Monday, January 27, 2014

Reading for January 27, 2014: Brennan by Design



You can hear Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” blaring inside Askwith Lecture Hall even before you get to the beige double doors. It’s the third meeting of the fall semester for T-550, and inside, the room is buzzing.

via @andycinek http://ift.tt/1n93cVv

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Reading for January 26, 2014: How the Heck Do You Implement “Student Empowerment”?

The following is an excerpt from Marsha Ratzel’s new book In High Gear: My Shift Toward a Student-Driven, Inquiry Based Science Classroom.

Most classrooms follow a prescribed formula. Teachers plan and lay out what is going to be learned. Students come into class and have the responsibility of switching themselves into “ready” mode, waiting for the teacher to instruct and guide them in the day’s tasks. There is very little student ownership in this process.

Surely there were parts of the learning process where the control could be shifted to the students – where I could hand them responsibility and freedom and give them a voice in what they would learn. Although it would be impractical for me to think they could run a classroom as well as a veteran teacher, I hoped I could guide them as they took control of the questions they would pursue.
Knowing that handing students most of the responsibility for learning without preparation was not a realistic first step, I designed “skill-builders” to transition the classroom. I used layers of traditional teaching/learning experiences and experiences where the process was open-ended but had a clearly defined endpoint. This built skills in both my own teaching practice and in my students’ learning practice. I tested things for effectiveness and they developed the new personal skills to stay on course as their control of their own learning increased. Notably, experiencing small obstacles helped to develop students’ coping ability—an important skill for open-ended, open-process activities.

EdCamp Organizer Meeting : Hangout on Air

February 20 at 8PM EST 

An experienced panel of Edcamp Organizers will share tips, tricks, and guidance about creating an environment centered on teaching & learning, not tools. We will be answering YOUR questions via interactive backchannel at #edcamp

For more information

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Weekly Links (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Weekly Links (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

EdCamp Maine 2014

March 8, 2014
Waynflete School
Portland, ME

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Reading for January 14, 2014 at 09:39PM: Watch Out TED Talks: Here Comes A New Generation



TED’s educational arm is launching TED-Ed Clubs, an effort to support students who research, write and present and record their own ideas in a TED talk format. “The goal is to stimulate and celebrate the best ideas of students around the world,” said TED-Ed Director Logan Smalley.
via Pocket http://ift.tt/1dMYViW

Trying Pearltrees

 I have been wanting to try Pearltrees, so I created a set for our Digital Discussion Unit

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Weekly Links (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Reading for January 08, 2014 at 11:58AM: There's a Cheaper, More Effective Way to Train Teachers



We don’t know exactly how much money was spent training Will in his first year of Teach for America, but we know it was a lot.
via Pocket http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/theres-a-cheaper-more-effective-way-to-train-teachers/282778/

Monday, January 06, 2014

Reading for January 06, 2014 at 04:59PM: Making It



In January of 1903, the small Boston magazine Handicraft ran an essay by the Harvard professor Denman W. Ross, who argued that the American Arts and Crafts movement was in deep crisis.

via The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2014/01/13/140113crat_atlarge_morozov?currentPage=1

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Weekly Links (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Weekly Links (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Hour of Code




All students in the high school participated in the Hour of Code activities during math class for 2 days. Each student was asked to choose the level (novice, apprentice, ninja) he/she felt most comfortable with. The students then went to the classroom of the level they selected. Each room had a facilitator (a teacher, student, or community member volunteer) to answer questions. Students could choose which tutorials or activities to do. All activities were self directed.

Feedback:
What did you like about the activities?
  • That we got to choose what we used and what we could do with it
  • That you had a lot of independence as you progressed through the levels
  • I liked the videos of the different people talking about the importance of coding. 
  • The activities were simple games that were easy to understand and even fun!
  • I like the fact that Code Academy allows the user to learn from many different languages that all effect student in everyday life
  • I really liked how it didn't feel like you were learning or working on the games, it felt like you were actually playing a game. 
  • You feel accomplished when you finish a level
  • I liked that they were a challenge and and involved math, but were also fun to play.
  • In Blockly, I loved how they made it fun, but still had to do with coding, especially since this was my very first time ever doing it, they made it not boring, very interesting!
My Observations
  • Students were very engaged with the activities. They really looked like they were having fun.
  • I enjoyed watching the collaboration happening in some classrooms.
  • I was interested that some students wanted to be "taught" by an instructor.
  • The student facilitators were well prepared.
  • Our community visitors added a nice element. Students who are interested in computer programming as a career were able to speak with them directly. They made terrific coaches! 
  • At first we had more novices, by the afternoon, many students felt that they could be at the apprentice level.

Saturday, December 07, 2013

Weekly Links (weekly)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Friday, December 06, 2013

Digital Discussions

Oro, Ann. 2009 electronics.jpg. 
February 16, 2009. Pics4Learning. 6 Dec 2013 
<http://pics.tech4learning.com>

This year we are going to have 3 periods during the year when we have discussions based on topics related to digital citizenship with 9th graders. Students will choose the topic they want to participate in. Round 1 will cover Digital Footprint and Digital Overload. Students will watch videos and read articles during Science and Social studies classes. On December 6th, students will participate in the Digital Compass opening activity and then go to smaller groups for the discussion. Groups will be generated randomly and each will have a teacher facilitator. Students will come prepared to the discussion ready to share and bring more questions. At the end of the sessions students will write a reflection.  In future discussions, students will facilitate, based on the EdCafe Model. After the last discussion students will write an essay in English Class based on the theme of Digital Citizenship.

Resources: Digital Discussions

Feedback and Comments:
  • "I would like to know more about some of the stories of digital media. I feel like stories of mistakes would have a big impact on kids and really make them think about what they are doing.”
  • “I want to know more about why people think that life on the internet is more important than your life outside the internet, and why people feel alone and like a loser when they don’t have some kind of technology with them.”
  • “Something I agree with is that reality is less interesting than things shown on the internet. Because people in other countries seem to have a much more interesting life than people living in Maine basically because other countries and states are much more interesting.”
  • “I want to learn more about the theory that chatting online is just an excuse to avoid "real" social interaction. It intrigues me because it seems as if teenagers feel like they need to be constantly socially connected through electronics and I wonder if this is connected. As if its a way to be popular without having to actually interact with people.”
  • “I would like to know more about why there is so much social media that have some of the same stuff repeated over and over on each site or app. Also why people feel the need that they have to have all of those apps or sites to "fit in" with what everyone else is doing.”
  • “I thought it was a good, fun discussion. I hope we do more things like this around the year. I think it'd be interesting to join other groups of the same topic and see what their arguments were and where they were coming from.”
  • “This was a very interesting topic, and idea. I learned that my teacher is connected it to people all around the world. This was interesting to learn about from a worldly perspective.” 
  • “I would like to know more about the privacy settings on websites and how they are ensured. I would also like to experience more discussions on my digital footprint and my image on the Internet.”

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Reading for November 27, 2013 Coding the Curriculum: How High Schools Are Reprogramming Their Classes



There are no lockers in the hallways at Beaver Country Day School. Instead, backpacks and tote bags line either side of the floor while students step over them during the mid-morning rush to class. Nearly everyone is carrying a laptop.

via Mashable http://mashable.com/2013/09/22/coding-curriculum/