has its own arts education space with Keyarts. On this wiki, you can find resources for the various arts, including dance, music, theater, and the visual arts. There are so many ideas on the site that help make connections to 21st Century education, grants and funding, and opportunities for students.

As we all know, the arts aren't just for the arts classrooms, and they are very essential to the core curriculum areas. Keyarts has a section on the wiki that shows connections to Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as what arts integration is all about.

Finds of the Week: May 3-7

2010-05-07T16:04:00.000-04:00

This week, we focus on some content-specific resources for the four core areas: English, Math, Science, and Social Studies.

English

Vaughan Memorial Library Tutorials - Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada has created a collection of tutorials for helping students learn about proper research, how to evaluate websites, how to harness the internet for searches, how to find sources, and how to avoid plagiarism. For each tutorial, it begins stating why the information being presented is so important for our students to know, followed by what will be covered, and how long it should take to get through the tutorial (each are listed at 10 minutes).

These tutorials can be great resources for teachers to share with students as they progress through the research and writing process for research papers. Students are able to self-direct themselves through the tutorials as they work through the situations that are presented. These could also be great conversation starters for a classroom discussion on the issues. Just keep in mind that a few of the tips presented in the tutorials deal with the Vaughan Memorial Library and how to access materials there, as the tutorials were created for the library.

Math

Shodor Interactivate - One of the best ways to get students to comprehend mathematics is to allow them to discover some of the ideas and patterns in a hands-on manner. This can often be a difficult thing to do with some concepts, and that is where Shodor.org comes in.

There are many different ways to navigate through the interactives, as this guide shows. They are organized in groups by content areas: Numbers and Operations, Algebra, Probability, Statistics, Modeling, Discrete, and Other.

When you choose an individual interactive, you will see four tabs: Learner, Activity, Help, and Instructor. For Learner, it gives an overview of what the interactive is and ways it can be used in activities and discussions. The Activity tab is where you try things out. Help, well, gives you a little help, explaining how the interactive works and what each part represents. The instructor tab gives some links to help connect to some state and NCTM standards, as well as a few textbooks.

Science

PhET from University of Colorado at Boulder - Math isn't the only subject that benefits from having virtual interactives to work with. There are many areas in science where they can be helpful, too, and that's where PhET comes in! PhET provides a collection of simulations that run through Java on your computer and include simulations for Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Earth Science (and math, too). If intereted in working with these interactives, you can design your own lessons or work from lesson ideas on the site.

Social Studies

Wanderlust - There once was a time where much of the world was disconnected and unknown. It was a great time for exploration and wonder, adn Wanderlust helps today's students explore these ideas. From Magellan's circumnavigation to Amelia Earhart's unfinished flight, even fictional travels such as Around the World in Eighty Days, students can explore the facets of the voyages and explorations.

Finds of the Week: April 26-30

2010-04-30T14:30:00.000-04:00

1. More Etherpad replacements - This was touched on a few weeks ago with Primary Pad and Typewith.me, but more and more Etherpad replacements keep popping up. Here are a few more.

TitanPad - TitanPad has the same interface as you would have seen with Etherpad, which is the same interface as Primary Pad and Typewith.me. You can instantly create a public pad for use and a random URL will be generated. You can invite others to work on the real-time document with you and see their edits as they type. Like the others, it does not save automatically, so make sure to periodically press "Save" so your work does not disappear. You can view old saved revisions and use a slider to see how the document developed over time. Before leaving the pad, make sure to copy the URL so you can return to the document at a later time, or export it in one of many formats (HTML, Word, Text, PDF, etc.).

Sync.in - Sync.in also has the same interface as you would see with the other Etherpad replacements, although it has more of a Web2.0 look and feel to it. There is also a pro account ($2 per user per month) where you have a little more control over who can access the documents, as well as search and filter through them. There are also fewer options for exporting and no importing options as you would see in the other replacements. (Shared via @ozge on twitter.)

As time goes by, there should be even more Etherpad replacements that arise, as the source for Etherpad has become open since (obtain information here) being acquired by Google. You can view a listing of many through etherpad.org.

2. What Should I Read Next? - Many times, teachers really struggle to get students to read for pleasure with all of the other options available to them (TV, internet, video games, etc.), so when you get a student to start reading, you want to keep the momentum going. But what should you suggest for them? What Should I Read Next is a site that will help you (and your students) find more books that fit any reading style. You can search by book title, author, or ISBN. For example, I just finished reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, so I did a search for that book and received this list of books I might enjoy. On the list, I can click on the American flag, and I am taken to Amazon where I can check the summary of the book and purchase it if it catches my fancy. With students, you can use this tool so they can find recommendations for books to sign out of a library. (Shared via Michelle Krill on Diigo.)

3. Astronomy Picture of the Day - NASA posts one picture each day with an explanation as to what it represents. Links are provided to give further explanations as to what specific concepts are. An archive of previous photos is kept, as well.

Working with these photos could be a great warm up for a science class to discuss to science behind the photos. In a language arts class, the photos could be presented to the class with a short writing prompt to open up creativity and a connection between science and language arts.

Photos are archived the whole way back through June of 1995. As you browse the older photos, you will notice a difference in the quality of the photos. This could lead to a discussion of technology and how it has progressed through time.

Finds of the Week: April 19-23

2010-04-23T17:36:00.002-04:00

1. Online-Stopwatch: Let's start with a simple tool this week that has many uses: a stopwatch. This is a great tool that you can use to project on the board while students are doing individual or collaborative work. And there are a multitude of different timers you can use, including a full screen stopwatch that you can use to count up or down, an egg timer (watch the sand as it counts down), a countdown analog clock timer, and, if you want an explosive time in class, a bomb countdown timer. You even have the option of creating your own timer with custom sounds, and you can specify the time that would be on it for starting every time! For example, here is a bomb countdown with a sound more fitting that always counts down from one minute.

As an added bonus, this site has an online clock (an analog that can display Arabic or Roman numerals or digital) for class units where you are working on time or Roman numerals. Online-Stopwatch even allows you do download the timers, or even embed them in a website or blog!

2. Tagxedo - Tagxedo is an alternative to Wordle for a place to create a word splash. Tagxedo is in very early beta stages, and hasn't even been around for a month yet. I wanted to share this site last week, but there were still a lot of bugs that went with it, so it wasn't quite yet ready to be shared. There were issues with trying to upload new shapes to match the words into, issues with adjusting colors, and you couldn't save at that point, though you could always take a screen shot (Command-Shift-4 for us Mac users).

But this week, things have changed! Working with shapes is working wonderfully, adjusting colors works well, and users can save! At the right is an example of words from last week's finds in the shape of a key.

Word splashes are great ways for students and teachers to analyze speeches, written essays, and selected reading materials to help identify patterns in writing and concepts of emphasis.

3. Wolfram|Alpha - Wolfram|Alpha is a relatively new search engine that doesn't work like the traditional search engine. Wolfram|Alpha is a great resource for when you are looking for up to the minute data, such as the current price of a stock (here is current info for AAPL). When in an economics class, you can take the data readings from the same time each day and compare the differences, leading into a converstation as to why it may have gone up or down. For any stock, just type in the stock abbreviation in the search bar, and the information comes right up.

The best way to learn exactly what Wolfram|Alpha could do for you or your classes is to try different things out. The examples page gives you many different ways to use the information aggregated at Wolfram|Alpha. You can enter your birthday to see what events happened, including when the sunrise and sunset were, important mathematical and scientific revelations, and exactly how long ago your birthday was. Wolfram|Alpha even gives an answer to the age old question of, "Which came first? The chicken or the egg?" Of course, you might not agree, but that's a new discussion.

For math and science teachers, Wolfram|Alpha can be a very handy tool for exploring how to solve complex equations, as the search engine is built from Mathematica. This example shows how to integrate an indefinite integral. Many might look at this as a way for students to cheat on their homework, and it is true that some students might use it as such. At the same time, many once thought that using a calculator or computer should be considered as cheating, but the advancement of being able to use tools such as these help us all press on into a deeper understanding. Always remember that the tools are there to help enhance the learning, but the students will still have to demonstrate their knowledge. If they just use Wolfram|Alpha for the answers and not the learning, it will show up on their quizzes and tests.

Finds of the Week: April 12-16

2010-04-16T23:50:00.000-04:00

1. PolyVision Wikispace - Many of you are already aware of this site, especially those of you that have received PolyVision training at school. The resources on this wiki are just links to interactive websites (some that will be reviewed in the future) and are organized into subject areas: Science, Math, History, and English. There are also links for best practices of interactive teaching with 10 interactive teaching tips, as well as connections to 21st Century Skills.

Some sample lessons are also provided, broken down by grade level: Elementary, Middle school, and High school. The RM Easiteach lessons link has the same resources broken down by subject area. There is even a link to download a Jeopardy template for use within RM Easiteach, which is the interactive software that comes with each Polyvision board.

2. 8 Wonders of the Solar System - Here is a great little site for anyone interested in space. This site offers an artist's rendition of what we would see when we finally master space exploration and are able to visit the other plantes and moons in our solar system. Take a look at the imagery, it is simply amazing. A few links about the unique situations are also provided for your learning pleasure.

3. Storybird - Storybird is a site that is set up for digital storytelling, but instead of creating your own photos or art, you create a story based around artwork that his readily available on the site. There is a wide array of artwork available on the site.

Utilizing this site in class could lead to many different possible lesson. You could create a Storybird that only has the artwork and no text and see what creative stories you get from your students. You could create the story first and have your students provide the story. Or you could just allow the students to use the available artwork to make their own Storybird. Here is an example of a Storyboard so you can see what it's all about.

Google Docs Gets an Update

2010-04-15T19:35:00.000-04:00

You many not have noticed a change in the way you can access Google Docs or any of the new features if you are not a member of a Professional Learning Network (PLN) such as twitter, facebook, or an educational Ning. If you are, then surely you saw posts yesterday about the updates in Google Docs. If not, then let me fill you in on what these changes mean for you as a teacher, and how they might benefit your classroom.

Drawing
One of the nice new features in Google Docs is Drawing. This will allow you to add diagrams and create drawings within Google Docs for use or sharing. This is something many have been asking for, and Google has answered. You are able to bring in images from your computer or the web to work with (be aware of copyright!) and you can then download the files as images or in other standard formats.

Real Time Collaboration
This addition isn't far off from what Google Docs had allowed before. Earlier, multiple users could work on a document (or spreadsheet) at the same time, and the changes would show up eventually. But Google has acquired the technology from Etherpad that allows for instant multi-line changes to occur within a document, spreadsheet, or drawing. In all, up to 50 people can collaborate on one document, which leaves this as an even greater tool for educators and students.

These are just a few of the new features. Mashable had a great writeup on the new features, which you can read here. Also, you can sign in to a Google account (they're free) and play around.

Finds of the Week: April 5-9

2010-04-09T13:25:00.000-04:00

It truly was a great Easter Break here in Central PA, as temperatures have been rising and sunshine abundant! And, just like at school, this blog took a break last week, but it's back with some new finds! This week we are focusing on collaborating online and mind maps.

1. Online collaboration documents - In 2008, a service known as Etherpad appeared on the internet. It allowed for a group of people to collaborate on an online document from whereever in the world they might be. Etherpad had been used extensively by many in schools, but recenlty, Etherpad was purchased by Google, and with the creation of Google Wave, Etherpad is being discontinued. Google Wave is still in preview, and it doesn't have the same features that many teachers and students had enjoyed within Etherpad. Luckily, there are tools out there that are just like Etherpad!

Primary Pad - This tool works just like what you saw within Etherpad, and it is set up specifically for school use. To create a new pad, simply click on the "Create public pad" button on the main page. This will create a new site at "primarypad.com/[random_address]" (the "random_address" is generated upon creation). Once you have your URL, you can share it through email, a link, embed, or invitation from your pad so that the collaboration can begin.

As you begin working, you will need to save, as Primary Pad does not save automatically. You will also need to remember to save (or have a collaborating member save) at various points of the collaboration. As members are working, they can enter their name and assign a color for typing so each member knows who is contributing information to the document. Each member can type at the same time and there will be no overlap to the information being entered.

If you have a document that you have already created under a different format (text, HTML, Word, or RTF), then you can import that document and work on it together. When completed, you can export the document to text, HTML, Word, PDF, OpenDocument, or a Bookmark file. There is also a time slider that will play through all of the edits made to a page from time of creation through the end of the most recent save.

One thing to be aware of when working with Primary Pad is that you MUST remember the URL for your pad (or have a saved link) to access it again. As it is a one-click free creation without a username, you need to take action to remember where your document is created.

Typewith.me - For Typewith.me, you will notice that when you create a new document, it looks exactly like what you would see with Primary Pad or Etherpad. That's because all three run the same program. If you are familiar with one, you are familiar with all three. There is also a pad available at edmodo known as "Chalk" that is only available as a beta test upon specific request, but there are plans to bring it about as a feature in the future.

2. Mind Maps - Mind maps are powerful tools for use for both students and teachers. When working with a mind map, either as a class or individuals, it is a great way to take ideas and visually represent connections among them. These are ideas that teachers have used for decades, and finding ways to work with them electronically can allow for better access for all. In our district (as well as many others), Inspiration has been used as an installed application. But if a student wants to work on a mind map at home, they may not have had the access to the application. These sites all allow for access from any internet enabled device.

Exploratree - This site has many templates ready to work with for those that might have trouble organizing their information. For those who are more confident with connecting their own thoughts, a blank template is also available. No sign-in is necessary, though if you want to save and share, you will need to create a free username and password. In all, there are 25 different templates to choose from. If you have an outstanding thinking guide template you would like to have posted, you can even send it to Exploratree.

Mind42 - This is another online mind mapping site. What sets Mind42 apart from others is the collaborative nature of it. Not only can you create an online mind map, but you can work with others without having to be in the same place. To invite collaborators, first create your map. Once created, you will see an icon that looks like two people in the upper left of your map. Click on it, enter email adresses for those you would like to add, and send! A link is sent and you now have a collaborator. The interface is very intuitive to work with, and you can hover your mouse over the different elements to get short directions for what each might do. You can review the revisions, import and export mind maps, and insert all sorts of things into your mind map.

As more blog entries are posted, more resources are being listed. If you ever want to see just a list of resources that have been shared in this blog, visit this Google Spreadsheet.

Finds of the Week: March 22-26

2010-03-26T15:11:00.000-04:00

This week we look at two tools that will help your students to be more productive, be it in writing an essay or reviewing for tests and quizzes. Our third tool helps enhance critical thinking skills.

1. Essay Map - NCTE and their ReadWriteThink site offer this great interactive to help students organize their thoughts for an essay. A student would begin by writing their introductory ideas in the applet. The next step is to provide three main ideas, each of which branch off to the supporting details for the idea. This information then leads to the conclusion. Once the information is entered into the applet, a map of the ideas is presented and can be printed or saved as a PDF to submit electronically. Here is a sample map.

2. Create Debate - Create Debate is a social site that is set up to allow people from all walks of life to debate the issues of the day. In order to do provide your input to a debate, you will need a free username to sign in. If you only wish to read the debates, then there is no need for a sign in.

This site can be used in many different ways. If you are in a speech class, you might want to look at how users are (or are not) supporting their stances. In a social studies class, you might use a debate to gather feedback from people in other areas of the world. You might even set up a debate between your classroom and a classroom from another school to see how different viewpoints could lead to an overall better understanding. If you find that using Create Debate is a tool that works well in your classroom, you might consider exploring the teacher option. There is a 30 day free trial, and if you find it is something you desire to integrate into your classroom, there are varying levels of pay plans to provide extra tools for doing so.

3. Quizlet - Do your students have trouble studying? Do you create a study guide that students don't use? Why not use the same ideas from your study guide to help your students study through Quizlet?

In Quizlet, you can create your own flash cards for students to study and quiz themselves from, or students can create them for themselves and others. Sets that are created can be set as private or public. Anyone can search through the public ones to find things they may need to study, including both the core and non-core academic areas, standardized testing, and careers. Follow this link to see a sample set on debate terminology.

Finds of the Week: March 15-19

2010-03-23T14:31:00.000-04:00

With a week that was full of tutoring, meetings, and other work, there just wasn't enough time to get the Finds of the Week posting in. But don't fret! Here it is a few days late.

1. Puzzlemaker from Discovery Education - There once was a time where teachers would have to spend a large amount of time creating word searches and crossword puzzles from scratch. No more! With Puzzlemaker, you can create these puzzles quickly, and even make different ones so that students won't have the same puzzle to work from. In total, there are ten different puzzle types to choose from. These puzzles could be used to help students preview and solidify vocabulary or be offered as extra credit.

The puzzles aren't the only things that Discovery Education offers. On the site, you will also see links for first year teacher resources (who says you can't use them beyond your first year?), brain boosters, clip art, and lesson plans.

2. drop.io - drop.io is a great way to create a space where students can submit work for teachers or other students to access it. This is a great way to move away from having student turn in a physical paper, and it doesn't not require a student to be on the network at school in order to submit paperless now, as we see with working with a drop box either on your teacher machine or the school's server.

When you create a "drop," you gain a lot of control over what can be done with the work. Check out a current drop that I have set up. First, you will notice that it will require a login. I have a login setup for myself as the admin of the drop, but there is a separate one for guests to sign in. This allows for my audience (whether it is students or teachers) to access my drop and the files already on it, as well as upload new files, but they are unable to delete a file from my drop. If you would like to access my drop, use the password mathrules to sign in. When there, you'll notice three files: A .mov file of a commercial that promotes the Arts, the Chapter 5 Preview for my Integrated Math 2 class, and a phone recording from last April.

Being able to upload the different types of files could lead to a variety of uses. It's a simple way to submit work paperlessly. You could use it as a way for students to reflect on their work by making a phone call. Each drop will have a phone number associated with it. Be aware that the phone number very well may be a long distance number, which could somewhat restrict the use in and out of your classroom. It is also a nice way to set up a space for collaborating within a class, or even between separate classes. Each drop provides 100 MB of space free, and if you require more space, it is $10/GB per year, which is a very fair deal.

3. PaperRater - When writing a paper, it is often difficult to find someone to proofread it to help you find grammatical errors, or even to help you determine whether you are plagiarizing or not. Students face the same issues, and often when plagiarism occurs in a paper, the writer may be unaware.

PaperRater is a great tool that will allow for the uploading of a paper to help identify these errors. For students, they could upload their papers and sources to check for plagiarism. This is a great learning opportunity for all students, which will lead them to doing better at making sure plagiarism is not in their writing. Teachers can use this site to check student work that has been handed in for any possible plagiarism, as well. This would be a situation where a digital copy of a paper would be more worthwhile than a printed out copy.

Finds of the Week: March 8-12, 2010

2010-03-12T17:04:00.001-05:00

NOTE: I currently am running a blog for school at Annville-Cleona Tech in an effort to better communicate with the staff I work with. I figure, why not share the same things here, as well? The posts on A-C Tech are for my staff and students only. This one is more for my views and reflections.

March didn't quite arrive like a lion, as we have seen the nicest weather in a long time for most of this week. Of course, this Nor'easter that's hitting us today and tomorrow is reminding us that Winter is not quite over. But cheer up! Spring will be here before you know it!

Oh, and don't forget to spring forward an hour this weekend. On to the finds of the week!

1. Preceden - Many times in class, you might want a quick and easy way to create a timeline. With Preceden, you can create a timeline with a few clicks and a little typing.

Before creating your first timeline, you do need to create a free account. As with anything that requires you to sign in, make sure you are keeping track of your usernames and passwords, and don't leave them out for anyone to access! Once you have your account, you can create your timeline. Timelines are set as private by default. For classroom purposes, you will most likely change viewing permissions to "Everyone," which can be done by choosing "change" in the upper left of your screen, just above your timeline. Doing this will also allow you to embed the timeline into a webpage, as shown below.

Some great features of Preceden for timelines include layers for including differing content on the same timeline, the ability to add details to events, and the overlapping and varying colors of events within layers.

One possible use for layers would be to have students have layers to compare/contrast historical events that were going on at the same time. If using with the Civil War, have one layer for the Union and one for the Confederacy. Events can then be entered into different layers so a comparison of events could be shown as the war progressed. Adding details to the events would lead to a deeper understanding of what the significance of each event was. Overlapping events within a layer could be very important, especailly since the entire armies were not all at the same places at the same times.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.preceden.com" target="_top"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Preceden - Make a Timeline for Anything&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

2. TypingWeb - A common misconception that many teachers and adults arrive at is that all students are very proficient in all aspects of technology. Many of us know that is not true. One place where that can be evident is in typing. But with many schools not offering typing as a class anymore, how are students (and even other adults) supposed to improve? TypingWeb is one site that can help out.

TypingWeb is a free service for their online typing lessons and can be accessed through any computer with internet access. There are ads on the page that can be removed by upgrading to a pay account, but if you live with the ads, then you can keep the free account.

Once signed in, you can either begin with a typing test to gauge a starting spot and focus on for improvement, or just dive right into the lessons. If you want to see the cumulative stats of your typing tests, it requires you to take the test five times. There are four levels of courses on the site (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Specialty Courses), as well as a level to earn certifications (pay) and an area called the News Headline Exercises, where information from websites such as FOX Sports, Google News, and ABC News is used to help you multitask by typing in headlines from the day, so you also get caught up on world events. There are even typing games on the site to help give a little extra motivation for students to work on improving their skills.

This is a great site that can be used to help improve your own typing or to direct a student to if they have a need to improve their typing skills. In study halls, if you have students that never seem to have anything to do, why not help them use the time productively by improving their typing skills?

3. Slideshare - There have been many times where we have used slide presentations in class to help present our content. However, what do you do for the student who is absent? If you upload your presentation to slidshare, it can be available to anyone at anytime. Not only will an absent student be able to access notes when absent, but all of your students can use your presentations to help study. You might even create slide presentations just to post online for review and not show them in class.

Slideshare is more than just a place to store slide presentations. When you upload a presentation, you are able to enter a description and tags for it, and it goes into your slide space. You can search out content from other users, and even connect to share. When viewing slide presentations, you can view them in full screen. Many are also available for download so you don't have to start from scratch when you find a presentation you like (this option is up to the person who uploaded to presentation). You can even upload audio to go along with your slides so you don't have to include all of your content on the slides.

Slideshare works with Keynote and Powerpoint and allows for uploading supporting documents, such as notes, and is a snap to embed in a webpage.

Integrated Math 2 Section 5-6

View more presentations from Jimbo Lamb.

Finds of the Week: March 1-5, 2010

2010-03-05T22:06:00.002-05:00

Last week was a busy week with PETE&C going on in Hershey. With that in mind, I did not have the time to add a "Finds of the Week" post, though there were many posts provided during the conference. This week, it's back to some great finds!

1. TED - TED stands for "Technology, Entertainment, Design" and is a conference that brings together great minds from these areas to share the innovations that they have pioneered. It is a bit of an exclusive conference, but the most interesting talks are provided for free online throughout the year. On the main site, you can search by different themes, speakers, when talks were given, or even with foreign language subtitles. All videos can be viewed on the site, or you can subscribe through iTunes. Options for subscription are audio only, standard definition video, or HD.

The TED Talks could be a great way to include what people are doing in the real world with concepts you are covering in your classrooms. In a Social Studies classroom, you could use Paul Collier's talk on rebuilding countries to discuss what leads to conflicts and how external politics affect the outcome. In a music classroom, you could use Benjamin Zander's talk on music and passion and how it can open up opportunities in various areas. There are so many talks available, you can find one for every class. Most talks are between 15 and 20 minutes in length. Be aware that not all talks have language that you would use in your classrooms.

2. Prezi - Prezi is a tool that has been created as a web-based presentation tool, but it also works great as a mindmap. When creating and presenting, it can be much more powerful for showing relationships between ideas. A tool that is great for both teacher and student, this is a way to allow for students to create and see connections that they may not have seen before.

Check out Prezi's homepage for a brief overview of what Prezi can do. Sign up for an educator account and experiment with the tool. Below is a sample Prezi from the creators, talking about some of the tips and tricks.

Prezi Tips and Tricks on Prezi

3. edmodo - Edmodo is a private social network for education. It is a great way to bring social networking into the classroom while keeping it in a controlled environment. Among the features of edmodo are privacy, classroom polling, the ability to post assignments, sharing a group calendar, posting and grading assignments, and mobile access.

Using edmodo could be a great way ensure that all students have a voice within your classroom. When discussing a certain topic, such as types of rock, you could have your students discuss the differences between the types while comparing and contrasting rocks that they find around their house. Using edmodo in the classroom can also help to teach proper etiquette for social networking while keeping students in a safe environment. This way, when they go home and log in to facebook or twitter, they might be able to make better decisions for how they conduct themselves online.

You can also post files, embed widgets, or post links. And in the future, there are plans for a tool that works just like Etherpad, which is great with the plan for phasing out Etherpad since its acquisition by Google. If you would like to see a sample edmodo class, feel free to make an appointment to meet with me during periods 1, 4, 6, 7, or 9.

Of course, for every tool and suggestion given on this blog, there are many more possibilities for integrating technology into your classroom. Remember, these are only tools and should be used as such. When looking at integrating any tool into your instruction, remember to only do so if it enhances the content. If you use technology only for the sake of using technology, it will not be successful.

Disruptive Technology: Cellphones in the Classroom

2010-02-24T10:28:00.000-05:00

Disruptive Technology: Cellphones in the Classroom

The Results of Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom

2010-02-24T09:16:00.003-05:00

The Results of Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom

Catch the Google Wave - WOW!

2010-02-24T08:02:00.003-05:00

Catch the Google Wave - WOW!

Science 2.0

2010-02-23T15:24:00.001-05:00

Science 2.0

Student showcase #petec2010 "I built this and it uses a simple program".

2010-02-23T11:38:00.001-05:00

A student from Commonwealth connections worked on showcasing this. He
was really enthusiastic. To him, programming a LEGO robot is "simple."
How would you challenge this student in your classroom?

Using Ning as a School Social Network

2010-02-22T15:36:00.004-05:00

Using Ning as a School Social Network

Teaching time management to middle school kids using cell phones

2010-02-22T13:56:00.002-05:00

This is a great way to let kids learn how to use the tools on their cell phones. This was presented by Gail Schuler from Pleasant Valley School District at #petec2010 at the poster sessions.

iPods as a Classroom Computing Platform

2010-02-22T11:28:00.004-05:00

iPods as a Classroom Computing Platform.

Edmodo: Relevant, Functional, Fun!

2010-02-22T10:11:00.003-05:00

Edmodo: Relevant, Functional, Fun!

Finds of the Week: February 15-19

2010-02-19T14:50:00.001-05:00

Starting tomorrow, the annual Pennsylvania Educational Technology Exposition and Conference (PETE&C) will be going on in Hershey, PA at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. This conference is the state conference on educational technology and the precursor to the international conference ISTE 2010, formerly NECC. On Saturday, there will be preconference sessions for Instructional Technology Coaches (formerly CFF Coaches), followed by preconference sessions for anyone to attend (pre-registered, pre-paid), including sessions hosted right here at Annville-Cleona Secondary School.

The real conference begins Monday morning with an opening keynote from Sir Ken Robinson. The remainder of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be days full of conference sessions, connecting with colleagues, interacting with vendors, and some great discussions on education and technology integration. Here are some ways that you can follow along with the conversations.

1. Cover it Live - Cover it Live is a way for people to collaborate from anywhere on any type of presentation or event. You might see that many sites are using Cover it Live during Olympics coverage so people can discuss the events as they go on.

For Cover it Live, if you are going to use it, you will first need to create an account. From there, the options open up for you. Many users embed their Cover it Live sessions into a blog, website, or wikispace. As an example, many of the session I will be sitting in will be on my personal professional blog so I can carry on the conversation with more people, especially those that either may not be able to make it to PETE&C, or with those in other sessions that are interested in the information.

Others will use Cover it Live during faculty meetings or classes to allow for a backchannel to occur to extend upon the conversations that are taking place, which also allows for everyone to have more of a chance to get their say in.

2. #hashtags - Many educators have joined twitter to help improve their own instruction by collaborating with other educators from around the world in what are known as Professional Learning Networks, or PLNs. To help find each other and to find information that they would like to share, they use what are known as hashtags, which are very similar to tags you make when using social bookmarking.

For example, every Tuesday, large groups of educators talk about various educational topics in what has become to be known as EdChat, and the hashtag #edchat is used so all can follow the conversation without having to follow the individuals in the conversation. It is similar to being able to enter a room at a conference, talking with people you have never met before, having your conversation, and then leaving, never to speak again until the next conference.

If you want to find information from a hashtag, there are many ways to do so. The most common way is to use twitter, as the use of hashtags has become a prevalent practice among users, but it is not the only way. You can also enter the hashtag you want to follow at hashtags.org, or enter the hashtag in a Google search. Google has realized the high use of the tool, and have included a live result feature in their searches. To follow what is going on at PETE&C, the hashtag is #petec2010.

3. Rubrics - I couldn't complete a blog post without a resource for you to use in your classroom. Rubrics are tools that we all use to allow for students to know what is expected of them on projects and assessments.

Rubistar is probably the most widely-known and widely-used rubric creator, but it is not the only one. With Rubistar, you create a sign in and work on creating rubrics from a template. They have sample assessors, or you can create your own. Once completed and saved, each rubric can be assigned a number so anyone can access it at a later point in time. Enter the code 1752791 under "Go To a Saved Rubric" to see a sample of one I created. Rubistar is fairly easy to use, and they have a great tutorial as to how to use their tool.

RCampus is another tool that allows for free creation of rubrics. This site even allows you to pull in rubrics you currently have to edit them. Again, it is free, but you do need to register. There are tons of sample rubrics, separated by grade level, subject, and type. They also have tutorial videos for how to better use their service.

Want even more rubric builders? Then check out teAchnology for a list of rubric builders. You can even use teAchnology as a rubric builder, with either a 4-point system or under a custom rubric.

Pay attention to this space next week as I share the things I see from PETE&C.

Poll Everywhere Returns Clearing Results to Educator Accounts...For Now

2010-02-12T19:31:00.000-05:00

Last week, Poll Everywhere made a change to their accounts, and it caught a lot of people by surprise. One of the features educators love was moved to the premium teacher account, and it was not necessarily taken well by many. As I was the one who had introduced many of my colleagues to the service, they turned to me for answers.

Truth be told, I hadn't noticed it at that point in time, so I did some investigating. I hadn't seen any notice, so I sent a direct message to @polleverywhere on twitter. In the meantime, I mentioned to others that polls could always be copied, so there was a way to bypass the non-clearing problem, though not as convenient as clearing each individually.

Poll Everywhere responded, and there was a great reason that Poll Everywhere made this change, and in the long run, it will be very helpful to teachers and districts for data collection. First off, the students absolutely love using Poll Everywhere. One of my students today said, "I feel bad for doing this in school. We've always been told it's wrong and against the rules to use our cell phones to learn." This is a great tool!

But this new change will benefit all those who use it. The problem is, how to pay for it. For now, Poll Everywhere has returned poll clearing to the free education account, but I am sure that it won't last. This is only speculation on my part, but I imagine it will remain through the end of the school year and then be moved back into the premium educator account come June. This would allow for teachers to use the service as they are used to for the remainder of the school year, which is good for teachers.

But we, as educators, cannot just allow for the switch back to happen without reciprocating. During this time, we have to show the power of this tool. Get your administrators and school board members into your classrooms to see the use so they realize both how powerful a classroom tool this can be as well as the amount of money that could be saved against buying classroom sets of clickers.

We are still at a point where many districts are not looking at adding to their budgets, so it might be difficult to get districts to pay for a plan. When looking at the K-12 pricing, the building/district plans seems pretty sweet. Why not get kids to pony up $2.50 per year with the promise of allowing them to use their cell phones in school (at appropriate times, of course)? That's only one and a half sodas that they would have to give up. I think they could handle it.

Of course, requiring kids to pay for this might not be the best plan either, and many teachers cringe at the $129 per year cost. But what if you only paid $10.75 a month for the teacher account? Doesn't that sound better? I know I could handle that quite well.

Oh, and, when you do the math, $10.75 a month comes out to $129 per year. It doesn't change the overall cost, but might make it easier to afford as opposed to a one-time yearly cost. I guess that would be my suggestion for a change for next year.

As it is, Poll Everywhere wants your input. First, read their blog post about this issue. Comment on this post to offer suggestions or visit their Get Satisfaction page. Remember, services like this just cannot remain free forever. They have helped us out, now what can we do for them?

Finds of the Week: February 8-12

2010-02-12T16:04:00.002-05:00

It has been a snowy week here in Central PA, but that doesn't stop the web! This week, how to convert files online, text-to-speech, and collecting and sharing bookmarks.

1. Online Video Conversion - Many schools (including A-C) do not allow access to Youtube. Bummer. But don't let that stop you from using these sites educationally, as there is a wealth of great videos that can be used in your classroom. Vixy and Zamzar both will allow you to enter the URL of any Youtube video so you can download them for use in your classroom. Be aware of fair use rules if you do this, as these videos could be copyrighted! Make sure to provide proper citations.

When working with Vixy, all you need to do is enter the URL of the video you want to convert in the field, choose your format, and convert! For your work computer, you will want to convert to a MOV file, which will open in QuickTime. You can choose other options, based on what you will be using the video for. Vixy will automatically give you a download link, and you'll have the file on your machine for use in class. Make sure to save the file with a new name and location. I have found that Vixy does not always work well while at school due to the firewall.

Zamzar works a little differently. When you go to Zamzar, you will begin on a regular file conversion page. This allows for you to convert any number of files, which is helpful for when students create a document or other file at home on one piece of software and want to work with it at school with a different piece of software. To convert a Youtube file, you will have to click on "URL" under Step 1, or go directly to the URL conversion page. In Step 2, choose what you would have the file converted to. Again, Zamzar supports image, document, audio, video, and a few other conversions. Zamzar does not provide an instant link, as the file is sent to their server to be converted. Once converted, an email will be sent to the address you provide in Step 3. This could take some time, depending on the amount of files that are being uploaded to their servers at the time. This can be done at school or at home, as long as you have the URL to the video you want.

Another easy way to convert Youtube videos is with Kickyoutube. This cannot be done at school, as it is blocked by the filter. But if you have viewed a Youtube video at home that you want to use in school, just add the work "kick" in front of the "youtube" in the URL. For example, if you are viewing a video at www.youtube.com, just edit the URL to look like kickyoutube.com instead. It will give you options as to how you would like to download it. Choose your option and download!

Areas of use: Across all curricular areas

2. Carryout Text - This is a site that is in beta, and while they are, the services will be offered free. The beta could end at any time, at which point the entire service could become a pay service, or there could be a tiered service, where parts could remain free and others would become pay services. Until then, this is a great site you can use to convert any text into audio. It is as simple as pasting text into the converter, pressing "Submit to Process," and waiting for Carryout to do its thing! This is a great site that can be used for those that have trouble reading, or for students who are taking a long bus trip to a sporting event and need to stay caught up on class content. The flow is still a bit choppy, but it works quite well.

Areas of use: Across curricular areas; especially helpful for struggling readers and audible learners

3. Social Bookmarking - Don't be scared off by the word "social" here. These two services offer many perks for educators (and individual users) by allowing for bookmarking of websites online as opposed to inside a browser.

First, we will explore delicious. delicious allows for you to create a site that you can bookmark websites you like for use later on. Once you create an account, you download the delicious toolbar and button and you're all set. From a site you want to bookmark, just press the "Tag" button in your delicious toolbar, enter the data for the site, including a description and tags. Tags are used to help group things together that for similar interests. For example, if you go to my delicious page, you can click on "web2.0" in the right hand column, you will get a series of sites that fit into the Web2.0 window. When tagging, you can even tag a site that a fellow user might find useful. If you find a site that you think I would like, tag it with "for:misterlamb" and a message will be sent to me with the info. This could be helpful in a class where you gather current events. Just have students tag their current event to you.

diigo is very similar to delicious in the fact that it is also social, but it is organized in a different way. With diigo, you will download a toolbar and tag sites like you do in delicious, but in diigo, you can also set up groups, so when sites are saved, they are made accessible to all in the group. Having a class group set up could be very helpful to share resources. If you use it for current events, you could have students check to see what others have tagged to make sure to eliminate any duplicates. Or if a student finds a great resource for a class, it can be made available to all immediately.

Areas of use: Across all curricular areas; great for sharing resources with colleagues, students, etc.

All of these are great tools and have even more applications in your personal life and classroom that discussed here. As always, any A-C teacher is more than welcome to contact me and set up a time where we can explore and discuss these tools together.

Finds of the Week: February 1-5, 2010

2010-02-05T16:06:00.000-05:00

This post is a mobile devices special edition. As we all know, students will always have their mobile devices (cell phones, iPods, etc.) with them, even if they are banned. This can be a good thing when used properly. This post will focus on some tools that will allow you and your students to become more productive with mobile devices.

1. TextMarks - TextMarks is a group text messaging service. There are many possible uses for this service, from sending text messages that inform about homework assignments and upcoming assessments to helping to keep in touch with participants and parents of sports teams and other extracurriculars. There is a free portion that is ad supported that will allow you one free keyword to set up and 120 characters per message. If you want more keywords or no ads, you can upgrade to a larger plan. When you have your keyword set up, your students can subscribe by sending your keyword to 41411, wait for your message to be sent to them, then reply to that message with a "Y." Once subscribed, they could even set up the time that they receive the message every day, as long as you enable that feature in the setup. There are other services that do similar things, but TextMarks is one of the easier ones to work with.

Areas of use: Across all curricular areas, sports, extracurricular activities

2. PollEverywhere - PollEverywhere is an online polling service that allows for anyone to collect information from a group through polling using text messaging and web voting. PollEverywhere allows for an educator to sign up for a free account that allows for unlimited questions with 32 responses per question. Each question receives a code that matches up to only that question, and you can display the responses for multiple choice questions as a live aggregate of the answers or as a table to hide the results so you can get a true read for what your class knows or needs extra help on. If you wanted a more open-ended response, you can create a text poll, where students would respond with their own answer. For students without unlimited texting plans, you can set up your polls to allow for multiple responses for students to share their phones, or allow webvoting to allow students to vote through a widget you embed, a webpage with your question on it, or by using poll4.com to enter their quick response (also great with smartphones). If you want more plan options, the year-long teacher plan runs at $129 per year, or there are school building-wide and district-wide plans as cheap at $2.50 per student per year (minimum 200 students).

Areas of use: Across all curricular areas

3. iPhone/iPod Touch (and other smartphones) - Of course, I would be remiss if I did not venture into the field of the smartphone. The iPhone really changed the idea of what a cell phone could be, and that idea was extended into the iPod, as well, with the iPod Touch. Of course, the iPhone is not the only smartphone out there, and the other ones also have apps available, but I am most familiar with the iPhone. If anyone would like to add to the discussion about other smartphones, it would be a great addition from a guest blogger.

Imagine a student has the entire works of William Shakespeare available to them. At first, one might think that said student would have a really large book. Instead, an iPhone is pulled out and this student begins to read Act II of Hamlet. This student could do so anytime, anywhere, and the collection was a free download. Another student works with an interactive of the trigonometric function, while yet another is working with SAT test prep software. Between all of the free and paid apps, there are so many ways that a smartphone can help enhance your instruction.

Areas of use: Across all curricular areas

4. Yodio - Podcasting has become a prevalent practice in education. It is a great way to include digital storytelling in the classroom. More students are able to share the information they learn and create, and teachers are able to get information out to their students in a more readily accessible way. However, many people believe that certain software needs to be available to them in order to create a podcast.

With Yodio, you can create a podcast with nothing more than a phone and any computer with an internet access. First, you will want to set up an account at Yodio so you can start recording. Once your account is set up, you can call from your cell phone, record your audio (as one long podcast or as shorter chunks) which are then saved in your account. Once you are done recording, return to Yodio and create regular or enhanced podcast with photos you can also take with your cell phone. Yodio has even been trying to get a foothold in the education field, and if you contact them, they might be able to set up a plan to allow for you to obtain a number for your students to call to dump information into a central teacher account, as opposed to having each student create an account.

Just imagine if you have students out on a field trip and want them to do some mobile reporting. You could give them the number for the central teacher account and have them phone in their responses at various points throughout the trip. When you return to the classroom the next day, you could have a class report ready to go and listen to as a class so all students can provide different amounts of information to a bigger idea (a great application of reciprocal learning, as we saw in the Classroom Instruction That Works book).

Areas of use: Across all curricular areas

Of course, using mobile devices in the classroom is still a relatively new idea. If you are looking at using the devices in your classroom, start out small and make sure to have a structure for use set up, including consequences for misuse. Make sure students are aware of their own plans.

Finds of the Week: January 25-29, 2010

2010-01-29T12:22:00.000-05:00

Every week, I will be posting at least one post with my top "Finds of the Week." These could be websites for use in your classroom that have been passed on through my Professional Learning Network (PLN), submitted by fellow teachers at school, or found at a conference. There might be articles with a best practice or suggestions for things that work to help raise the level of thinking in your classrooms.

1. Algebra Lab - This is a site for the math people. This link will take you to a collection of sample math problems for both you and your students to use. It allows for students to try out problems of various skill levels. If you click on "Absolute Value," you will notice it gives sample problems at both the Algebra I and Algebra II level. Provide a direct link for your students to go and practice. When completed, some of the problem sets will even get some feedback.

Beyond the sample problems, you will also notice that there are connections to lessons for the topics, as well as a breakdown of careers that use math and word problems that could be transformed into open ended questions.

Areas of use: Math, science

2. Trebuchet Challenge - This is an interactive web applet that allows for some trial and error in an exploration of how a trebuchet works. Students can apply what they know about projectile motion, potential energy, kinetic energy, and gravity to adjust the distance, power, and accuracy of a trebuchet. Points are tallied on the activity. Have students take and submit a screenshot of their best scores as a competition.

Areas of use: Science, math, world history

3. Penn Manor Blog Site - Have you thought about using blogging in your classroom? Take a look at how Penn Manor High School in Millersville, PA is using blogging with their students to get them to increase their critical thinking and writing skills. There are many blogging platforms out there for use. Penn Manor hosts their own using WordPress. This blog is hosted through Google's blogging service Blogger. If you are thinking of using blogging, set up a meeting with me and we can discuss options.

Areas of use: Writing across the curriculum

4. White House Speeches on iTunes - While it is true that the White House has its own YouTube channel, it is difficult for schools to easily get to the channel, depending on filtering protocols from district to district. In our school, YouTube is blocked. There are still other ways to obtain the videos from YouTube, but I don't see any way that's as easy as going to iTunes and either showing a given speech, subscribing to the feed, or just downloading particular speeches. The 2010 State of the Union address is up. So is President Obama's Inaugural Speech. What better way to get your students more connected to politics?

Areas of use: Social Studies, speech

5. Noteflight - Here's a great one for the music theory classes, or even for anyone who would like to try their hand at writing some music. It takes a little bit of working with to get down how the interface works, but once you get it down, you can be writing your own sheet music (and hearing it!) in minutes!

Areas of use: Music

Guilty by Assumption!

2010-01-14T16:02:00.002-05:00

We've all been there. If you sit back and think, you'll probably realize you were there sometime today. Where, might you ask? Why, being guilty of thinking someone else knows something you do.

It all started with me sending a link to a teacher today. Our mail program ended up adding a space and a period into the link, so the link did not work. This teacher asked me to look at the issue and I was able to see it right away. No, I didn't expect this teacher to notice this mistake. It's not something most people would notice anyway.

As it was, I was able to fix the URL she needed to visit and was able to work on a few other things with her, including some quick, just-in-time training on a web program we use in our district. She was amazed at some of the things that could be done, and, not having gone through the training myself, I was able to learn on my own. Then again, that's the way I learn many things: sit down, try it out, learn what does and doesn't work. Again, not something I would expect of others, as we all learn in different ways.

But after working with her on this quick training, I reminded her that this is part of what I was available to do for our staff. At least, I thought I was providing a reminder.

This teacher is new to our building but has been with our district a long time, and as so many of us have been guilty of, I assumed that she knew I was a half-time instructional coach, just as many other teachers assumed that she was aware of many rules, etc. in the building.

This got me to thinking about what I should be able to assume and what I should make sure to reiterate to both staff and students. Being a half-time math teacher and half-time instructional coach has led me to need to prioritize many things. Of course, my top priority is to the students of this district, and that priority has sometimes left me thinking of myself secondary (I have done better at taking care of myself more of late, but am still working on that front). When I am in my non-teaching time at school, I will drop whatever it is that I am doing if a student seeks help, regardless if they are in my class or not.

With that being said, I will first think about assumptions I have for my students. I assume they have mastered the curriculum in the prerequisite courses for the course they are currently in. I should be able to make this assumption with great confidence, but I also know there are students who move on regardless of prerequisites and teacher recommendations. But this is one assumption I will continue to make, with the caveat that I will offer extra help for those students who need it.

I will not, however, assume that my students can "do it all" with technology, as I have seen others do. Students are great with technology when it comes to entertainment and socializing. But what about when it comes to productivity and education? Do they know how to properly use cell phones and not disrupt others? Do they know how to find and evaluate a resource online? Can they create something new with various technologies with information they find? That's where I cannot make assumptions and have to make sure to provide the new viewpoint to my students and get them to embrace it, as well.

I cannot assume anyone else knows things that are second nature to me. I provide a variety of professional development opportunities for our teaching staff, but am restricted by time for preparation and meeting with them due to my schedule. I could use this time crunch as an excuse, or just rush through materials that I think my staff should already know, but that would make me highly ineffective. So I need to remind myself to move slowly, and if I don't get through everything I want to, then so be it. It will allow for better professional development and almost guarantee a higher level of implementation. Plus, it leaves them wanting more!

Too often in the world of education do we just think that others already know something we are so good at. I'm sure you hear it in the teacher's lounge. But we, as educators, need to remember that we are educators for a reason, and that is to share what we are so good at and get others to see themselves as good at it as well. In order to do that, we need to stop assuming and continue teaching.

Think Before You Post!

2009-12-17T16:28:00.002-05:00

Earlier today, I was presented with a link from my PLN to a blog that talked about parent/teacher interactions. I think this is a very important topic that should be discussed openly. So I proceeded to follow the link to be presented with a blog entry that was an email conversation between a parent and teacher (names were removed, of course).

I had to pause. Did this teacher really take an email from a parent, directed to him, about that parent's child and post it on the internet? Not only that, but said teacher-blogger also posted his response. And talked in some detail about that student's behavior and his views of an issue that should remain private between the parent and the teacher? Said teacher-blogger's name is posted on the blog. No contact information is provided. So if I want to discuss this situation with the teacher-vblogger, I would have to search to find contanct info or leave a comment on the blog. This post should not be on the internet as it is, and I certainly don't feel a discussion with this teacher-blogger should be public, either!

Right now, I want to reach through my screen and knock some sense into the teacher-blogger. Unfortunately, I think said teacher-blogger will be in for a surprise when he is called into the principal's office in the near future. I understand that we all need to blow off some steam from time to time. You can do that in the teacher's lounge, or in a blog post that is never published. Or in a much more hypothetical situation, even! But this post is now out there for anyone to read. If I were the parent on the other end of this situation, I would be livid.

As an educator, I have to constantly remember that I am a role model, whether I want the label or not. As educators, we are all in the public spotlight, whether we are at school, walking the dog, in the grocery store, driving down the road, etc. We need to always be aware of what it is we are doing, especially online. Venting about parent/teacher interactions is not just counter-productive, but potentially harmful to one's employment and certification! As human beings, we all make mistakes. We must also learn from those mistakes, as well as deal with the repercussions of those mistakes. I hope that this teacher-blogger can avoid anything too harsh.

The Continuing Discussion of Cell Phones in Schools

2009-12-16T14:08:00.002-05:00

Even though Classrooms for the Future (CFF) has ceased to be in any form it once was, one of the great collaborative areas for the former CFF Coaches (many are now Instructional Technology Coaches) is our listserv. Today, a question arose as to whether allowing cell phones in schools would violate CIPA arose, as many districts want to ensure that they can obtain as much funding as they can. I can assure you, allowing cell phones does not violate CIPA. If the students are not using their phones to access the schools network, then it is fine (it is necessary to have classroom management skills to allow their use, though). If a student is using a cell phone to access the school's network, well, the network should already be filtered anyway!

But this led to another discussion about allowing them or not as devices period. As many of you know, this is an issue that I hold close, as I feel students should be allowed to use the devices in school and have had success integrating the technology into my classroom. But I did enter into the debate on the listserv, and realized that my argument on there could be very useful to other educators trying to bring cell phones into their districts. Below is part of the conversation:

There is a modicum of responsibility that will always rest with the student. If they are properly using the cell phone for educational purposes, then there is no issue. It is only when they move outside of the area of "educational purposes" where the issue arise, as with any other tool. If a device is being used inappropriately, then it needs to be addressed thusly. However, if we are just saying "No" to a device due to possible disruptions, we are only inviting more disruptions (students WILL have cell phones with them, regardless of the rules).

But a question I bring up is, "Do we want the 'inmates' running the 'asylum?'" I no longer need public school for my personal gain. I have a job in a public school, but this institution is not here for me. It is here for the education of the students who walk the halls every day. We should be providing them an environment that suits their needs and desires. They have expressed again and again that they want to be able to use their cell phones in school, both educationally and socially. Yes, there are potential issues that could arise, but I think I could come up with a similar situation for any issue that does not use a cell phone. We have dealt with those issues. We can do the same with cell phones.

Since I have started using cell phones in my classes, there have been fewer phones confiscated from those who are students in my classes. As we are using the devices, we are also discussing appropriate uses, etc. I even model how to react to a ringer going off during class by leaving my ringer on and having a friend call it while I am teaching. It rings, and while continuing to teach, I just reach into my pocket and silence the ringer. I don't make a big deal. I don't fumble around. I just go about as if nothing big is happening (I do have to say that my classroom phone rings much more frequently than any combination of cell phones in my classroom during lessons). After going over my lesson, I have a small discussion with my students about how to react (or not react) to a disruption of this sort.

Two weeks ago, a situation arose where my students were tested. A student forget to silence her phone (we all make this mistake), and it went off in the middle of a lesson. She quietly and calmly silenced the phone, I kept teaching, and not a single student reacted in any other way to the "disruption." The lesson got through to them. Now, had I followed the rule to the letter of the law, I would have confiscated the phone on the spot. I would have had to stop the lesson to ask for the phone, possibly argue with the student that didn't want to part with her device, and then get the class back into the lesson. Which, I ask, is more disruptive?

I hope an argument like this can help more districts allow the use of cell phones in education. There are so many things that can be done, but only if the ability to use the devices is there.

Another One Bites the Dust

2009-11-19T09:39:00.004-05:00

As I was finishing my preparations for my cell phones in education presentation today, I was checking my QR Codes, and I found out that he site I had been using for generating my QR codes has ceased operations. This also means that the QR codes I had created to show do not work anymore, as they work through the site snappr.net (don't go there, they have been shut down). While I understand that services such as this may not be able to survive in the current economy, it would have at least been nice to have received some notice about their impending doom (they did get my email address when I registered). But that's neither here nor there, and I appreciate that they did exist at one point in time so that I could become aware of QR codes.

So, I am now in search of a new QR code generator. The first one I am going to check out is Kaywa. I hope it works well. If you have any suggestions for other ones to check out, let me know!

Reflections on a Math Day: November 17, 2009

2009-11-17T14:11:00.003-05:00

I don't know why I don't take the time to reflect more often. I may think some of the things in my head, but once that thought has passed, what else can I do with it? I could come up with excuse after excuse as to why I don't do this more, but that's not productive.

In my Integrated Math 2 classes, we have been working on distance, midpoints, and slope. As a math teacher, I feel that these are relatively easy concepts to work with, and many of my students have expressed that they know what slope is, blurting out "y = mx+b!" Of course, slope is only a part of the slope-intercept form (which we will cover later this chapter), but it gives me some insight into what my students know, and what they think they know.

Now, with my Math for Standards class, I have them blog about what they think they know before we begin a unit, and then have them reflect upon what we covered at the end of the unit. It helps me to better adjust the unit to their needs, and it allows for them to see their growth through the unit. (Visit my class blog here, student blogs are linked on the right). I also plan on using the blogs more with my Integrated Math 2 students as we move through the year.

Hearing the students yell out the slope-intercept form when we are only looking at slope gave me the idea that my students had indeed learned about slope before and knew a way to apply it. Yet, when I asked them what slope actually was, they stumbled. So we did some math calisthenics. We discussed how slope represented the ratio of change in vertical distance to change in horizontal distance. Of course, many of us teach it as "rise over run." So, from their seats, I asked them to run across the room. Of course, they all started by rising first, so I stopped them. Right there, they realized that before they can run (horizontal), the have to rise (vertical) when dealing with slope. The light bulbs came on.

Today, the Integrated students were working on a graded worksheet on distance, midpoint, and slope. One of the students (who, coincidentally had not completed the practice problems assigned for the concepts) looked at the midpoint formula and noticed something. He raised his hand, saying, "Mr. Lamb, there's a comma in this formula!"

"Why do you think that is?" I asked him.

He paused, thinking about what we were covering, what he was trying to find, and what was given to him in the problem. He was not coming up with an impulsive answer. I could tell he really wanted to understand this. "Well," he replied, "since we're looking for the midpoint, that means we need a point, and a point is given as an ordered pair. And, the midpoint is in the exact middle of the other two points, so if we know the distance between the points, we just cut it in two, so that's why each part gets divided by two!"

He had a smile on his face. Can you imagine it? A student enjoying understanding math! We continued our conversation (which also happened to be loud enough for the rest of the class to hear) about being able to understand the formula. I asked if he'd be able to choose the correct formula from a series of formulas, and he was confident he could, as he now understood why the formula worked.

I wish I had more time to have these types of discussions with my students. This is where the real learning occurs for some of them, and the boost in confidence on one skill can go a long way in the classroom, especially for students who feel they cannot do math.

One other change I have implemented is with the comments I place on report cards. I was sitting and typing the comments last week as I always have: "Timmy should..." or "Mary needs to..." when I stopped. Something hit me, and I had to ask myself, "Who am I writing these comments for?" I have always written them as if only the parent would see them and directed them to the parent (And yes, I am a firm believer that a parent/guardian should be an active participant in a student's education). But I want my students to realize that, ultimately, they are responsible for their own education. So this year, I am writing comments for the students, not about them. I have already gotten input about this from a few students, as they seem to be thankful that I am talking to them.

Google Wave Invites

2009-11-07T15:06:00.003-05:00

I received a Google Wave invite not too long ago, and to go along with it, I also received some invites for some friends so we could all try it out. I posted on twitter and quickly got responses for all my invites, but then others rolled in after I passed them all out. I felt bad, as I only had so many.

So, this week, I received twelve more Google Wave invites. I first reached out to those I didn't get the first time, and two of them still hadn't been invited, so they each got one. This left me with ten more to pass out, and I wanted to be a bit more fair. The solution I came up with was to ask for the best reason why anyone should get the invites. I received fifteen requests from people I know, plus 8 from spammers and people I don't know. I am posting the ten best responses now. If one of these responses is yours, watch your inbox for your Google Wave invite (or check your twitter/facebook for me asking for your email so I can invite ya)! Spammers, you can ignore, because I'm not inviting you to Google Wave!

Top Ten Why I Should Give You A Google Wave Invite (in no particular order):

Yes, please! ...b/c I need to contact this Nigerian Prince to complete the transfer of my life savings.
Because in 1 year I went from using little tech in the classroom to embracing Moodle, wikis, Twitter, and the like. Bring it on!
As tech coach at GS, I want to share the possibilities with my teaching staff. Giving it to one will inspire 75.
Um - I'm not gonna feed you a load of BS. So putting it simply... Cause I really want to play around with the technology :)
I finally had chance to research what Google Wave is and it looks awesome!!! I am in a technology department at work, so always looking for new collabaration tools. If you have any invites left, please send one my way :-)
One word...KINDNESS :)
Send me an invite and I'll try to figure out what it is. I assume something to do with the tides or hairstyling.
three things: 1) i played EP soccer and i was on your dad's indoor team with your sisters 2) I will use google wave to somehow feed starving children 3) you know that hole in the ozone? I know who's causing it. now, unless you want al gore on your [butt], you should probably invite me.

Plus, i know who the jelly bricks are, lol, and that makes me worthy of google wave
because you saw me get drilled on the side of the head with a softball? Does that work?
I would like to petition you for a Google Wave invite, but for my boyfriend, not for myself.

Christmas is coming up, and being a broke grad student, it is unlikely that I will be able to get him (or anyone else, for that matter) a gift this year. This makes me sad because he is very nice to me, and always does nice things for me. He even takes out the trash without me having to nag him.

I know he wants a Google Wave invite because he is a Sys Admin and I have heard him lamenting his lack of Google Wave capabilities. He would be ecstatic to receive an invite.

So that is my plea, Jimbo. I would like you to give me one of your invites so Ben can have it. As an early Christmas present. Because free is the only price point I can swing right now.

So, there you have it! Sorry for those I couldn't get this time around. If I get more, I'll ask you again!

Cell Phones In (and out of) the Classroom

2009-06-29T12:37:00.000-04:00

Cell Phones In (and out of) the Classroom

Paperless Business Cards

2009-05-06T13:56:00.002-04:00

I stumbled across this one the other day and decided to sign up and check it out. You can now create a business card that can be accessed by texting a message to 50500 through contxts.com. Try it out: text MISTERLAMB to 50500 to receive a text with my contact info. Once you receive the text, you can store the information in your phone and transfer it to your computer. No longer do we need traditional business cards.

It was bound to happen. Thankfully, we have Yodio!

2009-03-30T11:40:00.004-04:00

I remember the days when the only way to record yourself through your phone would be to call a friend and have them hit "record" on a tape recorder on their end (or why not just use your own?). Then along came Gcast and gabcast. They were great! You could call a toll-free number, enter a PIN, and record to your heart's content! This was great for classrooms, as now there was no need to have any recording software or laptop. All that was needed was a phone (which pretty much comes standard with any classroom) or a student or teacher cell phone. Great!

Unfortunately, Gcast and gabcast are businesses, and they need to make money. Through gabcast, you can purchase minutes ($.10 a minute...reminds me of old Sprint commercials) for use for recording from your phone, and Gcast will be charging a $99 yearly subscription fee for recording phone calls (Edit: uploading audio you already have recorded is still free). It was bound to happen. I wish Gcast would have given more than a week's notice, as I was planning on using their service for a class project in two weeks. I can't really afford to spend the $99 out of pocket for a subscription at the moment, so I needed to find a new way to record from a phone. (Edit: Gcast is offering prorated subscriptions for educators through the remainder of the school year.)

Luckily, someone found another way, and it is known as Yodio. Currently, it is free to record from your phone on Yodio, so I think I will be trying this out with my Advanced Algebra classes later this month. I am going to see if there is a way to allow kids to record from their cell phones or my class phone and then funnel them into one page for listening, and I think there is a way. It seems that I can search for recordings by unregistered phone numbers while also including a PIN, but I guess we'll wait and see.

Aside from still being able to record for free from a phone (how long until Yodio switches to a pay plan, I wonder?), Yodio has another feature that could be very helpful in extending digital storytelling. Not only can I use audio in Yodio, but I can use digital pictures that I (or a student) uploads to help share my thoughts. Then, it can be embedded and emailed, as well.

In the end, it could be a blessing to the quadratics project I am having my students do to be able to use Yodio instead of Gcast, as I was planning. I was more familiar with Gcast, but part of being a lifelong learner and teacher is to be able to try new things, and this is yet another opportunity.

A Great Day

2009-03-05T22:12:00.003-05:00

Today was the kind of day that all educators dream about. It started this morning with a trip around to various teachers to deliver some converted audio files for Envirothon and to register for a CFF Exploration day for our social studies teachers, where they will be given the chance to work on creating a 21st Century lesson plan with social studies teachers from throughout our IU. See this site to check out lessons from our science, math, and English day.

During my Advanced Algebra classes, I saw some of the enthusiasm from students I thought I had lost. And we've been working on a difficult topic: factoring quadratics. I knew that if I could get them past the initial frustrations that they would get some of their confidence back. But I wasn't expecting what I saw: students who wanted to do the math, with smiles on their faces, eager and willing to do more. So I finally was getting my students back. Even students who hadn't done homework all marking period completed and understood the homework, AND volunteered to do problems at the board!

I could hardly believe it. I passed out a worksheet that is going to be graded, and all but one student immediately began working on it (I need to find a way to win that student back). They were asking questions. They were helping each other out, pointing out mistakes and actually enjoying the math.

Over the next hour after my classes, I had math students from all throughout the school stopping in my room for help. This is during the time where I should be doing my CFF work, but I just can't turn away a student. What kind of educator would I be if I did that? I was helping two, three students at a time in three different subjects. I would give one a problem, get them started, then jump to another. It's like we finally have the Math Lab that we've always wanted, but it's starting to be at the expense of my sanity and ability to get work done.

Next thing I knew, it was time for my Math for Standards class, and I knew I was going to disappoint this class. I had scheduled for them to play review basketball, but as they had not completed all of the work I had assigned, I was taking it away. As they filed into the room, I was getting ready for the backlash.

"We are not playing review basketball today," I said. "Instead, you are going to work on the work you still owe me." Ok, here it comes. I was ready.

"YES!! I need to get these done!" "Sweet!" "Alright!"

Wait, what? This group didn't want review basketball? They wanted to work on their old worksheets? I think I stood there for a moment with my jaw hitting the ground. Then I picked it up and went to work with them. They each had a notecard with their current grade and what they still owed. They got their worksheets out. If they had lost them, they printed out new copies from my wiki. Again, students who I thought I had lost were all of a sudden apologizing for not doing their work earlier and doing what they could to catch up. One was a student I had gotten quite upset with in class over his lack of trying. Since then, he has been really nice to me, and seems to really want to make me happy now. I hope I can get him on track better. He is smarter than he knows.

After that, I had a few minutes to get some CFF work done, then it was an outside soccer practice! After a Nor'easter came through Monday and freezing temperatures the last two days, we were hoping today would have been nice enough to get outside. The forecast was for a high of 41, so we all prepared to bundle up. Then, we step outside, and it was be-yoo-tee-ful. It had to be at least in the 50's. I was ready to bundle up, but shorts and a long-sleeve tshirt were perfect. And this year's group of girls is enthusiastic, they want to learn, and they're willing to listen. And we have a large, young group, so even though this is a "rebuilding" year, I think we'll surprise some teams, and we have a good future.

By the time all the girls get picked up, I gather work from my room, and eat dinner at home, it is 7:30. Wow, where has the day gone? Well, obviously the day is over, right? Nope! I sign in to AIM, and students are there ready to ask questions about the worksheet and other lessons we had gone over. So, instead of sitting down and grading and lesson planning, I have been working with students online for the past 3 hours. And they're learning. They're getting things to click. It's great.

And I'm tired. I am so far behind on my work. I have to do laundry. But you know what? Today was so worth it. I hope tomorrow is just like it.

OPPOSE PA HB 363: A Letter to My State Representative

2009-02-12T20:58:00.003-05:00

As you may have heard from any number of educators earlier today, a few Pennsylvania State Representatives have introduced PA HB 363 on February 11, 2009, (the final day of PETE&C) in an effort to ban cell phones from all facets of education, including allowing students to carry these devices with them at ANY school sponsored activity, including dances and sporting events. I urge all Pennsylvanians to contact your State Representative and tell them to OPPOSE PA HB 363! Here is the letter I sent to my State Representative:

Today, I was forwarded information on PA House Bill 363, which proposes to ban student cell phones from schools. As an educator, I cannot support this idea. Cell phones are no longer just devices for making phone calls. These are devices that teachers across the state are integrating into their classrooms, and it is highly engaging to out students. I have begun integrating into two of my classrooms to great success, and the students in my other class are now demanding that I do the same for them. As an educator, I have to make sure that I am able to reach my students in a way that will get the most out of them, and the students in my school have let it be known that they want to learn how to be productive with these devices. They want to learn how to be more productive with cell phones, and believe it or not, they do care about learning proper etiquette for use, as well.

I have been a huge proponent of cell phones in education and have spent a good portion of the past year promoting the benefits of allowing these devices in schools. I have been collaborating with educators across the country to provide uses for these devices. There are man great plans already out there, and educators are being more and more innovative in their integration every day.

Recently, I have presented at a tech director's meeting for IU 13 and at the annual Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C) about the issues that have been brought up from allowing cell phones in schools. Almost every single issue can be narrowed to a problem with structured use, not with cell phones. When calculators were first introduced into education, there was a lot of push back, but now you cannot have a math class without them. Computers were considered to have no place in the everyday classroom. Today, we have made the biggest strides in our classrooms that to the Classrooms for the Future grant. Both of these devices were met with trepidation, but it was structure and innovative educators and leaders that have turned those tools into must-haves for all students.

This same issue exists with cell phones (and other portable electronic devices such as iPods, mini-camcorders such as the Flip, and PDAs). Yes, they can be distracting. Yes, there could be issues with improper use. However, with the proper structure, these issues will become non-issues. Not only that, but as educator, I have a responsibility to provide the best education to each and every student. If I were to restrict their learning environment, I would be cheating them out of their future and limiting their potential.

I urge you to oppose PA House Bill 363, which proposes to ban these devices from all school functions. Not only will this be limiting what teachers can to best educate our students. You will also find that many parents will oppose this bill. At Annville-Cleona, we have a more lenient cell phone policy which allows our students to carry them as long as they are turned off, and allows teachers to allow their use within a structured environment. However, we have had to deal with many parent complaints that they want their kids to be able to send them messages during the day, such as at lunch. Our parents want their kids to have their cell phones with them at all times. On top of that, the bill is banning students from carrying the devices at all school sponsored activities. This would include sporting events where students are spectators, and even on buses on the way back from participating in sporting events. As a soccer coach, I like the fact that my players can call their parents when we are 10 minutes away from the school so that neither the parent or student is waiting for the ride home.

I am more than willing to continue a dialouge on this issue, and am willing to even come to Harrisburg to speak with any number of Representatives that may have questions. I know there are educators just like me statewide that feel the same way, especially my fellow CFF Coaches. Many of us have been sending letters today already. Each Representative could easily find CFF Coaches in their own district to speak with about this issue.

Again, please oppose PA House Bill 363.

--
James Lamb, Jr.
Annville-Cleona Secondary School
Mathematics Department
Classrooms for the Future Coach
717.867.7700 ext. 4213
Email:jlamb@acschools.org
Skype: jimbo.lamb
iChat/AIM: MrLambMath
twitter: misterlamb
delicious/diigo: misterlamb

Cell Phones in Education: An obstacle

2009-02-12T16:47:00.004-05:00

I have just been sent a link that may provide a huge obstacle to my passion of integrating cell phones into the classroom, and it is called PA House Bill No. 363. This bill is being referred to the Committee on Education to amend "the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14)" which banned student pagers from schools, with the exception of emergency workers and medical reasons. This bill is aiming to apply the same restrictions to cell phones. Here is the proposed wording. Italics are new wordings, while [brackets] are removed wordings.

13 Section 1317.1. Possession of [Telephone Pagers] Electronic

14 Devices Prohibited.--(a) The possession by students of

15 telephone paging devices, commonly referred to as beepers,

16 cellular telephones and portable electronic devices that record

17 or play audio or video material shall be prohibited on school

18 grounds, at school sponsored activities and on buses or other

19 vehicles provided by the school district.

20 (b) The prohibition against beepers and cellular telephones

21 contained in subsection (a) shall not apply in the following

22 cases, provided that the school authorities approve of the

23 presence of the beeper or cellular telephone in each case:

24 (1) A student who is a member of a volunteer fire company,

25 ambulance or rescue squad.

26 (2) A student who has a need for a beeper or cellular

27 telephone due to the medical condition of an immediate family

28 member.

29 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

I urge each and every educator in PA to contact the Representatives that introduced the amendment to the bill, as well as the members of the Committee on Education to inform them of the immense mistake it would be to apply this amendment. Inform them of the great things that the educators in this state are doing with cell phones both in and out of the classroom. Remind them that the devices are not the problem, but the improper use is, and that we cannot continue on in education ignoring devices such at this, both as educational tools as well as the need to make sure today's youth are being taught proper use of these devices for their own safety, as well as proper etiquette and use.

Here are the names (click for contact) of the Representatives whose names are on the bill, as well as those on the Committee on Education.

Angel Cruz, D, District 180
Rosita C. Youngblood, D, District 198
T. Mark Mustio, R, District 44
Thomas R. Caltagirone, R, District 127
Douglas G. Reichley, R, District 134
Harry Readshaw, D, District 36
John P. Sabatina, D, District 174
John J. Siproth, D, District 189
W. Curtis Thomas, D, District 181

Find contacts for all State Representatives here. Find yours and tell them NOT to support banning cell phones in education.

Committee on Education (including contact info).

Also, sign this virtual petition.

Spread the word. Let educators decide how to run their classrooms. We need our students to have access this technology for the sake of our world!

Passion: Reflections on PETE&C

2009-02-11T13:40:00.005-05:00

I have learned quite a bit about passion over the past five days here at PETE&C. Passion has been one of the best things to think about as I moved through Keynotes, sessions, meals, the exhibit hall, and connection with my PLN.

It started on Saturday, with the CFF Coaches preconference. We met Steve Sassaman, who gave us so many things to think about as we return to our districts and set out to continue working with our teachers. And Steve had a passion for what he was talking about. As he was talking throughout the afternoon, I couldn't help but think about how I could make changes to what I do to better communicate to the staff at school as to what I could do for them. Just from the opening skit where he and Suzanne Loftus (CFF Coach from Council Rock) demonstrated how words left unsaid can lead to misconceptions about both parties, I was able to realize that whatever it is that I mean to say, I should say it how I mean it. I can't assume that others will know what I can do unless I come out and say, "This is what I can do." Steve had us for almost 4 hours, and there was a short break built into his time, but I did not find myself counting down the minutes to break. The time came, he let us decompress for the break, and when it was time to get back to his presentation, we all sat back down and got right back into it. He had us because he had passion.

Sunday, our school helped to host the preconference sessions. I went in to school to assist with any issues that came up, as well as to complete my sub plans for the rest of the week. I saw people presenting 6-hour workshops on things they were passionate about. They shared freely, knowing that they were sharing their passion. This passion will lead to new uses in new classrooms, leading students to new knowledge, and hopefully, new passion.

Monday, the main conference began at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. The opening Keynote didn't really appeal to me. I think this was partly due to the fact that Jason Ohler seemed to be speaking more toward the elementary audience, as opposed to things I was interested in. I'm sure that when I go back and review his Keynote materials that I will find things that I can identify with, but his presentation didn't connect directly with me. However, I couldn't help but notice his passion. The zeal with which he spoke, the energy that he exuded, his willingness to share, that's what I got from the Keynote.

Throughout the remainder of the day Monday, I wandered from session to session, collaborated with those in my PLN, and spoke with vendors, and in each, I experienced a different passion. In the sessions, I saw passion for allowing students to become school leaders as part of a student tech team. There was passion for making sure we were providing students with an education of safety while being part of the online community. On the exhibit floor, I saw passion toward providing new, innovative solutions to old problems. I saw passion for services that were being offered. Passion towards providing a higher education to our teachers so they could provide a better education for our students. And from my PLN (twitter friends, CFF Coaches, new connections), I saw a passion for advancing education. I saw passion toward being the innovators that are willing to share, educate, take risks, make connections, collaborate, give credit to others, learn, and be the leaders in education that make our schools something that we haven't seen before.

I was able to share one of my new passions. I took the lead in a Birds of a Feather session, where I facilitated a discussion on cell phones in education. I could go on for hours about what these devices can offer us. The discussion went for an hour and a half, and then I was approached after the session and continued to have the discussion with others over the next hour (and the next two days). I had a few educators ask if I would be willing to speak to teachers and administrators in their area in the future. Of course I'm willing! It's my passion!

Tuesday we had Daniel Pink as our Keynote, where he shared his passion for education, but from an outsider's perspective. The biggest thing I got from him was that we need to find ways to join the two sides of our brains. We need to find ways to be logical and creative to find new ways to solve the problems that are presented today.

Today was a Keynote from Rafe Esquith, and it was one of the most powerful presentations I have seen. I can't even begin to describe the passion this man has, but I can say that there were numerous times where he and his students brought the audience to tears. I know he reached every teacher in the room when he talked about how we often don't know the difference we may make in our students' lives. And we continue doing it for less pay than we deserve. And each year, we continue to improve our methods in the hopes that we can offer more and more for our students. And we do it due to our passion.

I know that I will continue to do what I must do to improve the things I do in my classroom. I will continue to fight for a full-time position as a technology integrator in my district so that I can provide the support that our teaching staff needs to best meet the needs of our students. I will continue looking for new ways to include cell phones and iPods in education. I will remain connected to my PLN at all times, no matter where I am, not because I can, but because I need to in order to drive my passion.

And here I am, reflecting on PETE&C. The conference at Hershey is over, but the new and existing connections will continue. The passions we all have will be shared. More innovation will be introduced into education and we will all be there to support each other. And when we think we might be done, we'll all sit down and realize that we have just begun, no matter how much we have accomplished. And it will be our passion that drives us to continue.

LIVE: Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow, Today

2009-02-11T10:44:00.003-05:00

I will be doing a Cover It Live blog of this session at PETE&C. Check here at 11:00 to take part in the conversation.

Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow, Today

LIVE: Students’ online behavior? Are they at risk?

2009-02-11T08:32:00.002-05:00

I will be doing a Cover It Live blog of this session at PETE&C. Check here at 9:45 to take part in the conversation.

Students’ online behavior? Are they at risk?

Short Cell Phone Post

2009-01-15T18:21:00.002-05:00

Today was a day of cell phones for me. It started this morning when I attended the IU 13 Tech Coordinator's meeting to talk about cell phones in education. My main focus behind the presentation was to discuss why we block the use of cell phones and why we should allow them to be used in a structured environment. I have a feeling that I will be going through the presentation again and posting it as an enhanced podcast (possibly on the soon-to-be-opened IU 13 iTunes U page).

As I expressed many of the concerns that I have heard over the years as to why we should ban cell phones, I countered with statements that showed those same concerns were there before cell phones, and that the cell phone was just a new medium that we have to create the structure for use. After all, if teachers don't teach these necessary skills to our students, who will? Isn't that our job?

I moved into showing some examples as to how cell phones could be used by demonstrating Poll Everywhere through this poll, this poll, and this poll. I talked about how this tool is a mean to gather information for a teacher to determine whether the class understood the material, as opposed to waiting until the next day after a failed homework assignment or on the quiz. Then I demonstrated Gcast with a podcast I had recorded the previous night through my phone, talking about how they could be used to record observations on a field trip.

Of course, I had to talk about iPhones and iPod Touches and the Apple App Store (while mentioning that other smartphones were getting similar stores) and the educational apps that were available at their fingertips, many for free!

I finished my presentation by discussing things we have already dealt with in schools. We made the switch from slide rule to calculators, but there were those that said they would never catch on in education. Today, they allow educators to focus more on interpreting data and delving deeper into what the mathematics can tell us as opposed to medial, repetitive tasks. Sex education was once a highly discussed issue. We all hope that our children and students will abstain and wait until they are mature and fully ready for sex, yet at the same time, we know that many will have sex. But we don't just teach abstinence. We teach safe sex because we want our students to protect themselves and make smart decisions. Are we going to tell our students to abstain from cell phone use, or are we going to step up and teach them how to properly use them?

Later in the day, after I got back to school and was preparing materials for my substitute the next day, I noticed twitter messages about Flight 1549 going down in the Hudson. Of course, my first reaction was worry for those who were lost and how this would bring back fears of flying and worry of terrorist attacks.

But then I tuned into CNN to view the coverage and saw a plane floating in the water, with ferries and other boats swarming to and from it. It was a spectacular site seeing how quick the response was and the willingness of everyone to help. And as I was watching CNN, they kept showing photos from cell phones of the rescue process. As the place went down in New York City, there were potentially millions of witnesses. This potential tragedy has now turned into one of the greatest real-world learning experiences we have ever encountered in aviation.

Think about this. The pilot was able to basically land the plane safely in water, keeping the plane intact, for the most part. The flight crew and passengers acted immediately to open doors and work on getting out of the plane. That in and of itself is highly beneficial for the airline industry in training of their employees.

But the thing that could be most beneficial is the abundance of data that is now available about what happened. Every single person who used their cell phone to snap pictures of what was going on, or everyone who call 911 when they saw the plane going down has helped to contribute data to learning how to deal with other similar situations. Had this happened ten years ago, we would not have been able to share anywhere near this much data.

So I continue my quest to promote the positives of cell phones in our society. I will continue to fight on behalf of allowing the use of cell phones in education (in and out of the classroom) and our need to take charge and teach proper use of these wonderful devices.

The Top 10 edtech Stories I Would Like to See in 2009

2009-01-07T16:52:00.002-05:00

Here it is, almost 5 PM on a Wednesday and I'm still in school getting work done, and it's not the work that I had planned on getting done. Oh, the jobs of being a part-time edtech integrator. I guess I have to find time somehow to reflect and grow in this position, but isn't it going against an earlier post of mine?

As I embarked through my 21st Century reading pile (I have a 20th Century reading pile that consists of magazines. This "pile" consists of tabs open in my browser) in preparation for the CFF Collaboration day tomorrow, I came across this list on eSchool News. It gives the headlines of
the top 10 edtech stories from 2008. And I am highly disappointed by the list.

First off, I do want to say that I have not yet read the articles that go along with the headlines, so this is just a reaction to each of them. With that said, why is this list so negative? As a school that has been part of the CFF initiative since it first began, I like to think along the lines of all the positives that edtech is bringing into our schools, chief among which are the opportunities we are providing our students to be better prepared for life after school. (On a side note, I think colleges and universities are falling further behind, as I held a twitter conversation with my CFF mentor last night about a FULL COURSE being offered on Microsoft Word. Really?)

Yet here is this list, and most of these headlines are negative. Well, with that said, I think I will take the time to edit the headlines into something much more positive. I think I will call them:

The Top 10 edtech Stories I Would Like to See in 2009

10. Students use cell-phone cameras to record and analyze photos of math being used in the real world.

9. JuicyCampus turned into a leading site to connect college students to worthy causes; changes name to Campus4ACause.

8. Students fight back against hackers, new technology for protection against identity theft developed .
7. Online video better enables teachers to reach students.

6. Cyber-bullying eliminated, students take back the web.

5. RIAA underscored by new 21CRAA (21st Century Recording Artists Association), collaboration with campuses on file sharing and growth of industry.

4. U.S. students get laptops aimed at children in all schools and countries.

3. With TV signals on the digital spectrum, free broadband internet offered throughout the U.S.

2. Industries invest more in schools, realizing the best way to save the economy is to educate everyone.

1. President Barack Obama's new education policy offers full funding from government.

What headlines would you like to see?

Let Me Google That for You

2008-12-06T14:07:00.003-05:00

Wow. What a site. It's simple, yet has so many implications. Here is a sample.

Let me google that for you is a site I saw for the first time today, and it has floored me.

This is for all those people that find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than google it for themselves.

What a profound statement. How many times have you been approached with a question that is so easily answered? If can be quite frustrating. Yet, at the same time, it opens up so many questions in the field of education.

If a teacher has a question, can they not take the time to do a little work first before seeking outside help? I don't know how many times I just typed their question in Google to get the answer for them. Think about it: As a teacher, I'm trying to get my students to realize they can find the answer without relying on me as their teacher, as I won't always be there for them. They need the skill and confidence to be able to know where and how to find answers, be it through Google, looking in books, or trying out a process and realizing patterns. If a student asks me a question that simple, I don't give them the answer. I give them a means of finding the answer.

This site also gets me thinking about tests and quizzes. If I end up asking a question that can be Googled and doesn't provide any higher order thinking, why would I be asking that question? This site has brought that question to mind again, and it's something that really should be shared with teachers. The question is, how do you approach this (possibly touchy) subject? At least in my district, we have had CFF training to help move us in that direction, as well as a forward-thinking staff.

Cell Phone Exploration: Day 1

2008-12-04T10:59:00.003-05:00

So, I began my foray into utilizing cell phones in my classroom. I am starting out with my Advanced Algebra classes. So far, I am only utilizing Poll Everywhere to gather quick responses to short questions, almost as you would with a CPS (but a lot cheaper). Neither myself or my district had to purchase the CPS, as we use either the cell phones students already have or the computers we received through the CFF grant. This allowed for 100% participation, regardless of whether a student has a cell phone or not.

I first asked a review question from the previous day, hoping to see the correct answer. I set up a multiple choice question with four possible answers, and I had all but one student in the two classes choose the correct answer, but I believe that was due to being unfamiliar with the process. It was good to know that I got through to them, and you are not always able to know that until it's too late. It is so nice to be able to receive this feedback as a teacher, as I was then ready to move on to the next topic.

Right now I'm working on a unit dealing with solving systems of equations. We covered the substitution method today. We worked on two problems together as a class, then I set them loose on a third example to do on their own. When they were done, they were to submit their answer as a text answer. Most of the students did the work correctly, except for one step, where they ended up losing a possible solution due to making a very common error. I was somewhat expecting that, which was a great thing that allowed me to review the concept. Had I gone through this problem at the board, I know I would have lost most of the class. By allowing them to make the mistake and then going back over where the mistake was made, we were able to deal with an error that comes around very often, and I had my students' attention when we covered it. The other students that made a different error also were able to determine where their mistake was made, as well.

I think for now, I will continue using the polling option with my classes to see how they further react to our use of cell phones in this capacity. They seemed quite receptive for now, but I will have to continue to grow in my use of this mobile technology if I am going to make a success out of this experiment.

On another cell phone note, I was speaking with my buddy Chris at a retirement dinner last night, and he was telling me how he was using coupons through his iPhone. How interesting. He had been doing it for quite some time, until the other day he attempted to use a coupon at a place of business that he had done so before, and he was told that they needed a paper copy of the coupon. It was no longer good enough to just scan the bar code from the iPhone. How 20th Century. Could you imagine if businesses actually embraced this idea? They could have coupons posted on their sites, and by accessing these coupons, they would be building web traffic, which would help with their advertising revenue on their site. It could be a win-win for everyone involved! This could be something to keep an eye on in the future.

A podcast

2008-11-28T17:17:00.001-05:00

Recently, I participated in a podcast on civil liberties of students as well as technology in education. Check it out here.

Priorities and Cell Phones (A Two Part Post)

2008-11-24T16:28:00.003-05:00

Part I: Priorities

In an effort to try and do a better job in both teaching and CFF Coaching, I have realized that I need to better prioritize what I need to do. My body is constantly telling me that it cannot handle the stresses being imposed on it by the double duty, so I guess I should listen to it and rethink how I am approaching the two positions. So here goes:

My students. They have to come first. That's why I'm here. And as long as I am teaching and coaching, teaching must be the top priority. After all, without them, I wouldn't have either position.
Reflection. I need to reflect better. I have this blog, so I need to take the time to use it. I constantly jot down notes, but often find I don't have the time to do anything with them. That needs to change if I am to grow.
Time for me. As it is, it is now 4:30 in the afternoon, almost 2 hours after the contractual time we are allowed to leave school, yet here I am, still in my classroom, gathering resources and organizing. I often remain here until 5 PM or later, then go home and do more work. I need to tell myself that enough is enough. If I can't get it done during my work hours, I shouldn't kill myself trying to get it done at home. I'm only a half-time coach, so I can only accomplish so much. I have to look at the small accomplishments I achieve as the successes they are. If my district truly wants to get the most out of this position, they must be the ones to commit to making it a full-time position. I'm not a miracle worker. Of course, this will also mean less that I will be offering my district, but again, I'm killing myself right now and that needs to change.

I guess those are the three big goals that I need to accomplish right now to get things back on track for me. My body has been telling me that I'm demanding too much. I need to start listening and get it back in shape. There are some roadblocks, however. I can't always have my students as the number one priority, as there are requirements of CFF that take me out of my district and, thus, away from my classroom. I have seen that it has had a negative effect on them. Grades aren't where they should be. We're a whole chapter behind where I need to be due to having to review what was to be covered when I was out.

In an ideal world, I would be able to be a CFF Coach full time. I would be able to achieve so many of the goals that I have set for myself, and would be able to assist the staff and student body to better understand what the 21st Century skills are and how to include them in their everyday instruction and learning.

Part II: Cell Phones

It's no secret that I am a big proponent of using cell phones in education. I have used them sparsely at this point, and I really want to see if I can fully integrate them as a learning tool, so my Advanced Algebra students have a treat awaiting them when we return from break.

I already have great ideas for using Poll Everywhere (and their web voting for those without cell phones) for quick feedback as to whether they understand the concepts we are covering. I tried it once, and it worked pretty well.

But I want to look at it as something more. How can we use the cameras on the phones to analyze with the math? How can we use calling features to record our thoughts? What about texting to gather information and get quick answers?

It's time to shift into driving the technology to do for us what we want it to do. True, there are many arguments out there for not allowing cell phones in schools. But they'll be there, whether we allow them or not. Why not teach the proper use?

To help me with this, I just ordered Toys to Tools by Liz Kolb, and I am using her blog as a wonderful resource. She truly inspired me last year at NECC, and now is the time for action! Over the coming months, I will be blogging about how the process is going (what works and what doesn't) as an effort to reflect more (see Part I of post) as well as to help share why we should embrace this technology in our schools.

The Best Conversation at CFF Boot Camp

2008-10-17T09:04:00.002-04:00

So far this week, I have had many conversations with many people. I have learned about widgets in wikis, saw model lessons by teachers from throughout the state, demonstrated how cell phones can be great educational tools, and talked about some of the disadvantages of Web 2.0. But the best conversation I had involved someone who had nothing to do with CFF.

We stayed in the Holiday Inn New Cumberland, which is near the Army Base in New Cumberland. As it was, there was a group of Canadian Mounties staying in our hotel as well as many people involved in the Armed Forces that needed a place to stay nearby. One of these gentlemen (a "Buck Sergeant") had been talking with various coaches throughout the week. Last night, he happened to meet up with myself and a group of my colleagues. He ended up engaging us in the best conversation I had while here at Boot Camp (not that the other one's weren't that good).

First off, this gentleman had a true interest in learning, and you could tell with the questions he was asking. He was asking questions that required deep thought, extended answers, and no easy way out. If our answers veered away from the question for just a little bit, he would redirect us to get us back on task. Maybe he should moderate the presidential debates? But one reason he was so interested in our profession was the fact that when he was done with the Armed Forces, he wants to become a teacher.

I wish I could remember his name. I wish I could remember some of the questions he asked. I wish he would come teach at our school when he gets out of the Armed Forces. As it is, between having days that are over 13 hours long and all of the conversations I've had and things I've learned, some of the more important things I want to remember have been lost. I wish our days were longer with chances at having more collaboration. And I really wish I had an audio recorder with me for my conversation last night.

A "Difficult" Student

2008-09-22T13:54:00.002-04:00

I have a student in my low-level math remediation course this year who is attempting to make things difficult on me. Little does he know, all of his difficult-ness will be turned right back on him.

We all know students like this. They haven't done well in a math course for any number of reasons in the past, and now they are stuck in the "Can't-Do-Math" Rut. I wish I could go back to the point in time in each and every one of these students' pasts and find the moment that made them think they couldn't do math and fix it for them. Instead, I have to do it after years of having them tell themselves that they can't do math.

Of course, this student started out the year with the number 1 question all math teachers face: "When will I ever use this?"

Aha! I get to use my answer. I love answering this question, as it gets the kids thinking, as they never have a response to my answer.

"I don't know. What are you doing for every second for the rest of your life?" I ask. I get dead silence. Now I'm all set up and ready to go. "Truthfully, I doubt you'll use many of the specific skills you will learn in this math class."

"Then why am I in here?" he retorts? "This is a waste of my time!"

"Well, let's start with what you want to do after high school." He responds by stating that he plans on entering the fire academy. Now I'm ready to unload. "Are all fires put out the same way? No. When the firefighters arrive at a fire, they have a variety of conditions to consider as to how to attack the fire. They have a huge problem to solve."

There it is. Solving problems. That's what math is. It's not all x's and y's and equations. Numbers are just part of the overall view. Math is problem solving. Math is about taking a situation, analyzing what is being presented, sorting through the stuff you need and the stuff you don't, and figuring out what you can do with it.

I get stunned silence. Every kid in the class is listening (which is a feat in a class like this). I can see the gears churning in each of their heads. They start seeing connections between math and the real world all of a sudden, just from getting this "new" viewpoint. The next week is spent with my class working hard, working together, solving problems.

Then today, the same student tries to be difficult again. Again, it's with a concept that is tough for students to grasp until they're willing and able to deal with the abstract. It's all fine and well for us mathematicians to use x and y as our most-used variables, because we are able to work with them in an abstract way quite easily. But our students see "x." Well, when they see that, they are used to having it equal one specific value when they solve an algebraic sentence for that variable. So when they get to the problems where x is actually just a variable and not a specific value, these students really do struggle.

So, I start by asking, "What is x?" Blank stare. "Ok, I'll take that as you don't know. That's good."

"How's that good? How else am I supposed to get an answer?" (The problem was if x + y = y, what is xy?)

"It's not about the answer. It's about working with what you have. It's about being able to take some information and make something of it." Then I get to my favorite example. "How do you get to Harrisburg?"

"Well, there are many different ways."

"Right. You could take 422 to 322 and I could take 81. Either way, we both get to Harrisburg. But it's not about being there, it's about getting there, and in order to get there, you have to start somewhere. You have to start with whatever information is givn to you."

It's always a mind-blowing idea for kids to begin thinking in a more abstract way. And I love getting these difficult students because they make my job easier. They walk into my trap. They begin to realize that they can learn math.

And some of them even realize that they like it.

3rd Year and 2 Months Behind

2008-09-08T11:15:00.003-04:00

Who would have thought that going into the third year of CFF would require so much work? We have no new teachers to introduce to the program, as all of our core classes have access to the equipment (which is also why we did not get any funding for equipment this year...it would have been nice to equip some other classes, though). With that in mind, you would think that our staff was getting more comfortable with working with the equipment and would not need to call on me as much as they used to.

WRONG!

Since they are getting more comfortable using the equipment, they are working on new ways to integrate it, meaning they need me even more! I have already worked with two middle school math teachers, a Spanish teacher, our librarian, two English teachers, a math teacher, our electives teacher (yearbook, journalism, etc.), two social studies teachers, and our administration. I have a meeting with another English teacher later today, as well.

This makes me happy. It means that CFF is really having an impact. I have noticed that, overall, the students are more active in their learning. Many teachers have that extra bounce in their step from being reinvigorated. I am seeing teachers taking risks where they would not have before. I get emails that show teachers are reflecting on their instruction, learning from what works and what doesn't.

How could I be more satisfied with my colleagues? I wish they they would allow their students even more access to technology. I wish they would share theri wikispaces with their students to allow them to contribute to the learning. I wish they would see the possible benefits of cell phones in the classroom (our student news team interviewed me about that today, as they learned I used Poll Everywhere in class the other week). I wish we had our server set up so that we could access the blogging, wiki, and podcasting features of it.

I can see when many of these wishes will come true in the future. Some might be this year. Others might not be until years down the road, but I can see the shift happening. The toughest part of it all is the time constraint. My number one issue is how do I accomplish that which I have set out to do when I am still only a half-time integrator? How can I help those teachers in my school where I don't have a common time to meet with them? How can I help my colleagues learn how to balance their use of technology with traditional teaching methods, all while determining which will work best?

And of course, I'm working on all of this while I still have to go through information from NECC, sort through email and voicemail, as well as hit all sorts of other things on my to-do list (resource gathering/organizing, anyone?).

Ah, the challenges of CFF. You always keep my on my toes!

Icons!

2008-07-28T11:38:00.007-04:00

Today, I have been working on getting materials ready for my professional development sessions here at school. I was working on a handout, and I wanted to include icons on the handout. I know I can take a screen shot of just a portion of the screen, but I also remembered that I had learned about how to get various sized icons for any application on my Mac through Preview, but I couldn't remember how, at least at first. But now I remember!

I figured, what better way to make sure I remember than to blog it! Not only will I be able to access it later on, but I can also share it with everyone else! So here is a quick tutorial on how to do it!

1. Open your Applications folder. I like to do it through the Go menu, but however you want to do it will work, as well.

2. Choose the application that you want the icon for.

3. Right-click (or ctrl-click) on the icon and choose Copy "Application" ("Application" is replaced with whatever application you're working with, Firefox in my case).

4. In Preview (open Preview if you already haven't), choose New from Clipboard.

Now you have icons that you can work with! You can take these icons and drag them to iPhoto for use with any of your iWork apps. I hope this helps out anyone who was trying to figure out how to do this.

Disappointing Article

2008-07-07T12:59:00.002-04:00

So I was browsing through recommended articles for me from Yahoo!, and I see this headline: Technology reshapes America's classrooms. Of course, I immediately open the article and begin reading, thinking about how they'll talk about Bloom's new taxonomy and 21st Century skills. I was psyched that the media was finally catching wind of what we're doing in our classrooms.

Then I read the article, and I realized that there was no substance to it! The first paragraph was heading down a good road, but then the author takes a wrong turn. This article ends up talking about how computers are being used instead of textbooks (which is a good use), and then begins talking about charter schools and online classes.

WHAT?!?

Where's all the talk of collaboration? What about getting kids to find information, analyze it, and then create new information? Where's the talk of getting kids to think? "This makes me learn better. It's like playing a game." If all this author got out of technology in the classroom is learning as if students are playing games and online classes, then this guy has totally missed his mark. I think those of us in Pennsylvania should invite Jason Szep into our schools to show him what the 21st Century classroom looks like.

Going Home Already?

2008-07-03T12:35:00.003-04:00

So, here I am sitting in the airport in San Antonio. It's a bittersweet feeling, leaving a city and conference as great as NECC 2008 was. As soon as I got to the airport, I felt the need for coffee. Great, they only have Starbucks (not a Starbucks fan). Oh, wait, there's a Dunkin' Donuts here, too! Awesome. I get a French vanilla coffee and chocolate glazed donut, then notice the sign that says "Grand Opening July 8, 2008." I guess that'll be the celebration. Not sure how many people will come to the airport to celebrate, especially since they'll have to get a plane ticket!

I can't believe how many ideas I got from this conference, with the biggest ideas being for using cell phones in my classes. I cannot wait to see how this experiment will work, and I hope it will encourage others to see the possibilities this technology gives teachers. There are so many teachers that I know that are complaining they want cell phones and iPods banned. Why? Is it so bad that kids listen to music while working on a worksheet? I listen to music while I'm working all the time. And if you're worried about kids cheating by texting answers on their cells, then maybe you're not testing for the right things. No offense, but if I'm only writing a date or identifying a participle (not that I remember what they are) or writing down a memorized formula, am I really being assessed on what I know, or trivial facts I can remember?

True, there are benefits to training ourselves to remember some of these things, and it really does make many higher-order thinking problems easier to deal with. But if I need to know the date of a certain event, can't I just look it up? Shouldn't I be learning how to find the information that I need when I need it and how to analyze it to create something new or solve some problem?

Now, does this mean that we should let kids use textbooks and all resources for tests and quizzes? By all means, no. But it it something to think about when designing assessments and how you're going to deliver content.

In my district, there will be three of us teaching our Advanced Algebra courses. The original plan was to have us all collaborate to create materials to use for this year so we're all delivering roughly the same content. However, I didn't really join in on it, as I don't think I buy into it. I know I won't be teaching the class the same in April as I will be in September. And I won't be teaching it the same as I did two and three years ago. I know what I need to cover. I know what the kids need to learn. But I don't know what new methods and technologies I will be using, so it's time to try new things (again).

Over the next two months, I will be visiting the NECC page to see all of the podcasts and videos that were made available. It's like the never ending conference, and it's great! Between reading what other conference-goers have experienced and communicating with them through twitter, Plurk, email, Skype, etc., I have just enlarged my PLN to a point where the learning will not end.

Wordle

2008-07-02T17:51:00.002-04:00

Jeff Rothenberger shared this one with me from a session he saw. Wordle is amazingly easy to use, and pretty self-explanatory. You enter some words or choose a place to choose the words from. Then edit font, colors, arrangement of letters, etc. Then you're given options to print or embed after saving. Here's the first one I did, pulling in text from an earlier blog post:

Reflections on NECC 2008

2008-07-02T15:11:00.002-04:00

Don't worry, the conference hasn't ended yet. There's still the closing Keynote. But I felt I needed to sit down before then and gather a few thoughts, even though they're not mind-boggling.

First, I want to go with some new things I have learned, and I'll do them in a list format.

Pennsylvania is so far ahead of many other states thanks to Classrooms for the Future. I have talked with technology integrators from other states that don't know about so many collaboration tools or Web 2.0 apps that can be useful in education. I am so glad that we have our network of coaches and mentors (with teachers joining in now, as well) to share, collaborate, educate, discover, and everything else with.
Even though PA is ahead of the curve, I have found that there are many things that many of us still don't know and haven't seen. I saw in a session today a way to create a slider in Excel to instantly change values, which can be used in comparing graphs instantly. Now I just have to review the process and learn how to do it myself.
Apple has taken away some of their accessibility. They did not have a display on the floor. They were only running sessions. I've heard reasons as to why they have done this, but I don't know if they're true or not, so I won't list them. However, it would have been nice to have been able to stop by and just talk with some reps from Apple. I didn't need to see any equipment in order to communicate with them. I was able to talk with so many other vendors and create some contacts. I stopped by Apangea today, and the one vendor remembered me from last year! These are the connections we need to make.
I don't like having to sit down at a session at a booth to hear about your product. I don't need to see you play on an interactive whiteboard for 20 minutes when I would much prefer to ask the questions I want to ask about whatever it is I'm seeing and getting what I want to see. Next time, if a vendor says, "Why don't you sit down and watch our presentation? It'll only be 5 minutes," I don't know what I'll do. I much prefer the vendors who are more personal and willing to give me what I want.
The next big thing in education will be cell phones. There are already many great tools that can be used to integrate into education, and as more and more teachers begin to integrate this technology, we will see even more robust solutions showing up. I wonder which wireless company will be the first to push their phones as educational devices? Will they create sites and content for education?

I don't think I'm going to blog during today's Keynote. I'll probably go back and reflect on it afterward at some point, as well, as sit down and go through the stacks of paperwork that have been handed to me throughout these past few days. I hope I'll have time to view other blogs on sessions I wasn't able to attend, as well as read the reactions of others from the ones I did attend. As for now, though, it's time to file into the closing Keynote. NECC 2008, we hardly knew ye. Hope to see everyone in DC for NECC 2009!

PA Advocates for EdTech Funding

2008-07-02T14:58:00.001-04:00

Fried Pickles at Hooters?

2008-07-02T12:58:00.001-04:00

And they were good! I'm so glad I learned about posting pictures directly from my iPhone to Blogger!

On the Shoulders of Technology

2008-07-02T11:28:00.004-04:00

As I walked into this session, the presenter Frank Sobierajski had a video of a first date between and pi, which was interesting. He then showed us how he modeled a problem using Geometer's Sketchpad, where you could determine the minimum and maximum distance to place drinks on the edge of a pool, where the distance is determined on where the two friends are in the pool. It was quite neat.

Frank talked about how he was going to show us many interesting things that we may not know. He begins by showing how to create a scroll bar to adjust values in cells in Excel. He mentions that most of what he is showing he learned by playing around, including noticing that if you change the b value in a standard form equation, the vertex traces another parabola! There are many uses of sliders in Excel. He also shows how they can be used with functions to compare graphs.

He next moves into Geometer's Sketchpad and show sliders as well. This is truly amazing stuff. He started from scratch and ended up with sliders that graph a line in slope-intercept form.

Moving on to Word, we look at putting a grid in and make a triangle in it. In the end, we will have a fractal. From there, he follows the 3 r's of fractals: Reduce, replicate, repeat. Back in Sketchpad, he moves to Sierpinski's Triangle. He breezes through creating it, and it's flooring me. This is such a great constructivist session. With tools like this, you can definitely imagine having more explorations into fractals in today's classrooms. I am so glad that Frank says that we're going to get this information at the end of the session.

I'm sitting next to Pat from West Shore (he didn't even see me when he sat down), and we're constantly turning to each other and saying "Wow!" I wonder how many non-math teachers are in this session. It would be great to get their reactions.

Next is The Chaos Game, back in Excel. Basically, you plot three points to form a triangle. Then, generate (randomly) a fourth point, then plot points that are between there, finding out that if you plot enough points, you see Sierpinski's again.

Next, we see stop signs in Sketchpad. Starting with a square, give the students a chance to turn it into a stop sign, letting them explore how to do so, without previous knowledge of the details.

Moving on, we see finding the angle of descent on Millennium Force, again with Sketchpad. Following that, we see some interesting signing in hotels, schools, and hospitals. Who does this? Obviously not mathematicians!

Next, we see great ways to include photography into math lessons. Take pictures of water coming out of hoses or water fountains and have kids fit curves to it. You can even do it with so many everyday objects and apply so many different mathematical concepts to them. Why don't we all do more of this? If you want to talk about getting the real-world connections for your students, this is how.

Another way to use photography in a math class is to have a scavenger hunt having kids find cases of math in their world. Logos also have many interesting mathematical characteristics, as well.

In the end, Frank gave us a handout with an email address to access to access his content from today. Send an email to fsobierajski@nrwcs.org with subject necc08, and an instant response will be sent to allow you to access the info.

If you know anyone who wants to include more technology in their mathematics, or even if you just want to wow some friends or colleagues, check out his material. You'll see what I mean.

Exhibit floor at NECC 2008

2008-06-30T15:28:00.001-04:00

Cell Phones as Learning Tools

2008-06-30T14:55:00.002-04:00

Now here is one of the sessions I have been looking forward to. One of my main goals for this year is to integrate cell phones into my instruction, and here is the first session to do so. We start out with a poll on wiffiti. We answered a question on the percentage of schools that are providing 21st Century instruction (I guessed 29%).

The presenter for this session is Liz Kolb. Visit the wiki for the session here, and her blog and book. All of the activities we are seeing today can be done with any cell phone, so a smart phone is not needed (although there are more ideas for these smart phones).

Liz gives us four reasons to integrate cell phones in learning.

1. The number of students that have cell phones: 76%. We sent a text to polleverywhere to see how polling live can be used.

2. How do students use their cell phones? Communication, texting, and music are big!

3. How do students like to learn? They like to collaborate, they want to get things at anytime or any place, have structured activities, and have relevance to their world. How do you do this? How about ChaCha? Use 1.800.2CHACHA or text CHACHA [242 242] for an almost immediate answer.

There are also mobile blogs that are available out there. News organizations are depending on instant info from normal citizens, and many sites (CNN.com, etc.) are offering places for iReporting. We are going to become mobile citizen journalists for NECC 2008. We're looking at go@blogger.com. This is some amazing stuff. I'm going to be posting photos to my blog like crazy now!

Next is gabcast. You can podcast directly to a blog. This session is so amazing. Why are they limiting Liz to only one hour and only one session? I can't wait to get her book! If you are ever at a conference (or anywhere else) and get a chance to see Liz speak, do yourself a favor and do so! This is giving me so many great things that I can do with my students (and teachers).

We move onto Flickr and their mobile version. Then on to blip.tv. And finally Jott. There's just too much! I wish I could share more, but I was playing. Hopefully we can get Liz to come to our CFF Boot Camp this fall, and THIS is exactly what we need!

If you want more info on a session like this, please check out the links in the beginning of this post. I wish this session had a lot more time.

What's the Buzz about Technology in Afterschool?

2008-06-30T13:25:00.002-04:00

This session is being recorded as a podcast, so you can listen as soon as it's uploaded. The presenters are Marilyn Heath and Kathy Dick. There are also resources listed on this page, such as a link to the PowerPoint file. The National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning has many resources available. I am taking notes during the session, and posting at the end.

For a quality afterschool program, things that are needed are "safe, academically and socially enriching program." It's not just baby-sitting. There are many students who go home and have nobody there to supervise them until their parents go home. By having an afterschool program, opportunities for technology, the arts, and other activities are made available where they may not have been available before.

These programs do not have to be run in the school, as community groups can run these as well. There are many states who are taking part in investing in these programs, often as part of NCLB. Could this be something that could be tied into CFF, as Marilyn mentioned that many states are including this in their 21st Century initiatives.

As you look into an afterschool program, the idea is to make the instruction somewhat different from classroom instruction. How do you get the kids to benefit from a program like this when the classroom instruction model isn't working for them? This must be different as the students haven't been responding to the classroom model.

Each program offered different things, such as Lego robotics, geocaching, creating music and video, online homework support, and tutorials. There was even a program where students wer taught how to build a computer that they were able to keep in the end! What a concept! A great way to teach new skills, and also a way to help students get their own computer.

One thing that is being talked about quite a bit by Marliyn is that she is talking about looking for more creativity in the afterschool programs, which I agree with. This is a great chance to give these extra opportunities to expand on learning and skills obtained during the school day. This brings up another thought: is there creativity in the regular classroom? There is such a push for hitting the standards during the regular school day, that many teachers have said they don't have the time to be creative because they have to get through the content. We have to do well on the test, right? This is something I have seen a lot when talking with teachers. They will say, "How can I do these projects and be creative when I have to cover the content?" Why can't you do both? Creativity and covering standards are not mutually exclusive ideas. They should go hand-in-hand. Why is it that we have to expand on the school day in order to bring in creativity? Maybe these ideas could be expanded into the regular school day.

Kathy took over and started covering the toolkit and curriculum resources. As she started, she mentioned a way to get audiences (teachers or students) more attentive is to pass out Atomic Fireballs. I'm trying to check out the links they are at in the presentation, and I'm not quite able to access the same pages they are at.

These are some great resources, and they're aligned to ISTE standards, and it's helpful as the instructors may not be certified teachers. I am a bit tuned out of this session now, as it seems to be just covering the Afterschool Training Toolkit. It is nice that these lessons are broken down into fully-planned lessons, but I would like to see more of how to integrate technology in. This is more just a session on the Toolkit at this point that says there are lessons and resources out there.

A video on GPS in an afterschool program was then shown. The instructor talks about how he had to learn the technology from scratch, just like the students will, except they have him as a guide. The students are showing a lot of excitement, and it's great because it gives them a chance to apply what they have learned in geography and math classes. It also helps with extending knowledge, as the activity could be used as an activating strategy.

Watching this video has me wondering why this is an afterschool activity? There are so many possibilities for this to be used in regular instruction as well. The only difference is that there aren't standards and content to cover in an afterschool program, so there is more flexibility.

This session is getting my juices flowing. I have been thinking about starting an afterschool technology program, where I can help students discover more ways that they can use technology to enhance their lives and education. There are so many students that I see only using technology for socializing and entertainment. They don't always see how they can use these tools to create new ideas and concepts and to collaborate to extend their own knowledge.

Marilyn takes over again and offers some challenges: "How can you bring technology to afterschool? Who are decision makers that can help you accomplish this? What are your challenges? What are some solutions or options? Can the National Partnership help?" A booklet was then shared with us that contains information for helping with set up and how to include technology into the program.

In the end, the big idea I am getting from this session is that due to the flexibility available in an afterschool program, there are many opportunities for extending instruction in a fun way. Resources are available, and students are given the freedom to explore and make mistakes, all in the name of having fun learning.

NECC 2008: Keynote

2008-06-29T19:33:00.008-04:00

I'm sitting in the lobby of Ballroom C with Chris Smith, as we were waiting for Laurie Vitale and Pat Galuska to make it in from the airport. Currently, James Surowiecki is speaking on groups and making decisions. There has been much research done on how groups tend to make better decisions than individuals, but there are characteristics that the group needs, such as a diverse group and a group that has independence.

Listening to James led Chris and I to talk about the Central PA CFF Collaboration Days. We were talking about how not only do groups do well at making decisions, but they also will almost always rise to the occasion to offer the best that the group can offer. You often see this with students, as well. They don't drop to the lowest denominator in the group. They will excel to their best, often leaving the stragglers behind.

This makes me wonder about our large edtech group. Not just in our IU's or our states or our country. But everyone who is represented here in this conference. We're the leaders. We're the facilitators. We're the ones doing the collaborating. Those that aren't with us are often left behind. Think about it. There have to be teachers in your district that have just said no to technology in their classrooms. Have you tried hard to change their mind, or are you focusing on those that want to change? I know that I have focused more on those that are willing. I don't give up on those that aren't fully willing, but I don't make myself go crazy trying to get them to change, either.

So how do we advance all of education? Force the change? That won't work. There are so many diverse opinions out there that it is hard to make a solitary change. We still need to give people the choice.

With the independence part, it is important to have a group of people who are willing to do something different. But with groups, there need to be those that are going to move beyond imitation and actually creating new knowledge and new thoughts.

Going back to the Collaboration Days, I feel that our group has done that. When we all starting our collaboration, we did it on our own. We were a small group within a much larger group of CFF coaches and mentors, but we felt independent enough to start out meeting as a coach group to support each other. We all had strengths and weaknesses, and we knew it. And knowing that allowed us to grow and learn from each other. And our collaboration days grew into full teacher collaboration days that have turned out to be spectacular professional development days that have led to collaboration between teachers and classrooms and, ultimately, getting our students to collaborate with not only students in the same school, but with students in other school districts across the state of Pennsylvania.

There are things to look out for, such as talkative people. These people don't just talk a lot, but they often tend to shape the direction of the group. "This would be great if talkative people were smarter." This is James again saying that a group has better wisdom than the individual. We all know who these talkative people are. They are in every group. They will get their name out there. They will add information and talk louder. Yet, often we notice that those that speak less have better information to share. Neither of these statements is always true, but they are helpful. So make sure to spread out where you get your information from. Have a wide network of people with varying levels of experience.

This has me thinking of my twitter and plurk networks (I am misterlamb on both). I communicate with people from all over the country, and many of them I haven't met. Yet I know some things about each of these people, from where they live to who their favorite sports teams are and what they teach. I also know some of their strengths and weaknesses, and that we have helped each other with ideas without even knowing it. And I think that is the strength of groups. Not that we necessarily decide to set out and help in one particular thing, but that we help each other out without often knowing it.

Here's a scary thought

2008-06-27T10:26:00.002-04:00

In a world where we are so worried about hiring "highly qualified" teachers that have such high accountability, we see something like this. Reading this article scares me.

In other words these students will be teachers with their own classroom, their own discipline system, their own grading system, their own set of class rules without ever having student taught or for that matter without being certified or graduated from a university. The competition for math teachers has become so tight that schools are jumping the gun and hiring these students before they even student teach. As a university we are forced to give student teaching credit for the first semester of full-time, paid teaching. Is this the wave of the future for those teaching majors that are in high demand? Will special education teachers and science teachers see the same recruiting pressure in the near future?

I don't think that I would have been able to teach in my own classroom without first done a semester of student teaching. I made so many mistakes, but I had a support system that was in place to help me improve and not just get down on myself. Even now, after five years of teaching, I am still learning so much. I get to see a lot more of education as the CFF coach for our district, so I am able to incorporate so many different methods of instruction into my own. But here, we are giving classrooms to young teachers that are only a few years older than their students without having given them their full and proper training!

I would hope that our district would not hire anyone without the proper preparation and credentials. At the same time, I can see how it could come to be, as there is a smaller and smaller pool of teachers out there, all competing for the the same jobs and different districts. How do we attract and retain the good ones?

June is almost over?

2008-06-26T13:59:00.008-04:00

Who is in charge of time right now? I cannot believe that it's already June 26! I have had such a busy month. Here's a recap:

The first week of the month had the last week of school. Even though it was after finals, I was still making my students work, but not as hard as I do during the school year. I asked my Trig class to fill out an online survey about how they felt I did as a teacher. I got high marks on using technology, although I don't feel I used it as much as I could have in this upper level math course. I do much better at integrating tech in lower level classes, as it helps with motivation. So I know I need to work on that. Hopefully, using cell phones in my Advanced Algebra classes next year will do that. (I'll be looking for ideas on how to do this at NECC next week.) At the end of the first week was graduation. I have to say that I absolutely LOVED our valedictorian's speech, even in 99% of the people at graduation did not understand it. He spoke about inspiration, and it was presented as if it were a mathematical proof. I would love to have a copy of it.

The following week was full of professional development. On Monday we reflected on our day with Ken O'Connor. You can access the live blog of our original day here. We ended up not doing a lot of direct reflection on grading policies, but I believe that we opened a lot of discussion that was necessary to help with the morale of our staff. It is nice to be able to have days like this. As soon as that day was over, I hopped in my car and headed to Washington, D.C. to see the San Francisco Giants beat the Washington Nationals (4-game sweep!). Here is the view from my seat.

The rest of the week had me meeting with our math department and facilitating the second CFF course and showing teachers about the TED Talks and Skype (My Skype name is jimbo.lamb). Following these session, I began a two week tour of duty at Camp Kaleidoscope as a substitute counselor. This was awesome, as it gave me a chance to work with elementary and middle school aged kids. I'm going to miss the camp, as I might not get any more hours there this summer.

The big event for me was when I was on WITF's Smart Talk. I was asked to be on the show as part of a panel of teachers (which ended up being just two of us, as one was unable to appear) to talk about some of the issues that face education today. I was joined by Rich Askey, President of Harrisburg Education Association and music teacher. Among the things we talked about were what teachers do in the summer, how NCLB has changed the classroom, and a brief discussion on technology in education. I think I amazed host Nell Abom when I rattled off my list of what I am doing this summer (attending and running numerous professional development sessions, working two part-time jobs, finishing grad school, revisiting the curriculum for my classes, working on ways to integrate cell phones in my instruction, attending NECC and PSEA's Leadership Conference, hopefully holding open fields for soccer, and many more things). I was glad to have been able to add in some info on CFF, but our time was cut short by the previous segment on the economy. The producers of the show are hoping to have us back on the show in the fall, after the school year begins. I look forward to being on again and sharing what I know about education.

Now I am preparing for NECC. I leave from Philly early Saturday morning and will be staying at the Homewood Suites on the Riverwalk. I am hoping to live blog a few sessions from San Antonio, but I still haven't decided which shows I will be attending live and which ones I will review through other blogs. I do have to say that I am quite impressed and happy with the use of tags for sessions. I hope that those of you who aren't attending are taking full advantage of the blogosphere.

And with that, I will be drawing June to a close. I will be blogging as best as I can at NECC, and when I return to PA it will be July! Where does the summer go?

Smart Talk

2008-06-20T16:46:00.003-04:00

I did Smart Talk on WITF last night. It was supposed to be next Thursday, but they ended up getting Governor Rendell for next week's show. If you still want to see it, it will be re-airing Sunday, June 22 at noon. It was a great experience, and I will add more after the replay airs.

An interesting opportunity

2008-06-17T14:54:00.002-04:00

Last week I received an email from Wythe Keever of PSEA, asking that I be part of a panel of teachers on WITF's Smart Talk to speak on issues that face teachers today. Scott Lamar, producer of Smart Talk had this to say:

"The thinking behind this is that when the public sees or reads about education, often it's from the point of view of school board or government agencies. We thought it could be educational for the viewing audience to hear from the people who are the front lines - in the classrooms - teachers. As I mentioned in my voicemail, I'd like to get three teachers on the show - one each from rural, suburban and urban schools. I anticipate the broad conversation to be:

* Describe today's classroom. How is it different than just a few years ago? What role does technology play?
* Talk about students - how are today's kids different than their parents or the generations before? Similarities?
* What challenges do teachers face in today's classroom?
* Why are smaller class sizes so important?
* How does a teacher teach to larger classes?
* Is there too much emphasis on standardized tests? Do teachers feel like they have "teach to the test?"
* How do teachers deal with problem students?
* What would teachers recommend for improving our schools?"

So, I know what the questions are ahead of time, and I've spoken with the press before about education, so I think I won't be that nervous. It will be a great opportunity to advocate for teachers and CFF, as well as get some good press for our school district after having had some bad press recently. I know that I will have to give some political answers, but I also want to be honest. I have only taught for five years, and I also want to represent teachers as best as I can. If anyone out there has any feedback or input for me, please feel free to share.

Smart Talk will air this Thursday, June 19, live at 8 PM on WITF in Harrisburg, and will be replayed on Sunday at noo.

Totally All In

2008-06-05T20:54:00.002-04:00

So, I made the decision to continue on as CFF coach in my district. I do have to say that my support group did a great job of offering me advice and bringing things to my decision-making process that I had not considered. For the first time in my life, I think I actually took a good, long look as to where I was going in my future. I had figured that I became a math teacher after college and I would always remain as one, and I think that was an idea that I had trouble getting rid of. But when I sat and thought about where I wanted to be 5, 10, 20 years from now, I saw that there was so much more that I could accomplish and impact by continuing on as CFF coach.

Now, here I am, sitting at home after the last day of the school year. I don't have to go to school tomorrow, but I will be there, preparing for professional development that I will be facilitating. I need to get familiar with the course, determine what can be covered, and let our tech director know when he facilitates his course. I will probably have to pull two computers from a cart to help me in facilitating, as I will be working with a few different study groups and will need to be able to move them all on.

But that's not all! I have a list that's two miles long (at least that's how it feels) of things I want to get done this summer, just so I am ready to go in August. I have more professional development sessions to preapare for. I have to keep up on new technologies that surface. I have conferences to attend and present at. And, the one thing that will continue to get me through it is my professional learning community. As I move through the summer and into next school year, I will continue to rely on the Central PA CFF coaches and the coaches listserv, as well as my contacts on Twitter, Skype, the Apple Learning Interchange, and so on.

With that being said, here I am on a Thursday evening where I should be relaxing, but I had a desire to pull out my laptop and scour the web for more resources.

And I like it.

The Hardest Decision, Take 3

2008-05-27T11:41:00.002-04:00

Just had a meeting with our principal, and is still hoping that I will continue as our CFF Coach next year, even though it is only part time. He had a sketch of how it would lay our for the math department, and also had spoken to those that would be effected, in case I were to change my mind.

So, I came back and sent out an email seeking advice from my colleagues. And suddenly, one question came up that stopped me in my tracks: what are my short term and long term professional goals? I know some short term goals. I can keep them no matter what happens next year. I'll still be in the classroom either way. But I have goals that I am still trying to achieve through our CFF grant that I wouldn't be able to see through to completion if I were not in this position. And what are my long-term goals? If this position does become full time in another year, I wouldn't be in the position to be a full-time technology coach if I were to step out of this position. What if I end up wanting to go into administration (here or elsewhere)? How would me stepping down look if I were to seek that out?

Also, I'm worried about the students in my classes. There will be days where I won't be there to assist them in learning math, same as this year and last year. Yet, these students have still excelled in many ways, and they feel much more confident in ways of learning math. But if I step down and the district has to find someone new, what effect will it have on our whole staff? And how will that effect EVERY student here at A-C?

I hope that I can get some good advice from those around me. I'm glad I've already gotten some feedback, as I am now seeing things in ways I hadn't thought about before.

The Hardest Decision, Take 2

2008-05-26T13:01:00.002-04:00

The most difficult decision that I had to make in my professional career came in October of 2006. Our tech director approached me about a new position that was coming into our school as part of the Classrooms for the Future grant. We were one of the first schools to enter into the program, and both he and the rest of our admin team had me pegged for the position. He wasn't looking for an answer right away, and he provided me with some links as to what the position would entail. I checked them out and mentioned that I didn't meet all of the qualifications for the position, especially the one that says I should have a Master's and my permanent certification (I got permanent certification earlier this school year, and the Master's is coming at the end of the summer). He told me that wouldn't be a problem.

I had to think long and hard about it. There were so many variables for me to consider. I ended up emailing a few people who were in positions similar to the CFF coaching role for feedback. They gave me great advice (and I'm pretty close friends with one of them now, as she became a CFF coach for a Cohort 1 school). I talked with one of our math teachers. He warned me that our district had taken stances on similar situations in the past where they put too much work on the person in a half-and-half position, as our CFF coaching position would become. Our tech director said the position would probably become a full-time position in the near future.

Did I want to leave the classroom so early in my professional career? What would become of the classes that I would have to drop partway through the school year? Would there be a large conflict between the two positions? I decided to try out the position.

In the first year, it wasn't that bad. I did my CFF stuff in the morning and teaching in the afternoon. I was able to meet with almost every CFF teacher during my CFF time, and we learned a lot together about implementation. I had a lot of training and was out of the classroom quite a bit, but overall, it didn't have a large effect on my instruction. I learned A LOT about integrating technology into instruction, collaboration between districts, and all sorts of web tools and software. I really enjoyed this new position.

Then came year two. I still only taught 3 periods a day (first, 8th, ad 9th). I had two preps, one of which I hadn't taught before. The other might as well have been a new prep, as I completely redid the curriculum (third year in a row that I did so with this course) and eliminated the use of a textbook for an all online curriculum. So right there was a lot of work. I was my own CFF coach, so I was able to help myself out a lot. This part wasn't really all that bad.

However, year two of CFF was so different from year one, as PDE had learned a lot and was ready to change. Our Coach Boot Camp lasted one day longer than last year. There were more requirements that came about. Our local CFF Coaches group came up with some great ideas about collaboration days for subject areas. These days went off so well that we were asked to present the idea to coaches from the entire state, and now other areas are doing the same. We have 5 collaboration days overall, and I participated in an extra math collaboration day for a group that wasn't ready to collaborate when we had our first one. There were conferences, workshops, and trainings to attend. Overall, I was out of the classroom over 20 days due to CFF, and about 8 more days for non-CFF related issues. That's a lot of time I wasn't there for my students. I was able to still present the content virtually, but I wasn't available to answer questions they had. How was that fair to my students?

Also this year, we expanded from just math and English to including all four core content areas, which meant that there were twice as many teachers for me to work with. However, I could only meet with about half of them, as I was teaching when they had their free periods and they were teaching when I had mine. How could I help out these teachers who wanted to learn how to integrate the technology when there was no time to meet with them? And how was I able to do twice the amount of work with the same amount of time? I constantly had teachers and students stopping in during both my CFF time and my teaching time. I don't know how many times I had to tell a teacher on the phone, "I'm sorry, but I'm teaching right now and cannot help you with your issue."

Between having to turn teachers away and being out of the classroom so much, I felt as if I wasn't doing a good job in either of my positions, regardless of what any administrators, teachers, students, or parents said. I couldn't give either of my positions the devotion they deserved, and it was getting to me. I was having trouble sleeping and eating. I felr run down. I was forgetting things. I wasn't myself. I had to make a decision. And this decision was the second time in my short career that I had to make the most difficult decision of my career. I needed to go full-time as a CFF coach or go back to being a full-time math teacher.

Either decision was going to have a large effect on our district. I knew that I couldn't stay as half-and-half. For my students, for my teachers, and for my own health and sanity, I couldn't continue as it was. I spoke with our administrators about how this year has drained me. How it made me feel as if I wasn't doing my best work. How it was unfair to both my students and the teachers I was supposed to work with. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the budget to be able to make the CFF position full-time, so I am going to be going back to being a full-time math teacher next year. This means that one of our other math teachers will be back to half-time, and it's unfair to her, even though we both knew this was a possibility when the switch was made last year. This also means that our district will have to find another person to be CFF coach, and they will be starting from scratch. I've had two years of training and working in the position. I have a rapport with our staff. This new person will have none of that. They'll be trained from the start and will have to work on building a rapport with our staff. That will be a lot of time and money devoted there.

And I know I will miss coaching. I thouroughly enjoyed working in edtech. I've even had offers to apply at other districts so I could stay in edtech, although they were PC schools. I don't think I could switch back to PC now that I've been in an Apple district for 5 years, and I don't really want to, either. I will enjoy teaching math all day again, and it will be tough to turn people away when they ask for help, but I'm going to have to. Not only do I have a full teaching load next year, but I also have the largest aaverage class size out of all of our math teachers, and I'm sure it's going to grow by the beginning of next school year. Between that and having four preps that I will be working on integrating technology myself, my time will be fully occupied. This will put more strain on our building tech guy (who isn't always around) and the new CFF coach (who will be unfamiliar with many of the issues that would arise, being new to our school).

Then again, there would be many students would would be quite upset if I wasn't teaching next year. I've had some tell me they want to be in my class because they want to be challenged. They know that their grades won't be as high in my class as they would in another, but it's also nice to see that we have students who want to focus more on learning than on a number that's supposed to help them learn. But I digress, and I will be blogging my views on grades in a later posting, when I respond to Ken O'Connor's talk that our district hosted in April.

So, for now, I will be a full-time math teacher next year. I will miss the camaraderie of the CFF coaches. I will miss planning for collaboration days and inservices. I will miss some of the learning opportunities that CFF coaches had. But in the end, this is the decision that is best for my students and myself. The ones who will miss out are our district and the teachers. We will still only have a half-time coach who will only be able to meet with a few of our teachers, but in the end, it works out best for the most, and from an educator's point of view, for those most effected: my students.

Back to the same old argument

2008-05-07T11:21:00.003-04:00

It seems that some conversations that are held with/among my colleagues are somewhat cyclical. An issue arises, we discuss, disagree, agree to disagree, and then come back around to it later down the road.

One of these arguments/discussions that is going on at the moment is about student email. Many districts do not allow their students to access their personal email through the school's network, but they issue student email addresses that allow for only certain domains to get through. Others block all access and do not issue email address. Then there are some schools that allow access to personal email. Who is right? Is anyone right?

In an ideal world, all districts could just open up this access. Let the kids obtain personal email, as they may use it as a way to transfer files from a home computer to a school computer so they can work both from home and at school. It also allows for more open communication between teachers and students.

However, we do not live in an ideal world. When a district opens up personal email, they open themselves up to viruses, SPAM, spyware, etc., depending on filters and antivirus software, as well as the diligence of the teachers and tech staff. However, teachers and tech staff can only monitor so much, antivirus software needs constant updating, and students will always find ways around filters (which isn't completely a bad thing, as skills go, but I'll talk about that later).

Now, with Web2.0 (or is it Web3.0 now?) being fully encompassed my classrooms across the country, there is a high need to have access to email so students can register for many of the tools out there. True, there are many of these tools that have come up with solutions to these problems, such as wikispaces and Google allowing a teacher to contact them with student info so usernames and passwords can be generated. Then again, what happens when a student forgets a password? Does the teacher really need to have one more thing to do?

I long for the day when education drives industry, instead of the other way around. Why is it that we, as educators, often wait for something to happen in industry before utilizing the skill in our classroom? If we know there are benefits to having these technologies available for use as tools for education, why are we restricting these opportunities?

I, for one, am glad that students have found ways to get around the filter at our school numerous times. True, there are instances where I have had to deal with students who are accessing inappropriate materials in school. You will always have inappropriate uses of technology as long as it is around. There will always be games on graphing calculators. There will always be kids texting on their cells while keeping the phones in their pocket so the teacher can't see. There will always be kids who figure out how to override a filter so they can play Tetris in study hall.

My goal for next year is to try and utilize these skills in my classes to help my students achieve. My summer will be filled with researching how to use cell phones and iPods in my classroom. I want to find a grant that might help me obtain an iPod cart for use in our school. I want to continue to find new ways to include various technologies into everyday instruction and learning. And I want my students to help lead some of this. Afterall, it is their education. I am also going to run some technology sessions after school for those interested in learning more about and exploring technology and possible uses. I want kids to think about ways to beat the filter. I want to learn those ways and learn how we can use these methods to improve filtering, but also to get the students to think in ways other than how we've always thought. If we are in charge of moving these students not only into the 21st Century, but to mold them into the leaders and thinkers of tomorrow, I think we better start right here and now.

A-C Ag Demo: Castration

2008-04-17T09:55:00.001-04:00

Due to an issue that has come up, this demo will now be held on Tuesday, April 22 at 11:15 and 12:15. See the post below for more info.

Castration?!

2008-04-16T21:59:00.002-04:00

On Friday, one of my students will be doing a demonstration of a castration on two sheep during school for two of the agriculture classes. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn about some of the things that happen on farms. After all, not all of our Ag kids are on farms.

As soon as I heard this, I thought of what a great opportunity this could be. How many students out there get to see things like this? Plus, with CFF and the opportunities that we have online, why not stream this out to the world?

So, on Friday, April 18, at 11:15 and again at 12:15, we will be broadcasting live (barring any unforeseen issues). The student will be doing the castration, clipping the tails, and also speaking about artificial insemination. This is a great opportunity for this student to really show what he can do with his animals (he has shown many sheep and won many awards), and it also give our ag program a chance to show off a really neat thing. It also allows other districts to witness something they otherwise may never get a chance to experience.

Follow this link or copy and paste: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/a-c-animal-castration

Collaboration Day

2008-04-10T12:28:00.005-04:00

I had the opportunity to speak at a math collaboration day at Gettysburg High School yesterday for teachers and CFF coaches in IU12. At first, I was just being asked to be there as a "veteran" CFF math teacher, being in the second year of the CFF grant. I say "veteran" due to the fact that I am still only in my fifth year as a teacher, and I still think that I have way too much growth to do to be called an expert.

Tuesday afternoon, I get an email asking if I could do a second presentation to the entire group. Sure, why not? I find it too hard to say no when I get a chance to speak about something I feel strongly about. So I stay up till who knows when working on finishing links, etc. for my presentation wiki and also on the Keynote for the group presentation.

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It was amazing to be able to have an impact on the teachers that were there. After I spoke, a few came up to me with questions and ideas. I offered encouragement for the ideas, and had to still work on trying to convince those with questions about why we should make the switch.

The big thing to remember is that it won't happen immediately, and it's not something that should be toiled over. Take risks with your lessons and let the students start discovering. You might be amazed with what they can come up with. Isn't that how math was originally discovered?

Professional Development

2008-04-08T18:33:00.003-04:00

Recently read this article, which talks about professional development in today's schools. It is amazing as to how much PD has changed just in the five years I have been teaching (has it been that long already?). These two paragraphs really jumped out at me:

The biggest shift has been away from regularly scheduled professional development sessions to a just-in-time approach to professional development. With this new approach, teachers regularly communicate with an on-site instructional technology specialist, enabling them to quickly and efficiently address any questions or issues. This is the most effective method to ensure that teachers are constantly engaging and integrating technology. The instructional technology specialist's ongoing assistance and support encourages teachers to try new teaching methods and reinforces material taught during more formal professional development sessions.
This shift to accessible professional development can't be emphasized enough. It's no longer sufficient for teachers to attend a workshop, learn a slew of computer applications, and then be expected to use those applications when they return to their classrooms. Educators like Gates are continually making the point that professional development needs to be always accessible and always relevant: The technology is a way to make the instruction more engaging; it's not an end in and of itself. Rother points out: "As teachers become more tech-savvy, professional development focuses on the seamless integration of technology into the daily curriculum, rather than on merely how to use technology."

As CFF coach in my district, I am the one who supplies this just-in-time training to our staff and students in our secondary building. I have so many plans to expand what we do. I am working on a CFF wikipage for our teachers and students to access. I currently have a page that I designed with Nvu, but I like the features and availability of wikispaces more, so I'm working on making that switch.

I am also working on including as many teachers as possible, and each week I see more teachers getting involved. This week, one of our FCS teachers showed me her wiki. One unfortunate thing about her schedule and mine is that we don't have a common time to meet, so I wasn't able to help her out as much as I could. However, since I have a group of students who post to my class wiki as part of their summarization of lessons. This group of students was able to help the FCS teacher with creating her wiki. I was so proud of both the teacher and my students. Then the teacher mentioned to me about how she had learned many of the features of wikispaces by trying things out.

That's also one thing that I have been stressing to our teachers (and students): try something. I can't recall the number of times I have had a teacher approach me saying, "I don't want to break my computer!" I have to tell them that they won't! I have told them that there is an "undo" on their computers for a reason. Still, many are reluctant to take the risks, and that's one of my greatest difficulties. How can I get teachers to take the risks to expand if I may not be available to help them out when a problem arises?

Hopefully, as different issues arise, I will be able to make videos to post as how to's for fixes for when I'm not available. The Central PA CFF Coaches have created a How To wiki to start this out, and as time goes on, we should see more how to's on there. Bear with us, as each of us only has so much time each day. If you have any good ones, please add them!

Tomorrow I will be presenting at a math collaboration day in a neighboring area, and I've had a lot put on my plate. I like the challenge. But I think I'm falling victim to a the feeling that I'm-not-better-than-these-other-teachers and I'm-still-a-young-teacher-itis, and I often feel that I still have so much to learn, and I do. This could be a bad feeling, or it could be the feeling that keeps me growing as an educator. I have to realize that there are things I can share, as there are things I can do and know that others don't. I also have to realize that there is always room for growth, and I need to continue striving to take the next step as an educator.

Other countries?!

2008-04-02T19:07:00.005-04:00

I just checked out the usage statistics on the wiki I use with my Trig class and saw this graphic. There are people from Singapore (SG) and Hungary (HU) viewing what my students are doing? This is something I definitely need to share with them. I know we always talk about how connected (and "flat") the world is, but it's always neat to actually see it!

I wonder how this will effect the posts that they create? Will the get better? How will they feel actually KNOWING that there are people around the world looking at what they're doing?

Reflecting

2008-04-02T17:43:00.002-04:00

As a CFF Coach, one of the things we are to encourage our teachers to do is reflect. Yet, here I am, not being able to find time to reflect. There is a lot that I feel I need to get out, but how? This week, I am proctoring PSSA's was out of the district most of the day Monday, we have an adjusted schedule on Friday, and I still have hundreds of emails to read and resources to assess. At the same time, I am looking for lesson plans for a special ed. teacher, creating some usable audio files for the same teacher, being asked to create blogs this week by an English teacher (after I let everyone know that due to PSSA proctoring I would not have time), I have teachers coming to me with questions during PSSA testing, notes and resources from PETE&C I still need to go over, grading for my three classes to finish up (including comments), continue adjusting/creating lessons for my classes (one of which is a new prep and the other two being completely redone to be completely online), leaving early to coach soccer, paying bills, cleaning, laundry, working a second job, and maybe sleeping.

Okay, I got that all out and off my chest, now I can do some reflecting.

Many of my students are explaining to me how helpful using my wiki has been for them. Good. I like the feedback, now tell me what else you need of me. I feel so bad for my students, as I am not even here for them over 10% of the school year due to coaching. And that kills me. How can I be there for my students when I'm not there as much as I should be? They have expressed their frustrations, and they know mine, so at least there is an understanding there.

A few of the teachers in my district are not happy that I am not available to them as a CFF coach because I am teaching during their prep periods. And this year, we have twice as many CFF teachers, and the rest of the staff (middle school, non-core curriculum areas) are anxious to delve into the world of EdTech. It's so great to see them wanting to do everything, yet they don't have the support they need.

I have told my administrators that I cannot continue trying to do both jobs half the time, as they require much more attention than I can currently afford them. I have expressed my desire (for my health and sanity) to become either a full-time coach or go back to a full-time math teacher. I cannot physically, mentally, or emotionally continue attempting to find a balance. There is no balance as there is so much overlap. Teachers calling while I'm teaching. Students in and out while I'm doing tech stuff. Piles of paperwork and miles of emails and lists of articles and blogs to catch up on! I've fallen behind and I don't know how I can catch up!

So, here's the dilemma. If I go back to being a full-time teacher, then our one math teacher goes back to half-time, which isn't very fair to her. Plus, we need to find a new CFF coach, who potentially could be someone from outside the district. How long will it take them to become familiar with our district and teachers? How much time and money is lost there? True, there is a $30,000 coaching stipend to help cover that, but it's not enough to cover a full-time coach, as well as benefits from the district. So, we're still left with only a half-time coach, which still only allows part of our staff to meet with them.

If I stay half-and-half, our other math teacher gets to remain full-time, but I go crazy. And, neither my students nor staff get 100% from me (which I cannot do to either group anymore).

What do I do? I have so many plans and ideas that I would love to work on as CFF Coach. But I need the time and support to do them, and our teachers need time and support from a coach, and my students need time and support and devotion from me.

Don't Study in Ways That Help You!

2008-03-07T11:20:00.003-05:00

Wow. I read this link, and it has me quite furious! Here is another link to a CBC article on the same issue.

Basically, Ryerson University is saying that studying with someone else is cheating. Their intent, I believe, is to make sure that students don't abuse the internet and networking, and they are truly concerned over making sure that their students learn the content.

However, how many times have you gone into a study hall in a high school or at a university in any number of areas, and seen a group of students studying together? Isn't that the same? It's just a different forum. It's online as opposed to face-to-face.

Now, I think that this is a GREAT way to use social networking in education. As a CFF Coach, I use my network ALL THE TIME. I don't get accused of cheating. I get thanked for being able to access the knowledge to learn and share with others. Let's face it. Learning IS social. That's why we go to schools instead of learning just by reading on our own. In the 21st Century it's not about knowing facts anymore. It's about being able to find the facts, analyze them, and apply them, and being able to work with others.

Now, there is also the fact that some homework answers were posted online. Now we're in the part where we get to trouble. There is a difference between studying together and just posting and taking answers from someone else. I imagine that is the issue, and that is wrong. But, since there is one small part that is bad, the university is attempting to take away to good with the bad.

The way I see it, this university has two options: The first is to expel the young man that was the moderator of the group, even though he did not post any answers. This will lead to a large resistance by the student body, as they will see this as going against everything they have been learning and how they have been learning. The second option is to work on assessing the problem. All sides need to look at what the pros and cons are of new technologies. Both sides need to work together to reach a compromise. Accountability needs to lay on both the students and the university staff. The students need to make sure that if someone is misusing the technology, they point it out. The staff needs to make sure to lay out the guidelines as to how they expect to see this used. And don't restrict it, promote it. Model it. The more the staff takes the lead in these situations, the better these situations will end.

From Google Docs and Spreadsheets?

2008-03-04T13:01:00.004-05:00

First, they give us forms for spreadsheets. Now this?

Why didn't I know about this a month ago? So I can post a blog directly, through my cell phone (Jott), and Google Docs and Spreadsheets.

This will allow for collection and sharing of data to be even nicer. If I do an experiment where my students gather data and enter it in a form for my Google Spreadsheet, I could just have that data posted to my blog so they can view it? I don't have to have them sign in to anything? Hmm...

Still catching up after PETE&C

2008-03-04T12:46:00.002-05:00

What's that you say? It's March 4 and PETE&C ended on February 12? Where has the time gone? I would have loved to have been able to live blog from PETE&C, but I didn't want to have to fight the network, which had to happen quite a bit. On top of that, I had to pick up my materials the first day, and then driving back and forth on top of that made for some long days. I think I might stay at the Lodge next year, which will lead to an even more rich experience for the entire conference.

With that being said, I am going to be getting through as many postings from what I saw as I can, while multitasking at a collaboration day for Science teachers at Warwick High School. Right now, we are viewing an iMovie created by students dealing with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. I have noticed that they have the Ken Burns effects turned on, but they didn't edit any of the animations. Their content is great, but seeing the same animation over and over makes me a little seasick. That's definitely one thing to keep in mind as you demonstrate iMovie to students: introduce some elements of design into the design of the project. The content is still the number one thing for them to focus on, but the use of the tools will help them out down the road as well.

When working on a project like this iMovie, it is important to reflect on what worked well and what might need tweaked for future assignments. Before working with creation of the project, make sure that research is done, as well as a script. If students get their planning done ahead of time, it will lead to a much smoother creation of the final project. You may want to model this to your students to show them how planning can make a huge difference.

Anyway, I am going to be adding posts about PETE&C as I go until I get them done. Then it'll be back to regular blogginG: talking about other facets of edtech, comics, and hockey.

PETE&C 2008...We Hardly Knew Ye

2008-02-14T11:17:00.002-05:00

Well, PETE&C ended two days ago, and I am still attempting to reflect on it. I learned a lot, but I have not had time to sit down and process all of the great things I saw and learned. I almost wish we would have had a snow day yesterday so I could have taken the time to go through everything I experienced. However, yesterday I came back to teaching three periods, being in an English teacher's room for two, and trying to figure out what had happened over the past two days and reading missed emails over the rest of the day. It was very busy.

Over the next couple days, I should have a chance to gather my thoughts and reflect on what I have learned (21st Century skills, be proud of me!). We continue to stress the importance of reflecting in learning and teaching, and this will be a great opportunity to do that.

In the meantime, you can check Reporting Back to see summaries on the various sessions from PETE&C. I will be adding my summaries on there, as well.

PETE&C Weather

2008-02-12T12:40:00.000-05:00

Ah, the weather at PETE&C...No longer do we see Farm Show weather. For the second year in a row, we have snow on Tuesday, and people are leaving early. At least that means I can get into sessions. However, the sessions this morning weren't all that exciting, so I hit the exhibit hall instead and got some good stuff there. I'll be sharing later when I get a little more time. Check back soon as well for my reflections on the sessions I attended.

PETE&C: Pre-Conferences at A-C

2008-02-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

Today, I asked if it would be alright for me to come to school to get some work done while the building was open for PETE&C pre-conference sessions. Our tech director had no problem with it, so I was quite happy. Of course, I wasn't just here to get work done for my classes, I was also here to help out with any issues that may have popped up during the sessions, especially since I knew how particular our filter could be. Lo and behold, we have quite a few issues with the filter, which has led us to learn quite a bit about how it runs and acts.

Days like this are nice and frustrating all at the same time. It's frustrating due to the issues that the session presenters and attendees encountered. I know the feeling. Anyone who does anything with technology knows the frustrations. Especially educators.

Educators are placed in a tough position. We have to make sure that students do not access inappropriate materials while in the building. Sites such as YouTube, Flickr, and others might be blocked due to some objectionable content on those sites. However, there are many great educational uses for these sites, as well. How is the balance found? How do filters assist or add to the problems? Why do some schools open up access to all, while others open access to teachers, and others yet do not allow anyone access?

The best thing these sites could do is create an education format within their programming, or something similar to Google's safe search. (Can you believe that Google was once blocked in many districts?) Why not have SkoolFlickr? There's already a TeacherTube.

In the end, there will always be a need for filtering. The internet is just too wide open. Yet, even though there is a filter, there will also always be people who find ways around it. There will always be that next great thing that can't be accessed for a while. And, as educators, we need to be patient. We need to educate our students as to why we need to filter and proper uses of the technology, so that the importance of a filter diminishes. School has changed so much in the past decade, and it's only going to be changing quicker and technology advances.

PETE&C: The First Post

2008-02-09T12:09:00.000-05:00

Waterless urinals.

That's right, there are waterless urinals in the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, but not in all of the bathrooms. Why in some but not in others? How is this sanitary again? I would go into more details, but I'll just let you check the link.

We're presenting on our collaboration days today for the rest of the coaching community to see what we're doing. I think the hope is that other areas in the state see what we're doing, think about what works for us, and then have those other areas arrange for something similar (by all means, our way is not the only way) for their teachers to collaborate, as well. I know it is very exciting for us and allows for our teachers to learn so much more and to continue moving us into the 21st Century.

PETE&C 2008!

2008-02-08T16:15:00.000-05:00

Technology:
It's hard to believe, but PETE&C 2008 is here! Well, technically, the pre-conference stuff starts tomorrow, and the conference begins Monday. When you think about it, though, isn't the pre-conference really part of the conference? Although, if you include that, then what about the planning that goes into it? Discussing with colleagues, creating/presenting sessions elsewhere...I guess the conference is just the part where we can get all of us together in one physical place as opposed to a virtual place. Either way, I'm excited, even though Jim Gates told me there would be more people there this year than there were last year. Good luck to all of us for getting into the various sessions. Although, I have found I learn more when I'm not in the sessions than when I'm actually in one.

Hockey:
The Ducks are back on track! Now Teemu Selanne has returned and the Ducks broke out of their scoring slump and their losing streak.

The Washington Capitals are a really exciting team. You know, the team that was the worst in the league on Thanksgiving when they fired coach Glen Hanlon and promoted Bruce Boudreau to interim and then head coach? Well, they're in first place now. They have one of the most exciting players in the league (Alex Ovechkin), a highly underrated blue-liner (Mike Green), and a team that is playing as a team. It's so much fun to watch Ovie get so excited after every Caps goal, whether he scores it or someone else or whatever. I know Bucci has criticized the long-term deal that Ovie signed, but I don't think Ovie is playing for the money (well, he is a little, you can't expect them to play for free), and bu signing the long-term deal, he has been able to ensure a future for him AND Washington. True, he could have possibly signed a bigger money deal down the road. But what happens in a salary cap league where one player takes up a chunk of change? By doing this, Ovie has allowed for more money to be spread around to his current and future teammates, possibly allowing the Caps to attract another big star to this team. And that will only help him out. So I say bravo to this deal.

Did you see the Coyotes' Chris Weller drop Ole-Kristian Tollefsen from the Blue Jackets last night? Wow. He deserved that match penalty.

What a great new tool!

2008-02-07T09:04:00.000-05:00

EdTech:
Google does it again! Yesterday, they announced the creation of forms on Google Docs to allow for quick, easy input of data into a spreadsheet. You can create a form for what info you want and share the form. The form can be sent out as an email, but we have found there are still some kinks with filling it out in the email. However, using the link, you can have people enter their data and it will automatically fill in on your Google Spreadsheet for all to see!

This could be a great tool for in the classroom. Imagine being able to use the data from an experiment run earlier in the day? You can get a better sample space to work with to analyze data. My science and math teachers will love this! Check it out and play around.

Time is (not) on my side

2008-02-06T08:33:00.000-05:00

As a CFF school, we have a position called "CFF Coach," who is someone who is available to assist the other teachers on staff with integrating technology into their lessons. Currently, I only coach half time, and I do not feel as if I am doing a good job as a Coach (even though I have gotten positive feedback from my teachers). Here are a few reasons why I feel this way:

I still teach half the day. If a student shows up during my coaching time seeking help, I will stop what I'm doing to help them. This could mean that I put off doing research for a teacher or stop in my own personal professional development.
Personal professional development. I do a lot of this. There is so much to learn out there, and at times I feel as if I know a lot, and other times I feel as if I know nothing. Being a half-time coach, I only have so many hours in a day to learn the new things I need to learn.
I can't meet with all of my teachers. I teach when they're free. They teach when I'm free. When am I supposed to sit down with them to discuss integrating technology? Who is going to guide these teachers? If they don't receive the guidance they need, will they be able to do the things that teachers who have had a chance to work with me?
My two positions interfere with each other. I'm a CFF teacher, which means I am also my own CFF Coach. But that also means that when there is a full-day CFF function I must attend (Boot Camp, local CFF curriculum days, PETE&C, etc.), I am not in my classroom. I have already missed 9 days in the classroom due to CFF, and have at least 8 more. 17 instruction days where the teacher isn't there? And then, the day after I am out, I often have to reteach the lesson that was to be covered while I was out.

I don't know how we do it with me as a half-time coach. It wasn't as bad when I only had the math and English teachers to work with, but now I have to try and find time to work with the science and social studies teachers, too. When will I do this when I didn't have time when I only had half the teachers to work with? What about other tech issues that come up and neither our building tech or tech director are available?

I don't worry often, but this is one thing that has had me worried a lot lately. I can't handle being a half-time coach, half-time teacher. I can't devote enough time to either position to feel I am giving 100%. That's not fair to my students. That's not fair to my teachers. That's not fair to my school district. That's not fair to me.

Hey. I'm sitting here,...

2008-02-04T22:09:00.001-05:00

Hey. I'm sitting here, trying to use Jott to add a post to my Blog. It's says I can actually set it up to do that. So, it would be interesting to actually post my thoughts on my Blog, they are going through my head. And then come back and speak about them and type about them later. listen

Powered by Jott

A Newfound Enthusiasm

2008-01-28T23:19:00.000-05:00

Technology and Education:
It's not often that I don't get reinvigorated to do my job. With how fast technology grows and different ways of implementing are thought up, I am constantly getting some new energy to pour into my work. It's a wonderful feeling.

Tonight, we had a class meeting for our practicum course for grad program. I am currently in the process of obtaining my Master's and IST certification through Philadelphia University, and I am at the two courses that end my study. I'm not worried about putting things together for my portfolios, etc. I know I'll do fine with them. What got me going were some of the interactions I had during class.

First, one of my classmates had an ASUS EeePC with her, and I got to play around with it. We discussed the pros and cons of it (it has Skype; but not the same version we were used to on our regular computers; the small keyboard takes some getting used to; very durable; Flash-based memory -- which of these are pros, and which are cons?), and how it could be beneficial to education. I see this as being something that could be used in elementary level classrooms, and it would be a great way to open up our younger students to varying technologies. No offense to all of you Windows users out there, but why must we continue to let Microsoft dominate our computers? Start these kids out with Linux (and an option to run XP), as well as a boatload of open source software. Not to mention the relatively low price!

It was amazing how, when I could have left after the 36 minutes it took for us discuss the issues for our practicum, that there were many of us who stayed around and discussed various issues, such as Classrooms for the Future and professional development. I am excited to complete my Master's, but I am also excited to see how the use of technology in education continues to advance.

Comics:
On an more fun note, I noticed that Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics EIC will be on The Colbert Report tomorrow. It will be interesting to see where the discussion goes, and how much Colbert knows probably the two biggest issues facing Marvel right now: The new Captain America (the last one died) and Spider-Man's deal with the devil, and what that deal did with continuity.

Hockey:
Also, Teemu Selanne has returned! This is big news for the Anaheim Ducks, as this helps to complete the team that won the Stanley Cup last year. True, the Ducks have lost Dustin Penner, Ilya Bryzgalov, and Andy McDonald, but have gained Mathieu Schneider, Doug Weight, and Todd Bertuzzi. With the addition of Selanne to the line-up, I can see the Ducks of course, moving one of the younger guys back down to Portland and also trading one of their defensemen (Huskins, DiPenta, or O'Donnell), though at the same time, you never know what Burke is going to do.

The one thing that gets me about this move is that there is some talk out there about this being a bad move. The Ducks are messing with chemistry (Selanne doesn't have McDonald as a center and there are only 29 games left). Selanne now risks not going out on top. With the Ducks, it has been interesting to see how they dealt with their two stars that almost retired: there was no pressure to make a decision, which allowed them to fully assess whether they could live without hockey yet or not. A big question now is what happens if Selanne wants to return again next year? Can the Ducks make the cap room? I'm excited to be able to see them play this Saturday in Philly.