Now that I am done EC&I 831, I want to continue using this blog to reflect on my first year as an in-school administrator. Kelly asked a five part question on his website and each part would require a blog entry. I am going to focus on the question, What areas need improvement?
I guess that all schools are looking for the "perfect" attendance policy. In my limited experience as an administrator and with my 18 years of teaching in my career the most accurate statement about attendance policies that I have heard is that all attendance policies will do in the end is punish the students with honest parents. We all know of situations where a parent/guardian has blatantly lied to the school about an absence because they don't want anything "bad" happening to their child or they believe that the school has no business interfering in their business.
So, I guess this is a call for help. What do your high schools use for attendance policies? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Perhaps if we put our universal heads together, we might be able to come up with an attendance policy that actually does what is intended ... make school a high priority in the life of all of our students.
I look forward to reading your responses.
Mathman33
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Reflections
I know this is a week after our last class but I have always needed time to reflect on the past 13 weeks of class. Besides after I drove home from my f2f class last week I had to pack to get ready for the trip to Saskatoon the next day as a majority of our administrators were going to the Safe Schools conference in Saskatoon. Anyway, here are my thoughts about EC&I 831.
1) I am glad that I took a second online class. The first one, let's say, was bad. This class restored my faith in what an online class could be if someone put the time and effort into creating it. It also helps when the professor has the skills that Alec does.
2) One challenge that I faced was not being able to get in on all of the back-channel discussions during class. I loved the discussions but I could only read them and there were times I found myself typing a response only to realize that this was recorded and I could not reply. It was unfortunate that I was taking a f2f class on Tuesday nights in addition to this class, but it was the only way that I could finish my degree by April so that I could work on my golf game for summer. It was 13 very long and grueling weeks, but I hope it will be worth it when I get my handicap back down to where it was before I started my Masters degree three years ago.
3) As I have written earlier, PD is valuable when you can take something that you learned and apply it in your practice. There are many skills that I will be able to take from this class and apply them in my school. Part of the learning was in skills with programs like Animoto or VoiceThread, but some of it is knowing that there are a number of free resources out there that teachers can use and those programs engage students and produce a quality product. And even if I don't know of a tool that I can use, I know that I will be able to call upon my the people in my expanded network of contacts for assistance.
4) Finally, thanks to everyone in the class for your comments, support and commitment that you have made to this class and your fellow classmates. Corey and Dean - I will meet you on the stage at Convocation!
Mathman33 (Walter)
1) I am glad that I took a second online class. The first one, let's say, was bad. This class restored my faith in what an online class could be if someone put the time and effort into creating it. It also helps when the professor has the skills that Alec does.
2) One challenge that I faced was not being able to get in on all of the back-channel discussions during class. I loved the discussions but I could only read them and there were times I found myself typing a response only to realize that this was recorded and I could not reply. It was unfortunate that I was taking a f2f class on Tuesday nights in addition to this class, but it was the only way that I could finish my degree by April so that I could work on my golf game for summer. It was 13 very long and grueling weeks, but I hope it will be worth it when I get my handicap back down to where it was before I started my Masters degree three years ago.
3) As I have written earlier, PD is valuable when you can take something that you learned and apply it in your practice. There are many skills that I will be able to take from this class and apply them in my school. Part of the learning was in skills with programs like Animoto or VoiceThread, but some of it is knowing that there are a number of free resources out there that teachers can use and those programs engage students and produce a quality product. And even if I don't know of a tool that I can use, I know that I will be able to call upon my the people in my expanded network of contacts for assistance.
4) Finally, thanks to everyone in the class for your comments, support and commitment that you have made to this class and your fellow classmates. Corey and Dean - I will meet you on the stage at Convocation!
Mathman33 (Walter)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Major Project Complete
Today I finished the final video for my major project. This really isn't a teaching video but it does contain my reflections of our class with about a week to go. If you wish to see the final video in the set, click here. I hope that you have enjoyed the videos. I know that I have learned a lot in making them. Feel free to use them in your school if any of your staff members are interested in learning how to use any of the featured programs.
Mathman33
Mathman33
Technology is great when it works ...
Technology is great when it works but it is sure frustrating when things don't go well. For the past couple of days I have been finishing up my latest video on networking (click here to see the video). Well, the video is only a portion of what I had intended. I had two other sections, one dealing with Moodle and one involving Second Life. For some reason the program that I am using to produce the video did not like those segments and I was losing the video during the rendering process. In addition to the rendering problem, Camtasia was only letting me record one voice take at a time so if I messed up the audio (which happened frequently) I had to exit the program and restart the program. I don't know if this is a conflict with Camtasia or my headset, or both. On the positive side it seems that short videos are viewed twice as often as long videos so hopefully that will mean that more people will watch this video and discover the power of networking. That's all for now. Have a good day.
Mathman33
Mathman33
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Stand on the Shoulders of Giants
After listening to last nights recording of class with Chris Lehman I found not only his discussion to be interesting but reading the back channel discussion was fascinating too. In particular, I was interested to hear and read the comments about standardized testing and how it relates to our provincial Assessment for Learning (AFL) program. I believe that the primary reason that our provincial system moved towards a standardized assessment practice is due to the public demand for an increase in accountability for our government structures due to the corporate practices of companies like Enron. There was a comment in the discussion panel that the STF initially had some reservation but then has done nothing about it since. I strongly disagree with this comment. If it was not for the efforts of our federation, the system that the government put in place would probably resemble the structures that exist in Ontario or British Columbia and it would have happened many years ago when a number of provinces were jumping on board with faulty U.S. data driven models. I am also thankful that I am a member of the federation that is diligent in ensuring that the current government stays true to its assessment FOR learning initiative instead of an assessment OF learning program. The one missing factor that people fail to recognize for the reason we are not like other provinces is because of the time and effort our federation spends on building relationships with our partner organizations. Because of our unique relationships and the trust (a very key concept) that exists between the partner organizations we are privileged to work in a system where the STF input is considered before decisions are made. The STF does not agree with all of the decisions made by government but at least we have a system that allows them to have a respectful conversation in the decision making process.
My final thoughts for this blog are more in terms of questions. The questions stem from Laurie's discussion about her sons. Laurie said something to the effect that she believes that her sons might have a lack of engagement due to a lack of vision and no sense of purpose. Chris showed us that their mission and values statements consist of three questions: How do we learn? What can we create? What does it mean to lead? Earlier in the class we heard that the majority of careers that our students will work at have not been created yet. Therefore, how do we create that vision or that sense of purpose to prepare them for something that most of us probably aren't prepared for either? Just curious to see what you think. I know what I believe but I will leave that for later.
Mathman33
My final thoughts for this blog are more in terms of questions. The questions stem from Laurie's discussion about her sons. Laurie said something to the effect that she believes that her sons might have a lack of engagement due to a lack of vision and no sense of purpose. Chris showed us that their mission and values statements consist of three questions: How do we learn? What can we create? What does it mean to lead? Earlier in the class we heard that the majority of careers that our students will work at have not been created yet. Therefore, how do we create that vision or that sense of purpose to prepare them for something that most of us probably aren't prepared for either? Just curious to see what you think. I know what I believe but I will leave that for later.
Mathman33
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Making a Difference
In the last three months I have become addicted to Ted.com. The Ted website is full of videos that are sure to inspire and entertain almost anyone who visits the website for the first time. For all teachers that read this I would encourage you to check out the Dave Eggers presentation, Once Upon a School, or visit the website. It is a 25 minute video that will demonstrate how some people want to make a difference in the lives of the students that we teach. Inspiring!
Mathman33
Mathman33
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Power
It didn't take Stephen Downes long to say something that would inspire this writing. Early in his presentation to our class he questioned, "How do you teach if you no longer have power over students"? According to Rebore (2001), there are six types of power:
I would like to think that teachers that make a meaningful connection to students will always have power. The power to inspire and make a difference. Most of those teachers also accept that they have a shared expertise with their students. Even though the teacher may be the subject expert, they are still willing to learn from their students. I have never taught a class where I have not learned something from my students. These sentiments are echoed in Kelly C's last blog post (title Effective and Progressive) where he did some informal research with his students.
Unfortunately for education we still have teachers that do not want to put the time and effort into this great profession to build the necessary skills and relationships to become experts of their craft and inspirations to their students. They would rather use the controlling power that they have that comes with the job and pass on they problems that they create to their administrators to solve. This type of philosophical conflict is very challenging for administrators to resolve.
To borrow from Dennis Miller - That's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
Mathman33
1. Inspirational – Influence of a person based on other people’s admiration and desire to model themselves after him or her.
2. Charismatic – Influence attributed to one’s personal characteristics.
3. Expert – Influence based on special skills or knowledge.
4. Persuasive – Power derived from a person’s ability to allocate and manipulate rewards.
5. Knowledge – Power derived from a person’s ability to control unique and valuable information.
6. Coercive – Power based on fear.
The first three types of power utilize influence rather than control while the last three utilize control rather than influence.I would like to think that teachers that make a meaningful connection to students will always have power. The power to inspire and make a difference. Most of those teachers also accept that they have a shared expertise with their students. Even though the teacher may be the subject expert, they are still willing to learn from their students. I have never taught a class where I have not learned something from my students. These sentiments are echoed in Kelly C's last blog post (title Effective and Progressive) where he did some informal research with his students.
Unfortunately for education we still have teachers that do not want to put the time and effort into this great profession to build the necessary skills and relationships to become experts of their craft and inspirations to their students. They would rather use the controlling power that they have that comes with the job and pass on they problems that they create to their administrators to solve. This type of philosophical conflict is very challenging for administrators to resolve.
To borrow from Dennis Miller - That's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
Mathman33
Major Digital Project
Quick links to my major project videos
1. The one with Animoto
2. The one with VoiceThread
3. The one about Networking
4. The one about Reflections of the class
Yes, I know I am ripping off Friends with the title but I think it is appropriate in this case. As I create more videos for my project, I will continue to update this post. That's all for now.
Mathman33
1. The one with Animoto
2. The one with VoiceThread
3. The one about Networking
4. The one about Reflections of the class
Yes, I know I am ripping off Friends with the title but I think it is appropriate in this case. As I create more videos for my project, I will continue to update this post. That's all for now.
Mathman33
Monday, March 10, 2008
Affluence
There have been a few ideas tossing around in the back of my brain for the last week as the material from both of my classes collides like the sea on rocks. The first concept that jumped out at me was that of social affluence. We really are privileged to be living in a society where the majority of people can retrieve whatever information they need in a matter of minutes. The more connected and knowledgeable people are, the quicker the information will arrive.
Clarence Fisher mentioned that teachers should be network administrators and be responsible for hooking kids up with information. I believe that most teachers think that that is what they are doing. However, as we all are becoming acutely aware, what we believed as a solid method of delivering knowledge and how we can deliver a truly authentic learning experience are quite different. I think back to how Clarence connected with the African community and his students truly learned about race, poverty, AIDS and a number of other social situations by walking a mile in the other person's shoes and not just reading about it in a book or listening to a lecture on the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
We are living in a country and province that has the ability to turn every classroom into a global communications center. The only questions are whether we, as teachers, will give up the notion that we have to be the experts instead of collaborators and can we convince the technology people at central offices to allow us to have full access to the internet so that we may hear the stories of other people and cultures?
Mathman33
Clarence Fisher mentioned that teachers should be network administrators and be responsible for hooking kids up with information. I believe that most teachers think that that is what they are doing. However, as we all are becoming acutely aware, what we believed as a solid method of delivering knowledge and how we can deliver a truly authentic learning experience are quite different. I think back to how Clarence connected with the African community and his students truly learned about race, poverty, AIDS and a number of other social situations by walking a mile in the other person's shoes and not just reading about it in a book or listening to a lecture on the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
We are living in a country and province that has the ability to turn every classroom into a global communications center. The only questions are whether we, as teachers, will give up the notion that we have to be the experts instead of collaborators and can we convince the technology people at central offices to allow us to have full access to the internet so that we may hear the stories of other people and cultures?
Mathman33
Monday, March 3, 2008
Meme: Passion Quilt
I would like to thank kwhobbes for tagging me for the passion quilt. It has been many years since I actually have taken a photo so I had to resort to finding an image from the internet.
I believe that there are a number of factors that influence the success of any student. Similar to how there are a number of different factors that influence the success of any particular golf swing. When the pieces come together, it is a beautiful thing - whether it is the perfect shot in golf or that light bulb moment of learning when everything makes sense and you feel like you can conquer the world. However, we have all had our days when we feel that we will never understand what is happening. Regardless of whether we are talking about education or golf, there is only one thing that will make us better - PRACTICE!
So the next time your students are writing an exam or you have called upon a student to answer a question, ask yourself what thoughts and doubts are going through their mind as they try and put together the answer they perceive that you want.
Now I have to choose five people from my twitter/social network to continue on the quilt. I will apologize in advance but I will select Corey Terry, Dean Miezianko, Todd Volk, Tammy Sillers, and Luis. The rules are below.
The meme works as follows: The rules are simple.
1. Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students.
2. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
3. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
4. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.
Mathman33
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Video is now working
Sorry to those who were really quick at checking my post. I had a couple of technical glitches with my video but it should be working now.
Mathman33
Mathman33
Major Project Started
Hello again,
Well I have started my major project. I am creating a series of videos that will educate teachers on how to use some of the programs that we are exploring in this class. My first video is on Animoto. If you would like to see the first episode please follow the link to my Animoto lesson. I created the video using Camtasia (the 30 day free trial version - not the $300 version). I would appreciate any feedback that you have, but please keep in mind that I am a rookie using the software (sorry for the breathing - you'll hear what I mean). Thanks.
Mathman33
Well I have started my major project. I am creating a series of videos that will educate teachers on how to use some of the programs that we are exploring in this class. My first video is on Animoto. If you would like to see the first episode please follow the link to my Animoto lesson. I created the video using Camtasia (the 30 day free trial version - not the $300 version). I would appreciate any feedback that you have, but please keep in mind that I am a rookie using the software (sorry for the breathing - you'll hear what I mean). Thanks.
Mathman33
Thursday, February 28, 2008
I think I'm starting to get it
My mind seems to be full again so I need to get some stuff out before I go to bed (or more likely play my Xbox 360 until I wake my wife up and then I will pay dearly tomorrow). So, in no particular order, here is what I am thinking tonight:
1. My first principal (Bill Sherven) always used to say, "Work smarter, not harder". Well if that did not come back to me during our last class as one of the primary reasons for social networking. Teachers are always trying to find more time in their day to accomplish the many tasks that are required of them yet the one thing that we don't do is use our time to find contacts who may have already done the tasks for us!
2. Until now I have been very reserved about commenting on other peoples blogs. I thought that these blogs were primarily for our own thoughts and reflections and I did not want to seem too judgmental about what others were experiencing or feeling through our learning process. That changed when I listened to our last class. I appreciated the comments from Dean S. and the others in the chat room that emphasized that the primary purpose of commenting was to expand our social networks and develop the relationships that start by reading blog posts. So, thanks to all that read this and I pledge to do a better job on commenting to other blogs.
3. If you haven't checked out Kelly Christopherson's blog titled Educational Discourse, you really need to do yourself a favour and subscribe. I don't know how he finds time to write but most of his stuff is very thought provoking.
4. I am going to try making my first podcast this weekend for the start of my major project. Wish me luck and if anyone has any tips or pieces of advice I would gladly welcome them.
Ciao for now!
Mathman33
1. My first principal (Bill Sherven) always used to say, "Work smarter, not harder". Well if that did not come back to me during our last class as one of the primary reasons for social networking. Teachers are always trying to find more time in their day to accomplish the many tasks that are required of them yet the one thing that we don't do is use our time to find contacts who may have already done the tasks for us!
2. Until now I have been very reserved about commenting on other peoples blogs. I thought that these blogs were primarily for our own thoughts and reflections and I did not want to seem too judgmental about what others were experiencing or feeling through our learning process. That changed when I listened to our last class. I appreciated the comments from Dean S. and the others in the chat room that emphasized that the primary purpose of commenting was to expand our social networks and develop the relationships that start by reading blog posts. So, thanks to all that read this and I pledge to do a better job on commenting to other blogs.
3. If you haven't checked out Kelly Christopherson's blog titled Educational Discourse, you really need to do yourself a favour and subscribe. I don't know how he finds time to write but most of his stuff is very thought provoking.
4. I am going to try making my first podcast this weekend for the start of my major project. Wish me luck and if anyone has any tips or pieces of advice I would gladly welcome them.
Ciao for now!
Mathman33
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Dr. Seuss & Social Networking
As I was watching TV while eating supper last week I was surprised to learn that there was a connection between Dr. Seuss and our last lesson on Social Networking by Sharon Peters. In Dr. Seuss' book, Horton Hears a Who! one of the messages of the book is that there is a world beyond things that you cannot see. As a beginning teacher I was primarily concerned with surviving. Teaching in a small town and having to prep for 8-10 classes a day I wasn't concerned what was happening outside of my classroom or my school. After a few years I started to get involved in my local teachers' association and eventually I was elected to the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) executive. That experience was incredible. I felt that the walls of my educational community had been blown apart exposing me to the outside world of education (similar to the Shareski photo "No Walls" . Now that I am taking this class, I am having a similar experience. I have been amazed at the number of people and the number of resources that are available for teachers' to use at no expense to the teacher or the school division. Perhaps that is why I am leaning towards creating a series of podcasts that will educate teachers to the various resources that are available online and provide them with a video tutorial on how to use each resource (maybe I am too ambitious but I will find out next week as I try and create my first episode). As I conclude this post I would just like to take the opportunity to thank all of the people who have raised their collective voices that have allowed me to expand my knowledge and realize that there is a world beyond the things that I could not see.
Have a good day!
Mathman 33
Have a good day!
Mathman 33
Sunday, February 10, 2008
When two classes collide
"We must be the change we wish to see in the world". - Mahatma Gandhi
As some of you may know, I am taking two classes this term to finish my degree by April. My other class is an ethics in education class. As I was listening to the recording of Tuesday's session with George Siemens I could not help but think that there was a distinct connection between the two classes that I am taking this term.
I found that many statements caught my attention. Some of which include:
Having a technological 'shared ethic' also emphasizes the importance of the social network. The greater the number of connections that we can develop, the more conversations that we can have over what is important and what methods and strategies can be used so that we can be more effective as educators (and citizens of the planet). By working together through our developing social networks we can only deepen and widen the river of knowledge that we are able to access in order to improve our world.
That's all for now.
Mathman33
As some of you may know, I am taking two classes this term to finish my degree by April. My other class is an ethics in education class. As I was listening to the recording of Tuesday's session with George Siemens I could not help but think that there was a distinct connection between the two classes that I am taking this term.
I found that many statements caught my attention. Some of which include:
- Knowledge is always in flux
- Ethics is a form of knowledge
- The values are in the technology
- Nature of knowledge is found within its connections
- Modeling + judgment + trust
- Knowledge is a river not a reservoir
Having a technological 'shared ethic' also emphasizes the importance of the social network. The greater the number of connections that we can develop, the more conversations that we can have over what is important and what methods and strategies can be used so that we can be more effective as educators (and citizens of the planet). By working together through our developing social networks we can only deepen and widen the river of knowledge that we are able to access in order to improve our world.
That's all for now.
Mathman33
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Influencing Change
I am very aware that change can be a very slow and painful process in education. Change can be slow because of external factors such as budgets and school division policies but it is also slow because some teachers simply feel that what they are doing is good enough and that there is no need to change what they are doing.
Let's face it - most teacher's are creatures of habit. Once they find a good thing, they will continue to use it until they retire. Most teachers will also teach in a manner that is very similar to their preferred learning style. Most of the teachers that we have in our schools did not grow up with technology and we can freely admit that most students know more about technology than we do. It is for those reasons that trying to incorporate technology into effective teaching practices will probably take another generation to accomplish (even though this is hard for me to admit).
In order to influence the change teachers, parents, and central office personnel must become knowledgeable and believe in constructivism. As long as there exists a power structure in education some teachers will never be able to let go of the power and become a learner along with the students. Teachers and administrators will have to become comfortable with a philosophy that allows the teacher to be an expert in some areas, like curriculum, and for the students to be the experts in the technology. Then, working together, effective and meaningful learning can take place for all persons involved.
That's all for now. I think I can get some sleep now.
Mathman33
Let's face it - most teacher's are creatures of habit. Once they find a good thing, they will continue to use it until they retire. Most teachers will also teach in a manner that is very similar to their preferred learning style. Most of the teachers that we have in our schools did not grow up with technology and we can freely admit that most students know more about technology than we do. It is for those reasons that trying to incorporate technology into effective teaching practices will probably take another generation to accomplish (even though this is hard for me to admit).
In order to influence the change teachers, parents, and central office personnel must become knowledgeable and believe in constructivism. As long as there exists a power structure in education some teachers will never be able to let go of the power and become a learner along with the students. Teachers and administrators will have to become comfortable with a philosophy that allows the teacher to be an expert in some areas, like curriculum, and for the students to be the experts in the technology. Then, working together, effective and meaningful learning can take place for all persons involved.
That's all for now. I think I can get some sleep now.
Mathman33
Constructivism
Too many thoughts are floating around so I have to get them out before I rest for the night. I am thinking about constructivism and how society will end up writing history through blogging, wikis, etc. From prior readings I am aware that many people have claimed that the history that we have learned is the story based from a white male perspective and that certain facts along the way have either been exaggerated or ignored. If social networks will now be responsible for telling our stories I wonder who will eventually control the final version of the stories that we need to tell to the next generation. Will the stories be accurate from all perspectives, or will there exist a controlling power that will have final editorial say to reflect only a certain version of history?
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Social Issues
Another week has gone by and I still don't have any answers to the questions that keep floating around in my head. After watching Draper's video "Pay Attention" and completing the other readings I can't help but agree with the philosophy that we must incorporate some of today's more popular "toys" in order to engage our students and create a more positive environment for learning.
However, I must also state that I would have problems as a teacher and an administrator to mandate that every student in my school would require an ipod or a cell phone to participate in class. In every school there are children which contend with the daily burden of poverty and it would be unfair to intentionally exclude these students from the learning experiences simply because they can not afford these new toys.
In a way this has always been a significant issue in education, and it will be an issue that I continue to grapple with throughout my career. I understand that the purpose of technology is to enrich the student experience - yet, how do we do this without increasing the gap between the advantaged student and the disadvantaged student? It is similar to the question many teachers face on a daily basis. How do you engage and challenge the brightest students in your class and still ensure that the experience is relevant and meaningful to the students that find school challenging? In the new reality of standardized testing to determine achievement scores and educational funding, do you spend more time on enriching the student experience or do you spend more time covering the fundamentals in the most time effective way possible so that you or your school does not suffer once the results are published? In a world where education has taken a back seat to health care and highways, where are the resources going to come from to give teachers the necessary knowledge, training and time that they will require to incorporate these skills into their lessons?
My ramblings are over for now. I will be back.
Mathman33
However, I must also state that I would have problems as a teacher and an administrator to mandate that every student in my school would require an ipod or a cell phone to participate in class. In every school there are children which contend with the daily burden of poverty and it would be unfair to intentionally exclude these students from the learning experiences simply because they can not afford these new toys.
In a way this has always been a significant issue in education, and it will be an issue that I continue to grapple with throughout my career. I understand that the purpose of technology is to enrich the student experience - yet, how do we do this without increasing the gap between the advantaged student and the disadvantaged student? It is similar to the question many teachers face on a daily basis. How do you engage and challenge the brightest students in your class and still ensure that the experience is relevant and meaningful to the students that find school challenging? In the new reality of standardized testing to determine achievement scores and educational funding, do you spend more time on enriching the student experience or do you spend more time covering the fundamentals in the most time effective way possible so that you or your school does not suffer once the results are published? In a world where education has taken a back seat to health care and highways, where are the resources going to come from to give teachers the necessary knowledge, training and time that they will require to incorporate these skills into their lessons?
My ramblings are over for now. I will be back.
Mathman33
Sunday, January 20, 2008
So many cool toys ... so little time to play
I have to admit that before I started this class that I believed that I was up to date on most of the tools that a person might be able to use on the internet. Boy was I wrong! Between Google Reader, del.icio.us, twitter, voice thread and flickr I have been amazed at the number of tools that I did not know existed. I must admit that I am still bewildered by the twitter universe but I think that twitter becomes addictive exponentially when the number of followers you have increases. There was a point in time last week when I spent 15 minutes staring at my computer thinking "now what"? Once I started looking at the big picture I realized that the point is that in order to survive and thrive in whatever world in which you work you must have a support structure or contacts. The more brains that you can pick or the more people that you have to bounce an idea off of, the more likely you are to improve your practice and make a difference where it counts - in your family, in your workplace, or in society.
My favorite site that I have explored to date is Ted.com. I have watched a number of videos and I find each one thought provoking. I know this is one resource that I will continue to watch as I am fascinated by the thought processes of some of the worlds greatest minds.
The first two weeks has been fun and a tremendous learning experience. I am certainly glad that I know my way around a computer and have experimented with a number of the tasks that we have had to complete to date. I only hope that has I move forward from this course is that I make use of the skills that I will learn and that I will not get too preoccupied with other priorities to take time out to play and continue to expand the number of communities to which I can contribute and receive support.
Mathman33
My favorite site that I have explored to date is Ted.com. I have watched a number of videos and I find each one thought provoking. I know this is one resource that I will continue to watch as I am fascinated by the thought processes of some of the worlds greatest minds.
The first two weeks has been fun and a tremendous learning experience. I am certainly glad that I know my way around a computer and have experimented with a number of the tasks that we have had to complete to date. I only hope that has I move forward from this course is that I make use of the skills that I will learn and that I will not get too preoccupied with other priorities to take time out to play and continue to expand the number of communities to which I can contribute and receive support.
Mathman33
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Random thoughts on Teachnology
No the title is not a misprint. As an administrator one of the things that we are asked to deal with is the inappropriate (as defined by the teacher) use of technology by students during a teachers class. In my opinion, one of the proposed solutions to this problem is to incorporate the technology they use into our lessons. So how can we make technology into teachnology? Can anyone out there please provide me with ideas on how a teacher can effectively use student popular devices like ipods or cell phones into their daily lessons? I believe that it is better to embrace the technology rather than fight it but we, as educators, have to find a way to keep pace with the students. This will be a rather significant challenge in education in the years ahead. Trying to answer these questions is one of the reasons why I was drawn to this class. Any comments will be appreciated.
That's all for now.
Mathman33
That's all for now.
Mathman33
Relationships
I have always believed that relationships are important to create and maintain in order to be a successful educator. As a teacher it is important to have a good working relationship with your students, parents, co-workers and the administrative team in order to create an atmosphere in which all persons can thrive. Despite developing good relationships many teachers are feeling burdened by the pressures of the job. Along with restructuring has come a new focus on accountability, school improvement plans and standardized testing. Many teachers are now wondering how they will have enough time during the day to balance all of these pressures and still have time for themselves and their families. I would like to offer one solution. It is time for teachers, that have not already done so, to develop a relationship with their professional organizations. The STF and their local association can provide many resources and supports to teachers which are feeling alone and overwhelmed by the responsibilities of teaching. This relationship will allow a teacher to expand their network of connections and through those connections will come the knowledge that you are not alone in trying to survive this profession but you have a number of people that will do anything they can to make sure you are successful.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
First Reflections
There are two quotes that stand out for me from the article Educational Blogging by Stephen Downes. Those quotes are:
I also believe that a blog has the opportunity to be the needle that connects administrators. Many new administrators believe that they are alone and that they have a limited support structure, especially in small town Saskatchewan. An administrators blog has the ability to become a significant support structure for those new administrators. Once they are aware of the support structure they may have a place to go in order to receive the information that they need in order solve their problem, or vent their frustration, to ease the stress of their work life.
Mathman
The blogs give us a chance to communicate between us and motivate us to write more. When we publish on our blog, people from the entire world can respond by using the comments link. This way, they can ask questions or simply tell us what they like. We can then know if people like what we write and this indicate[s to] us what to do better. By reading these comments, we can know our weaknesses and our talents.
Could blogging be the needle that sews together what is now a lot of learning in isolation with no real connection among the disciplines?From the perspective of an administrator, I think that an administrators blog could be very useful. I know that many schools struggle with similar issues, such as attendance, and we sometimes feel that we are alone with trying to write policies that are effective and fair. A common blog for administrators would give administrators the opportunity to share information to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of our school so that we can make changes that could improve the learning environment of all our schools.
I also believe that a blog has the opportunity to be the needle that connects administrators. Many new administrators believe that they are alone and that they have a limited support structure, especially in small town Saskatchewan. An administrators blog has the ability to become a significant support structure for those new administrators. Once they are aware of the support structure they may have a place to go in order to receive the information that they need in order solve their problem, or vent their frustration, to ease the stress of their work life.
Mathman
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Welcome
Welcome to my first blog. This blog is being created for an online Masters class. The class is EC&I 831 (Curriculum and Instruction). The class is being offered through the University of Regina by Dr. A. Couros.
The purpose of this blog is to discuss issues of computers in the classroom and to generate a discussion through the course readings as I reflect and ponder the issues that arise throughout my own growth processes.
That is all for now. Take care.
Mathman
The purpose of this blog is to discuss issues of computers in the classroom and to generate a discussion through the course readings as I reflect and ponder the issues that arise throughout my own growth processes.
That is all for now. Take care.
Mathman
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