Skype an Author Into Your Library or Classroom - Skype An Author Network

via skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com

Toward the close of this past school year, I had the pleasure of connecting my classroom with another U.S. History classroom in Liberty, MO, using Skype. The teacher, Eric Langhorst, and I configured two half-hour sessions in which our students could discuss recent topics of study.

The impact of that opportunity was amazing. Word spread instantly though the district about what my students did in class and I still hear from people how "cool" they thought that was.

"Cool", although it certainly was that, does not adequately describe the event in its entirety. The instructional implications were far greater. By helping to smash the barriers that enclose learning within the four walls of the classroom, students are able to see how technology should be used in the school and learning.

This wiki, the "Skype and Author Network", is a fantastic project that deserves attention. By allowing students to connect with an author and discuss their book as they are reading makes a lasting impression and solidifies learning that has taken place and opens unique opportunities for enhancement.

The technology required to facilitate this activity is within reach of nearly every classroom I have seen. All a classroom needs is a computer with high-speed Internet access and a web-cam (these can be purchased for $25). For a more enhanced experience, a LCD projector can be used for a larger display, but is not required.

Our students are surrounded by an increasing ubiquity of technology that is advancing at an increasing rate. Teachers do not need to know how to use it all and apply it seamlessly in their lessons for them to participate in the growing trend, they must simply seek simple applications with lasting effects and demonstrate for their students that technology is not just for entertainment and leisure, it is for learning, too.

Posted via web from Mr. Bruce's Musings...

Next Year's To-Do List

Recently, a colleague and Twitter-user, @icmcwaffle, Tweeted, "I'm ready for next Wed. when this school year will be complete...time to look at possibilities for next year..." How true!? Naturally (for me anyway), teachers reflect at a school year's close and wonder what improvements can be made to achieve more the following year... Given the parameters in which a teacher is placed and the continuity between past and future school years, this may differ. However, I believe it to be helpful to consider some change that will likely lead to facilitating a more successful school year than the one that is now at its close.

Personally, I see change forced upon me as I move from 8th grade U.S. History to our high school to teach 9th grade U.S. History -- teaching the same students I have just finished with and picking up after the Civil War where I am leaving off this year. There are apprehensions I have for such a move, and while I am not completely excited for it, I cannot help but recognize the amazing opportunities this provides for me and my students.

Given the level of mutual comfort that I will enjoy with my students and the ease of transition that will occur for them and me, I should be able to implement a greater degree of change and strategy for classroom function and technology use. The following is what I'd like to do next year.

Thinking Like a Historian

This framework was adopted and trademarked through a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Historical Society and the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater under Nikki Mandell and Bobbie Malone. It develops the process of historical inquiry in students and utilizes five categories of historical thought. I was able to construct a "Beta" version of this process mid year with my 8th graders, but it failed to provide the substance I desired. Starting this at the beginning of the school year and creating a procedural knowledge will create the return-on-investment I desire. View the website for more.

"This Day in History" Classroom Homework Calendar

Begun during the course of the past school year, I'd like to emphasize and promote the use of a class calendar to which students create and contribute daily elements from class. On our class wiki in Wikispaces, I created a calendar structure where each day is a link to a new page. Students can post notes, reminders, handouts, etc, for anyone absent. Check it out here; remember - not fully implemented.

Student Pages in Wikispaces

Another thought popped in my head over winter break this school year and I had to get it started. Due to a recent push toward signifying which state grade level content expectations are being me by each assignment, I desired to include the students more. I create a template page with all of the GLCEs in a table with empty cells to the left of the GLCEs. Students can create a page for themselves at the beginning of the year to which they can post the work that demonstrates their understanding of that GLCE by putting a link to it in the empty cell to the left. We did this to a reasonable degree this year, but still many with nothing. Hopefully teaming (below) will help with this. Let me know what you think.

Fliggo

A a teacher who desires to spend more emphasis on media creation, the largest obstacle is what to do with the videos. Fliggo creates a YouTube-esque platform that users/members can post media to and share. That is an ideal situation for embedding these files within our wikipages or elsewhere. See it for yourself.

Teaming

Having spent so much time with my students will allow me to have an increased command of their personality, character, and preferences; what cliques exist, and who participates in various activities. Given this, I can deliberate over students and successfully generate teams of four into which the students will be responsible for all work, activities, and participation. Teams would be responsible for all work and participation of its members; all absences and attendance would be handled at the team level; competition can be commonplace, emphasizing quality and exhibition of academic performance; failure rate can be non-existent. As a result, I can emphasize the state high school content expectations rather than grades. Have a peek at my "Handbook"; it is a work in progress.

That seems like a good list. For now...

Posted via email from Mr. Bruce's Musings...

Nearly Two Hours I'll Never Regret

As a teacher of American History, I am also, and always will be, a student of the same. I never tire of acquiring a greater understanding of our collective history. Whether it is reading an historical non-fiction text or articles from journals and periodicals such as Smithsonian, I am at leisure when expanding my conception of various topics in American History. 

Over the past twelve months I have been working with a group of other teachers as benefactors of a Teaching American History grant through the Battle Creek Public Schools Consortium. We have been studying Emancipation as a turning point and the Civil War as the vehicle of emancipation and have become "plugged-in" to various readings and resources, both online and offline, to help develop a greater and deeper comprehension of the period. 

Once such resource led me to the Teaching American History Podcast. Rather than a podcast in the traditional (is it too early to use that term?) sense, it is more a series of lectures by some of the great minds in historical research. The lectures range in lengths and topics, all intended to strengthen teacher understanding and therefore better history education.

The lecture/podcast that serves as the subject of this post is titled, "The Causes of the Civil War" and is given by James McPherson of Princeton University. He is the author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, a pulitzer-prize winning recollection of that crisis. The title of the lecture seems to be rather aggressive considering the scope of what caused the Civil War. 

At well over 1.5 hours, this lecture clearly reinforced content I had previously known, but still was able to lift subtle nuances of my understanding working behind the scenes to generate new comprehension of the turmoil in Antebellum America. From the role of women, to the Constitutional argument of secession, McPherson paints a nearly perfect portrait allowing the listener to relate a greater understanding to his or her students.

This lecture, as mentioned above, is part of a series of podcasted lectures available on the Teaching American History website or through iTunes. Students and teachers alike will find anything they need for some summer refreshers in their content area.

Posted via email from Mr. Bruce's Musings...

What's Holding You Back

A few weeks ago, while my students were working on a large-scale, collaborative project that involved publishing content to our class wiki. After some time into the project, I noticed that my students productivity tailing off regarding the content that was posted to the wiki pages for their chosen topic (see class wiki for more). I clicked through the their pages on the classroom computer (using a big screen TV as monitor) at the beginning of each class period and asked them, "What is holding you back?"

Although that is a specific story from a closed situation with limited global significance, I recalled that event after reading David Warlick's recent blog post, "The Containerless Learning Environment." I know his piece was about the traditional mindset that learning should take place in a classroom and how current social norms and technology are butting up against that paradigm. However, as I read, I was thinking about constraints somewhat differently.

When I asked my students what was keeping them from achieving at a level which they were capable, we were discussing our collaborative, cooperative environment -- "who is doing what?" and "I don't want to do more than anyone else." However, the question, "What is holding you back? and "What constraints are there that keep you from achieving more?" 

There are always constraints present in education and teachers are constantly fighting to keep learning at the forefront. However, are we really doing all that we can? Take some time and look at your instruction reflectively and ask, "What is holding me back?"

I teach in an amazing building, within a great district. As a small school, we have been able to acquire the best technology and provide great opportunities for learning to take place anywhere our students are. One year after implementing a 7-12 one-to-one laptop program, I feel like our teachers have embraced the new technology remarkably well and have adapted to a culture unique to the learning environment that a one-to-one classroom creates. 

This is not to say we can't expect more. The question "What's holding you back?" is one that I plan to use often as we move to year 2. It doesn't have to offensive, rude, or discourteous. It simply suggests that there is more that can be done in any classroom - with rookie teachers and seasoned vets. Most importantly, it suggests that we need to do this together. 

Almost all educators will recognize and acknowledge that teaching is learning. Ironically, teachers too often opt not to engage in learning to employ and integrate new technologies that have the potential of making instruction easier or more enduring for students. Why this occurs is a varied phenomenon. Some fear lesson failure; some aren't sold on the benefits; others don't take the time to learn; still others don't like stepping out of a comfort zone. 

For a long time school teachers, leaders and administrators all used those to justify their instruction. At what point do these turn from valid reasons to excuses? What was once an acceptable way to ignore the increasing ubiquity of 21st Century technology, is now becoming a negligent disservice to the students around which we are centered. Technology has become the 800-pound gorilla in everyone's classroom. 

As this school year comes to a close and we look toward the next, start asking colleagues that question, and make sure to respond with, "How can I help you with that?"

Posted via email from Mr. Bruce's Musings...

New Things

Whoa... I just realized that it has been almost a half-year since I last put something here. It's not like the time crept up on me and I realized that I forgot, or something. I have been kinda thinking about it recently and I wondered if I should even continue with it.

Now, I know I have no readers (yet), but I suppose one of the ways to gain readers is to post something valuable and useful. Lately I have been spending more time exploring Web 2.0 tools that have potential to be valuable to education. I haven't really done this much since finishing up my Master's coursework, and it is a bit more work now since there is no one (instructors, classmates, etc.) sharing their explorative finds. 

Recently, I came across a web application/service called Tikatok while browsing an ed-tech wiki I am a member of, Classroom 2.0. This website fosters the collaborative creation of children's-style books. I thought it was the coolest thing! There's a neat, simple demo video on their homepage that explains the process (which is very intuitive - even for a 2nd-grader). I sent an email link to our elementary teachers and was hoping that they would explore a bit on their own. I haven't received any positive replies yet, but no negative ones, either.

Now, just this evening, I found another simple collaborative tool called Writeboard. And instead of emailing it, I'm blogging it - people can decide for themselves what to view, right? Anyhow...

Sometimes a teacher is suggested to use a wiki when they would like to have a collaborative writing session between 2 or more authors. But wikis require user accounts, membership, and learning a bit about web site design. Wikis are best when collaboration is asynchronous (everyone is working at a different time) because work can be lost in synchronous revision of wikis and it is confusing and cumbersome to see changes and revert if necessary. Sometimes we are constrained by time and want this done quickly and efficiently, and have a product that can be turned in as a Word document or something like that (or perhaps put into a web page of some sort). 

Writeboard fosters that environment very simply. No user accounts, just an email address and an ability for your collaborators to access your url and that's about it. No changes are lost with writeboard so there's no need to worry about two or more people typing at the same time. And when you are finished, you can export it as a .txt (plain text) or .html to be placed on a web hosting server. 

The only downside is the inability to edit rich text. There's no bold/italics/underline, no making font bigger or smaller, no bullets/numbering, etc. Finished work is raw text. And though there are positive sides to that, I feel it to be a drawback. If that is something you are in need of, take a peek at YourDraft. The principle is the same, but it does offer a WYSIWYG editor (in Firefox or Explorer), but no export options. 

Check it out. I can see many possible uses for this in secondary and elementary classrooms. Let me know what you think - drop me a line either via email or comment below.