A long weekend reveals these gems from my “students”.
Dear Mr. Schaefer,
Thank you so much for converting my MPEGs to DVs! I couldn’t have done my Independent Project without you! I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoy my picture of you working on my movie- I did it on Skitch!
Thank you,
Amanda
Ryan created a tutorial of images on how to use the My Files.
I have both analog and digital reading.
On my table:
Hot Flat and Crowded by T. Friedman
On my iPod Touch:
The Element by Sir Ken Robinson
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell Finished
AlphaSmarts waiting the call
iPods with Belkin Tune Talks ready for action
Camcorders and Tripods rested and charged
I am guilty of stretching too far in what I want to do with our students as that is my nature. There is a fine balance between having the technology tools on hand for when I get to work with teachers and students, and having it on a shelf laying fallow. I suppose it has to do with the downturn in the economy and how I must approach my purchasing decisions that I am seeing things differently. Maybe it is the book I am reading by Thomas Friedman Hot, Flat and Crowded and how I think the culture of consumerism is unsustainable that has sparked these thoughts. I think the reflection and contemplation is a great turn of events as I am applying it in all areas of my life. I am by nature a gadget hound that often is the first person at my school to get a new device. I do this as part of my job so I know I must keep us at the forefront of learning devices and strategies. Those who know me know I am an Apple Fan Boy. I am also now known as “The Moodle Guy” so I go with the best tool for the task at hand.
What I am realizing is that there is far too much time that technology tools sit on a shelf waiting to be used for a class project. How do I combat this shelving of technology? Recruit and help teachers integrate more or is it a natural shift in what happens in education. Will I need more of fewer shelfs in the future?
What happens in a class when some students finish the report on Vertebrate Animals? I was so excited to see this on the board when I walked through the lab that I took a picture to preserve it as well as document that I was not making it up.
What you see in the picture is the basic requirements for the paper:
Cover (Hand-drawn image scanned in using the wonderful Snappy)
Title Page
Table of Contents
31/2 pages of text
Glossary
Bibliography
Appendix (Optional)
It is the list of Appendix ideas that impresses me the most. Mr. Bryson took suggestions and the students generated the list. It takes courage to do this on Mr. Bryson’s part as he does not know the applications listed. Of course, he tells his students this which allows for a flipping of roles in the class.
Notice in the picture that another teacher has written directions on the Photoshop project for The Lightening Thief Book.
Update on 2/18/09: In the other lab, the trading card assignment now has a model for students to create. Notice the terms in red. How many students get exposed to this content enough to know and understand it. How about teachers?
The environment of learning that is taking place with these students allows them to assemble a digital portfolio to be proud of and certainly meets the ISTE NETS.
I have a colleague named Lou who has been corresponding to me about some work related technology questions. He happened to mention he had read a Wired article that mentioned some of the amazing iPhone/iPod Touch applications. Being a former teacher of Science and lover of Astronomy, I went directly to the iTunes App Store and found them and purchased them. I spent $21.99 to put them on an iPod Touch I could send to him to test last night.
Here is what I have heard back today in an email to me and his department marked Urgent, you must read:
Hi Trish and Barb,
I have been talking to Karl for a while now about the iphone and itouch. Do these devices have a place in our science curriculum and teaching? At first we chatted about simple tools like the iLevel. Handy in physics whenever you want to know if something is plum, level, or is a whole surface horizontal (i.e. a lab table). A digital, handy level is nice. We have one very expensive digital level in the lab, but the ilevel app is free! And it works!
Much more interesting, for physics at least, are the astronomy apps. Two itouch astronomy apps, for ex., are Starmap and GoSkyWatch Planetarium. Karl has been incredibly helpful and cooperative in working we me on this. Yesterday, he loaned me one of Computer Science’s itouches after having downloaded GoSkyWatch Planetarium and Starmap for me so I could take it home and experiment with it.
Even after one night of use, I am speechless. GoSkyWatch Planetarium, especially, is incredible. It not only is a portable planetarium, making it a huge resource for any astronomy activities a class or student may do, but it also is a celestial object identifier!!!!. Yes, that’s true. You point the back of the itouch toward the object of interest, the itouch screen changes as you move the itouch showing the section of the sky the back of the touch is facing. Wait until the object of interest is in the crosshairs and the program TELLS YOU WHAT THE OBJECT, CONSTELLATION, etc. you are looking at!!! I have not had enough time to experiment with the program totally, but this demands our attention as a science tool…at least for those of us who use astronomy in our curriculums.
Which brings me to my 2nd point. We should think about getting into the itouch, iphone apps development business. SERIOUSLY! We are teachers and scientists. There is nobody better positioned to think about educational applications for the iphone and itouch than us. This is a gold mine waiting to be harvested (mixed metaphore?). We would need to learn the language used by the iphone, and that is no small task for those who have not programed before, but…
For now, I would like to purchase an itouch for physics so I can continue investigating this tool and hopefully integrate it into all my physics classes. (Karl has offered to loan my his for a while, but I can already tell that this would be well worth the couple hundred dollar investment in our budget. I am taking a survey today just to see how many of my students have, or have easy access to, iphones or itouches. It’s looking right now like it’s about 50%, but it’s too early to know for sure. The younger kids seem to be more on to this than my seniors. Probably, b/c the older kids already had an ipod and are reluctant to get an itouch.
I am copying Karl on this, b/c I want him to know about my progress in such a short time and about my growing excitement about the use of this technology in teaching. As you know, I am a cautious adopter of technology in teaching. I like gadgets, but the iphone and itouch are NOT gadgets or play toys. These are serious computational devices and again, demand our attention.
My opinion of course.
I have attached the link to the site which describes GOSkyWatch Planetarium. The more you read, I think the more amazed you’ll be. GoSkyWatch cost $10. The other astro. app, I believe, is free [Karl’s note: $11.99]. iLevel, I believe, is also free. So the cost of these things is going to mainly be the cost of the itouch. I don’t know what is the cheapest way to buy these is, Karl would. GoSkyWatch is very memory intensive so if the itouch comes in different memory capacities the largest capacity would be warranted for that app. (This info. I gleened from reading some of the literature on line about the software.)
OK, that’s it for now. I have already typed for longer than permitted and you have had to read more than you probably wanted. Lou
I replied to him with the lyrics from Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Light the Fire
“We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it”
As more and more students bring in digital learning devices, I should expect the types of exchange that I have had with a student to take place. In fact, on Monday I presented to the faculty about this very issue. Since students can bring in digital learning devices, are we helping, harnessing, or hindering the use by our students.
Here is an exchange by a 7th grade boy who asked great questions regarding his learning:
Hi Mr. Schaefer,
I was wondering if students are allowed to bring in a laptop of their own to work on during classes like taking notes and other stuff or does it depend on the teacher? Also, are students allowed to bring in a laptop for work use during study halls of educational purposes (of course).
This is my response:
Students are allowed to bring laptops or other digital Device to school and can connect them to the network so they have Internet and can even connect to the student servers if needed. I have directions and can assist. The Acceptable Use Policy states this.
Student Personal Laptops, iPods, Cell Phones, and other Digital Devices
Durham Academy believes the use of a digital device (laptop, iPod, etc.) can benefit the educational program if used appropriately. Students in the Middle and Upper School may bring a personal laptop to campus for their academic use. Prior to using it, they will need to set it up so it can connect to our network. Student’s wishing to do this should get the instructions from the divisional technology teacher. While on the Durham Academy network, all actions will be logged just like any other computer on campus using our installed network tools. Durham Academy is not liable for any loss or damage incurred, nor can it load any software onto a student computer. Students should secure their laptop in a locked locker or classroom. All students’ laptops and digital devices should be clearly labeled with the student’s name. Improper or non-educational use could result in loss of privileges for the on-campus use of such devices.
Depending on the teacher students should certainly be allowed to take notes or other class related work during class. Study hall should be a great place for you to use your laptop.I have talked with the faculty about students bringing in their laptops and if we are helping them, harnessing the power or hindering the use by students. I think students should be able to use the laptop whenever it is appropriate for classwork and if you take notes, you should add them to a teachers Moodle course for other students.
My concerns are mostly related to securing the laptop when at school to prevent theft or damage.
What type of laptop do you have? Do you bring it to school? Have teachers told you that you can use it or that you can not use it?
Let me know if I can be of help.His response to mine is also telling:
Thanks for your email. I have the regular white, 13 inch MacBook and its great! I have not brought my laptop in yet but now that I have your thoughts I will bring it in soon (and see you to hook it up) and talk to teachers about whether I am allowed to take notes in their class from now on using it. I have been interested in this because I do think (like you) that technology use from a laptop or iPod can be helpful to students and I think it would make daily school life easier.
So the question is when he brings the laptop to school we will help, harness or hinder? Do we build a community of learners who share content with each other in the open, or do we stick to the same way of learning?
As I was writing this post, a student came in and exclaimed he got a new iPod Touch for his birthday. And the beat goes on…..
After last weeks CyberSafety workshop for parents, I wondered if the message was too overwhelming as there are indeed a lot of nasty and disturbing activities taking place online and in video games. I listened and thought of how important the word no is to helping young people stay safe until they can fully learn how to protect themselves online and offline. The video game scenes I saw disgusted me and I see no benefit to the world in learning to kill something for points. I encourage all parents and even students to talk and take time to think about how any action you take online could impact you for a long time.
Parents play a valuable role in helping their children grow up to be safe and happy adults. We promote CommonSense Media at our school as a resource for parents and students.
I am happy to see the report just released from The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard is the report from the Internet Safety Technical Task Force. Below are some excerpts and my thoughts. I encourage everyone to take a look at the report as it is a good starting point for framing where we are and what we all need to be doing. There are also great resources on the site for parents and educators.
The Internet Safety Technical Task Force was created in February 2008 in accordance with the Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Safety announced in January 2008 by the Attorneys General Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking and MySpace. The scope of the Task Force’s inquiry was to consider those technologies that industry and end users – including parents – can use to help keep minors safer on the Internet.
I think the information will allow all of us who are involved in helping students learn how to protect themselves in the online world a reason to practice a degree of moderation in how we explain the dangers of being online. This is not to say there is no danger, but that in many ways the dangers are often overblown by media stories.
Some of the findings that I have often believed to be true based on personal experience with my students are the following.
Minors face risks online, just as they do in any other public space in which people congregate. These risks include harassment and bullying, sexual solicitation, and exposure to problematic and illegal content. These risks are not radically different in nature or scope than the risks minors have long faced offline, and minors who are most at risk in the offline world continue to be most at risk online.
My contention is that the risks for youth are as much online as offline and in fact, I think there is more risk offline for some of the students I teach.
Sexual predation on minors by adults … This research found that cases typically involved post-pubescent youth who were aware that they were meeting an adult male for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.
I believe this will help us to bring balance to how we tell students that there are predators online who will get you. This at times seems much like the boogie man stories I learned in my youth. I no longer wonder if there is something under my bed. It does not lessen the need to keep the area under my bed clean, but I do not expect to see a boogie man.
Bullying and harassment, most often by peers, are the most frequent threats that minors face, both online and offline.
I know this is a fact as it is an issue we deal with often at school. This is an area where every adult and student must have a zero tolerance. We have a saying: O. U. C. H. Our Unkind Comments Hurt.
Minors are not equally at risk online. Those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other parts of their lives. The psychosocial makeup of and family dynamics surrounding particular minors are better predictors of risk than the use of specific media or technologies.
I was talking last week with a colleague about how school seems very similar to when I was in school. We all need to be aware of students who are acting out as they are in need of assistance.
Technorati Tags: class2.0
We have policies at school about cell phones, iPods and even student own laptops. Students follow the policies as we have a great bunch of students. Sure, some students pull out a cell phone to call someone or other infraction throughout the day but for 90 – 95% of the students, it is in their bag if needed.
I have written about this in the past in how I want to capture and use the devices in the backpacks. This is more on that line of thinking, although what is changing is the increase in the number of students and the variation of devices. I thought I would photograph some of the devices I have helped students setup to use on the school network. What is great is that we can do this for almost any device and monitor and filter the experience just like a school owned computer on campus.
New MacBook
An Acer Netbook
A MacBook
Another MacBook
Yet Another MacBook
iPhone
iPod Touch
2 students and 2 iPod Touches
2 students on Friday afternoon configuring
Collaboration in the computer lab
I heard from one teacher today that 7 of her students now bring a laptop to school. They get frustrated when there is software on the campus computers that they do not have on their laptop so they must use one of the 4 year old MacBooks instead. Of course a laptop program would take that issue away.
What about the students who do not have parents who can afford these devices? I think we need to be concerned about the differences in learning opportunities that this presents. I am in favor of more opportunities and not fewer of course:)
Perhaps in a few weeks I can add a LiveScribe Pen as a device!
In September, I blogged about Swype and how the Techcrunch 50 might impact schools. Well, the impact has happened sort of in that ShapeWriter Pro ($9.99) or Free changes text input on most small digital devices. I had been using Writing Pad which was the first release of this software and found I got quite good after less practice then it took to learn to keyboard. Check it out and if you are bringing an iPod Touch or iPhone to school, get it for note taking as it is that good.
He has written about this restructuring better then anyone I have read. Many times, I read articles from experts who tell of lofty ideas or ways to do things in a classroom that are not as feasible as they seem or still keep the teacher as the person with the knowledge or information key. Alan, just gets it and with a sense of humor.
In this recently publish article in National Middle School Associations Middle Ground magazine he outlines again what I see happening in classes here at Durham Academy. My goal is to see it happen in all classrooms where appropriate and useful.
We have come full circle as globalization quickly becomes the norm, and it may now be essential for our students to compete with peers from around the world. Today, we can restore the dignity and integrity of the child as a contributor. Across the country, pioneering teachers are providing students with new roles that have students making contributions to their learning communities. We have powerful, easy-to-use tools such as screencasting and podcasting that give students opportunities to contribute content to the class. At the same time we can also provide them with rigorous and more motivating assignments and better prepare them to become more productive in our new global economy. It’s an exciting time.
The jobs as Alan states them to be and what I see in our school include:
Tutorial Designers – Students in Mrs. Williams sixth grade Language Arts class are creating Vocabulary Podcasts complete with pronunciation, spelling, parts of speech and even images. See I’m done!
Official Scribes – Many students with a learning difference get notes from a scribe as an accommodation. Why not make it a part of the collaborative learning. With FirstClass Workspaces some students are starting to create these shared resources. See When Students Take Charge. Moodle discussion forums also allow for this sharing of the notes. Teachers do resist this step due to the belief that students must write the note in order to benefit and simply getting the notes delivered to them will decrease the understanding. I can understand this thinking but also believe that contributing to a collaborative process will engage more students. If some students are not still note takers, perhaps they need to be Fact Checkers or Researcher which is the next job.
Researchers – How open are we to letting students get and share information they find on the topics we cover in class? Every so often a student suggests a web site or other resource that could be useful to the learning of the group. We recently did 1920 Radio Podcasts and a student found a 1920 slang web site which really helped the students to speak in language of the era. We shared the resource in the Moodle course for all students. However, we could make assembling the resources part of the project itself.
Collaboration Collaborators – This is an job that has not taken off like I would hope. We have brought in guest via Moodle courses where discussion forums proved helpful. Mostly though we do not reach out to bring experts in or connect with the world in our classrooms. We have the technology available but do not make use of it like we could. Mrs. Ward did use Wimba to connect with students while she was part of PolarTrec.
Contributing to Society – We have built schools in Uganda, paid tuition for students to attend school in Kenya and even now we are having a Mseki Primary School Book Drive where students are reaching out globally to help. We also do much work locally with food drives and community service projects.
Curriculum Reviewers – This is beginning to be seen more as teachers have students create content or share content with classmates. I would love to see this expanded and hope that we will begin to see more classrooms construct the digital materials for students to download or access as part of their Moodle courses.
I agree with you Alan and look forward to building out our DA Learning Farm. The tools are at hand and only the change in perspective stops the cultivation process. Of course we always fall back on “if I only had the time”… Let’s work smarter and more efficient by managing our digital farming to include all participants.