Entry #1 Screencasting
I think fear should be my compass, not my deterrent. As I reflect on my blog there is a common, re-occurring theme: I start off skeptical of a certain technology and then end a believer. After my last assignment in another masters class "Innovative Uses of Technology", I am a screencast disciple. After watching many a screencast in all of my past masters courses, I thought the technology an alien and difficult task - not quite sure how it is done. My last assignment was to screencast a presentation about a project I had completed.
I must admit that I stalled a bit. I was scared. Now I think that fear is a good sign - it means I'm about to have a breakthrough...an "Ah-ha" moment.
When I finally sat down to screencast my presentation I thought it was going to be an arduous process - the kind where a few expletives slip out under my breath. But, when I visited the recommend site "Screencast-o-matic" and quickly 'okayed' the run of Java, within in moments I was recording. What began as my test run ended up being a 15-minute screencast. I did end up doing one more draft, but I could've used the first one. Screencast-o-matic allows you to immediately upload your sceencast to YouTube and then copy the URL.
I found screencasting the easiest of all the technologies I learned to use in the last eight weeks. In fact, it is so simple that no tutorial is required. If you can click a red "record" button and use a mouse, you can screencast. It's just that easy!
Other possible screencast free downloads or online programs:
Screen Flow http://www.telestream.net/screen-flow/overview.htm.
Camtasia http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html
Jing http://www.screencast.com
http://www.screenr.com/ I
Screencast-O-Matic @ http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/
Entry #2 "Super Effective Organizing"
A Response to Addicted2Success article by Joel
(Click Here)
I am an American & World History that likes to think I am organized. I have color-coded folders, everything is place in chronological order, I have neatly labeled and organized computer folders as well as a work space that is clutter-free. My wife on the other hand is an elementary school art teacher. Her version of organization is much different than mine. Not worse or better, just different (and more spread out!) We have to compromise on our home space. It is the one place where I need to be flexible in organizing - striking a balance between filed and clutter-free and counter-top piles.
That is why "Joel's" blog post on Addicted2Success titled "10 Ways to be a Super Effective Organizer" caught my eye on my feedly account. It doesn't necessarily begin and end with technology, however, in an age where all my files, books and calendars could theoretically ALL be on our "gadgets". Nonetheless, in reality that is not the case. Even in an era where our lap tops, iPads and iPhones are integral, organization in the classroom, in the office and at home are key.
The list of ten strategies includes:
1. Create a To-do list
2. Find Places for Things
3. Get Rid of Clutter
4. Get Things Done Right Away
5. Color Code Tasks
6. Keep a Schedule
7. Create Small Goals
8. Have a Positive Attitude
9. Set Priorities
10. Use Time Wisely
I will keep this list posted on my desk and on my fridge. I am glad I happened across this easy checklist of ways to maintain an organized environment and look forward to implementing it.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
EDU 653 Week #7
Entry #1 Twitter Deck Revelation
About three weeks ago I was asked to be one of three teachers at my high school to attend several training sessions of Marzano's Art & Science and Teaching. As a future mentor teacher that will have to explain our district's new observations processes, I was a little hesitant to accept the invitation for two (pretty good) reasons: 1) my wife has a scheduled c-section on Monday and I am hustling to have this class and my other Masters class wrapped-up before child #2 arrives; and 2) I find myself a terrible student when it comes to sitting in 8-hour session with my lap top in front of me. It is said that teachers often make the worst audience. We chat, we grade, we lesson-plan, we update our planners, we make lists, we text, we check our email. We do just about everything except focusing on the task at hand. Knowing these two incontrovertible facts about my own lot I accepted, knowing full well that several day-long sessions at Marzano conferences were not only good for me, but also good for my students.
The thing is, I know I'm always going to get something out of such events...It's just the fact that it's summer vacation, I have other big commitments and I'm not thrilled about sitting still for 8 hours (especially if it's 80 & sunny). For the non-educators that say, "hey - toughen up, we work everyday all week long." To them I reply, "you chose your profession and it's perks, and I chose mine." Either way, I accepted the invitation and somewhat reluctantly packed up my lap top for a day of being "professionally developed".
I was lucky enough to be seated next to one of my mentors and former coaches. This is a guy that has his stuff together. He's a fifth grade teacher, runs triathlons, travels all over the country with his over-achieving soccer-star daughters and manages to run a very tight ship in the classroom. I respected him as a coach and I have the utmost respect for him as an educator. After about two hours of diligently sitting & learning and soaking-up the content we were given a ten minute break. Instead of getting up immediately we instantly began sharing ideas that had popped into our heads during the training. I shared a few neat little websites like Read/Write and Addicted2Success and he shared with me the benefits of the Chrome Store and finally "TweetDeck."
As aforementioned, I was a reluctant passenger on the Twitter train. Once I got on, however, I have been addicted to it to say the least. However, I was not getting the most from my social networking and interactions as I was to find out. In our ten minute break he showed me how TweetDeck allows you to see the features you otherwise cannot see all at once on your phone, iPad or just the regular Twitter website. You can view your home timeline, you interactions, your messages and activity all on the same "deck". In my view, the deck is a living, breathing and constantly updating resource. From one spot now I am getting updates on wrestling events (I am a varsity wrestling coach and fanatic), world news, education articles, updates from family & friends, links to quotes & interesting articles and of course the musings of such people as Bill Gates, Wes Moore and Joe Scarborough. All the while I can see instantly who "favorites" or "retweets" my content AND what other activity is going on in the "twittersphere". It is incredible tool that I look forward to exploring and will extol the virtues of any time.
Thanks Matt!
Entry #2 Four Things To Learn from Tech
A Response to Addicted2Success blog by Ryan Greives
(Click Here for Link)
One of my "go-to" sites right now is Addicted2Success, a very forward-thinking and introspective site that provides daily motivational quotes, inspirational articles and tips from all kinds of professional big-whigs. I love it. I follow Addicted2Success on Twitter and nine times out of ten I stop to read whatever they post. It's usually short and sweet and provides a "punch" of inspiration.
The latest article by Ryan Greives, "4 Things That Tech Can Teach us About Success", is a brief yet very interesting article. Greives uses experiences we all have with technology to address and apply to our own success.
He contends that like the iOS/Windows/Android debate, we too must "identify our own belief system" and then move forward. He asks the reader, "Have you selected your belief system?" He even lends a few biblical quotes for the reader's ponderance. Then, he states in regards to "Big Data" that the reader should "assess your current habits and results". Greives states that to get where we want in life we must look at what we're doing and find out whether it is moving us toward our goals or away from our goals. He relates "Outsourcing" to "focusing on your strengths". One could relate such a notion to 'delegation' which may be one of the toughest qualities to adhere to as a leader (or aspiring one). Lastly, he equates "Apps" to "don't wait for an opportunity, create one". He quotes Lincoln to drive home his point, "The best way to predict the future, is to create it."
I am obliged to say I enjoyed the tech comparison considering my involvement in my educational technology pursuits. Beyond that I can relate the four-part lesson to my own life. I believe in constant reflection. In practice, after each marking period (9 weeks each) I reflect upon what has worked and what has not. After wrestling season I sit down for dinner with my coaching staff and we bend our elbows and reflect upon our season - what did we do well, what can we work on? The end of the year is perhaps my most in-depth self-reflection as I spend a day or two thoroughly thinking about and looking at my performance and my student's performance. I actually plan out my next year (loosely) during the first few days after school.
And so, doing things like "identifying my own belief system" and "assessing my current habits and their results" are all a part of the development process. "Focusing on your strengths" and "creating opportunities" are part and parcel to moving forward, inching towards your goals. Navigating the waters of life, making the journey, requires many things and among those are the aforementioned strategies. Doing so, recognizing the need for such strategies, is just a cog in the wheel of forward motion.
Greives suggestions for what we can learn from "tech" is an apt distillation of important life lessons. Reading about said lessons, and reading them often, is helpful indeed.
About three weeks ago I was asked to be one of three teachers at my high school to attend several training sessions of Marzano's Art & Science and Teaching. As a future mentor teacher that will have to explain our district's new observations processes, I was a little hesitant to accept the invitation for two (pretty good) reasons: 1) my wife has a scheduled c-section on Monday and I am hustling to have this class and my other Masters class wrapped-up before child #2 arrives; and 2) I find myself a terrible student when it comes to sitting in 8-hour session with my lap top in front of me. It is said that teachers often make the worst audience. We chat, we grade, we lesson-plan, we update our planners, we make lists, we text, we check our email. We do just about everything except focusing on the task at hand. Knowing these two incontrovertible facts about my own lot I accepted, knowing full well that several day-long sessions at Marzano conferences were not only good for me, but also good for my students.
The thing is, I know I'm always going to get something out of such events...It's just the fact that it's summer vacation, I have other big commitments and I'm not thrilled about sitting still for 8 hours (especially if it's 80 & sunny). For the non-educators that say, "hey - toughen up, we work everyday all week long." To them I reply, "you chose your profession and it's perks, and I chose mine." Either way, I accepted the invitation and somewhat reluctantly packed up my lap top for a day of being "professionally developed".
I was lucky enough to be seated next to one of my mentors and former coaches. This is a guy that has his stuff together. He's a fifth grade teacher, runs triathlons, travels all over the country with his over-achieving soccer-star daughters and manages to run a very tight ship in the classroom. I respected him as a coach and I have the utmost respect for him as an educator. After about two hours of diligently sitting & learning and soaking-up the content we were given a ten minute break. Instead of getting up immediately we instantly began sharing ideas that had popped into our heads during the training. I shared a few neat little websites like Read/Write and Addicted2Success and he shared with me the benefits of the Chrome Store and finally "TweetDeck."
As aforementioned, I was a reluctant passenger on the Twitter train. Once I got on, however, I have been addicted to it to say the least. However, I was not getting the most from my social networking and interactions as I was to find out. In our ten minute break he showed me how TweetDeck allows you to see the features you otherwise cannot see all at once on your phone, iPad or just the regular Twitter website. You can view your home timeline, you interactions, your messages and activity all on the same "deck". In my view, the deck is a living, breathing and constantly updating resource. From one spot now I am getting updates on wrestling events (I am a varsity wrestling coach and fanatic), world news, education articles, updates from family & friends, links to quotes & interesting articles and of course the musings of such people as Bill Gates, Wes Moore and Joe Scarborough. All the while I can see instantly who "favorites" or "retweets" my content AND what other activity is going on in the "twittersphere". It is incredible tool that I look forward to exploring and will extol the virtues of any time.
Thanks Matt!
Entry #2 Four Things To Learn from Tech
A Response to Addicted2Success blog by Ryan Greives
(Click Here for Link)
One of my "go-to" sites right now is Addicted2Success, a very forward-thinking and introspective site that provides daily motivational quotes, inspirational articles and tips from all kinds of professional big-whigs. I love it. I follow Addicted2Success on Twitter and nine times out of ten I stop to read whatever they post. It's usually short and sweet and provides a "punch" of inspiration.
The latest article by Ryan Greives, "4 Things That Tech Can Teach us About Success", is a brief yet very interesting article. Greives uses experiences we all have with technology to address and apply to our own success.
He contends that like the iOS/Windows/Android debate, we too must "identify our own belief system" and then move forward. He asks the reader, "Have you selected your belief system?" He even lends a few biblical quotes for the reader's ponderance. Then, he states in regards to "Big Data" that the reader should "assess your current habits and results". Greives states that to get where we want in life we must look at what we're doing and find out whether it is moving us toward our goals or away from our goals. He relates "Outsourcing" to "focusing on your strengths". One could relate such a notion to 'delegation' which may be one of the toughest qualities to adhere to as a leader (or aspiring one). Lastly, he equates "Apps" to "don't wait for an opportunity, create one". He quotes Lincoln to drive home his point, "The best way to predict the future, is to create it."
I am obliged to say I enjoyed the tech comparison considering my involvement in my educational technology pursuits. Beyond that I can relate the four-part lesson to my own life. I believe in constant reflection. In practice, after each marking period (9 weeks each) I reflect upon what has worked and what has not. After wrestling season I sit down for dinner with my coaching staff and we bend our elbows and reflect upon our season - what did we do well, what can we work on? The end of the year is perhaps my most in-depth self-reflection as I spend a day or two thoroughly thinking about and looking at my performance and my student's performance. I actually plan out my next year (loosely) during the first few days after school.
And so, doing things like "identifying my own belief system" and "assessing my current habits and their results" are all a part of the development process. "Focusing on your strengths" and "creating opportunities" are part and parcel to moving forward, inching towards your goals. Navigating the waters of life, making the journey, requires many things and among those are the aforementioned strategies. Doing so, recognizing the need for such strategies, is just a cog in the wheel of forward motion.
Greives suggestions for what we can learn from "tech" is an apt distillation of important life lessons. Reading about said lessons, and reading them often, is helpful indeed.
Friday, July 26, 2013
EDU 653 Week #6
Entry #1 Twitter
I have a twitter account. Check me out @fhcbradanderson . Two and half years ago I signed up for twitter. And there my account sat for two years almost without a single "tweet" or a single follower. Pretty sad really. I had no idea what twitter meant and what it could do for me and my continuous learning as a coach and teacher. It would have gone on like this had it not been for an early morning breakfast with a good friend of mine.
Sitting at the corner table (where I always park it) at my favorite mom 'n' pop breakfast place I sat across from my friend to talk about what we usually talk about - wrestling. I am the varsity wrestling coach at the high school and he is an involved parent, volunteer coach and booster member. I have these frequent breakfasts with the many stakeholders of my program. It's my small way of staying connected in this wifi world we now live. You cannot beat a face-to-face conversation. However, you also cannot ignore the power of social networking and "the social web" as Will Richardson calls it in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.
After talking about next year's line-up and other particulars, we started to talk about communication. "How do we best communicate to the parents and the wrestlers?" I asked. My friend, who is a multimedia and graphic designer by trade, had a few thoughts: 1) accurate, timely updates of the team website for the parents 2) for the kids, facebook and twitter.
Right away I knew I could step up my game with the website. I only updated it during the season and that was weekly at best. He told me that people want interesting info about the team all year - even if that audience is small - and they should be able to find that content on our website (or they will go someplace else figuratively). I also was pretty positive about my ability to update and create posts on the team facebook group page. The group page was started by one of my athletes and he quickly allowed me to be an administrator. With a most of my wrestlers members and a smattering of parents members as well, I quickly began posting camp pictures, links to wrestling articles, and interesting wrestling video clips. The facebook updates were fun and comprehensible.
Twitter however was another ballgame. I needed to jump in head first. I knew the power of twitter. I was never skeptical of twitter (as other skepticisms have been chronicled on this blog). I just hadn't bothered to learn how to effectively use it. I didn't understand the #hashtag or the @ symbol. I didn't get the "connect" feature and I didn't know who to follow. So I dove in. I found my favorite news destinations and followed them. I then found interesting leaders on both sides of the aisle and followed them. Then I found my favorite wrestling websites and became a follower. Finally I began following some education sites. Within days, twitter became my "go-to" source for news, articles, video clip links and motivational quotes. I was hooked. I was a twitter fan.
Now the trick was to use twitter to my advantage. That is where I learned how to retweet interesting posts. I also began to regale my followers with interesting news about our wrestling program and also post my favorite motivational quotes (hey, I'm a wrestling coach, right!). All of the sudden I picked up a few followers and a few more. At publication I am pushing 45 followers (I know that's sad, but it's better than collecting dust!). What is interesting to me is the @connect feature. I am watching people respond and interact with what I post. I have found that people not only pay attention to my tweets but they "favorite" them and "retweet" them often.
My hope is, that by next season (19 weeks and one day away!) I will have all of my wrestlers, all of my twitter-using parents and a handful of fans "following" @fhcbradanderson, so that next time I sit down with my friend for coffee we can talk about our communication as a strength rather than an area of weakness.
Entry #2 Storytelling
A Response to an Edutopia blog by
Suzi Boss, Journalist & PBL Advocate
(Click Here for Link)
"Your students graduate not just prepared, but inspired to chase their own whys." -quote by a New Tech graduate.
I am in 100% agreement with this statement. Learning skills are important to master and important for a teacher to impart. Nonetheless, I believe up to and maybe even exceeding 50% of a teacher's job is to inspire. I am not talking about a one-time "rah-rah" speech at the beginning or end of the school year. I am also not talking about "when you're in the real world you'll need to be..." speeches either. Like Boss' article states, "It's either Dead Poets Society or Bad Teacher," laments Chaltain. What this refers to is what the public views us as - either inspired, cutting-edge risk-takers that flaunt convention or the stodgy teacher that laminates their lesson plans. Most of us know, those are caricatures of extremes. Most of us lean towards progress, improvising, adapting and building new ways to overcome learning barriers.
Inspiration can and should come in many forms and it must be frequent. As Boss' article states, "The Ignite (educational resource) slogan is 'Enlighten us, but make it quick." Passion is essential. Humor doesn't hurt. Good visuals are a must.' " How true.
If a teacher wishes to inspire they must employ many tactics to reach a variety of skill sets, personalities and souls.
Every Monday my students know the first thing we do is "Monday Motivation". It starts off as my collection of quotes (Teddy Roosevelt & Rudyard Kipling poems are a frequent visitors) and YouTube clips ("I am a Champion" and "How bad do you want it?" are favorites of mine) and then by the second semester I find that students invest by sending me or recommending to me their favorite quotes, clips, stories and so on. I encourage them to "own it" and find things that motivate them. We acknowledge that not every day is "sunshine and rainbows" and sometimes - many times - we need inspiration.
I also use teachable moments from class activities, random acts of kindness or meanness I see, current events, or school issues to stand on my soap box. My students know my "speeches" are 5-minutes or less (mostly), and they have a certain model: 1) the hook or attention-getter 2) the tease 3) an anecdote 4) the message 5) and relief (Thank You Chris Matthews and The Hardball Handbook!). I explain in very direct terms what it means to be honest, to work hard, to face failure and move forward, to have courage and treat others with kindness. We dialogue and the students respond.
I also use, what many teachers think is a waste of instructional time, movie clips from Rudy (Go Irish!), Rocky (any training montage or Rocky self-actualization moment will do), It's a Wonderful Life (who doesn't identify with George Bailey and his personal sacrifices?), Scent of a Woman (can you beat that closing speech by Pacino?!), and Cinderella Man (even I tear-up a little when he - spoiler alert - beats Max Baer). I use these timeless films to illustrate the richness of life, the triumph of the spirit, the heart of champions, and the idea that effort over time can equal success. The 45 minutes spent here-and-there on scenes from these movies at well-timed moments of the year can pay huge dividends. First, the students who have seen the films connect to you and your humanness. Second, the students who have not seen the films are exposed to some great cinema and heart-felt moments they otherwise might not ever see. Next, you show the students that you care about more than academia, that you care about their spirit, their motivation, and their education as well-rounded people. Finally (actually, I could go on-and-on), the students feel better about overcoming obstacles and enduring hardship if only for a brief moment. It promotes self-efficacy - something that is lost in this world of participation ribbons and awards for everything and anything.
Inspiring - or at least attempting to inspire - students is to me a solemn duty. I am there to ignite a "fire in their bellies". You cannot expect 16-year-olds to always want to learn for the sake of learning. Sometimes they need to be reminded that life is a journey, that they are on a bath that is one-part academic and one-part spiritual. They need to see you, the role model, getting fired-up.
The best compliment I can get from a student is that they recognize I am passionate. Because, if I am not passionate about learning and about the journey, then why should they be?!
Being a good storyteller is also a part of embracing your role as "inspirer-in-chief". Will you be the teacher that they remember as "lighting their fire"? Or will you be just another cog in the wheel?
Storytelling, motivating, inspiration, building life-long learners, guiding students towards lifelong passion and pursuits...those to me are the reasons I became a teacher. The content is merely a vessel.
I have a twitter account. Check me out @fhcbradanderson . Two and half years ago I signed up for twitter. And there my account sat for two years almost without a single "tweet" or a single follower. Pretty sad really. I had no idea what twitter meant and what it could do for me and my continuous learning as a coach and teacher. It would have gone on like this had it not been for an early morning breakfast with a good friend of mine.
Sitting at the corner table (where I always park it) at my favorite mom 'n' pop breakfast place I sat across from my friend to talk about what we usually talk about - wrestling. I am the varsity wrestling coach at the high school and he is an involved parent, volunteer coach and booster member. I have these frequent breakfasts with the many stakeholders of my program. It's my small way of staying connected in this wifi world we now live. You cannot beat a face-to-face conversation. However, you also cannot ignore the power of social networking and "the social web" as Will Richardson calls it in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.
After talking about next year's line-up and other particulars, we started to talk about communication. "How do we best communicate to the parents and the wrestlers?" I asked. My friend, who is a multimedia and graphic designer by trade, had a few thoughts: 1) accurate, timely updates of the team website for the parents 2) for the kids, facebook and twitter.
Right away I knew I could step up my game with the website. I only updated it during the season and that was weekly at best. He told me that people want interesting info about the team all year - even if that audience is small - and they should be able to find that content on our website (or they will go someplace else figuratively). I also was pretty positive about my ability to update and create posts on the team facebook group page. The group page was started by one of my athletes and he quickly allowed me to be an administrator. With a most of my wrestlers members and a smattering of parents members as well, I quickly began posting camp pictures, links to wrestling articles, and interesting wrestling video clips. The facebook updates were fun and comprehensible.
Twitter however was another ballgame. I needed to jump in head first. I knew the power of twitter. I was never skeptical of twitter (as other skepticisms have been chronicled on this blog). I just hadn't bothered to learn how to effectively use it. I didn't understand the #hashtag or the @ symbol. I didn't get the "connect" feature and I didn't know who to follow. So I dove in. I found my favorite news destinations and followed them. I then found interesting leaders on both sides of the aisle and followed them. Then I found my favorite wrestling websites and became a follower. Finally I began following some education sites. Within days, twitter became my "go-to" source for news, articles, video clip links and motivational quotes. I was hooked. I was a twitter fan.
Now the trick was to use twitter to my advantage. That is where I learned how to retweet interesting posts. I also began to regale my followers with interesting news about our wrestling program and also post my favorite motivational quotes (hey, I'm a wrestling coach, right!). All of the sudden I picked up a few followers and a few more. At publication I am pushing 45 followers (I know that's sad, but it's better than collecting dust!). What is interesting to me is the @connect feature. I am watching people respond and interact with what I post. I have found that people not only pay attention to my tweets but they "favorite" them and "retweet" them often.
My hope is, that by next season (19 weeks and one day away!) I will have all of my wrestlers, all of my twitter-using parents and a handful of fans "following" @fhcbradanderson, so that next time I sit down with my friend for coffee we can talk about our communication as a strength rather than an area of weakness.
Entry #2 Storytelling
A Response to an Edutopia blog by
Suzi Boss, Journalist & PBL Advocate
(Click Here for Link)
"Your students graduate not just prepared, but inspired to chase their own whys." -quote by a New Tech graduate.
I am in 100% agreement with this statement. Learning skills are important to master and important for a teacher to impart. Nonetheless, I believe up to and maybe even exceeding 50% of a teacher's job is to inspire. I am not talking about a one-time "rah-rah" speech at the beginning or end of the school year. I am also not talking about "when you're in the real world you'll need to be..." speeches either. Like Boss' article states, "It's either Dead Poets Society or Bad Teacher," laments Chaltain. What this refers to is what the public views us as - either inspired, cutting-edge risk-takers that flaunt convention or the stodgy teacher that laminates their lesson plans. Most of us know, those are caricatures of extremes. Most of us lean towards progress, improvising, adapting and building new ways to overcome learning barriers.
Inspiration can and should come in many forms and it must be frequent. As Boss' article states, "The Ignite (educational resource) slogan is 'Enlighten us, but make it quick." Passion is essential. Humor doesn't hurt. Good visuals are a must.' " How true.
If a teacher wishes to inspire they must employ many tactics to reach a variety of skill sets, personalities and souls.
Every Monday my students know the first thing we do is "Monday Motivation". It starts off as my collection of quotes (Teddy Roosevelt & Rudyard Kipling poems are a frequent visitors) and YouTube clips ("I am a Champion" and "How bad do you want it?" are favorites of mine) and then by the second semester I find that students invest by sending me or recommending to me their favorite quotes, clips, stories and so on. I encourage them to "own it" and find things that motivate them. We acknowledge that not every day is "sunshine and rainbows" and sometimes - many times - we need inspiration.
I also use teachable moments from class activities, random acts of kindness or meanness I see, current events, or school issues to stand on my soap box. My students know my "speeches" are 5-minutes or less (mostly), and they have a certain model: 1) the hook or attention-getter 2) the tease 3) an anecdote 4) the message 5) and relief (Thank You Chris Matthews and The Hardball Handbook!). I explain in very direct terms what it means to be honest, to work hard, to face failure and move forward, to have courage and treat others with kindness. We dialogue and the students respond.
I also use, what many teachers think is a waste of instructional time, movie clips from Rudy (Go Irish!), Rocky (any training montage or Rocky self-actualization moment will do), It's a Wonderful Life (who doesn't identify with George Bailey and his personal sacrifices?), Scent of a Woman (can you beat that closing speech by Pacino?!), and Cinderella Man (even I tear-up a little when he - spoiler alert - beats Max Baer). I use these timeless films to illustrate the richness of life, the triumph of the spirit, the heart of champions, and the idea that effort over time can equal success. The 45 minutes spent here-and-there on scenes from these movies at well-timed moments of the year can pay huge dividends. First, the students who have seen the films connect to you and your humanness. Second, the students who have not seen the films are exposed to some great cinema and heart-felt moments they otherwise might not ever see. Next, you show the students that you care about more than academia, that you care about their spirit, their motivation, and their education as well-rounded people. Finally (actually, I could go on-and-on), the students feel better about overcoming obstacles and enduring hardship if only for a brief moment. It promotes self-efficacy - something that is lost in this world of participation ribbons and awards for everything and anything.
Inspiring - or at least attempting to inspire - students is to me a solemn duty. I am there to ignite a "fire in their bellies". You cannot expect 16-year-olds to always want to learn for the sake of learning. Sometimes they need to be reminded that life is a journey, that they are on a bath that is one-part academic and one-part spiritual. They need to see you, the role model, getting fired-up.
The best compliment I can get from a student is that they recognize I am passionate. Because, if I am not passionate about learning and about the journey, then why should they be?!
Being a good storyteller is also a part of embracing your role as "inspirer-in-chief". Will you be the teacher that they remember as "lighting their fire"? Or will you be just another cog in the wheel?
Storytelling, motivating, inspiration, building life-long learners, guiding students towards lifelong passion and pursuits...those to me are the reasons I became a teacher. The content is merely a vessel.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
EDU 653 Week #5
Entry 1 To Wiki, Or Not to Wiki? Part II
Follow-up to Week #3 Post
It has been two or three weeks since my blog post about my dive into the world of wikis. Since then I have become more comfortable with the "ins and outs" of wiki use. I have not had an opportunity to implement in the classroom as I am luckily on summer recess, however I did set up a class wiki on Wikispaces. The link has been placed on my class website and is now just waiting...
FHCBradAnderson Class Website Click Here
I have not entirely decided what to do with the wiki. It is set up. It is tabula rasa as they say or a "blank slate". However, I want to avoid the trap of using technology for technology sake. I want my use of a wiki to be engaging and valuable.
In Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools for Classrooms, he suggests a variety of wiki uses that include report collaborations (sometimes with other schools or districts), posting results to experiments, collaborative review (Welker's Wikinomics), virtual communities, online diaries, online photo journalism projects and creating an online "book".
I think where this technology can be interesting and innovative in my history classroom is two-fold:
1. Online debate tool: Too often in class students that are reserved or introverted tend to shy away from discussions and debates. I have tried facilitating discussions many different ways, but a wiki may be a great option. Modeling an online debate much like we have in our EDU 653 class may be a viable option. Students would add-to and edit content based on discussion in class, readings, notes and other research.
2. Online collaborative report: As a teacher I usually stay away from the group project out of class. In class there is slim time to allot to students as well. To hurdle a time constraint and scheduling constraint, a wiki could be used to create a collaborative project whereby students could add-to and edit the wiki on their own time. As the teacher I could monitor their time and activity on the wiki.
The wiki will most definitely be used in my classroom this fall and I look forward to, instead of dread, the implications of this innovative use of technology.
Entry 2 "Six Paths to Better Leadership"
A Response to an Edutopia Article by
Maurice Elias Professor, Rutgers University Psychology Department
The following are the "six paths to better leadership" as outline by Professor Elias
I am an avid reader of leadership and team work literature. I am a huge fan of John Maxwell and his leadership books. One of my favorites is Frosty Westering's Make the Big Time Where You Are. I also enjoy Jim Collins' writings on the subject. A particular favorite of mine is not a book about leadership but rather "excellence in the workplace" and it's called The Little Big Things: Excellence by Tom Peters. All of those books, if distilled to their core, would look something like Elias' list aforementioned. As John Maxwell states, "Everything rises and falls on leadership."
As a classroom teacher, we are not only content area specialists, we are the leaders in the classroom. A strong, fair, kind and discipline leader is needed in the classroom for the students to succeed. Individual temperaments aside, teachers should all abide by the six, very simple, rules stated above. This is especially true during the first week - even more importantly first day - of school. From the "get-go" students want to know they have someone who will lead them effectively - someone who will set a vision, make it clear for all, inspire, be an example, show calm & courage and recognize teachable moments.
When I saw Professor Elias' "six paths" I knew right away that I would copy those onto a sheet and post those very six paths on my desk for me to see every day. As a teacher that is constantly reflecting on the process and continually trying to improve the classroom experience, this six paths will make it clear what I need to do during the first week.
In the past I have done or implemented the six paths, I just didn't know I was doing it. Now I will have a specific outline for action. For example:
First Day of School:
1. Stand in the hall way
2. Greet & shake hands of students
3. Have an assignment on the board & seating chart ("Find your seat, sit quietly & fill out the following info...)
4. Set a vision (I have an expectations slideshow that clearly outlines my beliefs and my vision for the class)
A. Expectations include morality, honesty, hard work, discipline, attendance
B. We also talk about how to interact with one another
5. On the first day I try to inspire and motivate (personal or historical anecdote)
As far as #6 goes, that is something that will take place during the week. I set up the first week to get the kids active and engaged with one another before I ever open a textbook or history lesson.
The "Six Paths to Better Leadership" will provide a template for weekly/daily actions in my Room 112.
Follow-up to Week #3 Post
It has been two or three weeks since my blog post about my dive into the world of wikis. Since then I have become more comfortable with the "ins and outs" of wiki use. I have not had an opportunity to implement in the classroom as I am luckily on summer recess, however I did set up a class wiki on Wikispaces. The link has been placed on my class website and is now just waiting...
FHCBradAnderson Class Website Click Here
I have not entirely decided what to do with the wiki. It is set up. It is tabula rasa as they say or a "blank slate". However, I want to avoid the trap of using technology for technology sake. I want my use of a wiki to be engaging and valuable.
In Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools for Classrooms, he suggests a variety of wiki uses that include report collaborations (sometimes with other schools or districts), posting results to experiments, collaborative review (Welker's Wikinomics), virtual communities, online diaries, online photo journalism projects and creating an online "book".
I think where this technology can be interesting and innovative in my history classroom is two-fold:
1. Online debate tool: Too often in class students that are reserved or introverted tend to shy away from discussions and debates. I have tried facilitating discussions many different ways, but a wiki may be a great option. Modeling an online debate much like we have in our EDU 653 class may be a viable option. Students would add-to and edit content based on discussion in class, readings, notes and other research.
2. Online collaborative report: As a teacher I usually stay away from the group project out of class. In class there is slim time to allot to students as well. To hurdle a time constraint and scheduling constraint, a wiki could be used to create a collaborative project whereby students could add-to and edit the wiki on their own time. As the teacher I could monitor their time and activity on the wiki.
The wiki will most definitely be used in my classroom this fall and I look forward to, instead of dread, the implications of this innovative use of technology.
Entry 2 "Six Paths to Better Leadership"
A Response to an Edutopia Article by
Maurice Elias Professor, Rutgers University Psychology Department
The following are the "six paths to better leadership" as outline by Professor Elias
1. Believe & Envision
2. Start Strong & Simple
3. Persuade & Inspire
4. Lead Morally
5. Demonstrate Courage & Compromise
6. Optimize Any Situation
I am an avid reader of leadership and team work literature. I am a huge fan of John Maxwell and his leadership books. One of my favorites is Frosty Westering's Make the Big Time Where You Are. I also enjoy Jim Collins' writings on the subject. A particular favorite of mine is not a book about leadership but rather "excellence in the workplace" and it's called The Little Big Things: Excellence by Tom Peters. All of those books, if distilled to their core, would look something like Elias' list aforementioned. As John Maxwell states, "Everything rises and falls on leadership."
As a classroom teacher, we are not only content area specialists, we are the leaders in the classroom. A strong, fair, kind and discipline leader is needed in the classroom for the students to succeed. Individual temperaments aside, teachers should all abide by the six, very simple, rules stated above. This is especially true during the first week - even more importantly first day - of school. From the "get-go" students want to know they have someone who will lead them effectively - someone who will set a vision, make it clear for all, inspire, be an example, show calm & courage and recognize teachable moments.
When I saw Professor Elias' "six paths" I knew right away that I would copy those onto a sheet and post those very six paths on my desk for me to see every day. As a teacher that is constantly reflecting on the process and continually trying to improve the classroom experience, this six paths will make it clear what I need to do during the first week.
In the past I have done or implemented the six paths, I just didn't know I was doing it. Now I will have a specific outline for action. For example:
First Day of School:
1. Stand in the hall way
2. Greet & shake hands of students
3. Have an assignment on the board & seating chart ("Find your seat, sit quietly & fill out the following info...)
4. Set a vision (I have an expectations slideshow that clearly outlines my beliefs and my vision for the class)
A. Expectations include morality, honesty, hard work, discipline, attendance
B. We also talk about how to interact with one another
5. On the first day I try to inspire and motivate (personal or historical anecdote)
As far as #6 goes, that is something that will take place during the week. I set up the first week to get the kids active and engaged with one another before I ever open a textbook or history lesson.
The "Six Paths to Better Leadership" will provide a template for weekly/daily actions in my Room 112.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
EDU 653 Week #4
Entry #1 Podcasting & Live Streaming
Last Sunday when I began reading Will Richardson's chapter 8 in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms I was somewhat skeptical. I had tried the Audacity technology before without much success. However, after devoting my afternoon to reading about and then searching the internet for different podcasting, screencasting and live streaming tools, I can honestly say I have drank the kool aid.
The idea of podcasting to my students enthralled me. After some toying around with Audacity (per our class assignment) I found it to be a simple yet powerful tool that could be used immediately. The implications for classroom use are far-reaching: a weekly teacher-parent podcast, review podcasts, lecture podcasts, student-created podcasts and teacher commentary podcasts. Couple that with a wiki and you have an amazing online resource that has endless possibilities. After working through our own EDU 653 podcast/Audacity assignment, I decided that I was going to have a three-prong plan surrounding podcasts in my classroom:
1. A weekly teacher podcast where I give a synopsis of the week ahead, class updates, class announcements, reminders, and teacher recommendations (books, movies, websites, articles)
2. A weekly student podcast where a selected student gives a brief synopsis of what was learned in class during the week, descriptions of class activities, and a summary of assignments.
3. Condensed lectures that would summary/supplement class activities and content. This would also be useful for students that missed class or for students that need extra review.
Podcasting via Audacity is quick, easy and convenient and can be done at my desk. It will be a technology I will implement immediately this autumn.
Live Streaming is another intriguing avenue for educators. I have not fully explored my use of live streaming in the classroom but I did recognize an immediate use for my wrestling team. After exploring various options that Will Richardson recommends I chose UStream to invest my time. It is a quick, simple and user-friendly live-streaming technology that also offers a free account. I set up an account, tested the technology and fell in love with the potential of it all.
I plan on live streaming my wrestling matches so that Grandpa Jim in Wabash, Wisconsin can watch his grandson Johnny wrestle in Grand Rapids, Michigan live! I watch a lot of live-streamed wrestling (as not much actual wrestling is on tv or live for that matter) and I look forward to utilizing this exciting prospect for my own wrestlers and their fans.
This is my first attempt at a podcast. Enjoy!
Click Here for Link
Entry #2 RSS Feeds
"Really Simple Syndication" is recommended by Will Richardson as the technology to use and implement immediately and then introduce it to your students. Per our introductory tasks, creating a Feedly "RSS" reader was required. At first I was not interested in creating yet another account with another site. After all I have a facebook account, twitter account, prezi account, two educational wikis, two google accounts (one personal, one school), one UStream account, and more. Setting up this technology I was not sure how exactly I would utilize an RSS feed.
Yet again, after you are forced to use such a technology you begin to see the merits. My Feedly reader is now a part of my morning routine. I have subscribe to several educational sites (as well as fellow EDU 653 classmates) and I enjoy getting interesting and resourceful updates. Not having to "surf the internet" to find articles and resources saves time and effort. It has become my one-stop-shop for news, articles and educational updates.
I will highly recommend this technology to my students and with further use I may even spend valuable class time to help them set-up their own reader.
Last Sunday when I began reading Will Richardson's chapter 8 in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms I was somewhat skeptical. I had tried the Audacity technology before without much success. However, after devoting my afternoon to reading about and then searching the internet for different podcasting, screencasting and live streaming tools, I can honestly say I have drank the kool aid.
The idea of podcasting to my students enthralled me. After some toying around with Audacity (per our class assignment) I found it to be a simple yet powerful tool that could be used immediately. The implications for classroom use are far-reaching: a weekly teacher-parent podcast, review podcasts, lecture podcasts, student-created podcasts and teacher commentary podcasts. Couple that with a wiki and you have an amazing online resource that has endless possibilities. After working through our own EDU 653 podcast/Audacity assignment, I decided that I was going to have a three-prong plan surrounding podcasts in my classroom:
1. A weekly teacher podcast where I give a synopsis of the week ahead, class updates, class announcements, reminders, and teacher recommendations (books, movies, websites, articles)
2. A weekly student podcast where a selected student gives a brief synopsis of what was learned in class during the week, descriptions of class activities, and a summary of assignments.
3. Condensed lectures that would summary/supplement class activities and content. This would also be useful for students that missed class or for students that need extra review.
Podcasting via Audacity is quick, easy and convenient and can be done at my desk. It will be a technology I will implement immediately this autumn.
Live Streaming is another intriguing avenue for educators. I have not fully explored my use of live streaming in the classroom but I did recognize an immediate use for my wrestling team. After exploring various options that Will Richardson recommends I chose UStream to invest my time. It is a quick, simple and user-friendly live-streaming technology that also offers a free account. I set up an account, tested the technology and fell in love with the potential of it all.
I plan on live streaming my wrestling matches so that Grandpa Jim in Wabash, Wisconsin can watch his grandson Johnny wrestle in Grand Rapids, Michigan live! I watch a lot of live-streamed wrestling (as not much actual wrestling is on tv or live for that matter) and I look forward to utilizing this exciting prospect for my own wrestlers and their fans.
This is my first attempt at a podcast. Enjoy!
Click Here for Link
Entry #2 RSS Feeds
"Really Simple Syndication" is recommended by Will Richardson as the technology to use and implement immediately and then introduce it to your students. Per our introductory tasks, creating a Feedly "RSS" reader was required. At first I was not interested in creating yet another account with another site. After all I have a facebook account, twitter account, prezi account, two educational wikis, two google accounts (one personal, one school), one UStream account, and more. Setting up this technology I was not sure how exactly I would utilize an RSS feed.
Yet again, after you are forced to use such a technology you begin to see the merits. My Feedly reader is now a part of my morning routine. I have subscribe to several educational sites (as well as fellow EDU 653 classmates) and I enjoy getting interesting and resourceful updates. Not having to "surf the internet" to find articles and resources saves time and effort. It has become my one-stop-shop for news, articles and educational updates.
I will highly recommend this technology to my students and with further use I may even spend valuable class time to help them set-up their own reader.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
EDU 653 Week #3
Entry 1: To Wiki, Or not to Wiki?
I have to admit that several years ago our media center specialist at FHC attempted to convince me of the merits of a wiki. My only experience at the point with wikis was of course Wikipedia. Fresh out of college in 2005, the prevailing wind was that Wikiepedia was not only unreliable but almost a sin when using in an academic setting. The media center specialist convinced me to use a wikispaces site to collect and administer a project on the seven continents (a project for a Geography course I was teaching). I happily registered with wikispaces and was determined to be the fresh, young teacher that was willing to try such programs. I set up a pretty slick (for the time) wikispace and then invited all of my sixth hour Geography students to the site.
After about five minutes in the computer lab (about the time it takes to boot-up and log-in to the computers) the first hand shot up like a ship into space. Then another hand and another hand and another.
"Mr. Anderson! The site URL you gave us is blocked!" shouted one student.
"Try it again," I said, not sure if I should break a brow sweat or chalk it up to inattentiveness by five of my students.
But, then another dozen hands and a dozen inquisitive looks were directed towards me.
"Mr. Anderson...ummm...I tried it again and it doesn't work", calmly stated one of my more thoughtful and forgiving students.
"I guess this means we can't do the project, huh, Mr. Anderson?!" snarkily commented one of my least attentive students.
What happened was that although I was given access to wikispaces through our very stringent school internet filtration system, for some reason at that time, wikispaces was a blocked site.
At that very moment I realized something about technology, a creed repeated by my EDU 653 professor Kim Guerrazzi often, "Technology is great, when it works!"
Another, thing happened that day: Even though it was the district block and not the software/technology itself, I was jaded and word "wiki" to me meant embarassment, wasted work and treachery. Anytime I heard the word again I cringed. Not only would I refuse to see the merits of the technology but I would actively discourage other educators in my department from using it.
One side note, is that the block was lifted after a few days of scrambling and watching The Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" DVD's to "supplement" the project. We has a few days still in the lab and we attempted to utilize the wiki. More problems floated to the top: password problems, editing issues, etc. What I did not wrap-my-head-around was that a wiki, which loosely translated in Hawaiian means "quick", is a resource where anyone with access to the wiki is in essence an editor-in-chief. The technology itself was not properly explained to me, when, in a time where blogs, wikis and YouTube were still emerging and in their infancy (educationally at least).
Fast forward to my journey to attain a masters in educational technology. I signed-up out of a genuine interest to advance my knowledge and competency in the area of educational technology. Learn how to create and upload a YouTube clip? Sure. Be versed in the ways of prezi and google sites? No problem. Attempt a digital storytelling video? Heckya! Craft ten page essay using Google Drive? You got it! But the buck stopped, for me at least, when it came to wikis. It was like nails on a chalk board when a professor used this modality.
It's not all because of that one isolated let-down back six or seven years ago, but rather my inability to see or happen-upon wikis of any value. Most of my digital life is spent on news websites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, and the suite of Google Apps our district provides (Drive and sites being my favorite outside using blogger). And so, a wiki to me translated to a fancy and convoluted way to administer a course or collaborate with colleagues. I saw wikis as the darling of the digitocracy meant to make amateurs like me feel silly and stupid when dive down the rabbit hole.
However, my paradigm, begrudgingly is shifting and shifting quickly. I was gaining ground after being required in this class to not only maintain my own wiki but join the EDU 653 wiki. And then, in the second course I am taking this summer I was asked to create a PBWorks wiki page through the course. I was forcibly immersed in wikis! Then something beautiful happened, I was forced to read Chapter 4 in the Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. I finished the chapter and immediately began thinking of way I could use the power of the wiki in my own classroom where I still am a fresh (maybe not young) teacher look for interesting ways to integrate useful technology into the classroom.
I think my change of heart is due in large part to having to use the wiki technology AND Mr. Richardson's artful way of explaining what exactly a wiki is and what its intended uses should be for an educator. Had this been carefully explained to me the first time - that a wiki is a mode of learning, not the goal of the learning - I may have been using wikis as often as I use YouTube, digital storytelling and Twiiter today.
As an educator I consider myself a pragmatist. I want to use what is going to work and work best for kids. Thanks to Mr. Richardson (and EDU 653 & 709) I began to see the possibilities of collaborative work. I am a huge advocate of project based learning, "hot" cognition and the like. I believe students perform best when there is something personally invested and something important (other than a grade) at stake. Wikis offer a (now) easy and logistically viable resource for student collaboration on any number of topics and projects.
I now proudly will forge ahead with an adjusted attitude about the word and the technology we call wikis. The funny thing is, just weeks before my first stab at a class wiki, our district was visited by a progressive educational technology advocate by the name of Will Richardson. During his presentation I saw Twitter for the first time, Skype for the first time and learned about this new-fangled thing called a "weblog". For whatever, I may have blacked out during his wiki presentation. Either way, here I am...a changed man.
To wiki!
Entry 2: In the Spirit of Collaboration
A response to Joshua Block's blog on Edutopia
"Creating Successful Collaborations"
In the spirit of the extolling the virtues of wikis and collaborative learning I sat down and read Mr. Josh Block's July 5, 2013 blog entry about "Creating Successful Collaborations". I am a passionate proponent of project-based learning and collaboration goes hand-in-hand with wikis. Block's article was a nice follow-up to my weekly learning objectives.
The best part of Block's blog is his listing of guidelines for successful classroom collaboration. Among them are:
1. Establishing an environment of shared leadership and ownership
2. Planning together and creating common goals
3. Communicating regularly and reevaluating
4. Valuing and Celebrating Student Work
5. Fundraising together
-Joshua Block blog on Edutopia
Block states that if you follow the guidelines you can reap powerful rewards. Collaboration is not just working and producing among the students themselves, but rather work and experiences with business owners, professors, professionals and local community members. Collaboration is about learning beyond the measured walls of a classroom and empowering students to learn via an age old method - master & apprentice(s).
I have been on the receiving end of forced collaboration whereby a guest speaker was brought to my classroom through some district-wide or guidance counselor initiative. It is a "crap-shoot" for lack of better term. I have had some really interesting speakers that engage the audience and draw in the crowd with a good story and a well-planned activity. I have also had people show up planning to speak about themselves for twenty minutes and then take question for the next thirty-five minutes. In short, I do not get overly-enthused when I get an email stating a "guest speaker" is coming to my classroom.
However, I think Josh Block's guidelines should be used by teachers has a plan and as a by-law for collaboration (either by choice or by mandate). After all, we work hard over weeks and weeks to establish trusting relationships and positive environments. Giving-up the reigns to a veritable stranger seems counter-intuitive.
Either way, collaboration should be a large part of education, especially in the teen years. First collaboration with fellow classmates and then onto broader experiences with the world at large.
I know for me, it was being sent out to shadow a local computer software business is what steered me towards education. In a setting much like NBC's "The Office" workers sat at cubicles and clammored around the water cooler during breaks. The boss - an amiable enough guy - wasn't the type of guy I could get fired-up to go work for every day. Subsequently, the collaboration worked in reverse...Instead of furthering my interest in the business world I had a self actualization moment - I liked working with people, I liked history and I liked to coach wrestling. After that, the decision to become a teacher became clear.
Had the teacher not reached out to collaborate (and follow the aforementioned guidelines) I might be sitting somewhere next to my own Dwight Shrute. Hard to imagine.
I have to admit that several years ago our media center specialist at FHC attempted to convince me of the merits of a wiki. My only experience at the point with wikis was of course Wikipedia. Fresh out of college in 2005, the prevailing wind was that Wikiepedia was not only unreliable but almost a sin when using in an academic setting. The media center specialist convinced me to use a wikispaces site to collect and administer a project on the seven continents (a project for a Geography course I was teaching). I happily registered with wikispaces and was determined to be the fresh, young teacher that was willing to try such programs. I set up a pretty slick (for the time) wikispace and then invited all of my sixth hour Geography students to the site.
After about five minutes in the computer lab (about the time it takes to boot-up and log-in to the computers) the first hand shot up like a ship into space. Then another hand and another hand and another.
"Mr. Anderson! The site URL you gave us is blocked!" shouted one student.
"Try it again," I said, not sure if I should break a brow sweat or chalk it up to inattentiveness by five of my students.
But, then another dozen hands and a dozen inquisitive looks were directed towards me.
"Mr. Anderson...ummm...I tried it again and it doesn't work", calmly stated one of my more thoughtful and forgiving students.
"I guess this means we can't do the project, huh, Mr. Anderson?!" snarkily commented one of my least attentive students.
What happened was that although I was given access to wikispaces through our very stringent school internet filtration system, for some reason at that time, wikispaces was a blocked site.
At that very moment I realized something about technology, a creed repeated by my EDU 653 professor Kim Guerrazzi often, "Technology is great, when it works!"
Another, thing happened that day: Even though it was the district block and not the software/technology itself, I was jaded and word "wiki" to me meant embarassment, wasted work and treachery. Anytime I heard the word again I cringed. Not only would I refuse to see the merits of the technology but I would actively discourage other educators in my department from using it.
One side note, is that the block was lifted after a few days of scrambling and watching The Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" DVD's to "supplement" the project. We has a few days still in the lab and we attempted to utilize the wiki. More problems floated to the top: password problems, editing issues, etc. What I did not wrap-my-head-around was that a wiki, which loosely translated in Hawaiian means "quick", is a resource where anyone with access to the wiki is in essence an editor-in-chief. The technology itself was not properly explained to me, when, in a time where blogs, wikis and YouTube were still emerging and in their infancy (educationally at least).
Fast forward to my journey to attain a masters in educational technology. I signed-up out of a genuine interest to advance my knowledge and competency in the area of educational technology. Learn how to create and upload a YouTube clip? Sure. Be versed in the ways of prezi and google sites? No problem. Attempt a digital storytelling video? Heckya! Craft ten page essay using Google Drive? You got it! But the buck stopped, for me at least, when it came to wikis. It was like nails on a chalk board when a professor used this modality.
It's not all because of that one isolated let-down back six or seven years ago, but rather my inability to see or happen-upon wikis of any value. Most of my digital life is spent on news websites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, and the suite of Google Apps our district provides (Drive and sites being my favorite outside using blogger). And so, a wiki to me translated to a fancy and convoluted way to administer a course or collaborate with colleagues. I saw wikis as the darling of the digitocracy meant to make amateurs like me feel silly and stupid when dive down the rabbit hole.
However, my paradigm, begrudgingly is shifting and shifting quickly. I was gaining ground after being required in this class to not only maintain my own wiki but join the EDU 653 wiki. And then, in the second course I am taking this summer I was asked to create a PBWorks wiki page through the course. I was forcibly immersed in wikis! Then something beautiful happened, I was forced to read Chapter 4 in the Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. I finished the chapter and immediately began thinking of way I could use the power of the wiki in my own classroom where I still am a fresh (maybe not young) teacher look for interesting ways to integrate useful technology into the classroom.
I think my change of heart is due in large part to having to use the wiki technology AND Mr. Richardson's artful way of explaining what exactly a wiki is and what its intended uses should be for an educator. Had this been carefully explained to me the first time - that a wiki is a mode of learning, not the goal of the learning - I may have been using wikis as often as I use YouTube, digital storytelling and Twiiter today.
As an educator I consider myself a pragmatist. I want to use what is going to work and work best for kids. Thanks to Mr. Richardson (and EDU 653 & 709) I began to see the possibilities of collaborative work. I am a huge advocate of project based learning, "hot" cognition and the like. I believe students perform best when there is something personally invested and something important (other than a grade) at stake. Wikis offer a (now) easy and logistically viable resource for student collaboration on any number of topics and projects.
I now proudly will forge ahead with an adjusted attitude about the word and the technology we call wikis. The funny thing is, just weeks before my first stab at a class wiki, our district was visited by a progressive educational technology advocate by the name of Will Richardson. During his presentation I saw Twitter for the first time, Skype for the first time and learned about this new-fangled thing called a "weblog". For whatever, I may have blacked out during his wiki presentation. Either way, here I am...a changed man.
To wiki!
Entry 2: In the Spirit of Collaboration
A response to Joshua Block's blog on Edutopia
"Creating Successful Collaborations"
In the spirit of the extolling the virtues of wikis and collaborative learning I sat down and read Mr. Josh Block's July 5, 2013 blog entry about "Creating Successful Collaborations". I am a passionate proponent of project-based learning and collaboration goes hand-in-hand with wikis. Block's article was a nice follow-up to my weekly learning objectives.
The best part of Block's blog is his listing of guidelines for successful classroom collaboration. Among them are:
1. Establishing an environment of shared leadership and ownership
2. Planning together and creating common goals
3. Communicating regularly and reevaluating
4. Valuing and Celebrating Student Work
5. Fundraising together
-Joshua Block blog on Edutopia
Block states that if you follow the guidelines you can reap powerful rewards. Collaboration is not just working and producing among the students themselves, but rather work and experiences with business owners, professors, professionals and local community members. Collaboration is about learning beyond the measured walls of a classroom and empowering students to learn via an age old method - master & apprentice(s).
I have been on the receiving end of forced collaboration whereby a guest speaker was brought to my classroom through some district-wide or guidance counselor initiative. It is a "crap-shoot" for lack of better term. I have had some really interesting speakers that engage the audience and draw in the crowd with a good story and a well-planned activity. I have also had people show up planning to speak about themselves for twenty minutes and then take question for the next thirty-five minutes. In short, I do not get overly-enthused when I get an email stating a "guest speaker" is coming to my classroom.
However, I think Josh Block's guidelines should be used by teachers has a plan and as a by-law for collaboration (either by choice or by mandate). After all, we work hard over weeks and weeks to establish trusting relationships and positive environments. Giving-up the reigns to a veritable stranger seems counter-intuitive.
Either way, collaboration should be a large part of education, especially in the teen years. First collaboration with fellow classmates and then onto broader experiences with the world at large.
I know for me, it was being sent out to shadow a local computer software business is what steered me towards education. In a setting much like NBC's "The Office" workers sat at cubicles and clammored around the water cooler during breaks. The boss - an amiable enough guy - wasn't the type of guy I could get fired-up to go work for every day. Subsequently, the collaboration worked in reverse...Instead of furthering my interest in the business world I had a self actualization moment - I liked working with people, I liked history and I liked to coach wrestling. After that, the decision to become a teacher became clear.
Had the teacher not reached out to collaborate (and follow the aforementioned guidelines) I might be sitting somewhere next to my own Dwight Shrute. Hard to imagine.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
EDU 653 Read/Write Web PowerPoint Assignment
This is a PowerPoint presentation for 11th grade World History students engaged in learning about our first core unit of study: "Age of Empires". The sub-topic, "Civilization" is broken-down into very digestable concept for students during the first week or so of school. Check out the PowerPoint for a simple, sleek introduction to 11th grade World History sub-topic #1 "Civilization".
I tracs from fhcbradanderson
EDU 653 Week #2 Instagram, Vine & Not Teaching
Great Teachers Don't Teach (?)
In Response to Article by Principal Ben Johnson at Edutopia "Great Teachers Don't Teach"
Mr. Johnson's article title is misleading. He does not mean "teach" in the truest sense of the word, but rather he means the type of teaching commonly referred to as the "stand and deliver approach" or the "sage on the stage." Mr. Johnson believes that true student learning takes place in an environment where "learning experiences are engineered" and "students are put into the driver's seat". This is, as Mr. Johnson states, called constructivism, a teaching and learning theory developed by John Dewey whereby the teacher creates an environment where students must learn in order to to "show" what they have learned, otherwise known as project-based learning.
I couldn't agree with Ben Johnson more. I am entering my ninth year as an educator (8 years as a teacher, 9 years as a coach) and I must profess that project-based learning is tougher and more involved on the front-end for teachers but much more rewarding and meaningful for students (and teachers) on the back end. What I mean is that, "engineering" an experience (that usually unfolds over many class periods) takes much more creativity, brain-power, organization and elbow grease than does the traditional PowerPoint notes slideshow. Constructivisn or project-based learning - or whatever you want to call it - is inspiring. Students begin to believe that what they are learning is important, that what they are creating is important and that they themselves are steering their own learning. When someone believes they are in charge, that they are making the decisions about how and why to do something, they tend to buy-in more and invest themselves in the process.
Once I bought into project-based learning I found myself really thrilled for each class period. I always enjoyed class and delivering a lesson, but now I was delivering a task or a mission and then helping along the way. I must admit that I have crashed-and-burned on a few projects: The Trial of Marie Antoinette, the Crusades Debate and the week-long game of 'Age of Discovery' Risk will be relinquished to my back-log of failed lessons. However, I have also crafted lessons (often using technology) that have kids coming in during their lunch periods to talk about the content, skip class to see their fellow students present a project, students visiting my classroom during the passing period to see how other projects in other hours fared and I have had students literally running to class. When's the last time you heard about a student skipping lunch with his football buddies to talk about the merits of Pax Romana and Caesar Augustus' reign as emperor? Or, had a students approach you after school because they want to make sure they can dress-up as Genghis Khan the next day? Or, how about the class clown that tracks you down to have you double-check their upcoming speech to the class about Macedonian Hoplite battle strategy?
I have developed a simple philosophy that I think could also be a metric for Mr. Ben Johnson when talking about a meaningful classroom experience (which is what an aspiring great teacher should do):
I ask my students a simple set of questions after a project based lesson: How many of you talked about this assignment during lunch? How many of you talked about this assignment in another class? How many of you talked about this in some form on social media? How many of you talked about this assignment at the dinner table or with your parents?
Most often all students raise their hands for every question. That is where the proverbial "lightbulb goes off" and the students realize they have actually learned something.
So I guess in the end, Mr. Johnson isn't far off the mark.
LINK to Ben Johnson Article
Instagram v. Vine
Response to Article by Adrianna Lee at ReadWrite Web "Instagram May Be Strangling Twitter Now, But This Fight is Far From Over"
I learned about Vine, the Twitter-owned social media video site, about a month before school ended. One of my students, an athlete, was being "ran through the wringer" for potentially violating the athletic code. The administrative team had found out about said athletic code violation via a six-second online expose - a Vine video clip. Interested, I inquired with my students. It turns out that the video social media site is wildly popular with teens. They use the medium to post funny moments, statements, pranks, messages, and every day activities. It is the video version of Twitter, instead of 140 characters you get six seconds of video.
However, as popular as Vine & Twitter are with teenagers, Instagram is even more popular. According to an article on my Feedly by Adrianna Lee at ReadWrite Web, now that Instagram is offering a similar service, Vine use has plummeted. The edge that Instagram has over Vine is that Instagram shares both pictures and video. As of today, according to Lee, there were twice as many Instagram posts yesterday as there were Vine posts.
What is evident to me is the phenomenon-turned-norm which is the fact that people like to and regularly document their own life for all to see. In an age where people are furious about our government using social media and the like to gather data, those same people are more than willing to post unseemly or incriminating or otherwise goofy videos that may or may not be flattering in the near future. Whether it be Instagram or Vine, one thing is clear: teens will find the easiest, fastest, and most convenient way to share their own lives with the world at large - until the next big things rolls onto our phones and tablets.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
EDU 653 Week #1 Creative Commons & RSS Feed Article
Creative Commons is a valuable tool for the educator interested in using multimedia instructional resources such as digital storytelling, glogsters, prezis, slideshares, and photoshop images. When using images, movie clips, and text for extraneous resources it is important to keep copyright and fair use in mind. That is where creative commons can be a useful tool for clarity of fair use.
As stated in the article, "7 Things You Should Know About Creative Commons", copyright is "extremely complex" and covers a range of codes and laws protecting intellectual property. Text, images, video and art are all stringently protected under the law in regards to use and replication (and rightly so). What creative commons offers is a "gray area" whereby fair use and varying degrees of licensing are used to allow educators and those desiring to use content for educational purposes the ability to do so.
As is evident for the aformentioned article, creative commons offers openness and differentiation in licensing. As a "digital native" myself, creative commons offers a unique way of accessing and using content to engage my students meaningfully.
One RSS Feed Article on my Feedly account that caught my eye was "Seven Great Works That Inspired Geeks to Change the World" found on the ReadWrite Web by Brian S. Hall. The article details seven works of literature that mobilized and inspired "geeks" to build, innovate, invent and improvise technology over the last sixty years or so:
Omni Magazine
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The Shockwave Rider by William Gibson
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
The author posits that "geeks" - future engineers, doctors, scientists, techies - found their inspiration in works that outlined a potential future replete with holograms, one-room computers, the world wide web, and robots. Each work was integral in inspiring the unlikely future that we live in today. Most of the works are from the 1950s through the early 1980s and so all of the works are written without knowledge of touch screens, the internet and cloud technology. Reading the abstracts about each magazine and/or book reminds me that the future we will know in ten years is future that is indeed difficult to imagine today.
Think about it: In 2003 there was no facebook, YouTube, iPhone, or Twitter - mediums that shape the very world we live in today. What will tomorrow look like?
Friday, June 21, 2013
EDU 642 Final Exam
EDU 642 Instructional Multimedia Final Exam
Instructional Multimedia Evaluation: Digital Storytelling & Webquests
Bradford D. Anderson
Forest Hills Central High School
Abstract
This paper describes the instructional strategies utilized by the multimedia instructional mediums: digital storytelling and webquests. Each can and do effectively address and implement all of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy levels of lower & higher order thinking. This paper outlines the way that both mediums (digital story telling and webquests) could be used in the classroom and their level of effectiveness.
Instructional Multimedia Evaluation: Digital Storytelling & Webquests
Multimedia instruction in the classroom is not an option any more, it is essential. If teachers want to create a meaningful and engaging classroom in today’s educational climate, multimedia technology must be researched, cultivated, experimented,delivered and executed. As is clear in any classroom setting be it urban, rural or suburban, technology is a major part of young people’s lives. When considering Bloom’s digital taxonomy, it is important to remember that multimedia instruction is not the end but rather the mode of instruction. From phones to digital music to video games to social media and online videos, technology has become an essential component of information delivery and student cognitive development. Students in the modern classroom are “digital natives” as suggested by Oblinger & Oblinger, whereby said students have had “unprecedented access to technology” that has changed the way students “learn, communicate, interact, and process information (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005; Prensky, 2001a, 2001b).
Two multimedia instructional elements that can be valuable tools in a classroom, especially in a high school building,are digital storytelling and interactive tutorials otherwise known as instructional web pages or webquests (as they will be referred to for the entirety of this paper). Both have qualities and benefits that will not only enhance the student experience in the classroom but also increase retention and take students to the different levels of Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy .
In any classroom, the goal is to have students frequently engaging in “higher order thinking skills” like analyzing, evaluating and creating. As a high school educator my objective every day includes base “lower order thinking skills” like remembering, understand and applying. The goal is to use the lower order thinking skills as a foundation for visiting the higher order thinking skills. And that is when real learning occurs. Both digital storytelling and interactive tutorials can engage students in using what they remember, understand and apply to begin to analyze, evaluate and create authentic and original projects.
Digital Storytelling
According to Robin in Theory Into Practice, digital storytelling is defined as the "art of combining narrative with digital media such as images, sound, and video to create a short story" (Robin, 2008). Digital storytelling is an integral part of “building better instruction” as noted by Brabec, Fisher and Pitler who outline nine proven instructional strategies that technology can support (2002). Of the nine strategies, digital storytelling can best support homework & practice, non-linguistic representations, cooperative learning, and cues/questions/advanced organizers (Brabec, Fisher & Pitler, 2011). By way of viewing or creation of their own digital story, students would engage in higher order thinking as prescribed by Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. If used by a teacher to deliver and engage students in lower order thinking skills, a digital story can help students remember, understand and apply certain concepts. A digital story, as prescribed by Brabec, Fisher and Pitler, can provide a preview of content, activate prior knowledge, cues about what is “central and important” and provide “higher level questions” that force students to dig deeper into the content (2011).
The benefit of digital storytelling is that a teacher can use the medium for said advanced organizers to build off of prior knowledge or use the medium as a culminating project to display student analyzation, evaluation and/or creation. An instructional use of storytelling in my classroom would include aforementioned advanced organizers that could also be used as a means of student review. An advanced organizer digital story can introduce a concept and draw upon prior knowledge (Brabec, Fisher & Pitler, 2004). Viewing a digital story about colonizing America (or any topic for that matter) before and after a unit of study could increase what a student remembers, is able to understand and apply. As stated by Dreon, Kerper and Langis, there are seven elements of digital storytelling that offer “tremendous opportunities” for teachers to engage students (2011):
1. Point of view: Outlines the point of the story and the perspective from which the story is told.
2. A dramatic question: Sets the tension of the story by identifying issues to be resolved.
3. Emotional content: Engages the audience through common emotions and themes (love, pain, humor).
4. The gift of your voice: Helps the audience make meaning of images.
5. The power of the soundtrack: Sets the mood of the story.
6. Economy: Balances the auditory and visual tracks of meaning.
7. Pacing: Sustains the attention of the audience by establishing and modifying the rhythm of the story.
(Dreon, Kerper & Landis, 2011)
If adhered to in principle design of digital storytelling, a well-crafted story can be used and reused as a learning resource for students before, during and after a concept is studied. Moreover, if students build their own digital story via iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, YouTube, Vimeo or any other medium, they reach the higher order thinking levels of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. For example a project in my American History class includes created a digital story about a World War Two topic. Students select from a list that includes Bombing of Pearl Harbor, Nazi Invasion of Poland, Battle of Britain, Operation Overlord/D-Day Invasion, Executive Order 9066 & Internment of Japanese-Americans, or Operation Barbarossa. Once they select a topic they gather images, video footage, statistics and details about the topic. This includes the analyzation and evaluation levels of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. They analyze the events and then evaluate what is important to report and detail in their digital story. They then use either iMovie or Windows Movie Maker to narrate and present a digital story from the point of view of someone that may have been at the event. The results are usually mixed but it is evident that the “digital natives” (my students) are engaged, interested, learning and building upon what they have learned as they create an authentic assessment of topic.
Webquests
A webquest is, According to Bernie Dodge (1997) from San Diego State University, an “inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet”. Webquests provide an opportunity for students to visit all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. If used and crafted with care, a webquest can allow for students to revisit and remember key concepts, understand and apply the content then analyze, evaluate and create an authentic assessment of their learning.
When constructing a webquest there is a certain formula used. Each webquest has an introduction, task, resources, process, evaluation and conclusion (Dodge, 1997). The elements build a systemic approach to first learning (remembering) and understand the content. Students are engaged during the introduction which is supposed to be interesting and “set the stage for investigation” (Dodge, 1997). The task and resources provide the objective for students and provide internet resources for investigation. The process outlines provides a step-by-step guide to complete the activity prescribed in the “task” (Dodge, 1997). The evaluation states how the students will be assessed on their learning (usually in the form of a list or rubric) while the conclusion de-briefs students (Dodge, 1997). The fact that webquests are online make it an accessible medium at schools with labs or personal tablets and at home. The webquest seemingly puts the learner in the driver’s seat so to speak.
According to Dodge (1997) the benefits of webquests are numerous and include encouraging cooperative learning and encouraging the development of thinking skills. After instituting a handful of webquest in my own American and World History classes I tend to agree. As such, webquests tend to be excellent supplements to informational reading, lectures, notes, discussions and activities. Webquests use a few of the “proven instructional strategies” as outlined by Dreon, Kerper & Landis (2004) including cooperative learning, setting objectives & providing feedback, generating & testing hypothesis, and cues, questions & advanced organizers. In implementing those range of strategies, one could surmise that webquests address remembering (knowledge)-resources, understanding-resources, applying-task & process, analyzing-task & process, evaluating-task & process and creating-task & process (Strickland, 2005).
An example of a classroom webquest would be my World History “Civilization” webquest. The students are tasked with creating their very own early river valley civilization using the basic building blocks of early civilizations: institutions, technology, religion, agriculture, cities and specialization. They must draw, build, craft, engineer and eventually re-enact their own civilization. The students use a series of online resources (teacher-made instructional digital stories, articles, websites) to investigate early river valley civilizations and ancient empires like the Sumerians, the Persians, the Mauryans and the Phoenicians. The process is a colaborative effort by the entire class. In conjunction with one another they must recognize class leaders, divide tasks, implement rules & norms, craft replica hoplite shields and Corinthian helmets and finally test their mettle against another class in an epic game of “Hoplite dodgeball”. The webquest serves as a static and dynamic tool while this three week project un-folds. It is static because the webquest never changes and is placed on my class website for all to view. It is dynamic because the students are constantly learning (remembering & understanding), applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating and going back through the webquest for help. It is the quintessential “ahah” moment for many students. It is a challenge that touches upon every level of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. In the end, the webquest and it’s subsequent classroom activities are some of the most memorable moments of the year.
Digital storytelling and webquests implement a number of
effective instructional strategies and address all levels of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. Each medium can be used either to instruct (remember, understand, apply) or to engage learning in constructing their own learning (analyze, evaluate, create). In the end, “digital natives” both appreciate and respect teachers that implement effective use of such strategies
that should be the norm in every modern classroom.
References
Atkinson, C. (n.d.). An Interview With
Richard Mayer. In Indezine. Retrieved June 21, 2009, from http://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/personality/richardmayer.html
Dodge, B. (1997). Some thoughts about WebQuests. Retrieved June 19, 2013, from the San Diego
Robin,B. (2008). Digital storytelling: A powerful technology tool for the 21st century
classroom. Theory Into Practice, 47(3), 220–228.
Dreon, O., Keper, R. M., & Landis, J. (2011, May). Digital Storytelling: A Tool
for Teaching and Learning in the YouTube Generation. In Association for Middle Level Education. Retrieved June 18, 2013, from http://www.amle.org/Publications/MiddleSchoolJournal/Articles/May2011/Article3/tabid/2409/Default.aspx
Mayer, R. E. (2008, November). Applying the Science of Learning: Evidence Based
Principles for the Design of Multimedia Instruction [Electronic version]. American Psychologist, 760-766.
Oblinger, D., & Oblinger, J. (2005). Is it age or IT: First steps towards
understanding the net generation. In D. Oblinger & J. Oblinger (Eds.),Educating the Net generation (pp. 2.1–2.20). Boulder , CO
Robin, B. (2008). Digital storytelling: A powerful technology tool for the 21st
century classroom. Theory Into Practice, 47(3), 220–228.
Strickland, J. (2005). Using webquests to teach content: Comparing instructional strategies.Contemporary
Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 5(2), 138-148.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
PREZI
This week's installment of the FHC Brad Anderson blog is all about the multimedia presentation tool PREZI. It is an exciting tool that can be used to visually link concepts. In my introduction to the medium (I have seen it used a few times before but never worked with it) I first watched the handful of online tutorials and then sampled concept map Prezis in my content area, Social Studies. Here is an example of one that I found helpful and tried to model for my own attempt at a prezi.
My constructed prezi is about the causes and consequences of WWI, otherwise known as The Great War. I would use this as both a presentation tool in class as well as an embedded tool on my class website. I have also become more adept at Twitter and Facebook as a means to distribute such multimedia and I could "share" this WWI presentation. I am very glad that our instructor chose Prezi as a unit of study. I can see the possibilities for use opening up for my class content. As an instructor, I can use Prezi as multimedia lesson tool. For students this can be a creative way to research, concept map or present their own findings on content.
Enjoy!
This week's installment of the FHC Brad Anderson blog is all about the multimedia presentation tool PREZI. It is an exciting tool that can be used to visually link concepts. In my introduction to the medium (I have seen it used a few times before but never worked with it) I first watched the handful of online tutorials and then sampled concept map Prezis in my content area, Social Studies. Here is an example of one that I found helpful and tried to model for my own attempt at a prezi.
My constructed prezi is about the causes and consequences of WWI, otherwise known as The Great War. I would use this as both a presentation tool in class as well as an embedded tool on my class website. I have also become more adept at Twitter and Facebook as a means to distribute such multimedia and I could "share" this WWI presentation. I am very glad that our instructor chose Prezi as a unit of study. I can see the possibilities for use opening up for my class content. As an instructor, I can use Prezi as multimedia lesson tool. For students this can be a creative way to research, concept map or present their own findings on content.
Enjoy!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
EDU 642 GLOGSTER Assignment
- Given that Glogs have the potential to create extensive cognitive load, what deliberate efforts did you make to reduce cognitive load in your Glog? Do you think you succeeded?The Glogs were created with the cognitive load theory in mind. After reading the "40+ Ways to Innovative Teaching Using Glogster" I chose the "Virtual Tour" route. In my case, the Glogs below are more or less "Back-in-Time Virtual Tours" where a particular time era is being toured. As such, the Glog is used as a classroom supplement. Although there seems to be a myriad of information (the cognitive load) the students have already read, discussed and been quizzed on the material. In the first glog there is perhaps a little too much multimedia video (the documentary). Nonetheless, it is review and the cognitive load should not be too cumbersome. The brief reminders about key concepts do not violate the cognitive load theory.
- Do you think that Swisher (and Mayer) would consider a Glog one piece of multi-media, or a collection of separate multi-media elements? Why or why not?I cannot speak for them, however, I believe that Swisher/Mayer would consider a Glog a collection of separate multimedia. As Swisher said, "Working memory is limited in capacity." The Glog seems more like a "grand central station" for a student whereby they can traverse any number of multimedia elements. Rather than a few key concepts whereby students are NOT cognitively loaded, a Glog serves as a springboard to elements that are meant to illustrate adhering to the cognitive load theory. A Glog seems to blur the line of being too much and "just enough".
- Defend or refute the following statement: It is entirely likely that almost every Glog ever made breaks all six of Mayer's multimedia principles.
When you consider the Mayer''s six multimedia principles ( the multimedia theory, the split-attention principle, the temporal contiguity principle, modality principle, redundancy principle and the coherence principle) it is entirely likely Glogs FULFILL all of the principles. The first time I wrote this, I did not believe so. However, after writing my entire blog refuting this I went back and re-wrote this blog. Glogs are interesting, aesthetically pleasing "virtual posters" that students could enjoy making, viewing and visiting. Nonetheless, as a medium it does blur each principle. The cognitive load theory threshold is crossed when you have too much information. However, if done correctly a glog can balance the cognitive load. The dual coding theory also is blurred as there is a mix of test, images, video and that may be too much for some students. Again, however, a glog can aptly match text and visuals to stimulate a complex understanding. The Glog fulfills the six multimedia principles. The multimedia principle - a Glog has words, pictures and video. The split-attention principle - "several sources of information substantially increases" the risk of cognitive load (on a glog, the information is separated). The temporal contiguity principle - If constructed properly, a Glog can "simultaneously present words and visuals". The modality principle - using Glogs, information can be party presented using visuals and partly using narration/auditory. Redundancy principle - a well-made Glog does not duplicate directions nor does it 'double-up' on content. Coherence principle - Glogs can purposefully exclude extraneous information.
In the end, I changed my mind after re-reading Swisher/Mayer and looking back on my Glogs.- Defend or refute the following statement: Even if a Glog breaks most of Mayer's multimedia principles it can be still be used to facilitate a more complex understanding of topics than many other multimedia representations.
- Even if a Glog breaks most of Mayer's multimedia principles it can be used to facilitate more complex understand of topics than many other multimedia representations. If constructed with Mayer's principles in mind they can overcome the breach. "Keep it simple" should be the litmus test for a constructed Glog. The Glog does have many positive aspect that could be used in the classroom. When I first viewed a Glog I thought of the Glog as an interactive poster (kind of like the posters/infographics you find in National Geographic). If you think of it as such, it can overcome Mayer's principles in that each link, image, video, and text item can be a stand alone medium that is simple located on the glog.
- Glogs are very popular in K-12 classrooms. Why do you think they are so popular with teachers and students?
Glogs are easy to create and include a multitude of mediums that students find familiar. The construction of a glog itself can be cognitively rewarding for a student. Viewing or interacting with them can also be fun and informative. Teachers can construct Glogs with ease and use as simple forms of review, virtual tours, ice-breakers or newsletters ("40+ Ways").
GLOG I: Dark AgesThe Dark Ages Glog features three 10 minute segments from the History Channel Dark Ages series as well as the popular "Crash Course" series installment "Dark Ages?" The instructional activity that this would facilitate would be home/computer lab review. Students are always asking for sources of review. Our classes do NOT have text books. If students missed notes or have lost items or maybe were not in class, such a multimedia source is a valuable tool. As stated above, it does blur the line on many of Mayer's multimedia principles. Nonethless, "The Dark Ages" glog can be an epicenter for student review from home.
GLOG II: Age of EmpiresLike the "curated" Glog 'Dark Ages', the "Age of Empires" includes a self-made review YouTube film, class photos & images and review in the form of summarized notes. Students can use this Glog as a virtual tour of the time period. I could post the Glog on my class website for students and parents to visit/view before the unit assessment.
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