A student centered classroom

I’ve been spending way too much time at my computer lately as I have been gathering ideas and information for a website and developing a UbD unit.  Much as I hate to admit it, it has been thought provoking and productive.  I’m working on a unit to meet 6^th grade outcomes for reading (distinguishing fables, fairytales, tall tales, myths and legends from each other) and I find my head swimming with ideas.  My goals are to engage everyone in the class and to have the students not only have some choice about the content of the unit but the products as well.  I find I am not the only person thinking along these lines.  I read a blog that was started last fall by Bill Ferriter that mentioned the same thing.

http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2010/08/upcoming-conversation-teaching-for-tomorrow.html

I have always believed in the student-centered classroom.  My ideal classroom would be one in which the student learns from the teacher, the teacher learns from the students, the students learn from each other and the learning extends beyond the classroom in some way (on-line, connected with another school or classroom, etc.)  That gives kids a real audience, which is critical for deep and intentional learning.

Teaching with technology

Thinking about teaching with technology can be so overwhelming because there are so many possibilities.  I spent hours today looking at the app store for my iPad and learning more about using my iPad and the apps I have.  We have classroom sets of iPads and every teacher has one so, I want to use them and use them effectively. I have discovered that the iPad is by far the most accessible technology that I can put in the kids’ hands.  It’s one thing for me to use the technology and quite another for the kids. 

Today I was specifically looking for applications that can help me move the kids forward in math.  There are lots of math games but they are all basically skill and drill applications.  That’s all well and good because kids need to master basic skills and the apps are motivating (not a flashcard) but I want problem solving or the possibility to be creative.  After 3 hours I’m still looking.  This is not the best use of my time.  I need to consult with my collegues.

The Two Faces of Technology

Technology use in education is enticing and stimulating but it can also lead to frustration and confusion.

One of the most effective uses of technology in the classroom that I've seen is the use of Smart Boards in math  and geometry instruction.  It's so easy to integrate pictures and shapes into lessons. The technology allows the teacher and student to manipulate geometric shapes to help students visualize them in ways not even the most skilled artist could do.  Textbook and worksheet pages can be downloaded so that everyone is literally, working from the same page.  It is also easy to show videos that relate to the topic and access the internet in the same space as problem solving is going on.The technology also allows teachers to save notes and share them so that students can go back and review on their own. 

The very simple use of digital photography can also make instruction faster and communication easier.  I have done a number of quilting projects with students over the years.  At some point somebody, the teacher or the student needs to record the design.  Younger students design best with either fabrics or colored paper in their hands.  Instead of laboriously transferring their designs onto graph paper and coloring it, I just took a photo of each kindergarten student's design. The printed copy was their pattern and it took a fraction of the time graph paper would have.  We have also photographed our problem solving process when we work on some big math problems. It helps communicate the process so that we can share it with a larger audience such as parents or other students.

Wavepad, a new application on my iPad is a great way to get an oral reading sample for students. It is a simple voice recorder like Garage Band on my computer but it is easier to use, includes a timer and can be shared through email.  Students can record themselves reading and then go back with a teacher and analyze their reading.  When they hear themselves it is easier for them to see where they made their mistakes and improve their reading.   I think it will be great for teaching storytelling too.

Conversely, one of the worst experiences I've had with the use of technology is with Power Point presentations.  We educators are the worst violators of basic presentation skills.  We think that because something looks OK on our desktops it will look OK in a PP presentation.  Too much data, too small graphics, clutter, bullet points, fancy transitions that make your head spin.  They can be horrible!  Just give me the thumbnail notes and let me go home!  At the same time, we want students to be able to communicate learning through producing Power Point or Keynote presentations. They can be powerful programs but they should not be the presentation itself.  I've seen a few great presentations and many mediocre or horrible ones.

A lesson I have crashed and burned on more than once is asking students to access the internet to answer a research question. Several things have gone wrong most related to time management and the result was frustration rather than enlightenment.

1. the students haven't been able to log on or time ran out before their log-in process was complete.
2. Students spent their time inefficiently on sites that weren't helpful.
3. We couldn't find appropriate sites and relevant information in the time allowed.
4. we didn't have an effective vehicle for sharing the information.
5. The equipment was broken, too slow, or inadequate in some way.

In every case we need to think about how and why we use any technology.  Does it enhance learning? Does it make better use of time? talent? Why are we using it? Without careful planning and training, technology can get in the way of learning just as easily as not.

Digital footprints

I understand Richardson's concern about how good your profile looks when you Google yourself.  I haven't done that for a long time and frankly, I was a little alarmed at how much information is out there about me.

The first hit was Facebook.  I hope I have been careful with my security settings-I think I have.  I realized that there are several other people with my same name-spelled the same-and belonging to the same religious denomination.  That was interesting.  My daughters and daughter-in-law are interested in family trees and my name pops up on the sites they have used with more information than I am really comfortable with.  I owned a business twenty years ago which pops up as an operating business still.  I didn't have a website but small business organizations published the material.  One site said the business had an annual income in the neighborhood of $50,000.  I wish!- it never broke $10,000. Which goes to show how you can easily get the wrong impression.
I'm there in the Church e-newsletter, newsletters by boards my husband and I serve on and blogs that my children write and the website I publish through school.

I was surprised to see that my teaching license is right there for anyone to see posted by the department of education.

Overall, there is nothing I am ashamed of but I am alarmed at how much a person could find out about me if they wanted to.  I am especially sensitive to this right now because my parents were victims of a scam in which a women called them and convinced them that she was my daughter and got them to wire $3,000 supposedly for bail money.  They are vulnerable because they are too trusting, are old and have diminished capacity to make rational judgments and are fairly isolated.

There are several conclusions to draw from this.
1. Be careful.  You can't control what other people post so be careful and check Google regularly.
2.  We live in a very public age.  The information that is out there is available to everyone.  We can't assume privacy any more.
3.  I have learned that I should think more than twice about who I mention in any vehicle that is on-line.  I don't want to inadvertently put someone else at risk.
4. If I am researching someone else, there is potential to find a lot of information.  I need to think about the conclusions I draw based on that information.
5. Teaching and practicing ethical behavior is critical.