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Travel Agent vs. Tour Guide

I’ve been buried deep in working on my dissertation proposal and have been finding it challenging to keep focused. I read someplace that using a metaphor, analogy, or story can add a level of cohesiveness to a paper. I may not write this into my paper, but taking that approach is helping me make a bit more sense of my work. I thought I would take a moment to share with my readers. Note – These are my views and are generalized to educational systems as a whole, not my employer.

So much of the “professional” development (PD) teachers experience these days is really administrative and not professional. Think about the last inservice day you attended (or planned). Were sessions focused on how to do any of these?

  • operate a piece of software or online service/tool,
  • improve classroom management or discipline,
  • navigate the latest teacher evaluation requirements,
  • prepare for the next round of standardized testing,
  • maintain needed safety measures on your campus,

While these topics must be covered to share procedures, policies, knowledge, and/or to meet compliance requirements, these are administrative development and have little or nothing to do with actually improving teaching practice. These sessions often place the learner (our teachers) in a passive role as they consume what is being shared by a presenter. Research shows that this type of PD may be useful for learning procedures but if a change in teaching practice or a change in paradigm is expected, the approach to PD offered must follow certain characteristics. If the desired result is change, “traditional” PD is not going to cut it.

My dissertation is examining the self-directed professional learning (SDPL) of teachers, the benefits/barriers experienced, and how a district/school can support their teachers’ SDPL.

I have provided (and will be providing) many “traditional” PD sessions. For example, I have spent the last several years teaching people how to get around in Google Apps and have shared ways it could be used to make life more efficient as well as how it can be used for collaboration by teachers and students. I have modeled its use. I have encouraged its use. Some people have taken the ball and run with it; some, not so much. I should not be surprised for much (or most) of the fault lies with the training provided.

Too much PD we offer is led by a tour guide. The teacher, if they are lucky, gets to choose the tour but they are led through the journey. Teachers are too often passengers rather than participants. The tour guide chooses what to show and what to say about each part of the tour. The passengers may (or may not) ask questions but can certainly choose to be passive consumers of the tour guide’s script. Weeks after the tour is over, they may remember a few bits and pieces of the tour but will likely be left with an overall impression rather than detailed memories. We certainly would not expect them to BECOME the tour guide after taking the tour once as a passenger.

A travel agent can provide a deeper experience. When it comes to SDPL, I envision the district/school (or those they bring in to run PD) in the role of travel agent. This is especially needed if we really want the journey to have an impact on the teacher and the way in which they teach and, even more so, if you want them to change how they teach. The travel agent keeps up with the available travel options (destinations, tours, experiences, interactions) and, after getting to know what the customer wants, provides them options to help them meet their goal for the trip. They consult with the traveler to lay out the itinerary and are there to provide support during the trip in case things go wrong. Sure, some people are ready to just go online and book all aspects of that big vacation but, not being the expert, may miss some real gems along the way. They may book a hotel that provides less than stellar service. They may sign up for a tour that hits all the touristy spots but bypasses the stops that give a real feel for the city. They would still have a good experience, one they chose, but by getting an additional level of support in the planning and execution of the trip, the experience can be that much deeper, memorable, and impactful.

Travel Agent vs. Tour Guide. I am going to try to be more of a travel agent rather than a tour guide in PD I offer from now on. That won’t be possible for required administrative development sessions but, when I can, this is the approach I am going to take. I am going to find out from my teachers what they want to learn and support them in that journey. Time will limit how much I can actually spend with each teacher but I can certainly help suggest resources for them to visit on the trip. There are many challenges in this approach – for me and for the teacher. It is usually easier to be the passenger. Taking a more active role in the process takes more time and effort but the result is more likely to be effective if we really want a change to occur.

The right way? Ah, if it were only so easy. Just like there is not one right way to teach students, there is not one right way to approach teacher development. Differentiation is needed to address the needs of adult learners. However, mandated PD is often focused on compliance and is less concerned with learning. “Attendance is mandatory but learning is not” (Kennedy, 2016, p. 29). Just as we focus on student learning, PD should be more about teacher learning. Until it is, we should not be surprised that learning is not happening and that change is not taking place.

Elementary Students Tweeting

I was so inspired by Alice Keeler’s recent post, Class Twitter Account: How Your Students Can Tweet, that I decided to take her idea and generate a Google Form for our soon-to-be-instituted elementary school student tech team to allow them to quickly submit tweets for consideration by our new Twitter feed. That part was easy but I also wanted to make it easy for them to see the Twitter feed as well. I decided to make a Google Sites page containing the embedded Google Form as well as a Twitter widget of the feed. For some reason, I just couldn’t get it to work so I headed to Google Search. I landed on a Tech Tip published by the IT folks with West Hartford Public Schools: Embed a Twitter Feed – Google Sites.

The steps are pretty straight forward if you don’t mind digging into HTML a bit. They suggest using Note Pad but I used Dreamweaver. If you are looking for an alternative HTML editor, try TextWrangler.

I created a Google Sites page and made it totally blank (or at least as blank as I could make it) and set the width to 100%. I embedded the Google Form I created on one side of the page and the Twitter Feed on the other. The end result looks like this:

tweet-page

Sadly, Twitter is blocked on our campus so a big gray area comes up when viewing this on campus.

Screen Shot 2016-05-31 at 11.02.41 AM

As a way around that, I headed over to IFTTT. I started with appending the tweet to a Google Sheet that I was going to embed in the Google Site. It just didn’t look right. I tried appending the tweet to a Google Doc which, again, just didn’t work for me. I ended up using a recipe to create a Blogger post every time the account tweets. I chose to grab the RSS feed for that blog and embed that beside the submission form. It still isn’t very pretty but, for now, it is functional.

Screen Shot 2016-05-31 at 10.58.37 AM

I’m looking forward to getting more of our elementary students practicing their digital citizenship skills while also highlighting the great work our students are doing at my school.

 

 

Self-Assessment for Teacher on ISTE Standards

UPDATE: MobileMind no longer resells the assessment mentioned. They have, however, referred me to 2gnō.me. If any of you have used 2gnō.me and want to share some insights, please do comment below.

Yesterday I was introduced to MobileMind and the professional development solutions they offer, particularly in regards to Google in Education. I’m looking forward to learning more about the workshops they have available not only from the standpoint of an Instructional Technology Specialist responsible for providing quality PD for the teachers in my district but also from the view of an Instructional Designer about to start work on my dissertation in IDT.

mobilemindI did, however, want to go ahead and share their 360° Skills Assessment, based on ISTE Standards. This self-assessment takes about 15 minutes and is free and confidential. By answering some multiple-choice questions about 23 competencies aligned to the 5 ISTE Standards, a teacher can get a good picture about where they stand in regards to the standards. Teachers will need to create and confirm an account with 2gno.me in order to take the assessment.

Are any of your school districts using MobileMind? I would love to hear about your experience.

After taking the skills assessment, were your results what you expected? Tell me about it by posting a comment!

 

100th Day Ideas: #GAFE, #BreakoutEDU, #STEM

100We are nearing the 100th day of this school year. When I taught in a high school, that momentous date would pass without much recognition. Now that I am in an elementary school environment, I know it is not only celebrated but used as a special day of teachable moments. Here are a handful of ideas that you may consider giving a try this year.

100s Grid in Google Sheets:

100s-gridUse this shared Google Sheet file as a starting point (you can make your own copy by using THIS link). You could share the file with students through Google Classroom so each could have their own copy OR you could even do an analog version by printing it out. If you print it out, I suggest printing a screenshot of the grid and be sure to include the column and row headers so students can practice naming spreadsheet cells.

The Google Sheet file includes a few tabs with ideas.

algorithm-2Have students draw a number by coloring in the background of certain cells. If the student chose to draw a “2”, then have them identify which cells someone else would have to color in in order to draw the same “2”. Then, have them give that algorithm to another student and see if they can recreate their number.

This could also be done with letters. As an example, the sample spreadsheet uses the letter “C” (100 in Roman numerals). Students could also take a more artistic approach by making a heart (think Valentine’s Day), a smiley face, a flower, a Minecraft character. You get the idea.

As an alternative, students could be given the algorithm first and as they complete the steps, they see the object appear.

breakouteduA possible tie-in to BreakoutEDU: Give a grid to four groups of students along with the algorithm to draw a number. Then, those four numbers could be used to unlock a four-number combination lock.

 

Melting with 100s:

I saw an idea on Education World and am building on it. “Ask kids to measure the amount of water in 100 melted ice cubes.”

iceThey certainly could do that and use a Google Form to enter data into a Google Sheet. They could then create graphs to explain the data, especially over time. They could also gather ambient temperature data (in Fahrenheit and Celsius) and include those in the data set.

An alternative might be to include the 100s concept in the formation of the ice cubes. Maybe make a container 100 cm square and have the water drain off into another container. How much ice do they start with and how much ends up in the other container? Why don’t the two add up to what we started with?

Maybe have different kinds of ice cubes. Some just water. Some with water and additives. Would adding food coloring to water change the rate of melting? What about other substances?

I’m not a science teacher (I was a band director back before I dove into EdTech) but I can see lots of possible connections to science and math that you curriculum experts could expand upon.

 

Opinion Survey:

Have your class (or small groups of students) develop an opinion survey using Google Forms. Have them collect answers from 100 people and then analyze the data. They could share their findings by making a video, animation, or narrated screen recording.

 

100 Cards for Elders or Service Members:

card-sample
Another idea inspired by Education World. “Help children send 100 cards to a local nursing home.” This would also be good for sending to soldiers, local police officers, or firemen.

How about giving students a Google Slide template (or Google Drawing) of a greeting card cover. Students could use the various drawing tools to design the front of the card. Print them off in color and have student fold them and write a thoughtful message inside.

I threw together a sample using Google Translate to find ways of saying “Thank you” in different languages. It gives a chance to use Google Slides, Google Translate, Google Fonts, and a variety of text formatting tools.

 

Ratios and Fractions:

Yet another idea inspired by Education World.  “Have kids count 10×10 Jelly Beans.”

I have seen the M&M (or Skittles or jelly beans) ratio/fractions lesson done many times and in many variations. Add a 100 day twist and gather the data for the whole class into one Google Form. Then create graphs to explore the data.

 

A Maker Twist:

And yet another idea inspired by Education World.  “Collect 100 buttons, and have kids categorize them according to shape, size, number of holes, etc.”

Maybe after they collect the objects, have them collect the data about categories in a Google Form for easy analysis. But then, make something with the buttons. Glue them to a piece of cardboard and paint them. Throw in some LED lights with a battery taped to the back of the cardboard. Or maybe use a Makey Makey and make some kind of controller using the buttons.

 

tickleSphero or Dash Take a Tour of the School:

Have students use Tynker or Tickle to code a Sphero or Dash to take a tour of the school in 100 blocks of code. Give a starting and an ending point and let students choose where to visit. Have them write about their tour and explain why they chose those stops. Video students running their code and let them read their essay over the video.

 

What do you think?

Do you have any special activities you do with your students (or teachers)? I would love to hear about them so share a comment below!

 

 

Another Amazing Race

I just finished presenting a session at the Tennessee Educational Technology Conference. It was another iteration of “An Amazing Race” using a variety of Google tools. The session had to be closed early because we filled up (even Adam Bellow couldn’t get a seat!).

Unfortunately, the wifi was not cooperating so the activity itself was quite frustrating. However, based on the comments I received afterward, people left with a good idea of the structure of the activity and how they can take it back to their schools. It really is a pretty simple way to incorporate active learning in any lesson and any subject.

I shared a post earlier in the year about when I did the activity with the teachers at my school but I wanted to share this session’s experience and workflow as well.

I began by displaying a Google Doc explaining the activity and giving some tips. I didn’t spend too much time talking but I wanted to lay a foundation. My focus for this session was, in part, about learning some specific skills but it was more about providing exposure to the activity and having a meaningful debriefing afterward so attendees would feel comfortable taking the activity back to their own schools.

Because I knew the wifi was iffy, I threw together a more thorough debriefing document last night. I used that after the 20 minute version of the game to walk through what the attendees WOULD HAVE been able to do if wifi had been more robust. This was my favorite part of the session. It gave me a chance to show a few things and toss out ideas for use.

I grabbed a little Periscope during part of the session and explain a little but about the activity during it.

 

I wish the session had gone more like I had planned but, honestly how often does THAT happen – rarely. I appreciated the time 50 people spent with me and I look forward to hearing about how they can take the idea and run with it.

Introduction to Screencasting

I put this module together for one of my graduate school classes and am sharing it here in case it can be helpful for anyone else. I intend to share with the teachers at my school as a flipped element for a PD session on creating screencasts. Not only does it have helpful info about screencasting but it also includes some Visible Thinking routines AND shows how you can push Google Sites a bit.

GO TO:

Introduction to Screencasting

Intro to Screencasting

News

Free EdTech Goodies for You and You and You!

Once a month I assemble and distribute a Technology Newsletter to the teachers at my school. I shared the recent edition on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook and it was so well-received that I’ve decided to post them on this blog as well. Some have been edited to remove school-specific login information but most are exactly the same.

All the newsletters are posted on a page under the Resources menu on the navigation bar of this site. I hope you find these, and the information they contain, helpful.

 

Newsletters
 

Southern Summit and My Dissertation

I’m about to go to day 2 of the Google in Education Southern Summit. This summit in 2013 was my first ever and it became my latest addiction. If I were to win the lottery, after taking care of my family and bills, I would go to every GAFE Summit I could get to. It’s like getting innoculated to the drag that the educational system has become. Being around all these folks who are excited about learning and getting fired up about new and interesting ways to help kids is refreshing.

Dissertation Getting Closer

I started grad school (EdD in Instructional Design and Technology at The University of Memphis) this past August and they start us early narrowing down topics for our dissertation. Still in the preparing the proposal stage but here is what I am considering. I would LOVE comments and opinions from anyone as I continue to focus on the final proposal.

Being a degree in IDT, I will be designing an instructional unit, implementing it to gather data, and then use that data to address my research questions. The unit I have in mind would explain how exploring all kinds of informal learning (especially the building of a PLE/PLN) and guide them through getting started.

Informal Professional Development: An Antidote to Teacher Burnout?

The Problem – Teacher burnout is a serious issue. Formal professional development (PD) is often focused on the latest mandates (e.g., evaluations, standards, testing) and is not differentiated for varying teacher needs and interests. Emerging technologies have led to an increasing number of methods for informal teacher PD and learning. Educating teachers about the different methods of informal PD could contribute to a more focused and productive personal learning environment (PLE). Learning methods for managing the flow of information may lessen the overwhelming nature of an active personal learning network (PLN).

Research Questions: 

  1. How do participants currently utilize various methods of informal professional development?
  2. How are participants currently impacted by teacher burnout?
  3. When comparing participant understanding of informal PD before and after unit completion, in which areas was the greatest and least improvement demonstrated?
  4. What are the current participant perceptions of informal professional development?
  5. How did participants’ perceptions about informal professional development change, if at all, upon completion of the unit?
  6. In what ways, if any, are participants considering using knowledge gained through completion the unit to impact their own informal professional development?

 

What do you think? I’d love feedback on either side of the discussion. Still very early in the construction of the proposal.

 

 

Your Students Can Help Scientists!

The Zooniverse is a collection of web-based citizen science projects that use the efforts of volunteers to help researchers deal with the flood of data that confronts them. Anyone can participate and teachers can certainly use this with their students. Their collection of activities gives a real-world context for showing students how they can contribute to the world of science and society in general.

Projects are divided into categories: space, climate, humanities, nature, biology, and physics.

penguinwatch
Penguin Watch helps scientists from the Penguin Lifelines project. They have 50 cameras throughout the Southern Ocean and along the Antarctic Peninsula, overlooking colonies of Gentoo, Chinstrap, Adélie, and King penguins. The cameras take images of the penguins year-round and are able to determine the health of the colony by obtaining nest survival rates while also observing novel behaviors, such as why and where penguins spend their winter months.

How can your students help Penguin Watch? Students simply look at pictures and click on areas to identify adult penguins, baby penguins, or penguin eggs. The data is then used by the project to improve understanding of these species. The notations students make on the images will also aid in “training” a computer to automatically recognize penguin individuals.

penguinwatch-ex
 

Some of the other projects by Zooniverse are:

  • PlanetFour – Find and mark ‘fans’ and ‘blotches’ on the Martian surface to help planetary scientists identify and measure features on the surface of Mars.
  • Solar Stormwatch – Spot explosions on the Sun and track them across space to Earth to help astronauts get an early warning if dangerous solar radiation is headed their way.
  • Cyclone Center – Look at two satellite images and select the stronger storm and storm type (guiding questions are provided to help identify the storm type).
  • Cell Slider – View pathological data and target cancer cells.
  • Floating Forests – Identify kelp in underwater images.
  • more

Projects also have chats available with the scientists so you and your students can ask questions of the experts themselves.

Possible extensions: 

  • Have students write a reflection for a portfolio.
  • Have students create a guide for identfying whatever the object was.
  • Have students write a poem from the perspective of the object or the scientist.
  • Have students write a children’s book about the object, including pictures. Print and bind them and donate to a library.
  • Hold a Google Hangout or Skype with scientists involved with the project.
  • Have a Zooniverse hour once a week and give students a choice as to which project to support. At the end of the semester, have students present to the class about what they learned, what difference they envision they have made in the world, how they might take what they have learned and use it in the future.

Whether you have students do these individually or you do as a whole-class activity with an interactive whiteboard, this activity has endless connections to expand your students’ knowledge of the world around them.

Hear an interview with one of the scientists on NPR: Researchers Enlist Internet Users To Help Monitor Penguins

 

 

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