Khan Academy

Yesterday we spent the day at a workshop for Khan Academy. Our school has received a grant from the Albertson's Foundation, allowing us to purchase a total of 6 Chromebooks per classroom. We are piloting the Khan Academy program.

I learned many great things that I can do with Khan Academy. It can be used as a supplement with lessons. It can be used to fill in gaps that students may not have mastered in previous years. It may be used in whole units. And it may be used as a core part of the curriculum.

As I look ahead to this school year, I am unsure of how I will use it. I am glad for the workshop we had to give us some ideas, but I am looking forward to meeting with the other teachers in my building to possibly set up a share program. We discussed sharing the Chromebooks, allowing one teacher to have 24 Chromebooks at once so as to allow every student access Khan Academy.

While I am grateful for the grant we have received, I also want more! I have come to recognize that there are relative advantages to using technology, but many people don't know how to use them in that way. I would love to have a class set, so I can use them more with blogging and other writing activities.

I will be taking a grant writing course next semester. Perhaps I can use this as an opportunity to apply for more funds for Chromebooks.

Let It Begin!

The summer is always a difficult time for me. I love having the break from teaching and being able to do other things. I get to go on vacations. I get to help my in-laws with their farm work. I get to relax and sleep in! I also take online classes, which sometimes can make the summer not so fun.

This summer, however, the courses all started coming together. I was learning practical things that fit my situation. As I have mentioned, we were going to be receiving Chromebooks, so I felt like I could do much more with technology.

I recently had a webinar on our new grading/communication system called Renweb. This also got me excited as it was something new and had a lot of features that we didn't have before. After the webinar, I was able to talk with our tech guy. He showed me what we can do with the Chromebooks, and he gave me my teacher one to take home! He also showed me the new tech lab in our high school and said that our elementary one would mirror it. Rather than having individual computers, we have monitors with something (I don't remember what he called it) attached to them that sends the data to the server, making them much faster with little technical problems.

I also had to screen a new 6th grade student. This student was transferring to our school, so I needed to see that she was prepared for 6th grade and advise her on what she could work on. She was such a sweet girl and very outgoing. This made me even more excited for school to start!

I love kids! I love the kids around this age as well. I remember this was a weird stage in my life, so it is fun to see what they are going through and how I could relate to that. They are thinkers! They are opinionated! They are humorous!

I can't wait to see what this year brings. I am looking forward to going back and trying all of the things I want to do. Oh, I just can't contain it!

EDTECH 597 - Audio Post

I was searching for some podcasts about educational technology and came upon the website Teaching with Technology Podcasts. Upon browsing this site, I found a podcast about blogging in the classroom. The teacher gives an example of how she used a blog in her music classroom and how she was able to make it successful.

Here is a link to the blog. It is a good example of a blog where the teacher posts a prompt and students comment. I think she is having success in this manner, and I will continue to follow her to see how she incorporates it into her classroom next year.

EDTECH 597 - Poll Post

During my studies at college for my B.A., the technology emphasis was on SMARTBoards. The college bought several SMARTBoards for classrooms, and we had a bit of opportunity to use these devices in our methods courses and see them used by professors as well. The classroom in which I did my student teaching also had a SMARTBoard, so I was able to use it as a learning tool, but I didn't have a whole lot of experience or knowledge on it to make it super effective. When I started my teaching career, I was looking forward to eventually getting a SMARTBoard in my classroom. We had a Parent Teacher Fellowship raising money for different things in the school. One of the things they wanted to purchase were SMARTBoards for the 6th grade classrooms. I thought this was great until I started researching more technology and found different devices that I would rather have. So here is the poll:

If you were given $3,000 to spend on technology, what would you spend it on? (Imagine you have none of the choices)

EDTECH 597 Video Post - Parental Involvement

I fully believe that parental involvement is one of the keys to student success. The school that I teach at is a Christian school that seeks to build a school-family-church relationship. The school believes that education can be enhanced by having this relationship. Often times when an aspect of that relationship is broken, the child does not succeed as well as (s)he could.

EDTECH 597 Image Entry - Chromebooks in Education

As I have mentioned before, we will be getting some Chromebooks for our classroom this coming year. We have not really had any workable computers in our classes before. We only had 2 students computers (from the pre-historic age or so it seems :) ) that were used mainly for Accelerated Reader tests and sometimes typing. Having these Chromebooks will be a great addition to our classroom, but I am also a bit nervous about deciding how to use them.

The main reason we are getting these Chromebooks is in relationship to Khan Academy. This is a math resource page where students will be working on additional videos and activities to further develop math skills and also advance at a faster pace if possible. As I am looking to find other ways to use the Chromebooks, I have been researching what they can and can't do. I will discuss some things, include my opinions about it, and ask for your opinions/suggestions as comments.

First, the Chromebook uses the Chrome OS, which essentially is the Google Chrome web browser. I appreciate this browser, and I have been using it since it came out. I believe that it runs smoothly and has a good interface. We have used internet explorer as our main browser on computers, so hopefully there won't be difficulties in transitioning with my 6th graders. What I also love about Google is syncing. There are many Google applications that I use, such as Blogger, Google Docs, Gmail, and others that I can't think of off the top of my head. Students will have one account, and all of this stuff will be synced, making it possible for me to incorporate many of these tools and apps into the classroom. Many times my students have forgotten to save things or they save them into the wrong folder. By having these auto-save features that come with Google Docs, I think that problem will be solved!

The one thing that I am worried about is that it seems like we will be limited, at least in the beginning. I am so used to having programs on my computer. I am so used to the idea of having a hard drive to save things to. I am so used to closing my browser and seeing all of my tools on my desktop. I believe many of my students will be used to this as well, so it may seem like we are limited in what we can do.

For those of you who have used Chromebooks, how do you feel about them? Do you appreciate them more than laptops or other devices? In what ways do you use them in the classroom? What apps or extensions make them more useful?

[Image courtesy of Alex Washburn]

EDTECH 597 - Examining Generational Differences

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As I continue to delve into the subject matter of Educational Technology, I am pressed with the question about how much technology is needed? The courses that I have taken so far have caused me to think about what educational technology is, how it can be used, and why it should be used. When I reflect on my own learning, I can see that "electronic" educational technology, such as IWBs, mobile devices, laptops, etc. did not play a large part in my education. However, I believe that I was successful in my learning.

I have often reflected on how I could have been more successful in my learning when I was a child. What sort of things did I do that were successful? What things did I do that made me unsuccessful? What similarities did I have with other successful students? What do I expect out of my students to make them successful?

By keeping these questions in mind, I am able to look back at my education. I was highly motivated to learn in early elementary school. I had an intrinsic desire to do well, and that was shown by test scores, assignments, and overall grades. Throughout my schooling, I moved a couple of times, which created a disconnect in my learning. This, along with other issues, caused me to not enjoy school. My grades started to decline, and I became more interested in social acceptance. This brought me into my interest of electronics, such as computers and video games.

I filled my time with video games as much as I could. I would do my homework as quickly as possible in order to spend more time being entertained. This continued on and on, as long as I could maintain good grades, until I no longer could live that lifestyle, which was during college. I never developed the discipline of studying and doing my work well because I never had to.

I don't believe that our students' brains are changing. I don't believe they need to learn in a manner that revolves around technology. I don't believe that teachers need to adapt to the influx of technology. I don't believe we need to get rid of the old.

I believe a large portion of this problem revolves around parenting. I could have done much better had I been disciplined in this manner. I do not resent my parents for this or hold any bitterness, because if things had not gone this way, major events in my life may not have happened. However, I do believe that parents need to do a better job of parenting in order to help solve this problem. If children are constantly being bombarded by media, especially entertaining media such as television shows, movies, video games, etc. they are obviously going to be bored at school and not enjoy it because it is impossible to engage students this way at school. If there is no expectation at home to meet a standard, students will most likely not meet it. While I haven't had much teaching experience yet, I can see how parental involvement, support, and discipline has made certain children successful and others unsuccessful.

I am not a parent, so I do not understand all of the problems or difficulties that arise because of this. I firmly believe, however, that by creating a positive learning environment at home will help children be more successful in school as well. It seems that the control is being given to the children (which I have had many students affirm). The control needs to be back to those who should have the control.



Picture credit: http://www.jokeroo.com/pictures/funny/explain-these-bad-grades.html

Guest Blog - Jennifer Van Der Hoek

The following entry is from my sister-in-law, Jennifer Van Der Hoek. She will be teaching secondary English at Timothy Christian High School in Elmhurst, IL. She has developed a passion for literature and writing from a high school English teacher, and she hopes to incorporate blogging into her classroom routine.

It all began when I was a freshman in college. "Media and Technology" was the name of the course, and Facebook and Twitter didn't cut it for integrating into our plans as future teachers. We spent each class learning something new to do with technology for the classes we would teach some years later, many of which have since faded and probably will never trend their way back into classroom. One of those things was not blogging, not in my book anyways. 

My first experience with blogging took me hours to figure out and only minutes to forget once I got that A. I could not have cared any less about the perks to blogging. All I cared about was passing. 

That all changed as I prepared for my semester abroad. I packed my bags, said my goodbyes, and left with an open mind and empty memory card-- both of which were itching to be filled with lifelong memories. The problem there was that my memory card couldn't fit all of the moments I wanted to capture (plus I ended up breaking my camera), and my mind was sure to forget some of the details of my crazy adventures. I had to think of another way to share my experience with others and allow my story to be retold as often as I wanted, even to myself. Blogging quickly became the answer.

My blogs from Europe allowed me to relive my time overseas as clearly and with as much joy as I did over a year ago, and it allowed others to share those emotions and understand what a Facebook album can't contain. It gives stories passion and readers pictures their eyes couldn't see before. 

Blogging has become my way to channel my emotions and thoughts and give access to those who desire to hear my story, to learn new things, and to see secondhand what else this world has to offer. Since Europe I have created 2 other blogs-- one from another overseas experience and one from my experience teaching in a public school. To this day, I re-read those stories and am able to re-live the times and experience that helped me become the friend, the teacher, and the person I am today.

If you would like to read these blogs that Jennifer has written about, you can find them here: Thoughts All Around! (Her adventures in Europe), North High Lights (Her student teaching experience in Sioux City), and Gut Reactions (Her student teaching experience in the Dominican Republic).

Can I Fix It? Yes! I Can! - Commentary

As I was browsing through my reader, I was looking for a classmate's blog that I may not have commented on or read much of to date. I got to Michael Lipson's blog and read his new commentary post, entitled "Why You Should Dump Tech Support and Become a Fixer." I find myself being very similar to Michael here as he calls himself a "tech hobbyist." He has found solutions to many of his problems by doing them himself. If he can't fix them, he searches for solutions. I have been doing this as well since I can remember. I love to tinker with tools and computers, and I have created some major problems in doing this but I learned from it.

I can't remember where this came from, perhaps I was researching things about being a technology integration specialist or something along the lines, but I came upon an interesting characteristic that these people must possess. They must be patient when working with people. I do agree that if you are helping someone learn about a new technology, they might need that extra help. Perhaps they missed a step that you did, or they need you to repeat something. This is definitely a time when the newbie needs some guidance and it could get frustrating for the more experienced person. However, you don't want to alienate yourself from people and come off as frustrated with the question. You want the person to learn to do it himself.

The tech person didn't get there by asking the previous tech person. That person messed around with stuff, tried new things, and learned from others. When a problem came, he most likely tried to figure it out himself. If he got stuck or it got worse, he most likely searched for a solution or asked for help. Teachers teach students to do this process, but how often do they do it themselves when it comes to technology? It may be that I have been tinkering with computers for a while for me to have this view point, but I think others need to get it, too.

I didn't gain my understanding of technology by being born into the onset of a digital age. I worked at understanding it. A teacher that wants to integrate technology  must understand it as well. This means troubleshooting problems so you know what to do next time. This means researching how to use more options with it. This means finding solutions to problems, which might lead you to a new option that you may not have thought about.

I feel bad for our technology administrator as he came into a position that had a lot of Band-Aids on it. Problems were temporarily fixed and eventually brought up new problems. Hardware was out of date. He had a lot on his plate with this, but he was also bombarded by simple solution problems. I did my best to fix things that happened to me as well as other fellow teachers to keep him from losing his sanity. I hope that when problems arise, we will continue to use those problem-solving skills we teach to our students.

Discussion Entry: Writing Re-Launched: Teaching with Digital Tools

Writing Re-Launched: Teaching with Digital Tools

I was looking for some articles on digital writing to see how people are using it and how it compares to conventional writing techniques. This article discusses how digital writing is becoming more necessary to prepare students for college and careers. Take a look at the article and post your thoughts on these questions:

1. How important do you think conventional writing (pen and paper) is for students to learn, practice, and use?
2. The article suggests that digital writing and conventional writing do not conflict with each other; in fact, they can meld together in developing skills. How do you feel about moving towards more emphasis on digital writing, and how do you feel these two types of writing can work together?
3. Lastly, do you agree that testing should eventually be done through digital writing? Why/Why not?

Links Entry - Writing in the Digital World

My blog is prepping me for the year to come where we will be receiving some Chromebooks in each classroom. I want to use this not only in math but also with writing. A resource to help me do this would be Crafting Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres. I found this from a blog I follow, Digital Writing, Digital Teaching, by Troy Hicks. He has been publishing several books that focus on digital writing and is a facilitator of professional development on writing. In his blog entry about his new book, he discusses what is contained in it. It seems that it has quite a few resources, such as guidance for composing web texts and other media, reviews and projects that other teachers and students are working on, as well as other technology resources to help continue digital writing. I might pick up a copy of this for next year as I start my venture into digital writing.

In order for one to be a good writer, (s)he must understand the rules of grammar. As I was looking through my blog feeder, I noticed an post by fellow classmate, Jenni Borg, titled "Why do we teacher grammar in English?" This is a question that I have often wondered myself, since it is always important to have an answer for when students ask why they must learn this. I agree with many of the reasons that Jenni posted. Understanding how language works is important for communication. The basics of this involve sentence structure and parts of speech, but as students grow in grammar, there is always so much more to learn.

I understood sentence structure early on and could do many of the exercises throughout elementary and high school with ease, but when I took a grammar course in college, I learned so much more. The way that you communicate affects how you are perceived. Look at examples of memorable speeches such as JFK's inauguration speech:  "(A)sk not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country" or Julius Ceasar's, "I came, I saw, I conquered." These are examples of parallelism, which is something that is a bit more advanced than subject and verb agreement, but it follows similar rules. 

The written and spoken word is powerful. Alicen Hoy commented about her students complaining about being graded on grammar in history class. The people who have great impact have control of their words. In order for them to be effective, they must communicate. You can know so much about history, math, science, etc. but if you cannot communicate your findings, they are worthless to everyone around you. Communication is a key skill in all areas of life, and hopefully that through grammar instruction, we can prepare our students to be successful in our world.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

List Entry - Common Core Reading Questions

One of the main standards for Common Core Reading is showing evidence. This is something that some students struggle with. They do not know how to answer a question showing evidence. Here is a list of sentence starters that show textual evidence:

1. On page ________, it said... - This is a clear textual evidence sentence starter, and is probably the one that most students would refer to. It shows that they took something from the text and used that to answer the question.
2. The author wrote... - Similar to number one, this sentence starter again shares what the author actually said. It doesn't change the idea but demonstrates that it was something found from the text.
3. The graphic showed... - Often times there are images, diagrams, charts, etc. that provide information within a given text. This sentence starter helps students take the information from that graphic and use it as evidence to answer the question.
4. An example is... - Some questions may ask for examples, or perhaps the student needs to provide an example to support a statement. By having this sentence starter, students can look for examples from the text and finish the sentence.
5. In the text, it said... - This one is also similar to the first two but is a slight variation.
6. I know because... - The student may know why something is the case, but often times it is because the text told them and not because they already knew it. This prompt tells them they need to find some sort of evidence for why they know the answer to the question.

It might be useful to have these posted in your classroom so students can easily see it. This idea is not my own but was shared on Pinterest from rozlinder.com. Here is a link to the pin and Pinterest: Common Core Textual Evidence