Aviva Dunsiger

I'm so thankful for today's snow storm and early dismissal--I was able to catch up on some much needed school work, including the opportunity to really go through Aviva Dunsiger's classroom blog and class wiki. After looking through everything I was completely blown away. First of all, I'm amazed at how much information is there and that she's able to find the time to update all the pages so frequently. I run my school's before and after care program, and, oops, tomorrow's March 1st and I haven't even started composing and printing the March invoices yet!

Second, I love her idea of posting a video of the classroom layout prior to the first day of school and putting it on the class blog. So many students have anxieties about the first day of school; I'm sure it helped tremendously for Ms. Dunsiger's first and second graders to see the room beforehand and know what to expect. I kept thinking about one of the students at my school last year--as a kindergartener, he had severe anxiety about moving on to first grade in the fall. His stress began at about this time last year. Even though his new first grade classroom was right downstairs and he could visit it, the very idea upset him. For months he would randomly run out of the room, act sullen, and/or kick walls and chairs, shouting, "I don't want to go to first grade!" I wonder if something as simple as having a video like this would have calmed him, especially during the summer months, so he could take comfort in knowing what was coming.

Third, I LOVE all the technology evident in Ms. Dunsiger's classroom, from the "Blogger's Cafe" to the wall of computers to the use of Nintendo DSs (!). That really shocked me. I have never seen a teacher incorporate DSs into her curriculum, and yet, it makes perfect sense. Kids are attached to them like they're a third arm (as I type this I can hear my first grader in the other room playing "Mario 3D Land" on the 3DS he got for Christmas). Why not utilize them for good (i.e., educational purposes) instead of for evil (recreation; okay, not really evil, but you know what I mean).

I'm looking forward to Skyping with Ms. Dunsiger tomorrow night and seeing whether or not she'll be wearing a Super Woman cape (provided the snow tapers off, that is!).

Animoto

Okay, so here is my attempt at creating a video in Animoto. My first foray amounted to nothing more than goofing around with a timeline of my kids' pictures. This is nothing fancy, mind you, just an adventure into the medium.

A few weeks ago I was asked to work with third graders on a daily basis to help prepare for CMTs. I've been doing guided reading group push-ins and math pull outs. In math we just started working on geometric shapes and how to differentiate between polygons. I gave the students thirty rectangular-shaped card stock pieces of paper--ten in neon pink with names of shapes (triangle, square, rectangle, etc.),  ten in yellow with a line drawing of a shape, and ten lime green with a description of a shape. I then asked the students to sort the card stock pieces into ten columns with three rows. Each column should have one pink piece of card stock at the top, one yellow card in the middle and one green card at the bottom. Only the highest math group could adequately sort the shape descriptions in the first session; the lowest academic group took three half hour sessions to fully sort the cards and understand the meaning behind the activity. I thought creating this short video segment showing real-life applications of geometric shapes as well as their properties might help my lowest students.

One major drawback I found in Animoto was the limiting amount of text allowed for each photo. I wanted to include the same descriptions in my Animoto video as I did on my green card stock (for example, one pink card says "Rectangle," the yellow card has a line drawing of a rectangle and the green card says, "I am a polygon with 4 sides and 4 square angles. My sides do not have to be equal.") However, the first line of text in Animoto is the "header" and it only allows 22 characters; the second line is for "text" and allows 30 characters. That isn't nearly enough space; I can't condense many of my descriptions into 30 characters. To be that limiting is very frustrating.

I'm hoping that this little video with its catchy tune will be just enough to grab my small math group's interest and help them to remember the properties of the shapes included in it when they start taking their CMTs next week.

Digital Storytelling

I'm not going to lie--digital storytelling is brand new to me. Yes, that's right, I'm a digital storytelling virgin. I know it's hard to believe after reading my incredibly knowledgeable blogs that I don't know everything and anything there is to know about technology (ask my school nurse, who's 70; she thinks I'm a technology guru because today I helped her format a cell in Excel and a few weeks ago I found a file that she thought she had deleted--turns out it was on her desktop the whole time), but it's true. In fact, I was blown away when I read Rubi's digital story about crayons; I had NO IDEA that could be done so easily! It gives me hope for my own digital story creation.

Image credit: Google Images: shop.teeandtoast.com

Not that I know what that will be yet, mind you. Given that I'm such a novice, I'm thinking I'll be using the services of PhotoStory to help me in my pursuit. I'm still debating what subject to do my story on. I was really inspired by one of the examples we saw in class on the Dust Bowl (or maybe that was just depression?). It was done really well. I also liked the example of the students' renderings of Clement Moore's Twas the Night Before Christmas with the children's narration.

Maybe I'll do something along those lines...

I can see a lot of uses for digital storytelling, including a great way for special needs students to shine. I agree that students should have opportunities to share their creations with a greater audience than their own classrooms. Just like musicians and singers have concert nights, writers can now give voice and life to their stories and post them on the Web for all the world to see. What better gratification is there than that?   

Empowering Students with Technology - Preface, Intro, & Chapter 1

Preface

I was hooked on Alan November's Empowering Students with Technology the moment I began reading the Preface, where he described a memory from 1981 when a student broke into a computer lab not to steal the computers but to actually work on one. The young man had somehow managed to acquire the necessary skills to develop and run programming sequences. The irony of the situation was that the student was failing his classes and wasn't going to graduate with his peers. By taking a computer home over the weekend and completing the necessary work to gain missed credits he was able to graduate with his class. The student, incidentally, was considered "at-risk."

Image credit: Google images: free-extras.com

This memoir resounded with me because I work with an at-risk population, albeit at a much younger age. November says that, "technology can be a powerful motivator for some students who do not succeed in traditional classrooms." My colleagues and I have found this to be true, particularly of kindergartners and first graders on BIPs (Behavior Intervention Plans). Some children work best when extra computer time is offered as an incentive. I loved November's observations that, "instant feedback can help students remain focused and work through problems" and that there is a "total lack of judgment"  when students work on the computer. These are such true statements! For some kids it's like reading to a dog--those who struggle with fluency and decoding don't have to worry about any  judgment, so it's a much more relaxing experience, one that they'll likely repeat.

Introduction

I have never had much of an introduction to technology--in fact, I think I posted in a previous blog that I was still using a word processor my senior year in high school and took an electronic typewriter to UCONN my freshman year. In order to use a fancy computer back then we had to go to MSB--the Math/Science Building. I appreciated November defining the differences between automating ("bolting" technology on top of current processes and procedures) and informating (whereby more people have timely access to information). November mentions having an "authentic audience," which makes perfect sense to me, given that students often work harder if they know they someone outside of their realm will see it/read it/hear it.



Image credit: Google images: moodle.clover.k12.sc.us

Chapter 1: Teaching and Learning the Structure of Information

This chapter blew me away! I was amazed at the idea that such a thing as the "Wayback Machine" actually exists. What an incredible concept. But let me back up. The fact that articles such as Butz's are out there is despicable and sickening to me, but I guess that happens when we live in a democratic society where freedom of the press exists. Never mind that I believe Professor Butz should find a new profession (perhaps one where he is required to dress all in white and wear a tall, thin hat and mask?); the fact that November is clearly providing a template for teachers to use before letting their students loose in the library or computer lab is invaluable. His MAPping strategy (Meta-web information; Author; Purpose) is brilliant--it clearly outlines the steps for teachers to take in teaching their students precisely how to navigate the Web. I was never taught any of this information--essential as it is--in any undergraduate class or other graduate course besides this one, and I certainly have never seen this offered as a professional development opportunity.

I also want to point out how helpful November's "E-Venture" activities could be to secondary teachers.  I work in an elementary school, but some of these activities could be incorporated into the upper elementary curriculum, especially teaching students about domain names (com, org, net, gov, k12). Years ago I worked for a non-profit organization (org), then later for profit company (com). The non-profit was just starting to realize the impact of the Internet and we tried to capitalize on the new phenomenon by researching domain names. We ended up spending an inordinate amount of money to secure the rights to our chosen domains. I found myself in the same situation years later at the for profit company when, as the director of administration, I was again asked to research and secure relevant domain names. It's amazing the lengths business leaders will go to secure what they consider to be "their" names!

Finally, I want to point out my fascination with the part about search engines. I had no idea, for example, that Google reports their results by popularity. Really? I'm disappointed. I had a lot of faith in their results. Rest assured I'll now be trying out Ask.com more often, because their results are ranked by experts in the field being searched. I put a lot more stock in experts' opinions than in the opinion of some guy on the other side of the world!

 
Image credit: Google Images, internetoffice.biz

Diigo

Diigo

I had a terrible time in class last week trying to figure out Diigo on those old PCs down in the computer lab! I was using Internet Explorer, the only browser I've ever really used, and couldn't keep up. I kept getting stuck trying to get the diigolet to show up in my Favorites bar. Finally, tonight...Eureka! I found success on my own home PC (which we recently upgraded after using one that was over 12 years old). I was able to successfully bookmark a minimum of 10 sites--as per instructions--and happily viewed each one in my library to be sure it appeared. I have to admit that I stole the sites from a list titled "Top 10 Cool Math Websites" that my fourth grade son brought home from school back in September. Ever since then we've kept the list by the computer, just in case the "Add to Favorites" option in Internet Explorer somehow failed us. However, what I've found with Diigo is that, as long as I'm logged in to my account, my son can access his favorite websites on any computer, not just our home computer, including my laptop, which I often have with me during lengthy waits for doctor appointments. I mostly focused on math websites, but of course Diigo can also help enhance literacy skills.

Image credit: Microsoft Office clip art

Image credit: Microsoft Office clip art

Free Web Resources

There is certainly a plethora of resources in this amazing collection! My two favorites, however, are the following:

The Literacy Web

This incredible website offers everything from professional development for educators to practical hands-on lesson plans to current research in the field. My title is "Education Specialist," which means that I cover a lot of ground, from directing our before and after care program to doing "push in" support in second and third grade in the next several weeks as our students prepare for the CMTs. I could easily use many of these resources toward that end. I could also see using some of the prepared lesson plans during after care sessions.



Image credit: Microsoft Office clip art


Project Gutenberg

Okay, I admit it, I'm a closet Steve Guttenberg fan (remember Cocoon and all those Police Academy movies?), so when I saw "Project Gutenberg," it got my attention because I thought it had something to do with the '80s actor. However, when I clicked on the link listed it didn't appear, I think because it came up as .net instead of .org. Although this site has nothing at all to do with Steve, it does offer free e-books for "humans users only," as it says on the bottom of the home page, presumably as a disclaimer against machines trying to infiltrate the site. I checked to see if they offer picture books, and they do--41. They're mostly poetry and nursery rhymes, but teachers could still use them with students. I could see this site being utilized by high school teachers and students, or by older elementary school students. My school will be adding fourth grade this fall and fifth grade in 2013; some of the listed titles would definitely be of use, especially in light of the new iPads teachers will be receiving soon.



Image credit: realsea.net



Explore

·    I LOVE Lesson Plan Sites for K-12 Teachers! I’m going to send the link to my colleagues at school.

·    "11 Must Read Education Blogs" is great! There’s so much amazing information, it’s almost dizzying.

·    Animoto: This site is incredible! I had fun just putting together a silly little 36-second video held together with a few random photos. I can definitely see the potential for creating some unique projects. I’m thinking of possibly experimenting with all the photos taken tonight at my school’s exhibition night. This would be a great way to capture the enthusiasm and creativity on display throughout the halls.




Image credit: Lisa Cushing (my two boys)

 

Required Readings - 1/26/12 class

Required Readings:

Of the many required readings this week, the following caught my attention...

Leu, D. J., O'Byrne, W. I, Zawilinski, L. J., McVerry, J. G., Everett-Cacopardo, H. (2009). Expanding the New Literacies Conversation. Educational Researcher, 38(4), 264-269.

·        Challenged readers who possess online reading comprehension skills may read online better than do students who perform at higher levels with offline reading comprehension but lack online reading skills. (p. 266)

o   This statement intrigues me. I work with two reading groups 30 minutes five days a week—one in second grade, one in third grade. Both groups are considered “basic.” I’d like to try this out in the classroom and have the challenged readers read online, then have the “proficient” readers read the same passage online and test their comprehension skills. I’m not sure what the outcome would be, but I wouldn’t bet it would be this cut and dry.

1.      Not a single state in the United States measures students’ ability to read search engine results during state reading assessments.

2.      Not a single state in the United States measures students’ ability to evaluate critically information that is found online to determine its reliability.

3.      No state writing assessment in the United States measures students’ ability to compose effective e-mail messages.

4.      Few, if any, states in the United States permit all students to use a word processor on the state writing assessment. (p. 266)

     These statements are worrisome to me. Each of these sound like state standards to me and, as such, should be written into technology standards at each grade level. However, no mention is made in the article of when or how this will happen.



Image credit: Microsoft Office clip art



·         It is the cruelest irony of No Child Left Behind that the students who most need to be prepared at school for an online age of information are precisely those who are being prepared the least. (p. 267)

o   Again, this is a worrisome point. What is being done at the state level to combat these inequalities and injustices? Why isn’t a task force being put together to work on changing this? 

“C's of Change": An Extended Interview with Members of the New Literacies Research Lab

1. What are the main differences between 20th century and 21st century education?

·         It is an unfortunate fact that there are only minimal differences in classrooms today, compared to classrooms of the previous century. Students continue to be asked to master basic, factual knowledge in the classroom and then are assessed on this knowledge. This, despite the fact that a number of profound differences between the two centuries should have redefined the nature of classroom learning: localization vs. globalization; labor as capital vs. intelligence as capital; information as knowledge to be mastered vs. information as a tool with which to develop new knowledge; and, most importantly, the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs). (Donald Leu)

o   I completely disagree with this statement. I don’t believe it’s “fact” that minimal differences exist in classrooms today than a generation ago. The author clearly is looking at specific schools where basic facts are mastered, not at progressive public schools, magnet schools, charter schools, and so on.

Image credit: Microsoft Office clip art

·         One method to creating these pedagogies in the classroom is through inquiry learning. For example, students could choose to investigate a problem they would like to improve and then research this problem online. Finally, students could create video podcasts to share student-created public service announcements. (Greg McVerry)

o   Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement! Inquiry-based learning is incredibly important. It’s what my school is based on—“Hands-on, minds-on learning.” We’ve re-crafted our mission to reflect the 5E Inquiry Model—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate. This is a core tenet of the constructivist philosophy. Although I feel we do an exemplary job of incorporating the 5E’s into all the disciplines, the one area that’s lacking is technology. My school is working towards enhancing the use of technology in the classrooms, but as a brand-new magnet school in our first year of implementation, our focus has been mostly on the theme (museum).

Image credit: Microsoft Office clip art