It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It is the time of the year when it begins to dawn on educators across Virginia, and elsewhere, that end of the year testing is rapidly approaching. Granted it is only the beginning of May but these first few weeks seem to propel us forward into June at an alarming rate. We begin to question our methods, our strategies and practically everything we have done from the beginning of the year till now. Therefore this blog entry is dedicated to all of the info I have shared before in my wiki. Testing, testing, testing!

During Testing

During SOL testing we are unable to stream video. Since our testing is online, streaming video could potentially disconnect a student from the testing site. THS shares network resources with other schools in YCSD. This does not mean we have less than other schools, only that our system is configured so that what we do affects each other. Which means that on days that other schools are testing we also cannot stream video.
IT sent out the following information this year.

Network and Internet Use Guidelines during division SOL testing

• There should be no streaming occurring during the SOL testing window.  Using the Internet to listen to radio programs, watch CNN or any other television program, viewing Daily Press video clips, or anything similar in nature that moves, play music, or is animated is typically streaming traffic and is bandwidth intensive. Every school has cable television; teachers may use this to watch programs as appropriate, as this has no impact on the network. This includes streaming Channel 1.
  
• Acceptable use of the network during the SOL testing window includes accessing applications such as email, Microsoft office, grade quick, card catalog, y: drive, locally installed files, files on a thumb drive or CD, and instructional applications.  Uploads and downloads of large files such a Nero image files, photos, and United Streaming videos should be avoided. This includes video conferencing such as Skype.
• For the first time the division will be using the laptops to test wirelessly.  Division owned iPods, iPads, and BYOT devices as well as any and all other wireless devices will compete with these laptops for wireless resources. Students and staff should be advised to shut off all wireless connections on these devices and only use applications installed on the device.  None of these devices should be used in the vicinity of the wireless testing areas of the building.  If staff and students do not know how to turn off the wireless settings on their devices, they should remain powered off during the testing period.      
• These guidelines are monitored by IT. If you violate these guidelines, your network privileges may be suspended during testing.
  

Several teachers have asked about saving video resources to utilize during this time period. Remember, if you use United Streaming, you can easily download any needed instructional resource. For those of you who have found resources on sites such as YouTube I recommend using Zamzar to save these files.

Even though the labs and laptop carts will be utilized during testing you still have many other resources available to you. Currently we have a classroom set of iPod Touches that are able to connect to the Internet. At this time they have a wealth of resources on them including apps, podcasts and videos. If there is content specific resources you would like to add to them I will be more than happy to. Just let me know. Along those same lines we also have many iPads available for check out. See me if you are interested. Please be cautioned that streaming video is not allowed on these devices either.

A current list of apps  is available on my Edline site. We also have FlipCams,Qwizdom systems and webcams for those of you planning end of the year activities. These are available for checkout through the library.

If you are interested in your students receiving more practice prior to SOL time the following might be helpful. Many of you are already familiar with these sites. We also have ePats available for online testing simulation.

Interactive Quizzes by Tami Maloney
Virginia SOL
SOLPass: Limited Resources Some resources require a login.Jeffereson Lab: Science and Math

Differentiation by Choice

I have a confession to make. I started out my teaching career teaching gifted students in an inclusive program.  This does not lend me “street cred” in the teaching community I realize. However, this experience provided me the opportunity to experiment with different teaching methods that I may not have tried in other circumstances. It also helped to color my classroom methodology as I worked with a wide variety of students in years to come. One of the many things that I came to realize was that although I needed to be prepared and have everything planned out, I did not have to control every facet of my students’ learning.  I could allow them choice in how they wanted to share information and choice as to how they felt most comfortable presenting to the class. As a result of that, I had students who were enthusiastic about creating projects. I didn’t hear a chorus of “not another PowerPoint!”

 It is a message I carry with me today as I work with teachers. We still need to provide support and guidance but we don’t always need to steer the car. When I collaborate with educators to develop projects I generally provide them with a sample template of a choice board. This board can be adapted to meet any needs of the classroom and to reflect the resources that are available. Oftentimes, people expect me to only include technology based projects in my options but honestly, I like to include an option for students to create handmade objects also or some type of performance. That is probably the option I would have selected growing up.

You do not need to be an expert in all of the items you put on your choice board either. Most of our students are able to figure out how to work the various technologies. (If not, that may be an excellent opportunity to pull in a resource teacher or have the student do a little research.) Providing choice also helps to require fewer resources. Instead of needing a computer lab to create a project you may only need 5 laptops and a few cameras. The upside to using a template with a table type format is that the students can circle what type of project they are creating and then turn it in to you. This will give you an opportunity to reserve the resources that will be needed. Feel free to contact me if you'd like for me to send you the choice board I created for my students.

Resources:

·         http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Choice+Boards

·         http://specialed.about.com/od/teacherstrategies/a/differentiated.htm

·         http://faculty.soe.syr.edu/jcauston//documents/Science%20Think%20Tac%20Toe.pdf

·         http://challengebychoice.wordpress.com/

·         http://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/differentiated_instruction_udl

Embracing BYOT: Bring Your Own Technology

As I work with classrooms throughout Tabb I am quite pleased to see the myriad of ways that teachers are incorporating BYOT into their instruction. From carefully planned activities, to a casual way to take notes, everyone has their own plan in mind. The transition to having students bring their own devices should not be a difficult one. Most of us realize that they have been doing so all along, so why not harness that resource for instruction?

I recently attended a session where there was much talk about gauging the instructional effectiveness of BYOT. How can we measure the impact on instruction? (A quantitative study of this magnitude would be a huge undertaking.)  It struck me afterwards that we were going about it wrong. Technology has had a definitive impact on instruction.  Our society has changed so drastically that there is no real way around not utilizing it. It is like an extension of self for learners of today. To question the effectiveness of BYOT is similar to questioning the effectiveness of using technology itself. With BYOT we are not really using a novel approach but merely changing the ownership of the device.

http://edreach.us/2011/05/22/the-future-of-ed-tech-is-%E2%80%9Cbring-your-own-device%E2%80%9D-byod/

If you spend some time reading current articles about how the workplace is changing you may see that the concept of BYOT or BYOD is spreading out to include companies. Many IT companies are currently researching the cost effectiveness of having employees utilize their own devices at work.

http://www.businessinsider.com/bring-your-own-device-programs-invade-the-workplace-2011-9

As this type of practice becomes more common the discussion as to whether we should proceed with this policy will become irrelevant. Instead of questioning its direct impact maybe we should look at the indirect impact.

Allowing BYOT in our schools:

·         Frees up technology resources so that more classrooms have access to them

·         Allows students to stay more organized since they are able to use their own calendar and note taking functions

·         Uses less paper

·         May decrease the burden of repairing devices currently owned by the school

·         Provides for easier access to resources for students

Just to name a few…

If you are still not sure, come see me and I’ll be happy to find ways that BYOT can lighten your load in the classroom.

Research that supports the effectiveness of techology in the classroom: http://siia.net/visionk20/pages/evidence.html

A Brave New World

           In the past, science fiction writers envisioned a world overrun with technology, where humans did little more than exist. You may wonder, as I often do, where our flying cars and transportation devices are.  However, when looking at the rapid advancement of technology it appears our world has changed in the blink of an eye. In my lifetime alone, I have seen so many innovations it is mind boggling. I can only imagine how my parents must feel. For the most part my children and the students I work with do not know what is like to live in a world without personal computers, cell phones, and hand-held devices. In the future, their world will be driven by even more technology.

My experience working in the schools has enabled me to see that promoting technology integration is not always an easy sell. I am fortunate to have the candor of my colleagues as they share with me their reasoning behind not using it. I do understand their issues with it and am empathetic to their needs. Still I believe that behind all of this resistance is a small spark of hope that all of this change is not really happening or that it will come to a standstill. In the protective bubble of our classroom it is very easy to be lulled into this sense. That is why it is imperative to keep abreast of what is being developed by scientists and researchers. In order to provide the best education for our students we need to be cognizant of what they will need to be a productive adult in our society and actually enable them to use these tools as they learn. It is no longer about a basic set of technology skills but a different way of thinking. Their technology use is an extension of self, not just a means to an end.

I think it is easier to illustrate this shift through two short videos that demonstrate emerging technologies and what is currently in development. This does not even encompass all that is out there. If you are interested in what is possible at this time you may want to do some further research (or Google) nanotechnology, invisibility cloaks, teleportation devices, and the physics of both Star Trek and Star Wars. Institutions such as Duke University and MIT are currently working on researching how to make “science fiction” based ideas a reality. I hope that this inspires you to try something new in your classroom.

Sixth Sense Technology: Has already been created, if you go to his website through MIT it gives you directions for building your own.

Microsoft's Vision for the Future: Already in Development

Backchanneling: Giving Students a Voice...Just Not a Loud One

A few years back I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a presentation given by Alan November. During this session, he literally wowed us with ideas for integrating technology into the classroom. I believe it is the first and possibly the only time I have had chills during a professional development activity. Since then I have been working towards incorporating these ideas into my own practice and encouraging their use amongst teachers.

One of the concepts that intrigued me the most at the time was backchanneling. Backchanneling allows students to discuss and ask questions about the concepts they are learning in real time during their class. Backchanneling, from my understanding, started as a way for professors to handle the many questions they would have during lectures. They would assign a student as a “scribe” who would be responsible for monitoring the chat and either responding to questions or posing questions/responses to the professor that had been posted and would be beneficial to the group. It has since grown to encompass K-12 schools also.

With the integration of mobile devices and BYOT throughout our school system, students could easily participate in these kind of discussions. It would give students who have not felt comfortable discussing their thoughts in front of the class an opportunity to share in a safe environment. I have posted several links that describe this in more detail and how to set-up a backchannel in your classroom. I also have listed a few sites that you could use to easily facilitate this.

Backchanneling in the Classroom Resources:

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7057.pdf

http://derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/?p=472

http://backchanneling.wikispaces.com/

http://integratingtech.wikispaces.com/Classroom+Backchannels

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/education/13social.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

http://langwitches.org/blog/2011/01/09/backchanneling-movie-watching-note-taking-information-scribes/

Sites to use for Backchanneling:

http://www.todaysmeet.com

http://www.twitter.com

http://www.neatchat.com/

http://backnoise.com/

The Importance of Edline

  When I first started teaching there were many school-based policies in place to ensure that I and my students had a successful year. At the time, I didn’t necessarily understand their true value, since they added to my new teacher workload. Prior to the start of the school year we would call the families of all the students in our homeroom to welcome them to our classroom. Every week we sent out a newsletter to inform parents of what was going on in our class. We would sign the agendas of all of our students to indicate whether they had homework for that night and if so, what it was. Our school year was jam packed with phone calls and conferences. Not to mention the many times that we had to update parents with a paper copy of their child’s grades. Upon reflection and with continued classroom experience, I saw the importance of our requirements. They definitely helped to improve my school/community communication and thus shaped my teaching practices in a positive manner.

     Edline serves a similar purpose. It enables us to highlight the value and importance of a child’s education. It provides for much needed communication between our classroom and the community at large. Even though it sometimes seems that it is extra work, it has actually decreased our workload. Instead of creating a newsletter, signing agendas, and making multiple copies to distribute to my classes, I can easily and quickly post the same information to all of my classes. Parents and students can access a current grade report prior to interim or before the quarterly grade goes out. This could potentially improve academic success for our students as it builds ownership. When a phone call is not needed, we can send out an e-mail to individual families or globally if applicable. The ability to post assignment information and resources is also an invaluable tool. I recall how time consuming it was for me in the past to have to recopy documents that the students had lost. Granted I still believe it is important to provide hard copies if needed. Edline gives you  backup and support so that you can minimize the amount of extra work you do on a daily basis. It also helps to ease the amount of questions you may have regarding assignments and student performance.

Here’s to Careful Planning or How to Decrease Your Odds of Something Going Wrong

      As teachers we have certain expectations for technology. It must be fast and work 100% of the time. We often forget that it is merely a machine. For us, it takes on the personification of a surly adolescent, brooding and oblivious to our plaintive calls.  In a perfect world, everything would work all of the time in the manner intended. However, with the constant changes in technology it is always a race to keep up and stay current.

Despite our best intentions, we cannot predict or foresee what every upgrade or change may do to our current system. To help alleviate the stress associated with this uncertainty I propose rethinking how we utilize technology in the classroom. Instead of trying to do whole group, lab based games, why not allow the students to work in cooperative groups to do project based learning. Yes, it may take a little longer and require a little more planning but it will provide for a richer educational experience.  You would also need fewer devices which would allow you more flexibility if issues arise. Having students bring in their own devices is another way to assuage the need for resources.

If you haven’t tried out our handheld devices yet, you may want to give them a shot. We even have adapters which allow several students to listen to the same resource on one device. Our iPods and iPads are Internet ready and able to perform a variety of tasks. Students can work in pairs or small groups to access resources and complete assignments. 

There are many ways to tackle this problem. I have named only a few. If you would like some more help in planning and developing activities please let me know. I recently came across the following article that will hopefully remind you of the power of technology utilization in the classroom.

http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction