I have recently had the pleasure of reading two books about technology in the United States: Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen and A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. I really enjoyed reading these books, because they informed me of new things in technology that I was not aware of. I have a satisfactory knowledge of how to use the Internet and software for tasks at work (research, presentations, spreadsheets, and documents), but lack insight on the latest breakthroughs and research.
After reading the Christensen and Pink books, I noticed some interesting similarities and differences. First, The two authors examine what they believe to be the future use of computers and the Internet. Christensen describes how technology in schools will help to change lesson plans and curriculum from teacher centered to student centered. On the other hand, Pink explains how we are currently experiencing a change from the information age to the conceptual age. I found it particularly interesting how he tied together the way in which the sides of the brain are related to the two ages. Also, he describes the six senses that will be needed to be successful in the changing world. After describing each of the six senses, there are a few grey pages that give ways in which you can explore the sense. Second, Christensen writes about education and technology, while Pink's exploration of technology looks at a variety of topics. Last, the books have different dates of publication, which can be very important when the topic is technology. Due to the constant change in the industry, a few years can make a difference. In this case, the dates do not make a big enough difference to invalidate the hypotheses of Pink.
Overall these two books provide some useful insight for educators. The Christensen book describes the upcoming dramatic change in education, while Pink book focuses on a dramatic shift in the use of technology everywhere.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Slide Deck Feedback
In class today, we presented an original PowerPoint presentation to a small group. The groups were to present their slide decks and receive feedback from the other group members. My presentation is going to be for my opening practice in March for spring track and field. I am the head coach for the boys team in Dunellen. So, I pretended that my group members were my athletes.
My presentation went well as I outlined the goals, expectations, history, and direction of our program. My group members complimented the introduction, the humor, and the organization of my presentation. They also gave me two GREAT ideas for improvement. First, they suggested that I separate my goals onto three different slides and say them orally instead of having them written on the screen. Second, they suggested that I should take the expectations slide off the presentation and make it into a handout.
Overall, I look forward to giving another presentation next week as I continue to try and improve my presentation skills.
My presentation went well as I outlined the goals, expectations, history, and direction of our program. My group members complimented the introduction, the humor, and the organization of my presentation. They also gave me two GREAT ideas for improvement. First, they suggested that I separate my goals onto three different slides and say them orally instead of having them written on the screen. Second, they suggested that I should take the expectations slide off the presentation and make it into a handout.
Overall, I look forward to giving another presentation next week as I continue to try and improve my presentation skills.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Teacher Blogs
After examining principal blogs, I moved onto the teacher section on the website: http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers. As I did during my experience reading principal blogs, I found an honest and open look at the experiences today's teachers are facing. Many of the posts made me reflect on my own experiences and challenges that I face and have faced in the classroom. The blog by Cory Peppler named One Teacher's Journey at http://cpeppler.edublogs.org/ I found to be particularly relevant. The blog open with a brief explanation of why he has not posted in such a long time. Mr. Peppler explains how he has been very busy with his personal and professional life and that he has been SURVIVING rather than teaching. Many times during my eight years of teaching I have felt a similar feeling. Most of the times I feel that way have been brought on by my own ambitions. During those years, I have held a variety of positions: teacher (ten subjects), coach (four sports), VP of our union, department head, curriculum writer, and tutor. So, the words of Mr. Peppler made me reflect again on what I am doing and what I plan on doing in the future.
Principal Blogs
This was my first time examining educational blogs. The blogs were found on the site: http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers and was made up of a long list of educational blogs. The blogs were divided up into categories like students, teachers, classrooms, principals, and administrators. I found it particularly interesting that the blogs were from all over the world. The category I examined first was a list of blogs set up by principals from the United States, New Zealand, and Canada all regarding secondary education. I enjoyed my experience and here are some highlights:
The most interesting blog goes to Trevor Smith from Central Collegiate High School in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan named Random Thoughts of an Ed Admin Lifer at http://mohjoe.edublogs.org/. Mr. Smith covered everything from his last graduation speech to his personal philosophies of education. He set up links to YouTube video's about the Apocalypse and Pink Floyd's The Wall. I felt that he was very open and honest about his educational thoughts, but to a fault. An educator should have an open mind regarding new and exciting ways to help students reach their potential. Those ideas can be different and sometimes need to come from outside the box, but I felt he exposed some things about himself that do not need to be made public for the entire world to see. Sometimes those effective, but different, ideas are what is needed to make changes, but if the wrong people see them, they can be misconstrued. As a result, the ideas may be lost as rumors spread regarding your intentions.
The other blog which caught my eye was PHSPrincipalBLOG by Dave Meister at http://phsprincipal.blogspot.com/. I found this blog interesting, because of the topics he wrote about and the engaging comments made in response. For example, Mr. Meister posts helpful hints on how to deal with negativity and there were four intelligent responses. This pattern is repeated throughout the blog. Obviously Mr. Meister has established an open forum in which people can discuss important educational issues.
The most interesting blog goes to Trevor Smith from Central Collegiate High School in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan named Random Thoughts of an Ed Admin Lifer at http://mohjoe.edublogs.org/. Mr. Smith covered everything from his last graduation speech to his personal philosophies of education. He set up links to YouTube video's about the Apocalypse and Pink Floyd's The Wall. I felt that he was very open and honest about his educational thoughts, but to a fault. An educator should have an open mind regarding new and exciting ways to help students reach their potential. Those ideas can be different and sometimes need to come from outside the box, but I felt he exposed some things about himself that do not need to be made public for the entire world to see. Sometimes those effective, but different, ideas are what is needed to make changes, but if the wrong people see them, they can be misconstrued. As a result, the ideas may be lost as rumors spread regarding your intentions.
The other blog which caught my eye was PHSPrincipalBLOG by Dave Meister at http://phsprincipal.blogspot.com/. I found this blog interesting, because of the topics he wrote about and the engaging comments made in response. For example, Mr. Meister posts helpful hints on how to deal with negativity and there were four intelligent responses. This pattern is repeated throughout the blog. Obviously Mr. Meister has established an open forum in which people can discuss important educational issues.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Professional Development
The book Disrupting Class has brought to light many aspects of the future of teaching that I have not thought of before. I have been teaching for eight years, and many of my early years were spent in survival mode. Coming straight out of college and into the classroom, I felt to be effective, I needed to spend the bulk of my time preparing for class. Now that I am more comfortable in my profession and looking to perfect my teaching, I have had my eyes opened to some things in the future that will change the way we look at education.
An idea in the book Disrupting Class that could be used is the idea of moving from standardized to customized lesson planning. In my district, we have become consumed with standardized testing and curriculum due to state requirement and the QUSAC monitoring. As a result we have been moving towards standardizing everything. I think our district could pick and choose excerpts from the book to be used in a professional development next year. At the professional development we could read these excerpts and begin a constructive discussion in small groups as to how WE can customize lessons within the framework of standardization. The small groups should be as diverse as possible including a mix of backgrounds, ages, discipline, and experiences. The small groups will be given questions to aid discussion and lead them to specific areas of concern. After the small group work, the groups will begin a large group discussion to flush out the most creative, effective, and realistic ways to customize within the realm of standardization.
An idea in the book Disrupting Class that could be used is the idea of moving from standardized to customized lesson planning. In my district, we have become consumed with standardized testing and curriculum due to state requirement and the QUSAC monitoring. As a result we have been moving towards standardizing everything. I think our district could pick and choose excerpts from the book to be used in a professional development next year. At the professional development we could read these excerpts and begin a constructive discussion in small groups as to how WE can customize lessons within the framework of standardization. The small groups should be as diverse as possible including a mix of backgrounds, ages, discipline, and experiences. The small groups will be given questions to aid discussion and lead them to specific areas of concern. After the small group work, the groups will begin a large group discussion to flush out the most creative, effective, and realistic ways to customize within the realm of standardization.
Bloom's Revised Taxonomy
The Blooming question exercise was an effective exercise, because it was a hands-on approach to teaching the new technological thinking skills. The most effective aspect of the assignment was the discussion of our original questions in which we picked three questions to pass onto the other group. The reason it was so effective is that our group ended up discussing the level of the questions we choose and it gave me insight as to the type of questions I have been writing. I was quite surprised to see how easy it is to fall into a rut of asking lower level questions (and not even being aware of it). One of the toughest aspects of teaching AP history classes is creating higher level questions for each unit. This lesson has taught me to discuss my possible questions with a colleague as to elicit feedback and self analysis.
The only aspect of the assignment that I would have changed is the amount of time we were given to work in our groups. I understand the time constraints of a weekly class, but I found our small group discussions to be invaluable.
The only aspect of the assignment that I would have changed is the amount of time we were given to work in our groups. I understand the time constraints of a weekly class, but I found our small group discussions to be invaluable.
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