FaceBook Police

I have been seeing a lot of stories about how people in public positions are being not so smart about what they post on public forums. This one takes the cake...as of today...

Arkansas officials condemn anti-gay comments on Facebook

 Remember...what happens on FaceBook is published to the world.

Student Growth Chart

The students shown fell below the class average for the selected test scores. As this chart illustrates, even though they fell below average for the class as a whole, each student shows improvement over time. One student, Katherine, appears to have made a rapid increase in her score, and then decreased on the next test. As a teacher, I would want to look at this to determine the reason. I would also want to meet with each student to identify the reasons their test scores are increasing, so I can provide support them to continue in their upward trend.

This type of graphing was relatively easy and quick, and gives a great visual for the progress of students. When used in a classroom setting, it can give a teacher a quick insight to which students are meeting or exceeding test score expectations, and which ones are falling behind.

To view the Google spreadsheet and chart, simply click HERE.

Reflection of Ed Tech Standards

The Oregon Ed Tech Standards are trying to create a baseline of education and knowledge that all students will have when completing their education through high school. The standards recognize that we are, indeed, living in a digital world, and if you aren't technologically literate, you will be left behind. The Millennial Generation is the generation that is currently in primary education, that expects technology to be a part of their everyday life; they expect to see technology in school, play, and eventually careers. They cannot imaging a world without a cell phone, laptop or wireless internet. Due to this societal expectation, schools need to provide all students with an opportunity to gain skills and knowledge in technology, regardless of their socioeconomic status. By doing this, they are helping students gain the skills they will need to be successful in the digital world.

Some techniques I plan to use in my classroom is the use of podcasting to help middle-school students demonstrate their knowledge of mathematical concepts. They will need to successfully collaborate the use of video, audio, and the web in order to create the podcast. I will also be asking students to create slideshows and blogs, as my school district allows. I would like for them to have skills in using a variety of tools, so that they have the opportunity to see where their strengths and weaknesses are, and develop skills that will prove to be useful in their careers.

Technology is ever-changing and advancing, and it will be exciting to see what is available in the next few years, and how school districts have incorporated the use of these tools.

EdWeek Article, "New Projects Aim to Help Gay Teens Who Are Bullied"

By Lornet Turnbull, The Seattle Times (MC)

posted October 6, 2010

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/10/06/07mct_lgbt.h30.html 

This article highlights the problems that LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Transsexual) students are facing in today’s schools. Though administrators are recognizing the problem, and the rights of all students, the bullying continues, even to the point some students have committed suicide. Some states, such as Washington, have passed anti-bullying laws to include bullying people because of their sexual orientation. Even with these laws in place, it is still up to school officials to enforce them. Schools around the country are starting to see this as a real problem, and have taken steps to enforce the laws and policies that have been put in place.

Dan Savage, editorial director of The Stranger, a weekly newspaper tailored to LGBT teens that face issues such as harassment, has started a project named It Gets Better. This project gives hope to LGBT teens by letting them know that things get better after high school (where they are primarily bullied in their teen years). Another project, Make It Better, has been started by the national Gay-Straight Alliance network. This project allows adults to make videos aimed at LGBT teens to deliver messages about what it is like to be a LGBT adult in their community.

In our Equity class this term, we talk a lot about the differences between students and consider how to help make education more equitable for them. Reading this article today makes me realize that we, as a class, have talked about all kinds of differences that can be variables in a students’ education, but we have not once really talked about sexual orientation. It makes me wonder if our class has just not realized that this is a factor in a students education, along with culture, family orientation and socioeconomic status, or if we are not ready to talk about it as a class because we, ourselves, are not comfortable with the topic. I know this is a very real issue for many students not only in our own community, but also nationwide. My hope for our class is that we will begin to consider and explore topics like this, in addition to the obvious barriers some students face, so we can become teachers who can teach to, and advocate for, all of our students.

OTEN 2010

At the OTEN 2010 Conference on September 25, 2010, I learned about a variety of current technology tools that can be used in my classroom to enhance my students' learning experience. I first thought that it would be challenging to incorporate some of these tools into a middle school mathematics classroom, but after attending the conference, I gained an insight to how it is currently being done. Talking with teachers who are currently using technology in all levels of education has sparked some ideas that I hope to try out in my own classroom someday. With the Yodio tool that I learned about in my Ed Tech class, I was able to put together a summary of my experience.

Picasa

To put it simply, Google Picasa is a free online web photo album management tool. With an application that you can download, you are able to edit and share pictures. These pictures can be uploaded from your camera, taken from your computer, or found on the web. In addition to editing photos, you can use these photos to create a slideshow, collage, add text and tag both people and places. If you choose not to download the application, there is the option of a web-based editing tool called Picnick. You have the same options as before without being limited to the application being downloaded on the computer you are using.

While exploring this tool, I found it pretty easy to use for the moderately knowledgeable. It is not as intuitive, or user-friendly, as I would have liked to see. Someone with prior experience in photo editing tools would have an easy time finding their way around, but those without this experience would be recommended to use the tutorials and online help that is available through Google. The site for the tool was easy to navigate, making it relatively quick to find the basic information needed to decide whether the tool would be useful. The creation of the album was painless, as was uploading, tagging and editing the album.

When my group talked about the benefits of this tool, we looked at how it could enhance the learning experience both in the classroom and beyond. With a tool like this, a teacher and their students can build an online album that is accessible to the student while at school and while at home. Teachers can load photos that are “safe” and approved by their school and/or school district, as well as engage students in creating this album by allowing them to add to it. Students can use the pictures in this album to enhance projects, link content with real-world application, and share their class work with their peers as well as their parents. These albums can kept by students as a portfolio of their work in the class, and can come back to it year after year. They can look at past years to see what has been done before, and find an inspiration for the current years work.

Overall, I enjoyed the opportunity to explore this tool. I found ways that I can use it personally as well as professionally. The accessibility to the tool, as well as the price (free), are two benefits that are hard to beat. I am so excited about Picasa that I am already planning ways to incorporate it into my future classroom!

For a summary of our groups work on Picasa, please use the following link:

https://docs4.google.com/document/edit?id=18tK0FElpMhlwvu4RvxlOtCRD_dUTueX7OlyF8g8vCr0&hl=en#

EdWeek Article, "Iowa High School Uses Cell Phones In Classroom"

by The Associated Press
posted September 20, 2010
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/09/19/376626iexchangetextingfortests_ap.html

Now here's a school that is really trying to take the negatives of today's technology and turn it into a positive! And, it's right in line with our Ed Tech class (can we say bonus?). This is a great real-world example of how a high school is working with students to enhance their learning.

This high school in Iowa is allowing students to use their cell phones in class and participate in multiple choice quizzes using the online tool, PollEverywhere.com. This online tool allows teachers to get real-time answers to the questions they ask. The teachers in this high school have found it gives them a better sense of what material needs to be covered in more detail as they are teaching, and the students are more engaged in the learning process because it's fun. The school district has considered what issues the leniency could potentially cause, so they have strict consequences for misusing a cell phone in the classroom. To date, they report they have had little problem with students following the rules.

But what about the students without cell phones or plans that allow for texting? The school provides them with laptops to participate. The school district superintendent reports they are committed to incorporating technology into the classroom, as many colleges and universities are using similar technologies for emergency notifications (including Willamette University).

Wow. Wouldn't it be nice if all school districts were so excited about the benefits that technology can bring to the learning experience?

EdWeek Article, "Teen Fights Nose Ring Suspension on Religious Grounds"

by The Associated Press

Posted September 16, 2010
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/09/16/376056usrelpiercingchurch_ap.html

With such a vocal society that will fight for it’s independent rights, it’s hard to draw the line sometimes between what can and cannot be allowed in schools. Considerations such as religion have to be carefully looked at. The idea of separation between church and state means different things to different people.  But the question is: What constitutes a religion? Can schools simply look at the dictionary definition of religion, or do schools need to take more of a sociological approach? Where is the line drawn from allowing students to bring their culture, which includes religion, into the classroom with them, and disallowing them to do so. On the contrary, each student has a right to attend school without having other’s views forced upon them…but what does this mean, exactly.

This article highlights what I think will be an ongoing issue in schools and school districts that struggle to hold the fine line between allowing students to express themselves independently, and create a safe learning environment that has minimal distractions to the learning process. 


Many school districts I have had experience with have found a "safe" ground with issues such as this. They allow student's freedom of expression so long as it does not create a distraction. In the Northwest, this allows students to have body and facial piercings, tattoos, mohawks and rainbow colored hair. Perhaps these things are not a distraction to the learning environment because they are mostly accepted in the society in which we live. Apparently, these freedoms are not as acceptable in North Carolina.