Tuesday, February 22, 2011
To Friend or not To Friend
Ewan McIntosh responds to a tweet that asks if it is ok for teachers to have Facebook pages. He responds with an astounding, "yes." The question then becomes, do we allow our students to 'friend' us? He responds with even more astounding, 'no!' His advice is to start a facebook pages which is a Facebook page for a product or service. The idea is that you could have a class page or you could set up a less personal page so you can be friends with your students in a way that has more boundaries. Facebook in the class room makes sense to me. The other point raised is that teachers are very similar to clergy in the sense that they live under a microscope (I'm currently clergy). Everything we say and do is judged on that basis. So in that regard, we must be ever so careful what is posted, in the event that it ever were to be made known to class (or congregation). So my questions are: what are the policies regarding Facebook and/or other social sites in any public or private schools? Are any teachers friends with their students? Are they any stories where a teacher/student Facebook friendship went well?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Please don't read off the screen.
I don't remember where I read this, but there is a theory or maybe even some research done that says we remember 30% of what we hear but 70% of what we see and hear. While in the audience during a lecture, the presenter began to speak and a large screen behind them illuminated. I was relieved to see some sort of technology used to help illustrate fine points, perhaps show a movie clip or use still images to bring relevant meaning to the topic being addressed. Nope. Not even close. What happened for the next hour and half has inspired me to think that teachers or any one that addressed an audience a course in PowerPoint (Keynote ) usage. Literally every word that came from the presenters mouth was on the screen. EVERY WORD! They stood next to the screen and read to us, standing on a awkward angle, looking at us when they read ahead and then back to the screen. I was able to read faster than they could talk so I would get to the end of the slide, take a note and wait for them to finish. Needless to say, it was very hard to learn, and to be honest, it was very annoying. Why bother speaking, just switch the slide when we are all done. So my thinking (in between slides) I was wondering, who teaches presenters and teachers how to use this media in an effective way? Is this part of any curriculum? So here are some resources that I found that might help you or maybe someone who needs some help.
http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/articles/ten_secrets_for_using_powerpoint.htm - as a resource that offers some really practical guides. One that I learned was to place identical slides at the end so that if you go over the presentation doesn't end and then have to restart the presentation.
Just for fun!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
I can't believe I have @ twitter....
Maybe I just missed the twitter thing. I for one never even new what it was. Facebook, now that made sense. In 1999, when I first went to college, I literally was given a book full of faces of all the incoming freshman. It contained a picture and a brief description of the person (I wish I made the connection #Zuckerbergisagenius). Facebook therefore made sense to me as it was an expanded electronic version of something I had already experienced. But twitter, what was it's tangible version? Since being in an instructional technology class, I was forced to start one. Now I can't stop. For one thing, there are athletes, actors and musicians on there that I like. To get an instant look as to what they are doing, thinking or feeling is actually really fun. So what does this have to do with a classroom?
Maybe, this time, education will actually be concurrent with the real world. My friends from college all had business degrees. Not one of them graduated with the ability to use a copy machine, fax machine or (at the time) the internet. It seems trivial, but those are essential business tools. For the thousands of dollars they spent learning management principles, they couldn't manage a fax. Twitter is becoming, if it is not already, a vital piece of communication and marketing. I think we can say that it is how the world works and where it is going. I think it is amazing that it is utilized in the classroom for communication, polls and reflection. Twitter and History I can remember the days when businesses didn't have web sites and were slow to adopt them. Can you imagine a business being successful without a website? I can't. I think we can say that a person without a twitter is missing out on what is going on around them. Why shouldn't schools be at the cutting edge of technology so that its graduates are at the very least in step with what is used in the office instead of trying to catch up. I suspect that pretty soon every business will have it's own App and that will be the next move for the classroom. Each teacher having there own App to send push notifications and updates to students.
By the way, I am only 30 years old. Technology is moving fast. The use of twitter in the classroom is encouraging in that the institution of education is embracing this change and truly doing it's job: preparing students for the real world by acting like the real word. @jonbags31
Maybe, this time, education will actually be concurrent with the real world. My friends from college all had business degrees. Not one of them graduated with the ability to use a copy machine, fax machine or (at the time) the internet. It seems trivial, but those are essential business tools. For the thousands of dollars they spent learning management principles, they couldn't manage a fax. Twitter is becoming, if it is not already, a vital piece of communication and marketing. I think we can say that it is how the world works and where it is going. I think it is amazing that it is utilized in the classroom for communication, polls and reflection. Twitter and History I can remember the days when businesses didn't have web sites and were slow to adopt them. Can you imagine a business being successful without a website? I can't. I think we can say that a person without a twitter is missing out on what is going on around them. Why shouldn't schools be at the cutting edge of technology so that its graduates are at the very least in step with what is used in the office instead of trying to catch up. I suspect that pretty soon every business will have it's own App and that will be the next move for the classroom. Each teacher having there own App to send push notifications and updates to students.
By the way, I am only 30 years old. Technology is moving fast. The use of twitter in the classroom is encouraging in that the institution of education is embracing this change and truly doing it's job: preparing students for the real world by acting like the real word. @jonbags31
Friday, February 4, 2011
Why blogging is good for the classroom. Essential question #1
I've heard of blogs before. They are websites for people with a lot of time on their hands and have a lot opinions. That was what I used to think. Blogging is difficult. Having something of value to share with a community of say, 1 billion people. That is a lot of pressure. I now look at blogging like a party. There are a lot of people with a lot of expertise from a lot of different places. The interesting part of this party is that we are faceless and nameless if we so choose. I might say things here that would never be said to a person's face nor to a large audience. Having said all that, what is the benefit to teachers and students using blogs in a classroom?
First, students engaging in the blogosphere should be motivated to think and write well. You cant show up to a party poorly dressed. Therefore, the choices of words, clarity of points and research must be done with excellence. The benefit to the student is that they can not hide on a blog. For example, if a student bombs a test, the only people in the room who know are the teacher and the student. If a student does a poor job answering a question on a blog, we can reasonably say that most people in the class will know. I believe that this will motivate the student to put forth effort in bringing ideas together in a clear and meaningful way. Now, you could argue that this could embarrass a student. Imagine the same student failing a test and the teacher announcing it to the class. A poor performance on something so public as a blog could provide the same results as a failing grade being announced. But, for all you behaviorists out there, negative reinforcement should motivate a student toward a desirable result. Think and write well.
Next, blogs are a highly social learning environments that remove social barriers. When a teacher breaks students up into groups there are many factors that can shape the group dynamic. Theres usually the talker, the shy one, the doer and the kid who doesn't do anything and waits on the "smart" kids to do the work for them. Low self-esteem, popularity, crushes (depending on the age group) and kids just not liking each other prevent learning and genuine dialogue on a given topic. The blogs limit those barriers. Students can feel free to read and respond without too much worry about the aforementioned barriers. If your like me, after being in a serious discussion with someone or a group, reflected upon the discussion and thought of a really good point but missed your chance. If you know what I mean, than blogs provide the opportunity for discussion to take place over a longer period that allow points and disagreements to be fleshed out entirely. Blogs are very social vehicles for learning that limit social barriers and promote learning.
Finally, blogs benefit teachers by freeing them from being lecturers and acting more like facilitators. Lecturing is a one way conversation. By lecturing and then asking students to blog about the lecture furthers the points made in a lecture but now in a class of say 20 students there are potentially hundreds of conversations going on. Peer to peer learning is taking place and all this is happening under the facilitators eye. Bringing back my initial point, students should be motivated think and write well should at the very least regurgitate what they have heard. But, if you have ever played telephone, you know that everyone hears things differently. This is a further benefit to the teacher. If all the blog posts by students miss the key elements of a lecture, what better way for the teacher to know and correct misinformation? This is a great way for teachers to get feedback without actually asking for it.
Blogs are great tools for students and teachers alike. They are by no means only for the opinionated adults with free time. They are serious avenues of learning. They demand well thought out points, sharpen writing skills, limit social barriers and help teachers guide rather than lecture.
First, students engaging in the blogosphere should be motivated to think and write well. You cant show up to a party poorly dressed. Therefore, the choices of words, clarity of points and research must be done with excellence. The benefit to the student is that they can not hide on a blog. For example, if a student bombs a test, the only people in the room who know are the teacher and the student. If a student does a poor job answering a question on a blog, we can reasonably say that most people in the class will know. I believe that this will motivate the student to put forth effort in bringing ideas together in a clear and meaningful way. Now, you could argue that this could embarrass a student. Imagine the same student failing a test and the teacher announcing it to the class. A poor performance on something so public as a blog could provide the same results as a failing grade being announced. But, for all you behaviorists out there, negative reinforcement should motivate a student toward a desirable result. Think and write well.
Next, blogs are a highly social learning environments that remove social barriers. When a teacher breaks students up into groups there are many factors that can shape the group dynamic. Theres usually the talker, the shy one, the doer and the kid who doesn't do anything and waits on the "smart" kids to do the work for them. Low self-esteem, popularity, crushes (depending on the age group) and kids just not liking each other prevent learning and genuine dialogue on a given topic. The blogs limit those barriers. Students can feel free to read and respond without too much worry about the aforementioned barriers. If your like me, after being in a serious discussion with someone or a group, reflected upon the discussion and thought of a really good point but missed your chance. If you know what I mean, than blogs provide the opportunity for discussion to take place over a longer period that allow points and disagreements to be fleshed out entirely. Blogs are very social vehicles for learning that limit social barriers and promote learning.
Finally, blogs benefit teachers by freeing them from being lecturers and acting more like facilitators. Lecturing is a one way conversation. By lecturing and then asking students to blog about the lecture furthers the points made in a lecture but now in a class of say 20 students there are potentially hundreds of conversations going on. Peer to peer learning is taking place and all this is happening under the facilitators eye. Bringing back my initial point, students should be motivated think and write well should at the very least regurgitate what they have heard. But, if you have ever played telephone, you know that everyone hears things differently. This is a further benefit to the teacher. If all the blog posts by students miss the key elements of a lecture, what better way for the teacher to know and correct misinformation? This is a great way for teachers to get feedback without actually asking for it.
Blogs are great tools for students and teachers alike. They are by no means only for the opinionated adults with free time. They are serious avenues of learning. They demand well thought out points, sharpen writing skills, limit social barriers and help teachers guide rather than lecture.
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