A Twitter Beginner

I woke up last Monday morning with Bob Seeger singing in my head. "...deadlines and commitments, what to leave in and what to leave out...", In the last couple of weeks I have had a lot of family commitments and school deadlines. I found last weeks Storify project frustrating and by the time I finished it on Sunday night, I had no energy left to write this blog. So I went to bed intending to finish it on Monday. So here I am on Sunday night writing the blog I meant to write last Sunday and hopefully I will get this week's done as well.


One of the frustrations I had with the Storify assignment was the requirement of "tweets from journalist." I had never tweeted before and a preconceived notion that tweets only happened on smart phones which until Thursday I did not have.  Twitter is not just for smart phones, I signed up for Twitter on my computer and began to search for tweets relating to the Web 2.0. Many of the tweets I found did not fit my preconceived notion of what a tweet should look like. The tweets I have seen are usually just a sentence or two with a #hashtag at the end. Katie Lepi  who wrote "What is the Ideal Length of  a Tweet(and Other Commuications)?" says a tweet should be between 120-130 characters. I found many tweets that were between 120 and 130 characters that also included add-ons such as photos and web links. And how was I suppose to know if the tweets came from journalist?


I can relate to Edward in the Scenario of "7 things you should know about Twitter." (Educause, 2007) Like Edward I was skeptical at first and self-conscious posting tweets. At least he started posting tweets. I haven't quite got that far but now that I have a smartphone who knows? But first I think I have to figure out #hash tag.

Educause Learing Initiative. (2007, July). 7 things you should know about... Twitter. Retrieved from Educause Learing Initiative: http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-twitter

Lipi, K. (2014, June 10). What is the Ideal Length of a Tweet (And Other Communications)? Retrieved from Eudemic: http://www.edudemic.com/what-is-the-ideal-length-of-a-tweet/

Social Media

In “The Barriers To Using Social Media In Education (Part 1 of 2)” Pulkit (2014) begins with the following quote:

 “When you step away from the prepackaged structure of traditional education, you’ll discover that there are many more ways to learn outside school than within.”

- Kio Start

Pulkit reminisces about how school was in my generation. When we needed to know how to spell a word, we looked it up in a dictionary. When we did research, we went to the library and used encyclopedias. One of my most used high school graduation gifts was a box set of a dictionary and thesaurus. Our media was on paper and we communicated face to face. We were expected to memorize all sorts of facts and other information. Ah the good old days!  But if we as educators stay stuck in that mold and do not adapt to the new days of technology and social media, we will lose our role of being the cultivators of curiosity for our students. (Pulkit, 2014)

Our students live in world with information at their fingertips.  My daughters hate it when we tell them to look up words in the dictionary.  As Pulkit writes, “Students today are more connected to the outside world than how much we were at their age. If they have a question today, they will not wait for another day to go to the school and ask teacher. They will access the information on their smartphone in a matter of few seconds.” He goes on to write, “Social Media has bridged the gap between students and the highest quality study material they need for learning.”

I have been in several different schools and math classrooms in the last couple of years. There is so much data to support the need for teachers need to embrace the social media word our students are a part of and we need to change our role from the givers of knowledge to “the validator & applier of knowledge.” (Pulkit, 2014) Yet in the schools and classrooms I have been in, I believe this is not happening. I see math being taught much the same as it was when I was in school.  But from experiences I have had, I wonder who is resisting the change more teachers or students?

Pulkit 2014.“The Barriers To Using Social Media In Education (Part 1 of 2)” retrieved June 5 from http://www.edudemic.com/author/pulkit/

The Common Core: Kids vs. Adults

Driving to work last week, listening to NPR, the story of four students in California sparked my interest with the question " What do kids think of the Common Core?"
The intention of the Common Core is to ensure students around the country are receiving the same education. While this intention makes a lot of sense, at least theoretically, not everyone agrees.


Mention the Common Core Standards in a room of educators, you are bound to get a wide variety of opinions about the subject ranging from support as an educational equalizer to just another annoying mandate. Mention them to a room of parents, the range of opinions would probably be much narrower especially if the standards being discussed are the Common Core Math Standards. But what about the kids who have to take the tests to show they have mastered the Common Core Standards?


Under the Common Core math is taught using a conceptual approach that emphasizes the reasoning behind the solution to a problem. (The Week Staff, 2014) It is this approach which has parents frustrated. In their eyes, the emphasis on problem solving makes what should be a simple math problem into something much more complicated. This is comparable to parent's feelings when schools switched from the "old school method" of their childhood to the "new math" of their children's.  But isn't conceptual math just another term for "new math"?


The Common Core test requires students to explain their reasoning in writing. Mary -Louise Newling, an elementary school principal in California and overall supporter of the Common Core, finds the writing requirement a cause for concern for the English-language learners that  comprise 80 percent of her school's student body. (Bess, 2014). Four of these students, however, impressed Bess with" their confidence in explaining their problem solving approaches. "(Bess, 2014)


The four students Bess interviewed explain the box method of multiplication. A method a group of students introduced me to a few years ago. Even though it took me a while before I understood the method and thought it was a complicated way to do a simple problem.  Unlike the parents who would then condemn the approach, I embraced it since it made sense to the students who used it. I have always been a firm believer in there are many different ways to solve problems from simple computation to complex word problems. The key is finding the approach that is right for the individual.


So back to the original question, what do students think about the Common Core? Here is the conclusion of Bess' report:

"BESS: Ten fourth graders in Concord, Calif., don't speak for everyone. And that one kid who didn't say much, she might hate the Common Core. But as many adults across the country struggle with the new standards, these kids seem surprisingly eager and willing to embrace something new. For NPR News, I'm Myles Bess."(Bess, 2014)

Bess, M . (May 27, 2014) Meadow Homes 4th Graders Embrace Common Core Standards, Youth Radio. Retrieved May 31, 2014 from http://www.npr.org/2014/05/27/316269154/sampling-of-4th-graders-embrace-switch-to-common-core-standards?ft=1&f=4692815

The Week Staff' (May 31, 2014).The Common Core Backlash, The Week. Retrieved May 31, 2014 from http://theweek.com/article/index/262285/the-common-core-backlash#axzz33M5ddcPt

Legislating Virtual Schools

In my EDU 653, each week we are posed a question, assigned a side to argue for and work with others through the class wiki to write a coherent essay supporting our side of the question. We also read a point/counter point article to provide us with a basis for our side of the question. This week’s question was “Should public schools be required to offer an online K-12 curriculum?” My  group was assigned to argue “No they should not.” In the article, Tom Layton contends that while schools should give students an opportunity to take classes not available in their district, public schoool districts should not be required by law to create k-12 virtual schools. Legislating such a requirement would be just another unfunded mandate.  I agree with Mr. Layton that schools should not be required to create virtual schools, however I disagree with the at least two arguments he presents to support his position. To quote Mr. Layton “I doubt that there is any public school district in the nation that can afford to spend the millions of dollars  it takes to create a K-12 online school.” I know this not true since I live in a school district that created and operates a K-12 virtual academy . The district’s operating budget has actually profited from the creation of the virtual academy as it has attracted students, such as those who were home schooled and not previously enrolled in the district, bringing their tax dollars with them. So funded or not, it is possible for a district to create k-12 virtual school.

I also disagree with Mr. Layton’s contention that “school districts simply do not work  and play well with others.”   My district is currently cooperating with another district to expand an alternative education program.  I just read an article about a school district in a small farming community working with a district in a small college town to provide opportunities for students from both districts. I am sure there are many more stories about districts working together to provide their students opportunities unavailable without such cooperation. If districts could work together in these endeavors, school districts could also work together to create virtual schools. 


Layton, T. (2009) "Should Public Schools be Required to Offer Online K-12 Education?" Learning & Leading with Technology. Retrieved May 18, 2014 from https://blackboard.cmich.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2873817-dt-content-rid-26864425_1/courses/EDU653-14700-22247012/onlineeducation.pdf

Blogging in a Math Classroom

I ended my previous blog with the question how to use them (blogs)  in a classroom that does not use a lot of writing? As I read Will Richardson’s book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom, my prevalent thought was how could this be used in a math classroom in a way similar to other subject classrooms?


Richardson describes six basic aspects of Weblogs in his Pedagogy of Weblogs section. He states that Weblogs are a constructivist tool, have the ability to expand classroom walls and archive learning, they support different learning styles, create content experts and teach new literacies.


Sure math classes could use Weblogs as a class website like the Darren Kuropatwa's AP Calculus Weblog.

 

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Blogging About Blogging

Prior to beginning this master degree program, my idea of a blog was some random person writing their opinion about a topic important  to them. I usually accessed these blogs through a friend's Facebook post rather than go looking for them myself. Many of these blogs are informational such as the ones posted by my friend who is a curriculum director in  relatively large Michigan school district. On Facebook he will often comment on an article about an educational issue he finds interesting or controversial and will provide the link to the article. . While some of these articles come from actual publications others are come from what could be defined as a blog. He also used Facebook as a blog to bring his friends along on his family's long and heartbreaking journey of battling his wife's cancer. Many of my other friends recommend, comment on and link to blogs that tend to be humorous writing about various topics such as parenting. With this type of experience with blogs, I gave very little thought as to how they could be used in the classroom.


This view was challenged during a previous class when we created a blog to turn in assignments. Event though the blog was created using Blogger, I had a hard time thinking of the site as an actual blog. I am using the same site for the class I am currently in so you can see those previous posts. As you can see, the posts contained very little, writing, or humor (except maybe my transformations story). And so I learned that blogs can have a form other than journaling. After reading "7 things you should know about Blogs" and "7 things you should know about Videoblogging" both by Educause Learning Initiative, my perception of what a blog is has changed even more. The scenarios in both articles show how blogs can transcend the classroom and offer students and instructors a way to work collaboratively. I can see the advantages of using blogs in classes that involve writing. My question now is how to use them in a classroom that does not use a lot of writing?




"7 things you should know about Blogs" and 7 things you should know about Videoblogging can be found at www.educause.edu/eli/

Math is Interesting

Assignment: Webquest

Math is Interesting

Classroom Uses: Teachers can create assignments that use websites to explore content.


Issues to Consider: Student computer access and cost of  a subscription to the a webquest authoring are two issues related to using this technology in the classroom. 


Copyright: webquest created using zunal. All copyrights are citied within the webquest.