Virtual Schools: From Rivalry to Partnership was a very interesting article for me to read! I work in a somewhat small district, and I work in a multitude of jobs: English teacher, history teacher, guidance counselor, and school improvement chair. I see many "sides" to the virtual high school option.
As a teacher, I hear complaints from my peers about virtual education. Many teachers in my district are convinced that Michigan Virtual High School is responsible for some layoffs and cutbacks that have occurred in our district. As a counselor, I get frustrated by the lack of electives we have to offer as the cutbacks have occurred. The only way for me to offer my students some classes they want is through Michigan Virtual High School. As a school improvement chair, the failure rate in these classes is alarming; what can we do to fix it when we are not even the "real" teachers??
This article offered the idea that virtual schools and traditional schools need to stop competing with each other; they instead need to work together to create the best educational opportunities for students. In theory, I agree!!! However, I am not sure how this works. You see, public school districts have to pay money for kids to take MVHS classes unless they take those classes as an "extra" hour or they elect to take a virtual class instead of a class offered at the high school. Some students do pay for their virtual "7th hour" classes. In this case, I think the situation presented by the author is realized! However, before I totally embrace the idea of virtual education, I believe the virtual schools need to be held more accountable for their students. Some teachers--and some schools--are wonderful!! Others are not.
I would be interested in learning of schools where this partnership truly exists.
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Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Summer Reading List
What Are You Reading this Summer? was an article I had to read :) I LOVE reading...which makes sense, since I teach English! However, I have always loved to read. I used to get in trouble as a child for staying up all night to finish a book; I used to wake up early on Saturday mornings to READ instead of watch cartoons! Therefore, I was happy to see some suggested reading for the summer.
One book on the list I definitely plan to check out is Switch: How to Change Things when Change is Hard. As we face a myriad of changes in education, I hope to be able to recommend this book to my colleagues once complete! Another book I hope to take a look at is Teaching the Taboo: Courage and Imagination in the Classroom. This will hopefully inspire me to keep on teaching and growing!!!
One book on the list I definitely plan to check out is Switch: How to Change Things when Change is Hard. As we face a myriad of changes in education, I hope to be able to recommend this book to my colleagues once complete! Another book I hope to take a look at is Teaching the Taboo: Courage and Imagination in the Classroom. This will hopefully inspire me to keep on teaching and growing!!!
Vocational Education
This article on Vocational Education was an interesting read from a counselor's perspective!
Prior to working in the counseling department, I must admit that I viewed vocational education as the "track" for "low-achieving" students. I didn't understand why a high-achieving student would want to take classes on car maintenance or cosmetology. After moving into the counseling department part-time, my views have definitely changed!!
The author of the article makes the point that we shouldn't deny kids the chance to excel at vocational education, no matter how "smart" or "worthy" they are. I agree with this, and I have an additional reason many "smart" kids may want to pursue a vocational opportunity: for many students, the training they receive at a voc tech center may provide them with the skills necessary to hold down a great job upon graduating from high school. This job then may provide them with the money necessary for further education!!
Prior to working in the counseling department, I must admit that I viewed vocational education as the "track" for "low-achieving" students. I didn't understand why a high-achieving student would want to take classes on car maintenance or cosmetology. After moving into the counseling department part-time, my views have definitely changed!!
The author of the article makes the point that we shouldn't deny kids the chance to excel at vocational education, no matter how "smart" or "worthy" they are. I agree with this, and I have an additional reason many "smart" kids may want to pursue a vocational opportunity: for many students, the training they receive at a voc tech center may provide them with the skills necessary to hold down a great job upon graduating from high school. This job then may provide them with the money necessary for further education!!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The Educator's Village is a concept created by Andrew Marcinek and Michael Milton, two teachers who seem to be pretty "down" with technology and its use in the classroom. While the article had a couple of good quotes and thoughts about social media's role in the classroom, the point of the article was to let teachers know about this new site where they can share ideas and lesson plans. The authors want to make The Educator's Village the "Creative Commons" of education. Teachers will have the ability to share ideas, lessons, and tools on this site!
I think that there may be other sites out there that do the same thing, but probably they do not do it in the exact same way. For example, I look at a lot of "sites" for English and history teachers. The idea behind The Educator's Village is that any educator can post tools and strategies for the classroom, enabling teachers worldwide
I think that there may be other sites out there that do the same thing, but probably they do not do it in the exact same way. For example, I look at a lot of "sites" for English and history teachers. The idea behind The Educator's Village is that any educator can post tools and strategies for the classroom, enabling teachers worldwide
Social Media...the new Telephone!
Is Social Media as Dangerous as the Telephone?
This was a quick read, but I thought the author made an excellent point: it seems that people have been "scared" of new technology in every century! He talks about how when the telephone was introduced, people thought it would ruin relationships, cause financial strain on families, and prove to be unneeded by most Americans. The same things have been said about social media and the cloud. (And similar things were said about other technologies like the television and radio!) I just found this to be an interesting article to read, especially in light of the fact that many of the blogs and posts I have been reading lately focus on Internet safety for our kids.
People often make grandiose proclamations about any new type of technology. The author claims we are still in this stage with social media. It does make me wonder what technology will be introduced fifty years from now...
This was a quick read, but I thought the author made an excellent point: it seems that people have been "scared" of new technology in every century! He talks about how when the telephone was introduced, people thought it would ruin relationships, cause financial strain on families, and prove to be unneeded by most Americans. The same things have been said about social media and the cloud. (And similar things were said about other technologies like the television and radio!) I just found this to be an interesting article to read, especially in light of the fact that many of the blogs and posts I have been reading lately focus on Internet safety for our kids.
People often make grandiose proclamations about any new type of technology. The author claims we are still in this stage with social media. It does make me wonder what technology will be introduced fifty years from now...
Teaching Online Classes
Teacher Development: Starter kit for teaching online is a fantastic article/resource for anyone looking to start teaching some online classes! I found this to be a resource that I shared with the three other teachers in my building who will be teaching blended classes next year. As I am in the middle of completing my Master's in Educational Technology (which is completed online!), I found a lot of the author's recommendations to be very true.
I really appreciated the resources available at the end of the article more than the article itself. There are some great sites there that I am going to place on my Delicious page for future reference!
I really appreciated the resources available at the end of the article more than the article itself. There are some great sites there that I am going to place on my Delicious page for future reference!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Let Students Innovate
Let Students Innovate is an article written by a young man who joined Edutopia to "get the students' voices heard." While he had a couple of decent ideas, I was somewhat disappointed in reading the article.
This young man seems to believe that teachers do not respect their students and that teachers need to be "taught" by the students about innovative things to try in the classroom. My disappointment comes from the fact that his two "innovations" are not actually all that new. One of his ideas is to use google docs. My school has, for the most part, been using google docs in all of our classrooms for the past two years. In fact, it clearly states in my syllabi that students MUST have a google docs account! His other idea has something to do with creating a social media team. While this idea probably has some merit, he doesn't include enough details about what is involved to help a teacher reading the article introduce this concept to their own students. (I am assuming that MOST students do not subscribe to Edutopia!)
I do agree with Recckio that allowing students to innovate in the classroom and have a say in their classroom environment is one of the keys to a good education. He states at one point that teachers and administrators don't seem very concerned with helping students prepare for college and the real world, and I am truly saddened by this statement. I know so many teachers and administrators who ARE focused on these things...but, unfortunately, that does not seem to be how this one student thinks. Perhaps we need to do more as a professional group to promote all of the great "innovative" techniques we are using in the classroom?
This young man seems to believe that teachers do not respect their students and that teachers need to be "taught" by the students about innovative things to try in the classroom. My disappointment comes from the fact that his two "innovations" are not actually all that new. One of his ideas is to use google docs. My school has, for the most part, been using google docs in all of our classrooms for the past two years. In fact, it clearly states in my syllabi that students MUST have a google docs account! His other idea has something to do with creating a social media team. While this idea probably has some merit, he doesn't include enough details about what is involved to help a teacher reading the article introduce this concept to their own students. (I am assuming that MOST students do not subscribe to Edutopia!)
I do agree with Recckio that allowing students to innovate in the classroom and have a say in their classroom environment is one of the keys to a good education. He states at one point that teachers and administrators don't seem very concerned with helping students prepare for college and the real world, and I am truly saddened by this statement. I know so many teachers and administrators who ARE focused on these things...but, unfortunately, that does not seem to be how this one student thinks. Perhaps we need to do more as a professional group to promote all of the great "innovative" techniques we are using in the classroom?
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
College and Career Ready--One Student's Story
College and Career Ready...emotionally and socially?
I read this article through my "counselor" hat, I must admit. Nonetheless, I found it especially poignant for me today! As my seniors count down the hours they have left, I notice that some of them are still asking the question, "What do I do with the rest of my life??"
The teacher who wrote about Brenda in this article stated that she is not surprised that this young woman--who she first met in the third grade--is graduating from college. Many would be surprised because Brenda comes from an environment in which many kids don't graduate high school, let alone college. However, Brenda was lucky enough to be one of 48 middle school kids who had an exceptional teacher for three years...and this teacher is determined to make it to as many of their college graduations as she can!
Elena Aguilar tells Brenda's story...and her own...and comes to the conclusion that we need to do more in middle school to prepare students emotionally and socially for higher levels of education. I happen to agree, and I also think that we need to continue that education in high school. I am scared for some of "my" seniors this year; they are kids who have little idea of how to "think for themselves" or "handle" an emotional crisis. I worry about what college may or may not do for them. In these times of testing and retesting, what are we doing to prepare kids for life??
I read this article through my "counselor" hat, I must admit. Nonetheless, I found it especially poignant for me today! As my seniors count down the hours they have left, I notice that some of them are still asking the question, "What do I do with the rest of my life??"
The teacher who wrote about Brenda in this article stated that she is not surprised that this young woman--who she first met in the third grade--is graduating from college. Many would be surprised because Brenda comes from an environment in which many kids don't graduate high school, let alone college. However, Brenda was lucky enough to be one of 48 middle school kids who had an exceptional teacher for three years...and this teacher is determined to make it to as many of their college graduations as she can!
Elena Aguilar tells Brenda's story...and her own...and comes to the conclusion that we need to do more in middle school to prepare students emotionally and socially for higher levels of education. I happen to agree, and I also think that we need to continue that education in high school. I am scared for some of "my" seniors this year; they are kids who have little idea of how to "think for themselves" or "handle" an emotional crisis. I worry about what college may or may not do for them. In these times of testing and retesting, what are we doing to prepare kids for life??
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A New (Kind of!) Search Engine Option
What do you Love?
I regret that I ran across this article AFTER my students had completed their research projects for the year! However, I am putting the "What do you love" website on my delicious page as soon as I'm done with this post!!!
This article explained a great service from Google that I knew nothing about. With using this search space on Google, students can, "type in a search term and instantly get results grid-style from Google images, create an alert, find patents, look at trends, email someone about the topic, explore the search in 3d with SketchUp, find books, watch videos, translate into 57 languages, organize a debate, find blog posts, maps, call someone, start a discussion group, plan an event, view it in Google Earth, create a instant bookmark to the search, or make the search mobile." Wow! What I find so neat about this is that students can compare results from different streams, find out various search terms, etc., all in one place.
I also really like the time this can save me as a teacher. It can save me time when searching for a new unit, and I can also look at the "trends" on the search. Google also offers some things of which I was not even aware. For example, Google will help you set up and organize a debate with moderation. How great is that for a lot of topics in high school? I haven't played with it enough yet to know how reliable this is, but I plan to do so before next year!
"What do you Love" is a GREAT site offered by Google, proving once again that Google is one of the best resources for educators!
I regret that I ran across this article AFTER my students had completed their research projects for the year! However, I am putting the "What do you love" website on my delicious page as soon as I'm done with this post!!!
This article explained a great service from Google that I knew nothing about. With using this search space on Google, students can, "type in a search term and instantly get results grid-style from Google images, create an alert, find patents, look at trends, email someone about the topic, explore the search in 3d with SketchUp, find books, watch videos, translate into 57 languages, organize a debate, find blog posts, maps, call someone, start a discussion group, plan an event, view it in Google Earth, create a instant bookmark to the search, or make the search mobile." Wow! What I find so neat about this is that students can compare results from different streams, find out various search terms, etc., all in one place.
I also really like the time this can save me as a teacher. It can save me time when searching for a new unit, and I can also look at the "trends" on the search. Google also offers some things of which I was not even aware. For example, Google will help you set up and organize a debate with moderation. How great is that for a lot of topics in high school? I haven't played with it enough yet to know how reliable this is, but I plan to do so before next year!
"What do you Love" is a GREAT site offered by Google, proving once again that Google is one of the best resources for educators!
Test Prep (Just kind of funny!)
Beat Standardized Test Prep!
The links and advice on this page are just kind of funny to read as I worry about yet another standardized test! I sit on my school improvement team, and a group of us are going to a data conference in a week to "discuss" our standardized results this year and what we can do to improve them. The videos in this article provided me a good chuckle this morning as I prepare for the conference! While a few are inappropriate to show to students, quite a few others are funny and might get your kids laughing at "test time!"
I think we often need a break from the data we are forced to collect, and I recommend checking out this article if you need a laugh :)
The links and advice on this page are just kind of funny to read as I worry about yet another standardized test! I sit on my school improvement team, and a group of us are going to a data conference in a week to "discuss" our standardized results this year and what we can do to improve them. The videos in this article provided me a good chuckle this morning as I prepare for the conference! While a few are inappropriate to show to students, quite a few others are funny and might get your kids laughing at "test time!"
I think we often need a break from the data we are forced to collect, and I recommend checking out this article if you need a laugh :)
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The Teaching Generation Gap
This article reminded me so much of my school right now. In March, a small group of us attended the MACUL conference in Grand Rapids. We came back fully excited to start using the tools we discovered, and we also made it a mission to start some hybrid classes next year. The resistance we met from our fellow teachers was amazing. We literally had some teachers accuse us of trying to break up the union and outsource jobs by using technology! WHAT??? I'm not kidding you! The author of this article discusses a conference she attended and tweeted and blogged; she was part of a small number of attendees who had already met online and through blogs and tweets. She was part of a global community.
She mentioned that we often talk about the gaps experienced by our students in education: gaps of money, gaps of knowledge, gaps of parental involvement. What do we do to solve the gaps of the teachers? Some of us...including most of us in this program...think a different way than do many of our colleagues. What can we do to bridge the gap?
The author offered no solutions, but she sure got me thinking!
She mentioned that we often talk about the gaps experienced by our students in education: gaps of money, gaps of knowledge, gaps of parental involvement. What do we do to solve the gaps of the teachers? Some of us...including most of us in this program...think a different way than do many of our colleagues. What can we do to bridge the gap?
The author offered no solutions, but she sure got me thinking!
Benefits of Tweeting
12 Reasons to Get Tweeting
I'll admit...I am not on Twitter, and I often don't understand the point of tweeting. It just isn't how I personally communicate. Sure, I use Facebook; sure, I subscribe to various email lists. I just don't tweet!
After reading these 12 reasons to get tweeting this summer, I may very well sign up for an account!! I will also encourage my principal to think about using tweeting as a professional development tool. (I am currently helping him to set up a professional development Blackboard course for all teachers in our high school that will have us do a book study, have us take the 21 Things 4 Teachers course, and provide links to lots of helpful "past" professional development tools. Why not add Twitter? I think it could be cool!) I liked being able to follow other professionals on Twitter, and I also like the idea of setting up a parent/community account so that everyone knows what is going on in our district. I am pretty excited about this idea! Check it out!
I'll admit...I am not on Twitter, and I often don't understand the point of tweeting. It just isn't how I personally communicate. Sure, I use Facebook; sure, I subscribe to various email lists. I just don't tweet!
After reading these 12 reasons to get tweeting this summer, I may very well sign up for an account!! I will also encourage my principal to think about using tweeting as a professional development tool. (I am currently helping him to set up a professional development Blackboard course for all teachers in our high school that will have us do a book study, have us take the 21 Things 4 Teachers course, and provide links to lots of helpful "past" professional development tools. Why not add Twitter? I think it could be cool!) I liked being able to follow other professionals on Twitter, and I also like the idea of setting up a parent/community account so that everyone knows what is going on in our district. I am pretty excited about this idea! Check it out!
Student Calls for a Learning Revolution
Student Calls for a Learning Revolution
I read this article, and I could only think of the frustration experienced by students AND teachers across America. I don't know about you, but in my school, everyone is extremely worried right now about our evaluations. We now have to "prove" we are effective teachers by putting together a portfolio that makes the student teaching portfolio I put together ten years ago look like child's play! I need to document what I do in five different domains. There are four to five categories in each domain. I have already been told it is "bad" to be highly or minimally effective. I have to "prove" how I help students grow, reach out to students before and after school, grow professionally, contact parents, create assessments, use data to drive my decisions, etc. Everthing is based on data! Reading this article made me wonder what we ARE teaching students. The author makes an amazing point: we are taking creativity and originality totally out of the equation. The author is a high school student himself, and I couldn't agree with him more! If more students and teachers refused to use every day as another "data collection" day, I think better learning would occur. That being said, we might all be fired...
Sorry if this post is so negative. The article really was great!!! I am just very frustrated by the people running the education system today, and this article pointed out to me that I am my peers are not the ones most affected by it; our students are the ones who are most affected. What do we do to make this learning revolution happen???
I read this article, and I could only think of the frustration experienced by students AND teachers across America. I don't know about you, but in my school, everyone is extremely worried right now about our evaluations. We now have to "prove" we are effective teachers by putting together a portfolio that makes the student teaching portfolio I put together ten years ago look like child's play! I need to document what I do in five different domains. There are four to five categories in each domain. I have already been told it is "bad" to be highly or minimally effective. I have to "prove" how I help students grow, reach out to students before and after school, grow professionally, contact parents, create assessments, use data to drive my decisions, etc. Everthing is based on data! Reading this article made me wonder what we ARE teaching students. The author makes an amazing point: we are taking creativity and originality totally out of the equation. The author is a high school student himself, and I couldn't agree with him more! If more students and teachers refused to use every day as another "data collection" day, I think better learning would occur. That being said, we might all be fired...
Sorry if this post is so negative. The article really was great!!! I am just very frustrated by the people running the education system today, and this article pointed out to me that I am my peers are not the ones most affected by it; our students are the ones who are most affected. What do we do to make this learning revolution happen???
Flipped Classroom Tool
TED-Ed Lessons (Videos) Worth Sharing
I checked out this site after reading the article, and I must say I am impressed. As my classroom will become "flipped" in a way next year, I am excited to have this as a resource for my teaching. There are some great videos that are searchable by subject, etc. on the TED-Ed website! I added this one to my delicious account right away :)
I also thought it was interesting that the author pointed out that each video has comprehension checks, deeper, critical thinking questions, and opportunities for extended learning. How awesome is that?? :)
You do have to register to use the TED-Ed site, but it is free and easy!! Sign up today!
I checked out this site after reading the article, and I must say I am impressed. As my classroom will become "flipped" in a way next year, I am excited to have this as a resource for my teaching. There are some great videos that are searchable by subject, etc. on the TED-Ed website! I added this one to my delicious account right away :)
I also thought it was interesting that the author pointed out that each video has comprehension checks, deeper, critical thinking questions, and opportunities for extended learning. How awesome is that?? :)
You do have to register to use the TED-Ed site, but it is free and easy!! Sign up today!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Social Media in the Classroom
For Social Media in the Classroom to Work, Instructors Need Best Practices
As I prepare to teach two hybrid courses next year, the title of this article caught my attention. I intend on using various social media sources--Google +, Twitter, YouTube to name a few--with my hybrid English 10 and American History courses. This article focused on university students in various English classes; it suggested that while some loved social media, others hated it. I tend to wonder if this will be different in high school? I also worry about tweeting my students...am I breaking any rules? This is something I'm going to have to examine carefully prior to the fall!
As I prepare to teach two hybrid courses next year, the title of this article caught my attention. I intend on using various social media sources--Google +, Twitter, YouTube to name a few--with my hybrid English 10 and American History courses. This article focused on university students in various English classes; it suggested that while some loved social media, others hated it. I tend to wonder if this will be different in high school? I also worry about tweeting my students...am I breaking any rules? This is something I'm going to have to examine carefully prior to the fall!
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