Final Project Idea (a rough sketch)

For my final project I am envisioning stories. Stories written by, illustrated by, and told by students. The process by which students will create and present their stories to a wider audience is where the tech piece comes in. I see a lot of possibilities with having kids create stories using the Common Craft style. I've asked my 5th graders if they would be interested in creating stories using this method and they all shouted "¡Sí!". That was encouraging.

I found an educator out of Hong Kong who is creating Common Craft style videos in the classroom with her students. Donna Ellery who teaches at Discovery College in Hong Kong. Here is an example of one of her students who created a Common Craft video on "How to Make a Microphone".

After reading over the Utech tips for creating these videos in the classroom, I'm a bit intimidated to say the least. The method that Donna and her students used to create these videos was using iMovie for post production/editing and then importing the videos into Garage Band in order to do add the audio track (the kids used microphones they created in science class to do this which REALLY sounds intimidating). I know I've been taking this course for almost a year now, but the truth is I'm still not all that tech savvy. I've only used iMovie once and I've never used Garage Band. And that's just the technology piece, I still need to consider how the project will be organized, time lines, grading, etc. I have a lot to think about. The project seems gigantic and complicated and may give me a tech headache... but what I'm most grateful for is that I have the opportunity to work with students who are excited to create and tell stories in new and interesting ways. This may be challenging and my learning curve may be the size of Everest, but I expect it will be a fun, interesting, and learning centered journey getting to the final product.

To be continued.... stay tuned!

Technology: Solution or Problem?

UGH! I've been annoyed with technology lately. I know it motivates and engages students. I know that it can literally open up the world and brings it to their fingertips. I know that using technology in the classroom gives students skills that they need for the digital world. I know that students ask me on a weekly basis, "Can we use the computer?". They love it, they crave it, they would probably marry it.

So why am I so frustrated? Last week, I planned lessons that incorporated technology and the technology failed to work properly.... again. When I only see kids every other day for 45 minutes and we spend 10 minutes trying to figure out technology, I see it as wasted time. I have an amazing tool that can help student learning if it works properly, but 7 times out of 10 it doesn't. The website I'm referring to is Lingt Language. It was created by an MIT student who was studying Mandarin and wanted a better way to learn. It's an amazing tool when it works. Teachers can tailor make activities that have students reading, writing, listening, and speaking on the computer. Here is an example of one activity that I created.

The problem is that the listening portion and the voice recording portion works sporadically. You can't always hear the questions being asked and the students aren't always able to record their voices and play it back so they can hear their own language learning. Students are still able to read and write, but the strength in this website is in the ability to listen to speech and use oral language to express oneself. I really want to use this technology and the students want to use it too, but when technology fails to work so much of the time, I begin to lose faith in the power of technology.

There is one simple solution. Turn off the computer and talk face to face. Remember that? The way we all learned to speak language is still the best (and most reliable) way. ¡Vamos a hablar!

What Kind of Learner are You?

We all have a mix a learning styles and so do our students. Below is my learner profile. I like to hear and see while I'm learning.

Click here for a glimpse at your own learner profile.

2010 through the eyes of Google

I definitely googled, "Thailand Political Crisis" a time or two.

World Wide Language

I'm not sure how I missed this story last May, but it was the end of another school year and my head was likely in the thick fog of report cards and summer planning. The language teacher in me was warmed to discover that the first non-latin domain name was finally launched six months ago. It's about time. Latin based languages only represent a small population of the world. This means that only a small percentage of people in the world can access the internet in a meaningful way. I read an article on Mashable and learned that 42% of all internet users are from Asia. In the last 10 years Arabic online has increased over 2500%. Language is an incredible tool for communication that allows us to exchange information, thoughts, and ideas with others. Non-Latin language speakers have the same inclination to engage in this exchange. Now, they have equal access to the internet. This is truly monumental.

It will be interesting to see how the internet changes as it begins to reflect the diversity of people, cultures, and languages in our world. It's true that the advent of the web has made our world smaller and more connected, but it wasn't until 6 months ago that it became truly international.

Clicker Training

When I first got my dog, Lucy, she was naughty. She would bark incessantly every time I left her side, when left alone in the house she would chew and destroy everything in sight; the couch, area rugs, shoes, pillows, blankets, even the potted plants were in danger of her wrath. Her worst habit of all was jumping on people that we would pass during trail runs. She was happy to see people and eagerly wanted to greet them, but she definitely lacked social grace. People really don't like muddy paw prints on their Nike shirts. So, I realized it was time to take action. I bought a clicker. Positive reinforcement training with a clicker was a godsend. Eventually, Lucy learned to be a good dog. No more jumping, minimal chewing, and no barking when I left her side. I can say now that she is almost a perfect dog.... she is still obsessed with chasing cats (I don't think anything can cure the lure of the feline).

So, why am I thinking about my dog and clickers? I read an article about clickers in the NY Times today. But the dogs being 'trained', weren't dogs.. they were students. And I guess they weren't really being trained (although that is one way to look at it). They were being engaged. Recently, university professors at Harvard and Northwestern, among others, are using "clickers" or wireless devices. Students use the devices to check into class, answer multiple quiz questions, and indicate if they are confused without raising their hands. The biggest benefit that professors are seeing with these new devices is that they are increasing student attention. Students aren't able to doze off, text friends, space out, and daydream during a lecture because they are using these devices to 'engage' in the content. As I was reading this article, I started thinking about my own class. When I use hand held white boards with students, it increases their attention because they know that they will write something and hold it up for me to see. They are more engaged with the hand held white board than if they didn't have it. And I'm pretty sure they would be even more engaged if those white boards were digital. Our world and the people in it are becoming increasingly more and more digital and, thus, more digitally engaged. It only makes sense that our classrooms reflect our world. I like the idea of these devices and I wish that I had had access to this technology while I was in college. The article stated that some students resent the big brother potential of the clicker. I can see that point of view. But, I think the potential benefits outweigh the negatives. If the clicker is increasing student involvement and thinking, what more could a teacher or student ask for? Okay.. okay... a liver treat would be a great addition.

Now, if Lucy just had opposable thumbs, she could get a university degree.

Changing Education Paradigms

I really like this video from Sir Ken Robinson. I first heard Sir Ken Robinson when I saw his TED talk called Do Schools Kill Creativity?. This video is 11 minutes long and worth it to watch. His themes resonate with me and many others. I can see how modern education has boxed students into "academic" or "non academic" and how this limits human potential and creativity. He makes the point that our current system came of age during the age of industrialism and serves the interests of industrialism. His point is that education is modeled in the image of industrialism (schools are run on bells, subjects are separate, facilities are separate, kids are separated by age groups) and the production line mentality of education which includes more and more standardized testing is what is killing divergent thinking (the ability to see lots of possible answers or ways to interpret a question). Of 1500 kindergartners tested for divergent thinking the percentage of them who were scored at genius level were 98%. These same kindergartners were re-tested 5 years later and scored 50%. Are our educational institutions killing divergent thinking which is a vital part of creativity? As a teacher in the 21st century, how can I create a classroom that fosters and encourages divergent thinking? How can I foster my own divergent thinking and become a better model for my students?

Here are some ideas on how we can do this (I'm practicing my divergent thinking right now!)

• engage in new activities regularly
• if something seems difficult, it's probably worth doing
• do it and learn new ways of solving problems
• free write in a journal daily
• look at an object and think of as many different uses for it as possible
• participate in improvisational skits/drama
• play word association games
• write choose your own adventure stories (I used to love those books!)
• describe how ideas look, taste, feel, sound, and smell
• solving riddles, puzzles, and brain teasers
• brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm!