Doesn't that sound like the beginning of a bad B-Movie involving an alien abduction? :)
I've been facilitating and helping out at Touch'N'Go this week and it's been fantastic. I got to meet lots of great people, and really worked closely with some fantastic educators.
The two workshops I actually facilitated were using iPads and iPods in a UDL environment and using Vernier Probes, iPads and iPods in a science classroom.
A brief summary of both:
We split the UDL session into three sections - Writing, Photography/Video and Sound. Major apps were:
Writing:
Pages - $10
-nearly full featured word processor. It has some limitations, but in a school environment, it's pretty good for producing nice looking work.
Keynote - $10
-Nearly full featured presentation creator which is really easy for students to use to create quick presentations of learning.
Bamboo Paper - Free
-Great, simple "use your finger as a pen" tool. It's a blank piece of paper. The possibilities are nearly endless :)
Idea Sketch - Free
-Mind mapping
Photography/Video
Collabracam - $6
-VERY cool multi-camera editor. It takes the feeds of up to four iPod or iPhone cameras and allows a single director to manage recording from devices, send messages to users, etc.
iMovie - $5
-A limited, but still viable, movie creation app. Limited in that the editing is a bit of a pain on an iPod but still doable. It's great for quick hits of "what did I just do" or summarizing learning.
PS Express - Free
-Photoshop lite (more like Piknik) with some basic editing and neat filters.
Sound
Quick Voice - Free
-Easy voice recording for the iPad. Used to record in the field, or use for descriptions of events to replay later. Other possibilities are huge
Dragon Dictate - Free
-Decent text-to-speech app for quick annotations and some special ed use.
I accept that there are TONS more apps, and many that I use often, but we only had a limited time, so those are what we focused on :)
My vernier presentation was a blast - teachers performed two labs - a friction lab by dragging objects and a heart rate lab - and then contributed their data to a collaborative spreadsheet on Google Docs. It worked really well - everyone got to play with the probes and see the graphs being created.
Many of the above apps were touched on with specific science uses, and we added LabTimer (16 simultaneous timers) and Numbers (nearly fully featured spreadsheet program).
Overall - a fantastic week with lots of learning!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
My Ambitious PBL Plans
So I'm going to try and go full PBL this year in most of my classes. I've dabbled with it before, and it's worked, but only as a "this is a one unit PBL" or even worse, a single project based on learning (which isn't PBL, but it's closer than not).
Math 8:
Students will be going through "lives" as adults with a specific income, job, spouse, family situation, etc. They will be making various life choices all including math - choosing the best buys at a store, picking a cell phone plan, planning a party, designing a garden. I've managed to put them entire BC curriculum into various projects.
Science 8:
Students will be creating a digital textbook of all the required learning outcomes this year. They'll get given an outcome at the beginning of the week, and within (I think) about two weeks need to have a summary, definitions, a lab, some problems, diagrams, etc. All the things that would go into a textbook section on that outcome. I'll then have them create an ePub version with all their content (including video!) to show parents on iPad's and eReaders.
My biggest concern about both of these will be the "this is what is happening all year" type of approach - I'm not sure how students will respond to both having one "project" for the year, and having the freedom to work on their own or with groups, at their own pace (within reason) and without the daily grind of lecture->homework->submit->test. Essentially, it will be new for everyone!
If anyone has done anything similar, I'd love to get in touch!
Math 8:
Students will be going through "lives" as adults with a specific income, job, spouse, family situation, etc. They will be making various life choices all including math - choosing the best buys at a store, picking a cell phone plan, planning a party, designing a garden. I've managed to put them entire BC curriculum into various projects.
Science 8:
Students will be creating a digital textbook of all the required learning outcomes this year. They'll get given an outcome at the beginning of the week, and within (I think) about two weeks need to have a summary, definitions, a lab, some problems, diagrams, etc. All the things that would go into a textbook section on that outcome. I'll then have them create an ePub version with all their content (including video!) to show parents on iPad's and eReaders.
My biggest concern about both of these will be the "this is what is happening all year" type of approach - I'm not sure how students will respond to both having one "project" for the year, and having the freedom to work on their own or with groups, at their own pace (within reason) and without the daily grind of lecture->homework->submit->test. Essentially, it will be new for everyone!
If anyone has done anything similar, I'd love to get in touch!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Many Uses of Angry Birds
Angry Birds has been making the rounds as a fantastic physics app, and I completely agree. I've come up with a few more uses in math for different age levels that I wanted to share.
Classroom practice/study time: I recently had a group of ESL students come over who were practicing English - specifically, a few sentences they were going to deliver for a powerpoint presentation. I pulled up Angry Birds and each student said their sentences and then got to fire one bird - as a class we worked through about 4 levels, everyone having a blast. This can work with any "step" type problem - someone comes up to put the next step on the board, recites a fact they learned, something from a book, etc.
Estimating: At all levels estimation is important, but specifically at the younger ones where it is taught. How long will the bird fly if it's this angle? How far? How high? Where will it land? Justification is great for these as well - "Why do you think that"?
Measurement: Projecting onto a whiteboard means you can measure off specific distances, and measurement is really at all levels.
Volume/Surface Area: Determining the volume or surface area of the blocks broken is great for the middle school age groups. Competitions between groups could include who can break the most surface area, volume, both, etc.
Just a few quick ones - any more? Please share!
Classroom practice/study time: I recently had a group of ESL students come over who were practicing English - specifically, a few sentences they were going to deliver for a powerpoint presentation. I pulled up Angry Birds and each student said their sentences and then got to fire one bird - as a class we worked through about 4 levels, everyone having a blast. This can work with any "step" type problem - someone comes up to put the next step on the board, recites a fact they learned, something from a book, etc.
Estimating: At all levels estimation is important, but specifically at the younger ones where it is taught. How long will the bird fly if it's this angle? How far? How high? Where will it land? Justification is great for these as well - "Why do you think that"?
Measurement: Projecting onto a whiteboard means you can measure off specific distances, and measurement is really at all levels.
Volume/Surface Area: Determining the volume or surface area of the blocks broken is great for the middle school age groups. Competitions between groups could include who can break the most surface area, volume, both, etc.
Just a few quick ones - any more? Please share!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Student Owned Devices
Student owned devices, and their use in the classroom, are becoming a hot topic on Twitter and in education circles that I'm part of. Generally speaking, the people I talk to tend to be in favour of them. That being said, however, thats possibly because the people I'm talking with tend to be of a similar mind to me :)
There have been some reasonable arguments against allowing students to bring in devices into the classroom which I would like to explore.
First, my position: I firmly believe that, issues aside, allowing student devices to be used in the classroom will better promote a technological literacy in students, as well as better engage them in their own learning.
Now, the issues "we" have to work out as a school and education community:
1. It's too hard to manage. This issue has popped up the most of any and I can totally see the perspective of the people commenting on it. It's usually network administrators or IT support people who say this and they absolutely have a point. Having managed two school networks before I can understand the difficulty of having to deal with different configurations, abilities, settings and systems all the while keeping everything working.
Possible solution: Set a standard for your school - we will support XYZ for this task, and XYZ for that one. Then, when teachers want to use another device, have them implement and support it themselves. Of course, offer support when it's convenient and continue working towards improving the "standard", but for heavens sake don't tell everyone "You can't use this because we can't support it".
2. Not everyone has a device. This gets sticky because it can show obvious levels of wealth and split students into categories. It also causes students to go home and say "Mr. Campbell says we HAVE to have a cell phone in class" when that's certainly NOT what I said.
Solution: Other than the obvious piece that everyone already KNOWS the have's and have not's in the classroom because students share and use cell phones constantly outside of the classroom, I have found that when devices are used grouping students tends to work best. I will say "Okay, I need 5 phones, who will volunteer to use their phone to be part of a group". This allows students to hide behind "I don't want to use my phone" rather than "I'm the only one in my group that doesn't have one."
3. PD issues. This goes along with "we can't support it" in that teachers can begin to expect that they HAVE to use these devices without any training, and then get upset because they aren't used effectively. A very valid concern and one that needs to be addressed quickly after initiating a student owned device program.
Solution: Provide very simple activities for the less "techy" amongst the teachers that doesn't require any serious support. Also make it clear that this is not an expectation (yet?) in the school and therefore, to try what they want or ignore it completely.
Hopefully we can work past these (and other) complaints so as to utilize the tools that most of our students already have...
There have been some reasonable arguments against allowing students to bring in devices into the classroom which I would like to explore.
First, my position: I firmly believe that, issues aside, allowing student devices to be used in the classroom will better promote a technological literacy in students, as well as better engage them in their own learning.
Now, the issues "we" have to work out as a school and education community:
1. It's too hard to manage. This issue has popped up the most of any and I can totally see the perspective of the people commenting on it. It's usually network administrators or IT support people who say this and they absolutely have a point. Having managed two school networks before I can understand the difficulty of having to deal with different configurations, abilities, settings and systems all the while keeping everything working.
Possible solution: Set a standard for your school - we will support XYZ for this task, and XYZ for that one. Then, when teachers want to use another device, have them implement and support it themselves. Of course, offer support when it's convenient and continue working towards improving the "standard", but for heavens sake don't tell everyone "You can't use this because we can't support it".
2. Not everyone has a device. This gets sticky because it can show obvious levels of wealth and split students into categories. It also causes students to go home and say "Mr. Campbell says we HAVE to have a cell phone in class" when that's certainly NOT what I said.
Solution: Other than the obvious piece that everyone already KNOWS the have's and have not's in the classroom because students share and use cell phones constantly outside of the classroom, I have found that when devices are used grouping students tends to work best. I will say "Okay, I need 5 phones, who will volunteer to use their phone to be part of a group". This allows students to hide behind "I don't want to use my phone" rather than "I'm the only one in my group that doesn't have one."
3. PD issues. This goes along with "we can't support it" in that teachers can begin to expect that they HAVE to use these devices without any training, and then get upset because they aren't used effectively. A very valid concern and one that needs to be addressed quickly after initiating a student owned device program.
Solution: Provide very simple activities for the less "techy" amongst the teachers that doesn't require any serious support. Also make it clear that this is not an expectation (yet?) in the school and therefore, to try what they want or ignore it completely.
Hopefully we can work past these (and other) complaints so as to utilize the tools that most of our students already have...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
So How Important is Math?
I can't believe I'm writing this :)
Other than my still held belief (here) that learning for the sake of learning is important, I've began wondering just how useful the high school math we teach is.
I have been working on a whole-year PBL approach to my Grade 8 math class. The basic premise is that students are given a scenario (you're an accountant, you make 60k, you're married) and then asked to perform a bunch of "everyday" tasks. Things like doing their taxes, making a budget, getting a mortgage, choosing the best items to buy at the grocery store, etc.
All of these tasks involve math, and all are what I would call "legitimate" tasks in that people actually DO have to make these decisions (no trains leaving stations, for example).
What I encountered, however, is how much our society has gotten AWAY from the math of these basic things.
When I started to have students work out how much tax they would be paying, it dawned on me that I never had to do those calculations because QuickTax did it for me, and better than I ever could.
When I set up the assignment to chose the best items at the grocery store, I remembered that all the work is already done because the store puts unit prices on everything already.
You get the idea.
So while I've created, in my opinion, an interesting program for the year and I think the students will enjoy it, I really haven't opened anyones eyes to the uses of math.
I enjoy math a lot, and I'm struggling to think about where I've used it. Granted, I've had to do rate and distance calculations on trips, or calculate basic equations when planning events, but that's all pretty straightforward. Perhaps it's because I KNOW how to do this stuff, but I struggle to think of daily math use.
So, other than knowing for the sake of knowing....how much math do we really use?
Other than my still held belief (here) that learning for the sake of learning is important, I've began wondering just how useful the high school math we teach is.
I have been working on a whole-year PBL approach to my Grade 8 math class. The basic premise is that students are given a scenario (you're an accountant, you make 60k, you're married) and then asked to perform a bunch of "everyday" tasks. Things like doing their taxes, making a budget, getting a mortgage, choosing the best items to buy at the grocery store, etc.
All of these tasks involve math, and all are what I would call "legitimate" tasks in that people actually DO have to make these decisions (no trains leaving stations, for example).
What I encountered, however, is how much our society has gotten AWAY from the math of these basic things.
When I started to have students work out how much tax they would be paying, it dawned on me that I never had to do those calculations because QuickTax did it for me, and better than I ever could.
When I set up the assignment to chose the best items at the grocery store, I remembered that all the work is already done because the store puts unit prices on everything already.
You get the idea.
So while I've created, in my opinion, an interesting program for the year and I think the students will enjoy it, I really haven't opened anyones eyes to the uses of math.
I enjoy math a lot, and I'm struggling to think about where I've used it. Granted, I've had to do rate and distance calculations on trips, or calculate basic equations when planning events, but that's all pretty straightforward. Perhaps it's because I KNOW how to do this stuff, but I struggle to think of daily math use.
So, other than knowing for the sake of knowing....how much math do we really use?
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Dressing for the part
An interesting conversation on Twitter arose about professional dress.
The conversation went on about how some teachers feel that dressing more relaxed allows them to connect with students, while others suggested that we need to dress as professionals.
Personally, I think it's all about dressing professionally for both students and teachers.
I've worked at two uniform schools and one non-uniform school, and while every school is different, there is a distinct and noticeable difference in the uniform schools. I firmly believe that dressing for what you intend to be doing subconsciously changes your behaviour. This is very evident on "non uniform" days, and even students will notice this.
Just as you wouldn't wear gym clothes to a fancy party, there should be an expectation that students and teachers dress appropriately.
Does this mean uniforms? Personally I think it does - it means that everyone is dressed appropriately, and furthermore, it removes the issues with clothing being a differentiator. Uniforms don't have to be super formal, however, to work - a nice golf shirt and business-casual pants are all that is required for students to "act the part" and dress for a purpose.
Some teachers suggest that dressing for the part doesn't change how professional they act. While in the larger picture I would agree - clothes don't make the man (or woman), but I firmly believe that dress affects how we behave, subtly.
Another very large issue is how we are perceived - far too often the public has a negative view of teachers, and I think that if we want to start being treated more as professionals, we need to start dressing and acting that way.
Every job has a dress code, why shouldn't school?
The conversation went on about how some teachers feel that dressing more relaxed allows them to connect with students, while others suggested that we need to dress as professionals.
Personally, I think it's all about dressing professionally for both students and teachers.
I've worked at two uniform schools and one non-uniform school, and while every school is different, there is a distinct and noticeable difference in the uniform schools. I firmly believe that dressing for what you intend to be doing subconsciously changes your behaviour. This is very evident on "non uniform" days, and even students will notice this.
Just as you wouldn't wear gym clothes to a fancy party, there should be an expectation that students and teachers dress appropriately.
Does this mean uniforms? Personally I think it does - it means that everyone is dressed appropriately, and furthermore, it removes the issues with clothing being a differentiator. Uniforms don't have to be super formal, however, to work - a nice golf shirt and business-casual pants are all that is required for students to "act the part" and dress for a purpose.
Some teachers suggest that dressing for the part doesn't change how professional they act. While in the larger picture I would agree - clothes don't make the man (or woman), but I firmly believe that dress affects how we behave, subtly.
Another very large issue is how we are perceived - far too often the public has a negative view of teachers, and I think that if we want to start being treated more as professionals, we need to start dressing and acting that way.
Every job has a dress code, why shouldn't school?
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Show me the money...
I'll start this post by saying that I'm a huge fan of private schools. I think they're a better form of education, and part of the reason I'm a fan will hopefully be revealed here.
Now that I've turned off probably 80% of my readers...my topic for today :)
It's nearing the end of the school year here in Alberta, and budget cuts are being seen across all programs. I was curious one day just how much money is spent on children's education in Alberta. I was quite shocked at the result - a little over $12,000 (that's education budget divided by students). That includes everything to do with education in Alberta - all the administration, all the school upkeep, all the salaries, all the supplies...everything.
I then looked around and remembered that I worked at a fantastic private school last year that charged a grand total of $9,000 per kid. Since the government gave them some money as well, it worked out to about $13,000 per child, or about a thousand more than the Alberta government is spending on education.
The differences are huge, I accept - managing an entire province costs money, managing multiple schools costs money, and helping all the kids we have to help costs money too...but, can't we spend it a bit better?
My proposal - treat every public school like a private one. Give them the money per kid - all of it, minus a few salaries at the ministerial level - and say "go forth and teach". Trust the principal, trust the teachers, and trust the parents to keep it all running. There doesn't need to be a district, there doesn't need to be special funds to various schools for this or that...there just needs to be money, per child, in the hands of the people who are actually doing the teaching.
It works for some FANTASTIC schools in Canada - there isn't any oversight for the private schools in Canada - they sink or swim based on their ability to deliver quality education.
Some would argue that the parents donate huge sums of money to these schools - yes, they do, but not for programming. Check for yourself - all their books are public because they're charities, and you can see that every dime they receive from parents and the government is spent on salaries and yearly programming - nothing capital. In addition, parent donations are spent entirely on capital projects or scholarships, not yearly programming.
So really, what would go wrong? If we hire a good principal, back them up with a volunteer board of appropriate business and education professionals in the community and run it like a business delivering education...what's the trouble? The school would be accountable because the parents would have total choice over where their child went to school and the money would follow the child. Schools that weren't using the money well and delivering bad programs would be simply put "out of business".
If a private school can deliver the kind of education they can on about the same as the government spends....where's the money going?
Now that I've turned off probably 80% of my readers...my topic for today :)
It's nearing the end of the school year here in Alberta, and budget cuts are being seen across all programs. I was curious one day just how much money is spent on children's education in Alberta. I was quite shocked at the result - a little over $12,000 (that's education budget divided by students). That includes everything to do with education in Alberta - all the administration, all the school upkeep, all the salaries, all the supplies...everything.
I then looked around and remembered that I worked at a fantastic private school last year that charged a grand total of $9,000 per kid. Since the government gave them some money as well, it worked out to about $13,000 per child, or about a thousand more than the Alberta government is spending on education.
The differences are huge, I accept - managing an entire province costs money, managing multiple schools costs money, and helping all the kids we have to help costs money too...but, can't we spend it a bit better?
My proposal - treat every public school like a private one. Give them the money per kid - all of it, minus a few salaries at the ministerial level - and say "go forth and teach". Trust the principal, trust the teachers, and trust the parents to keep it all running. There doesn't need to be a district, there doesn't need to be special funds to various schools for this or that...there just needs to be money, per child, in the hands of the people who are actually doing the teaching.
It works for some FANTASTIC schools in Canada - there isn't any oversight for the private schools in Canada - they sink or swim based on their ability to deliver quality education.
Some would argue that the parents donate huge sums of money to these schools - yes, they do, but not for programming. Check for yourself - all their books are public because they're charities, and you can see that every dime they receive from parents and the government is spent on salaries and yearly programming - nothing capital. In addition, parent donations are spent entirely on capital projects or scholarships, not yearly programming.
So really, what would go wrong? If we hire a good principal, back them up with a volunteer board of appropriate business and education professionals in the community and run it like a business delivering education...what's the trouble? The school would be accountable because the parents would have total choice over where their child went to school and the money would follow the child. Schools that weren't using the money well and delivering bad programs would be simply put "out of business".
If a private school can deliver the kind of education they can on about the same as the government spends....where's the money going?
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