Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Freshwater Shortage - What's the issue?
I also experienced some of the same issues as Cara and was really frustrated on Sunday afternoon. Every step was time consuming, but in the end it is really rewarding to see the finished product. The editing was the most laborious and if there was more time, I would like to search for video footage to add. It was interesting to learn more about this issue and try to "sell" the idea to the public as it is our future. My students were impressed at the time spent on the project and the message being delivered, but they even suggested that video would have captured their attention further and enhanced the overall effort.
Monday, May 12, 2014
All in One Rythm
I hope you all enjoy! I found some things to be less user friendly with this, although some of them were the types of things that would have been less frustrating with either practice or a better internet connection rate. I'm on free high-speed . . . which means pretty low-speed, which also affected how long it took me to do EVERYTHING, from uploading pictures to downloading . . . then re-uploading video, to previews, and more. So frustrating. I'd love to hear feedback from the Brazilians in the group. I know in Brasilia our internet was spotty and not all of our kids had good access at home. Obviously, when discussing web 2.0 tools, you have to assume your people will have access to the web, but this project seems more bandwidth-heavy than even Voice Thread, for instance (although when I did the Voice Thread project I was on a better connection). I just remember the day I taught internet research skills with a white board because neither the internet nor the projector in the room were working.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Professional Learning Networks - PLCs + Web 2.0 = Dynamic Learning Environments
Picture This . . .
. . . it's the beginning of the school year, you're feeling overwhelmed with the amount of preparation you have left to do, and you're sitting in a large auditorium having a half-day training on Bloom's Taxonomy . . . something you just finished a Master's class studying.
Picture This . . .
. . . you've been eagerly anticipating the upcoming teacher in-service day because they promised break-out small groups on topics of need or interest, and you've been dying to touch base with your tech coordinator about what he learned at the recent tech integration conference he attended. Suddenly, you find out that the original plan has been cancelled in favor of a "motivational speaker to improve teacher moral" because the administration feels that teacher attitude has been overly negative recently and they just received a grant that allows them to afford an outside speaker to come in.
Picture This . . .
. . . you're hip, you're cool, you know all about PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) and you've formed one with a group of teachers at your school. You decided that the best way to keep everyone focused in the busy school environment is to run it like a book club and meet weekly to discuss a new chapter. The book is great, and you've got your fifth meeting in 10 minutes . . . only you didn't read the chapter last night because the dryer broke and you spent the evening at the laundromat but forgot your e-reader. And last week you missed the meeting because a student needed extra support. In fact, you haven't really even thought about what's going on in your PLC for the last two weeks, but you're sure you can catch up.
I'm a Thief!
 |
| But not when it comes to citing my sources. Image Citation: Tzunghaor (2011). burglar [png]. Retrieved from http://openclipart.org/detail/165656/burglar-by-tzunghaor. |
How can we avoid the frustration of "one-size fits all" professional development? How can we avoid PLCs being "Perpetual Learning Catastrophes" and ensure that they are "Powerful Learning Conglomerates".
I would like to posit one simple possibility: Integrating Web 2.0 into the PLC experience on a regular basis.
PLCs
Although PLCs have been around for 20 years (see a good literature review of the first decade here). In 2004, there were those who had already identified problems with the system, seeing that the term PLC was applied so often and in so many types of learning communities that the idea and practice was "in danger of losing all meaning" (Dufour, 2004). Dufour attempts to steer us towards what the core goals of PLCs should be.
1) Ensuring That Students Learn
2) A Culture of Collaboration
3) A Focus on Results
PLNs
There is a strong case to be made for taking professional learning to the 2.0 level. Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) seem the logical next step to Professional Learning Communities. As we integrate Web 2.0 into our students' learning, why wouldn't we do it into our own? However, many of the blogs, articles, and other resources I have found discussing PLNs seem to see them as a new thing, to be taken entirely online or to be used by those who do not have a local community available to join.
If PLNs are like PLCs with Web 2.0 integrated in, why did I recommend integrating Web 2.0 into PLCs rather than embracing PLNs?
INTEGRATE
With a new X-Men movie to be released this month, I will use my favorite superheroes as a metaphor. Strong proponents of PLNs remind me of Magneto. Magneto believes mutants to be better than humans, a new stage in the evolutionary line. Humans are no longer necessary, or even desirable. Professor X, on the other hand, sees mutants as humans with special gifts. For Professor X, mutants should glory in what makes them human and use their powers for the good of all humankind.
We haven't decided that online learning is the best thing our children, even with Web 2.0. Why would we think that professional development conducted only in a Web 2.0 environment is the most effective tool for increasing our knowledge?
Let us be like Professor X and the X-Men, not Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (no, I don't really think Magneto is evil, anyone who read the comics in the mid-80s knows he's not), and let us integrate the future into the past, mixing the best of both worlds and understanding the power of social media as well as respecting the power of in-person learning.
Now that we all agree that there's a place for Web 2.0 in PLCs (and 3.0 and 4.0 and anything else that might come our way), let's revisit our school year and imagine a different scenario . . .
Picture This . . .
. . . it's the beginning of the school year and during pedagogical meetings, the school offers a "speed dating" opportunity for staff to explore a variety of educational topics and sign up to join a PLC of their choice.
Picture This . . .
. . . it's time for Thanksgiving Break, and your regularly scheduled PLC face-to-face meeting is cancelled because of the holiday. This doesn't faze your group, as you have been meeting regularly and the work the group does using Diigo, Blogger, Google Docs, and Voice Thread can continue unabated.
Picture This . . .
. . . it's nearing the end of the year, and when you meet with your administrator for a review session, you are both pleased with the progress you have made and have a lively discussion about what you might chose for your next topic.
Here is a sample list of Catherine Huber's use of Moodle with various Web 2.0 tools.
Huber, C. (2010). Professional Learning 2.0. Educational Leadership, 67(8), 41.
Learning 2.0 in Action
At the beginning of the 2009-10 school year, Northwood Elementary School established a Moodle as a protected place for professional learning and conversation.Located in a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Northwood is a K6 school in the West Seneca Central School District; the school has 50 teachers and serves approximately 600 students. As the school principal, I work with the library media specialist to maintain the Moodle. The Moodle is open to all faculty members and houses a variety of learning opportunities.
Feedback on Lesson Plans
Teachers submit their weekly lesson plans electronically and receive my feedback in their own lesson plan drop box. Although the Moodle is public and collaborative, the lesson plans are visible only to the teacher and me. The feedback component of the drop box is set up as a wiki to promote ongoing, private, and individualized conversation between teacher and principal.
Twitter
Teachers catch up on the latest professional reading and thinking using the Twitter account linked to the Moodle. When faculty members attend conferences, they use the Twitter account to update their colleagues in real time on the learning taking place. The thinkers and associations that faculty members follow on Twitter — such as ASCD, Education Week, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, and authors Daniel Pink and Stephen Covey among others — align directly with Northwood's curricular and instructional norms and expectations. Teachers are encouraged to frequently check in to the school's Twitter account to update themselves on relevant professional discussions and reading.
Newsletter
Teachers stay updated on what is happening around the school by reading the weekly newsletter housed on the Moodle. Publishing the newsletter on the Moodle enables me to add resources, links, and information to which teachers have ongoing access. It also enables staff members to comment on and converse with one another about the information presented.
Forums
Forums are set up for discussion around a variety of topics: reading workshop, writing workshop, differentiated instruction, great reads, meeting the needs of learners with special needs, and Moodle help. On one forum, teachers recently shared observations about their students' progress in reading workshop as they implemented the model across the building. Another forum emphasized reading workshop structures, strategies, and texts.
Wikis
Each month, teachers participate in professional learning in faculty meetings that are conducted as workshops. At the first meeting of the year, groups of teachers, working by grade level or in a specific area, develop essential questions for each meeting date. The overarching essential question posed at the first meeting was simply, What do you need to learn? At the November meeting, the K-2 group discussed the question, How do retelling and other comprehension activities fit into the reading workshop? For the January meeting, the physical education department explored how to build more differentiated learning into its classes.
Wikis for each group are set up on the Moodle so that staff members can build meeting agendas collaboratively and post relevant resources both before and after the meeting. During the meeting, one of the team members captures the work that occurs around the essential questions — the conversation that ensues, the questions that team members pose, and various resources to consider — and records it in the wiki as the meeting progresses. After the meeting is over, a complete record of the learning is available on the wiki. All faculty members can continue to share, add to, and comment on the work undertaken.
Resources
Teachers can contribute to the school's list of audio/video resources as well as to the Northwood glossary on the Moodle. Both components enable teachers to share resources and continue the challenging work of creating a common vocabulary across the school. When the U.S. secretary of education was interviewed on TV, the video clip was embedded in the Moodle for all faculty members to watch. The speech teachers have recently expanded the school glossary, adding definitions related to speech therapy that classroom teachers can use in their own practice.
Blogs
Teachers use individual blogs on the Moodle to reflect on the influence this medium has had on their professional practice. They often comment on the flexible nature of the Moodle, which enables them to collaborate and reflect on issues when they are ready to engage around a topic, and on the open and interactive exchanges around teaching and learning. In addition, this practice has opened up discussions of how to use blogs in the classroom with students.
Using technology with young learners: good or bad?
About a year ago, we started using Ipads with
our Preschoolers in our school as a pilot project. In the beginning, we had
three Ipads to be shared amongst each group, which meant it had to be used mostly
in learning centers, as we have more than ten students in each class.
Before we started running the program, the preschool
teacher sat together to set ground rules to teach students how to care for and
use the new gadgets. Students have to make sure their hands are clean before
using the tablets, they should leave it resting on the table and there would always
be an adult guiding the use of it.
As children have more than enough game time at
home, the apps would be carefully selected, so they are appropriate to the age
level, to the topic or skill being taught.
I have already heard of researches saying that young
children should not be exposed to screens such as television or computer before
the age of 3, so Ipads would surely be included in this list.
The
professional body for paediatricians, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, says that children
are exposed to screens for longer amounts of time
than ever before. This widespread access to smartphones, tablets, games consoles,
TVs and laptops is causing concern amongst doctors in the UK and internationally.
(http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a25006035/is-screen-time-good-or-bad-for-babies-and-children#ixzz30g3bw03r)
However, I think Ipads are a real tool today,
and why should we say “this is for adults, not for you” when we can use it in
balance with other tools?
The Chicago
Tribune News published an article about using technology in the classroom, and
according to Superintendent Linda Vieth of Sunset Ridge School District 29, “This is
teaching to their world. Students still need finger paints and blocks. They
need real books and paper in their hands. But this is another tool."
Engage with literature
Ipads are nowadays mostly being used in my
classroom as an additional learning center. Students enjoy turn the pages of
books as they it is read to them.
While
looking for statistics about schools that also use technology to support
literacy, I came across this very interesting program from NapaLearns that
support digital early learning and use specific learning applications to
support learning tools, not to replace them.
Ilene Rosenthal says on the video that
after a few days on the program, their comprehension rise up to 20% when
they`re reading the books. Supervisor Julie O'Toole said iPads have the capacity
to engage children: “I think that as we know,
children are exposed to technology at an early age, but some children and
families have more contact than others. This project provides equal opportunities
for all children”. (http://www.standard.net.au/story/1402104/benefits-of-ipad-childs-play/?cs=12)
To use it or not to use it?
What I
notice, after a year using Ipads (and now we have 5 in each classroom) is that
students enjoy this tool, they benefit from it but it would never substitute
teaching time or the contact they have with toys, for example counting bears to
practice math skills.
Kym Lam San, who has a son in kindergarten, says he knows
the advantages in using technology as a learning recourse and would like to have
it implemented in his child`s school, as long as there was a balance between
the new technology and the traditional teaching methods.
“I like the idea of learning from iPads. My kids use
educational apps at home. However, I wouldn't want one over the other. Like
anything, I think there needs to be a balance."
Do you think physical activity and movement during learning is important?
Think back to a time that you were in the learning environment and felt like you'd successfully mastered the content AND had fun while learning. Now, think about how that lesson or activity was structured and why you felt successful. Did your lesson or activity incorporate movement? Mine did! When I do this activity it is easy for me to choose the class, and I can recall many of the details related even though this class was several years ago. My class was getting my street license for my motorcycle, and it was successful because every learning objective in the class was outlined clearly for each learning chunk and incorporated activity and movement.
I realize that many classes are not as fun as weaving a motorcycle in and out of cones or driving a figure eight pattern on a skinny painted yellow line on concrete, however, through my observations in teaching I believe that children are more engaged when they have an opportunity to use physical movement to learn as well as break up their learning into smaller chunks.
The brain research identifies the qualities of the following programs I'm going to outline.
The American Psychological Association states, "A healthy brain likes to
learn, and
children learn best when they are exposed to a variety of ideas,
experiences, skills and materials. In the early years, children like to explore and learn using several senses or multiple skills at the same time. Activities that pair motor and auditory skills can encourage the development of both pathways."
Have you heard of Whole Brain Teaching, Whole Body Learning or Brain Gym?
WHOLE BRAIN LEARNING
"The techniques are not validated by contemporary brain research,
according to two experts in the relationship between neuroscience and
education who reviewed the claims for the Akron Beacon Journal." The article goes on to state, "The misrepresentation of brain science on the website doesn’t mean the techniques don’t work." Perhaps this is because "The
techniques involve a highly structured gesturing and repetition of
catch phrases that are supposed to capture and maintain student interest
and attention by making the rules more fun to follow than to ignore." (Arkon Beacon Journal, "Teachers learn ways to keep students' attention, but are brain claims valid?", 2014.)
Ms. Freundlich is a teacher who believes in Whole Brain Teaching. She attended the free seminar some years ago and has seen a difference in her classroom since she returned and has implemented the program. http://www.teachingandlearningtogether.com/whole-brain.html
WHOLE BODY LEARNING
Whole Body Learning is another catchphrase in the world of education today.
"My techniques, in which I have trained hundreds of classroom teachers, release students from a passive learning posture—glued to their seats, dissociated, with decreased oxygen in their brains—and engage them physically and creatively with what they are learning. Simply by getting students out of their seats, we encourage new levels of self-discovery and self-expression. And by letting students experience the curriculum through their bodies, we help them make deeper emotional, interpersonal, and kinesthetic connections to academic subjects." (Education Week Teacher, "The Power of Movement in Teaching and Learning", 2013)
BRAIN GYM
Brain Gym® movements, exercises, or activities refer to
the original 26 Brain Gym movements, sometimes abbreviated as the 26.
These activities recall the movements naturally done during the first
years of life when learning to coordinate the eyes, ears, hands, and
whole body. The twenty-six activities, along with a program for
“learning through movement” were developed by educator and reading
specialist Paul E. Dennison and his wife and colleague, Gail E. Dennison
who say that the interdependence of movement, cognition, and applied
learning is the basis of their work. Clients, teachers, and students
have been reporting for over 20 years on the effectiveness of these
simple activities. Even though it is not clear yet "why" these
movements work so well, they often bring about dramatic improvements in
areas such as:
- Concentration and Focus
- Memory
- Academics: reading, writing, math, test taking
- Physical coordination
- Relationships
- Self-responsibility
- Organization skills
- Attitude
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