A Tourist in My Own City?

One of the courses I am taking this summer deals with how technology shapes our very lives through the world around us. Today, our class took a trip to the city (NYC for you out of towners). We took the subway to Brooklyn, toured a few art galleries (unreal stuff btw) and then walked all around the footprint of the Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn side). After a fun and filling lunch break, we all walked the bridge itself right across the span. We interviewed people on the bridge for a project that we are working on.

Now here I am for the first time in my life walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. I was born in Brooklyn for cryin out loud! I have lived in NY my whole life and even now I am only a 40 minute train ride from the city itself, but this is the first time I have actually done it. The people that we interviewed were from all over the world. One woman from Austria even told me that the bridge was "one of the things that she had to see." So here I am having almost the same experience as she was having despite the fact that this was my "home turf." Add to that the fact that I have never been to the Statue of Liberty either. Okay, the Empire State Building I have of course been to, but that barely counts. It's funny how you take some things for granted. It's like you think that you have forever to get around to them, but you surely do not. I had fun today, and I would love to share the video with my students next year when we explore the waterways of New York.

Get a (Second) Life already!

Could it virtually be a classroom or is it just a game?


I am looking into virtual worlds and doing some exploration. As I sit here typing, I am wondering what the deal is with this "Second Life" simulation thing that is all the rage nowadays and gaining more and more momentum with teachers. I am exploring more out of intrigue than interest. I am wondering how (if at all) I can use this as a resource in my classroom. I am somewhat predisposed to say that there will be minimal impact to my kids because of the grade level that I teach. Perhaps older students will be more able to utilize this.

I have started reading blogs and it is very interesting how some people (educators more specifically) are so into this 'world'. To me, it still feels like a new version of Dungeons and Dragons, but this time it uses technology instead of odd dice and perhaps it is also a bit more socially acceptable.

In any event, I would LOVE to know what educators are doing. I am beginning to envision virtual field trips to far away lands of different places and times... is that possible? What skills do I need in order to do this? Create this? Am I on the right track? Am I way off here? I'd love to know what you in the blogosphere (real world) are doing with your students in the virtual world.

Blogging Creates Real Dialogue

Back in November, my fourth grade class blogged about a great author named Robert Kimmel Smith. We had been reading his books (three of them), enjoying them very much, studying the craft of his writing and working hard to improve our own writing pieces. I decided to email him to tell him all that we were doing and how much he inspired us, and then I sent him our Classblogmeister URL. To my incredible surprise, he not only wrote me back but he also dropped by our blog and left some comments!!!

He wrote that he might be persuaded to come visit us on a sunny day in June. Fast forward a few months and several email correspondences later, and on a not so sunny day in June he did arrive. Once again, I was as excited as my class. I could barely sleep last night. He spoke about his life, about his writing and about writing in general. We presented him with a "Golden Inspiration Award" about how much he has inspired us with his writing and provided enjoyment with his reading.

He is truly inspirational, and if you would have seen me today you would have thought that I just shook hands with Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui.

What is the point? Well, the point is that the connections that we can make online can lead to friendships, admiration and respect. I feel blessed to have played a role in this connection.

This is a REAL picture - no Photoshop here!

Digital Killed the Analog Star

My camcorder was once state of the art. It was 'teeny-tiny' compared to the generation of cameras that came before it. It was relatively small and compact. It fit into one hand. Making it even more cutting edge was the swing out LCD display that you could look at while filming instead. Memories were stored on tiny tapes that were like little cousins to standard VHS tapes. Many a memory was captured for posterity using it. It is still in good shape, but with no reasonable way to bring those memories into the digital zone I found myself at a crossroad. I have been using my digital camera to record some moments of video, but it is extremely limited and the quality is not really up to par. It was time to enter the digital age.

Many people that know me would be surprised that I don't already own a digital camcorder. I love using technology, but not 'randomly'. I, for example, do not own an Ipod or mp3 player, as I am perfectly content with the CD players in my car and home. On my computers, I do play mp3s as well as Internet radio stations. Once again, I am happy with what I have, and it works for me.

My summer semester now in T.E.A.M. is all about digital video. I have really been challenging myself in what I can do. Although I can't say for sure that I have learned anything as far as technical or application knowledge, it has given me the setting and opportunity to explore and see what I can do.

So far this summer, I have made 4 movies and 2 more on the way. I made one simple one called a "talking head" video which is just me talking and a trio of stuffed monkeys around me (Don't ask!!!), a funny video with my students based on a scene from the movie "Monsters Inc", another video detailing the making that video itself complete with raw footage and narration, and also a short video testing out the reversal of video. Next up will be our class's digital yearbook (I make one every year) and my class will be making a funny rap video based on multiplication. I have used standard applications such as Photo Story and Movie Maker, but additionally I have used a variety of applications to convert audio and video to different formats, sampled and mixed audio myself and used special effects in an effort to be up to par with the millions of "Spielberg-wannabes" whose successes are on sites like youtube.com showing most of us how just any run of the mill person can be a videographer.

So I did it, and I hope to have my digital camcorder within the next few weeks. I had been using my school's camcorder, but the school year is coming to an end in a few weeks, so it's time for me to take the jump and get our own. This will be used inside my classroom and outside of it. If you'll excuse me, I have some more memories to capture... digitally this time!

Summer - So Close and Yet So Far!

This weekend is Memorial Day. It conjures up images of parades, barbeques (most definitely), family and friends, warmer days, and most importantly, the near arrival of summer.

Today we will BBQ (although I've been grillin for a few weeks now - any excuse to fire it up). Tomorrow is the parade, and we have been going the past few years to make it. If I look at the calendar, I have five weeks left. Wow, does it feel weird to say that. Our class has been through so many challenges this year, and of course the barrage of state testing that is given to the fourth grade.

Now, I sit here with my mind on the 'summer fun', but I still have much to do, and I cannot run late. I have a health unit to finish, a poetry unit, finish a book that we are reading, a science unit, two field trips, and don't even mention the end of the year wrap up stuff. It will get done, as it gets done every year, but it can be a daunting task at times.

What's in store for me this summer? I will start out working on the district's Science curriculum, and I have 2 summer sessions of school as well. I would like to do some traveling with the family, and we are planning on doing a minor facelift of our kitchen as well (ourselves). I am finishing up the upstairs house projects, and I would like to enjoy my car hobby as well.

Two months sounds like a good deal of time, but before you know it, it is mid August and you are back in your classroom getting ready for another group of minds and hearts to challenge and embrace. It never gets old. It never gets boring, and it never stays the same. We are dynamic as we want to be, but to remain 100% the same is almost impossible.

If it ain'r fun, it shouldn't be done...

I started playing with digital video in my Educational Technology program. I firmly believe that playing and exploration are some of the best ways to learn anything, and I usually take that route when trying to learn things myself. I took our school digital camcorder and started videoing my students to use in a cute short movie.

Our school's Technology Integration Facilitator and teacher of teachers Noel Forte quickly came on board to help. Noel has used quite a few video applications, but most of all she is an absolutely wonderful person to work with. Looking at the two of us talking about what we could do, you would think that we were the elementary school children. We talked about effects, transitions, scripts, acting, music, etc, and the great thing was that our discussion went far beyond the one video that we were filming at the time. We were writing out a digital wish list of sorts - thinking "What can we do?", "What would we like to do?" and "What CAN'T we do?"
We even got our principal involved, as well as a few other teachers. Of course, yours truly prefers to be on the side of the camera opposite the lens.

I finished the video today, and the kids loved it. It makes me laugh every time I watch it, but I learned something myself. It wasn't made for any specific technical competency (although I did learn how to reverse video!). It was that we must have fun. When I do my best work, it is because I am intrinsically motivated in a quest to excel. Nobody can get me more invested in a task or project than I myself can, no matter who they are. I was fortunate enough to enjoy what we were doing despite it being challenging as well as new and intimidating. My kids were also very much into it, and I wonder if my excitement was contagious as it was visible how happy I was to be doing this.

If it ain't fun, don't do it. Does something that is labor-intensive always have to be laborious?

"You Teachers Sure Have the Life!"

I'm sure that many, if not all of us, hear that all the time. This can especially be heard now during spring recess. While the "hardest working men and women" of Corporate America and private industry are slaving away hour after hour, the educators are sitting back in their collective lounge chairs soaking up the sun and drinking Pina Coladas. If only that were true...

I acknowledge the fact that I am incredibly enjoying the time I have been able to spend with my wife and daughter this week. The weather has been incredibly perfect, and it has been great. At the same time, I have woken up three times so far thinking about things that I want to change or accomplish in my classroom before the end of the year. I have sat down on this very laptop to make a Millionaire game as a final review for the NYS Science Assessment. I have also worked on our next writing project, and I do miss my class. Granted, this has taken place between walks to the park, watching Elmo and singing songs, but even still it has happened on "my" vacation.

What non-teaching America needs to understand is that teachers really do need the downtime. The summer sounds so long - 2 whole months of being off. 184 days of work each year. It all sounds like a dream. Of course this doesn't count the time that you work outside of the classroom, for there are no overtime hours to be counted. This doesn't count the reflective and practical time that one might choose to use to better themselves as educators and as people. This doesn't count the fact that we cannot take a week off in the middle of November just because we feel like it. Our break times are controlled by contract. Please don't hold it against us. Teaching is a great job on many levels, but it is also a very difficult job to do. Many other occupations earn 3-5 weeks of paid vacation anyway.. they just spread them out.

I am certainly not taking anything away from other professions, as there are many taxing occupations out there; many I certainly would not trade places with. For some reason, too many in our American culture like to trivialize the entire educational institution. Think about that. These types of thinking and (worse yet) spoken words really show us the importance as to which educating our children is perceived.

Despite the fact that our jobs are often considered "easy" and how our salaries should be lower (just as Newsday), our work has a direct impact on both the success of the future and the current prices of homes. When was the last time that the work of private industry was on the forefront of almost every election. Hmm... Healthcare? Oil production? Think about how important those two issues are, and then consider that education is right there with those two powerhouses.

I don't expect teaching to earn a perception as the most difficult profession, but I would hope and expect that people in general will learn to understand that what we do is important and 'not so easy'. Yep.. we do deserve this break.

I'd love to know what others think!