Another website in process

I've been working on making a website for our final electronic portfolio. I'm not going to make it public yet, because it's still a work in progress. I'm using Yola and finding it frustrating that even though it's free, ads keep popping up about upgrading: "for only $19.95, you can upgrade to a professional domain name". "Use a premium style to be unique, for only $5." "And if you call now, we'll throw in a Ronco slicer-dicer-juicer for free!"

I'm sorting through how much extra style elements I want on the page, what is simplest to read, and trying to think ahead for how the website will evolve during the next two years. I feel reluctant to choose the elements because I feel that I need to really like what I put on this website. Obviously, I could change it in the future, but isn't it better if I get it right the first time?

I checked out Jan's journal and listened to the Gabcast example he has there. Cool technology is everywhere! I hadn't heard of a way to link your cell phone to a website, so it's nice to know that's possible. I appreciate using technologies that are already in the school and familiar to students to enhance our teaching because then there is less spool-up time for students.

On an aside, I took a break from homework on Saturday and test rode a Hase Pino. It's a tandem with the front rider recumbent, so both riders can talk and have a good view of the landscape. Fun tricks!

Fun with probes

This week in class gave us an opportunity to explore various Texas Instruments probes and calculators that are available for 2-week loans to teachers. Here's a video clip that details the various options in data collection. We explored the relationship between distance and time with a motion detector, measured the heart rate of an Olympian kayaker, mixed lemon juice and bleach for various pH levels, and evaluated who had cold hands (but a warm heart) with a temperature sensor.

Talking with a local physics teacher, he said they use the motion sensor and force meters, and have just got the portable set-ups that work directly with the calculators, so that directly mirrors what we used last night.

I would have liked a quick tutorial of the probes, so that we wouldn't have to each spend time trying to decipher the vagaries of each probe. It wasn't until the end of class that someone figured out that the heart rate monitor doesn't register anything meaningful for 3 minutes: there isn't any feedback that tells you it's "thinking".

We listed the design features to look for when evaluating a new technology tool, and that will be very useful list for making comparisons.

I was discouraged to find out that the article I reviewed for the second executive summary was not a "practitioner-based" article. My understanding was that practitioner-based meant that it was a technology used with students; since this was not explained earlier, it seems unfair to make that a requirement after the fact. Perhaps a bit more up-front housekeeping would have averted the misunderstanding.

Useful Technology for the Classroom

From Carrie: Given the view of schooling in the readings for this week, which technologies do you think are most likely to be taken up in schools? Why?

I expect that technologies that are inexpensive and engage the students in collaborative ways are more likely to be used in schools. One example is VoiceThread, where students can post their thinking and have other students comment on it. There's a free version for educators, and it controls who can see the VoiceThread: the "public" is only people who have been invited to join by educators. Students would be able to view, solve problems, and work with others outside of classroom. They can share their work with students in other schools, other states, other countries. Here's a link to hook up with other teachers that want to share their VT with you: Voicethread 4 Education.

Provided there are computers available, I think math visualization tools like Geometer Sketchpad and Fathom would be terrific additions to the teacher's toolbox. They allow students to "mess around" with numbers and see the connections so much more easily than if you're working with pencil and paper. Even if there aren't individual computers for each student, the ability to link one of these technologies to the activboard in the front of the classroom would be beneficial.


Which technologies push your thinking about teaching and learning? Why? Do these two lists necessarily line up?

I'd like to say that I would support 'flow experiences' in the classroom for my students, but I have a hard time visualizing what that would look like in the context of a videogame being used in the classroom. Of course, you can experience flow without a videogame, but I'm not sure there's a particular technology that would enable that to happen. I do want my students engaged, I do want them to make connections with the content, and I do want them to feel that they are an integral part of their learning. I'm not sure how to judge any given technology in general, but only know that I will evaluate what makes sense for my students as I get to know them.

I'd like the students to have just-in-time learning, yet I feel that having a foundation is critical as well. In terms of science labs, I would want them to have a background in the subject before they started the lab, while still allowing for discovery to happen. I remember labs in high school where we had no idea what the teacher was trying to accomplish, and that led to tons of frustrated students. I don't want to give them all the answers before they do the lab, either, so it's a balancing act. I know that the lessons I remember the best are those I found that surprised me.

I don't think the lists line up because what is reasonable to expect in schools are not going to be cutting-edge in most cases. The bureaucracy of a big business makes it hard to change the direction of schools in a short time. Certainly, training new teachers to be comfortable with technology tools is a good step in the right direction.

Playing videogames in class

I went into class feeling a little left out because I'm not a gamer, and what's so great about video games anyway? After reading lots of material on how terrific they are as learning environments, I felt that I've been missing out by not spending more time with an affinity group.

Then I remembered that I have a tiny bit of experience with an early game called Myst which my husband and I played BK (before kids). It was engaging because you were in control in a fantasy world, trying to decipher the clues to solve a mystery, but it wasn't clear cut as to what steps you needed to take. I'd go into work and discuss it with other people, and we'd share ideas as to what worked and didn't.

Realistically, I don't think that our schools are ready for all their content to be delivered by videogames, no matter how engaging and interactive they are. I expect that, as a teacher, I may be able to use software occasionally to illustrate a concept, but overall, I'll need to make the classroom engaging to the students without the bells and whistles of videogames. I would love to model my classroom on an interactive process like this one at MIT:
At MIT, large lectures are going the way of the blackboard. I doubt that high schools or middle schools will ever have the funds to create this kind of environment for their students, but the trick will be to craft whatever I can with the tools I have. There's a lot of free and inexpensive software available, and I need to put some ideas in my back pocket for future use.

I appreciate the practical ideas about online gradebooks, how to read a research article, and how to find reputable research authors. I'm relieved that we can also use peer review for our second executive summary because I'm definitely rusty on the writing part of school!