Back to School Sales Scare the Heck Out Of Me!

So there we were, my family and I walking through some major chain store (insert whatever name you want there), and it caught my eye. There it was staring me in the face daring me to acknowledge it. The "Back To School" display. Mind you, this was in mid July, and this is NOT Florida. In New York, we don't start school again until early September. If you really think about it, in mid July many kids are away at camp anyway.. so why rush the summer?

So let's reflect at the halfway point of the summer, shall we? We have driven to Florida again, and it was a lot of fun. We have done a good amount of family stuff, and for the first summer in a while we have spent a good amount of time at the pool. I have even have some semblemce of a tan! I have enjoyed riding a good amount; not a whole lot but some nice distance rides. I even took the white Mustang to a car show and took third place in my class. What have I done professionally? Nothing yet....

As we move into August, I myself move back into work mode. I am doing a subject area workshop, and I am teaching a technology course for my district. I am beginning to think about what next year will look like. The Teacher's College books that I took home with the intention of creating some really great lesson plans have not collected dust simply because I keep moving them around, but it will soon be time to crack them open.

What will next year look like? I am back in my coteach model with a fantastic special education teacher (we worked together last year as well). The population in our classroom will present its own challenges of course. New York State seems to constantly be changing 'stuff'. Everything is so uncertain.

Anyway... here I am watching Phineas and Ferb with my son, but I need to get moving. It's almost August and I haven't gotten the Halloween decorations ready.

Not an End, but an Opportunity for a New Beginning

For two students in my class, today was the last day of school. One of them was moving, and so it truly was her last day. As I said farewell to them, I guess the reality of it all started to really sink in. All teachers know that bittersweet feeling that the end of June brings. Despite the fact that we leave so much of ourselves in that classroom every day when we go home, and despite the fact that we do look forward to the relative calmness and mental relaxation of the summer, we can't help but feel that we are incomplete without our classroom and the students that give it life. For me, it is never really a happy ending.

Tomorrow is the last day of school. All student desks are now empty, save for the nameplates that still lay proudly on their faces. Tomorrow they will come off, and for me that is the true end of school. This class will move on, and another will take its place. The bookcases of my library are covered. They are no longer inviting my students to pick literature that they might enjoy. The math center is covered, no longer offering manipulatives and counters to help foster mental math skills. The closets are closed, and the entire top of my desk is clearly visible. It has been said that an empty desk is the sign of an idle mind, and perhaps that is why mine is so 'busy'.

I will really miss my class, and I wish them all the best as they move towards the fifth grade and beyond. September really isn't that far away, and soon the classroom will be filled once again with hope and excitement. The process is renewed, and the opportunities refreshed. I will be spending part of this summer putting together plans for new projects and curriculum extended learning opportunities. I am excited as I look towards next year, even though I am looking forward to spending some more time with my family.

I like to think that everyone, both the students and myself, have become better since that first hopeful and exciting day in September. I know I have, and I thank each one of my students for letting me be a part of their lives and learning.

Have a great summer.

Teaching = Dis-Covered Knowledge

Humor me for a moment. Think back to your childhood. Let's say that in a time of great innocence, you spilled or dropped something on the floor. Now, that could have been carpeting, tile, or a wood floor. It matters not what spilled or what you spilled it on, just the fact that you spilled or dropped something. The resulting mess would no doubt get you in a ton of trouble with mom/dad/grandma/grandpa/aunt/uncle, etc.... whoever... Now you faced a moral dilemma.. what to do?

You could:
1) Don't face the problem. Don't address it. Run away and hide from it...
2) Quickly grab a rug, book, chair, or something else big enough and cover it up. If they can't see it, it is no longer a problem.
3) Take responsibility for the mess, learn how to eat food without spilling it.. all part of growing up.

OK.. enough with the fond memories...
The technology available to us as people is unbelievably immense and is changing every second. I just saw that Microsoft is developing something that enables you to use your palm or arm as a touch screen to dial a number or text... is this unbelievable??? Yes... it sure is. Technology doesn't slow down for anyone. It is up to you whether you choose to (or are able to) keep up.

One resource that I have really embraced and used as a resource for learning is Youtube (which has been bought by Google btw). I upload our class's music videos to it. I favorite videos that I then use in my instruction. I can search on a moment's notice in attempt to find content that I can use.

At this year's ASSET conference, I presented Youtube as one of the resources that educators can embrace. The participants at the workshop were excited to start working with it. I spoke about how my co-teacher and I were teaching a lesson on nutrition, and a student asked what the difference was between the various types of milks.... a search and I found this:



The discussion then went to how we make sure that milk is free from bacteria. Enter a video on Pasteurization:



In last week's blog assignment, my students were asked to identify which character or characters they most connected with, and them list character traits that support their choice(s). I found a great video by the Author of this book discussing challenges and triumphs of writing. I put it on the blog for the class to see.



In science, our class is creating Public Service Announcements for other kids about electrical safety. The project is anchored in our unit of electricity. Students are using our collaborative wikispace as a place to store the information and facts that they have gathered through their research. I won't list them here, but I have sample PSAs that my students refer back to as they create their own. Here is a PSA on nutrition by our very dear friend "Cookie Monster".



Before we even started using the wiki, I used this excellent video by Common Craft to reinforce the concept of a wiki after I introduced it:



Look.. I could go on and on about how I have been finding value in it.. but we all know that technology is a two sided sword. As Peter Parker's Uncle Ben said: "With great power comes great responsibility!" There is a ton of valuable 'stuff' on youtube, but there is also a lot of junk. Youtube is a stage where the whole world can be an actor on. 10 or 20 years ago it would have taken A BUNCH of money and connections for your video to be seen around the world. Not all of us are named Spielberg, Lucas, or Coppola, but nearly anyone can record a quick video (flip camera, digital camcorder or even a cheap web cam if your laptop doesn't have one) and upload it for the planet to see.

What do we do? We monitor our kids while they are in the lab or the classroom. We embed videos on our blogs and wikis so that they don't have to be in the "Youtube" site and see things like comments and related videos. We screen videos BEFORE we use them to ensure that they are appropriate for our classroom. We try our best to teach them how to use technology responsibly and to respect each other's views and opinions.

So what can you do about this resources, its values, and its dangers?

Well.. remember that spill?

You could:
1) Don't face the problem. Don't address it. Run away and hide from it...
2) Quickly get an Internet filtering program big enough and cover it up. If they can't see it, it is no longer a problem.
3) Take responsibility for the mess, learn how to use online video correctly and show our students how to do the same.. all part of growing up.

Now where did I put that Bounty roll? Comments welcome.

Keynotes

Leslie Fisher delivered a very interesting keynote. While she did speak of technology tools that can be used in th classroom, she also spoke about tools that can be useful in life. To be honest, I am not a super tech junkie outside of work.. sure I am on teh web 20 hrs a day.. sure I check email constantly.. but I don't text, I don't surf through my phone, I don't have an Itouch (I have an Ipod shuffle though), and I don't immerse (or is it drown) myself in geekie tech...

Here are some notes I took... I really hate this netbook teeny tiny keyboard!!!

tripit.com plan your itinerary

evernote.com take notes on teh web - app for mac, pc, iphone, droid, etc...
text recognition - write and scan... I am going to try this...

http://etherpad.com collaboration tool I am going to try this...

zamzar.com converts from one file format to another. I have some great free tools that I can use, but I am going to try this...

UStream.tv post videos live as they happen. I have been told that the quality isnt so great, but nonetheless I am going to try this...

mozy.com online backup for Mac and PC 2GB for free or $5 per month unlimited I might try this.. I have files backed up but not remotely... this (for 2GB) is pretty decent. Unlimited seems like a good deal too.

smugmug $70 per year for unlimited photos No thanks.. flickr works great for me. There is always Picasa too, and quite honestly for that price I could rent webspace, buy another domain and ftp up and down all day long.. sure.. it wouldnt be as user friendly for relatives to download pictures, but.. well... whatever... I hate that Kodakphoto share thing.. and no I don't want a pic of your kids on my coffee mug.. haha

Why pay for any of this stuff? That's my question. With all of the free stuff available, there is no need to go to the pay sites. JMHO

www.zeevee.com/zinc I am going to try this...

livescribe.com
microhone to record meetings, camera to capture what you are wrtiing uploads via usb

keyspan presenter remote
usb hookup
This little piece of hardware looked great. Control the mouse, aim a laser pointer, etc... however... for the classroom it might promote the "Sage on a Stage" performance..

More to come.. Im starting a session on "Technology and the Special Education Classroom" now.
despair.com

From Parent Conference to ASSET Conference

Last week ended with parent teacher conferences. We spoke about how each student has grown and improved over the last marking period. We also spoke about our hopes and concerns for the remainder of the school year. Fast forward a few days and I am now sitting in a large room at teh Huntington Hilton waiting for the conference to officially begin. They keynote speaker this year is Leslie Fisher. When I attended two years ago, Rushton Hurley was the speaker, and he was excellent. I expect that she will be just as inpiring.

The vision of Educational Technology is focused and optimistic, but in these tough economic times they will be scrutinized. Technology hardware is always impressive, but it is gathering dust it shows its true importance. By the same token, technology much be used to create learning opportunities that might not be possioble otherwise. As a professor told me many years ago; "What an exciting time to be a teacher!" If you watch the news, you see talk of laying off teachers and cutting services. Technology will be a tough sale if those events come to fruition.

I Tube... Do You Tube???

I have found myself using Youtube.com more and more in my classroom. From explaining Pasteurization to vandagraph machines to simply putting music on in the background of collaborative activities, the sights and sounds of multimedia can add another dimension to the learning experience.

An unfortunate side effect of this dynamic resource is that it is always changing. In the past, I had been using TeacherTube, as it is more 'school friendly' and easier to be trusted, but the sheer size of YouTube's arsenal cannot be ignored. I always make sure to screen every video that I want to show BEFORE I show it. That is common sense, teachers. You don't want to find that movie of the monkey peeing into its mouth instead of the Schoolhouse Rock video you expected when it is in front of your class. (yes that movie does exist)

To help us combat the inappropriate (insert subjectivity here!) Google, the parent of YouTube, has introduced Safety Mode.



It will filter out what has been deemed unsafe, and won't allow those results to come up. It will also shut comments off unless you choose to view them, and it will edit out 'foul language'. How nice! There are some gliches, of course, but this is something that I will be using in my own classroom from now on.

I will continue to screen vids beforehand, of course.

Digital Accountability and Our Own Stupidity

See if you can visualize this exchange:

Friend 1: "Hey (name), do you remember that crazy thing you did in (insert college, high school, middle school, or even elementary school)??"
Friend 2: "Yeah.. that was crazy.. and stupid.. I can't believe I actually did that!"

We have all been there in some capacity. Whether it was a boy running through the girls' locker room in his underwear or doing a silly dance at a classmate's party, random acts of stupidity surrounded by immaturity and the lack of accountability have plagued us all, even the best of the best.

Today's 'youth' (am I really saying that word??? I am not really old yet!) are sharing many of the same experiences with some slightly different attributes. In the end, stupidity and naivety run rampant. The difference is digital accountability.

At a recent faculty meeting, a member of our staff expressed their displeasure of the connections that the Internet provides. I must respectfully disagree. Should we have told this person that as a child they should not have been permitted to use the telephone? Of course not. Connections are what help us to grow intellectually and socially. Connections are what makes literature come alive while we explore it. Connections help us to reach outside of ourselves to experience all there is to offer.

Unfortunately, this includes both good and bad. I am amazed at how many of my 4th and 5th graders are using social networking sites such as Facebook. I will not look down upon them, as I use FB myself. It is not the tool, but proper use that concerns me. There are even interest groups for students from my school. This would surely shock many of my collegues. A few of my students have You Tube accounts as well. While one of my kids makes informative videos about his interests, the other seems to be posting flamatory (downright inappropriate) comments on other people's videos. I was very disappointed, as I view You Tube as a great resource for learning. I am not only worried about this student potentially harassing another student, but also the unstable older student or adult that might pay him a visit to harm him because of his words if he is 'dumb' (for lack of a better word) enough to give out some personal information.

These students need to know that they are accountable for their letters and words on the Internet just as much as if they had written if in their notebook or said it in person. Digital audio and video are accessible in the palm of our hands. So many students have cell phones or Flip style cameras. How will these actions affect their future? Acceptance into a college? Future job prospects? Who knows...

Remember that exchange in the beginning of this article? Try another one in a few years...

Friend 1: "Hey , do you remember that crazy thing you did in ??"
Friend 2: "Yeah.. that was crazy.. and stupid.. I can't believe I actually did that!"
Friend 1: "Me either. Let me pull it up for you to see!"
Friend 2: "Oh c'mon.. not again...."