Moodle, Doodle, Foodle

I have entered the new age of teaching and I am proud to announce that I have a Moodle.  Yes, a Moodle.  What, you might ask, is a moodle?  Well, in simple terms it is a program that allows me to have a discussion forum with my students.  It is very similar to the Blackboard system we use in this class.

I have long wanted to integrate more technology into my curriculum, but the issue has always been how to do that and maintain authenticity with my classroom goals.  Technology is wonderful and I think all teachers should utilize it, but I have always had a concern with using technology just to say we use it.  Technology should always enhance student learning, and if it doesn't we should ask ourselves if it is truly of value.

For some time now I have been wanting to have my students read a book outside of class that we could discuss without spending class time on it.  Enter technology!  The Moodle program provided just the opportunity to do this.  Thanks to the technology goddess at my school, I got my kids set up on the program and we (read I) decided to tackle Ernest Gaines beautiful and poignant novel, A Lesson Before Dying. 

Before we even began reading the book, I asked students to research information about Ernest Gaines and post it on our Moodle.  This was a great way to prepare for the reading of the novel.  The students found some great info on Gaines and one clever student even posted a video of Gaines.  Yay!  We were off and running! 

Several days later, I asked kids to write about what they perceived to be the value of education (one of the themes of the novel).  Great posts!  My students were thoughtful and their posts created quite a lively discussion online.  Then, we began reading the novel and my discussion questions became more focused on the text itself. 

The other day my students taught me a few things about Moodle.  We pulled the program  up on our Smartboard and one of my students came up and taught us all how to access all posts at once, how to see when people have posted, how to read all the posts by one individual.  Ah, students teaching teachers and their peers!  Does learning get any better?  I am so very excited to see how our journey with Moodle progresses!

I have to admit, I have long thought I was technologically inadequate and could not imagine trying my hand at such a task as Moodle.  But taking this class and being willing to jump into the swimming pool of technology has proven to be a great success. Granted, I am by no means a great swimmer as of yet, but I am proud to discover that not only can I float, I am beginning to feel courageous enough to dog paddle to the middle of the pool!

I Got Something to Sell You!

Although we have been asked to use our blog space to write about issues that we are discussing in our class, I have to take the opportunity to sell you on something.  That's right--I got a little somethin', somethin' to convince you of.

 Several years ago I realized that my teaching was becoming a bit rote--something I swore would never happen.  I realized I was teaching the same stories, relying on the same assessments, and generally finding that the creativity that is so often involved in teaching was beginning to disappear.  I wasn't challenging myself to the extent I did early in my career and I began to become a bit concerned.

I remember early in my career I thought I would change the world for the kids I taught.  I know, it's idealistic and probably unrealistic, but I like existing in that place.  Reality is way too overrated.  I thought if I cared enough and was passionate enough about what I taught, kids' lives would be changed.  But then the daily grind (after years of teaching) began to set in and the passionate fire started to become a semi-passionate ember.  It was time, I realized, to do something drastic.

So, I signed up to participate in the National Board Certified Teacher program.  The thought of videotaping my lessons and having some "expert" view them scared the bejeesus out of me.  How was I going to convince a panel of experts that I knew how to teach in both large and small groups, knew how to lead a discussion, and could prove that I knew how to grade and provide students with comments that enabled them to grow intellectually?  I couldn't even think about the professional growth section of the standards--it just seemed too overwhelming.

Aha, being scared to death was just the feeling I was looking for!  Being scared is a good thing, as long as you end up surviving the experience.  And I did.  I spent a year working with the phenomenal folks at the K-12 center, as well as with a group of teachers from my district.  It wasn't easy, that's for sure.  There were plenty of late nights, weekends, and holidays spent on my entries. A few tears, too. I started in a class of twenty-four in my district and five of us finished the program.  Two of us achieved National Board status.  It was, by far, the most difficult and rewarding journey I have taken as a teacher.  And here's why:

Teaching should make us grow.  Always.  When we become complacent and, perhaps, even comfortable, it's time to shake things up.  It's why we work on master's degrees and why we challenge ourselves with classes like this--so we can utilize technology in our classrooms and not be left behind.  The National Board process allows you to grow in ways that I had not even imagined.  I was inspired by what I saw other teachers do in their classrooms, the camraderie was invigorating, and it was a true reality check to ask myself why I do what I do in my classroom.  The self reflection, I believe, has made me a much better, and more passionate teacher.  Today, two years after undergoing the National Board process, I know I am a better teacher than I have ever been.  I reflect after each lesson, because, well, that's what the National Board process teaches you to do. And after I reflect, I search for ways to make my lessons better.

 I am back to feeling that I can change the lives of my kids and that's a good feeling.  Do I think I am a good teacher? Yes, I have to or I could never enter my classroom and ask kids to trust me with their education.  Great?  Hmm....I'd like to say yes, but I probably am not.  I know there are many teachers, both Nationally Board Certified and not, that are much, much better teachers.  But I do know this: the journey of National Boards allowed me to be the best I can be--something I ask my students to strive for every day.  It's good to practice what I teach and to know that always, I must search for ways to be a little better today than I was yesterday.  National Boards allowed me to do that.

  So, my advice?  Check it out.  It just may be exactly what you are looking for!

Techie Friends are Good to Have

I am blessed to have a friend who is also our school technology teacher.  She teaches kids amazing skills like how to build web pages, how to make videos, how to create an online video newspaper, as well as myriad other tasks that involve technology in a way I will never understand.  She is an amazing woman and I am constantly in awe with her ability to keep up with technology! 

Technology and I get along about as well as a wet cat and a hungry dog.  Don’t get me wrong,  I try to keep up with technology; I have even convinced myself that I need to utilize it more fully in my classroom.  The problem is that everything I try to do that involves technology involves a huge learning curve.  That’s right—me sitting in a room near a wall so I don’t need to travel far when I feel the need to beat my head against something.  I would like to attribute it simply to age, but that’s not fair or correct, as my wise technology friend is older than me and she has no problem whatsoever keeping up.  So, I persevere.

Today my technology savvy friend found me in my room trying to create a wiki for this class.  To be honest the only thing I really know about wikis is the word sounds like Waikiki, which is a nice place to visit.  It took me awhile to find Wikipedia long ago, and by the time I did, it was blasé and old school.  So much for being hip!  But today I had just succeeded in creating a wiki and I even got a couple of students to go onto my new wiki and try responding.  Success!  I was feeling a little full of myself, so I asked my friend what she knew about digital storytelling—yet another opportunity to play with technology.  Well, an hour later, I had been , in the words of my students, “schooled.”  Gosh, who knew there was so much to know about digital storytelling!

Ginny, the techie, showed me a plethora of sites that support digital storytelling.  She hooked me up with some digital stories made by teachers in my own district—digital stories of fieldtrips elementary teachers had taken with their classes, a digital story of lunes (a particular type of poetry), digital stories of children’s books, and much more!  I asked her if she felt there was a true, applicable use of digital stories in the classroom. Again, I got schooled!  She had such a great array of ideas that I got so excited and exclaimed, “I want to do all of my teaching with digital stories!”  Her response, “Ah, I don’t think that’s the best idea.”  Good point, friend.

But, Ginny did teach me so much about digital storytelling and its possible uses in my classroom.  I can already imagine a modern day retelling of Beowulf or Canterbury Tales.  Maybe my kids would be excited to do a digital story to accompany their “This I Believe Essay” or a digital story of their favorite piece of poetry.  Or a great digital story on what they want their lives to look like ten years from now.  What about vocabulary digital stories?  Could it be possible?  It could happen, I think.  Indeed, yes it could!

One of the most exciting aspects of technology continues to be that it challenges our teaching.  We can create such powerful learning experiences for our kids through technology and digital storytelling is just another way to do that.  It never ceases to amaze and inspire me that the possibilities are endless.  Now, if only I can rein in my enthusiasm and demonstrate a little practicality! 

The Fly Swatter Litmus Test

I was reading an article in Education Weekly today entitled “The Interactive Whiteboard Readiness Assessment” by Patrick Ledesma (October 18, 2010).  The article asserted that if you want to see if you would truly benefit from having an interactive whiteboard in your classroom, you should first purchase a run-of-the-mill fly swatter.  That’s right, a fly swatter.  His contention is that many folks do not use technology they way they should and essentially see things like Smartboards as a way to do exactly what they are doing now, but with a little more glitz and glamour.

Ledesma related that years ago, as a special education teacher, he was faced with the challenge of getting his kids to focus when they no longer wanted to focus.  Maybe it had been a long day, maybe it was too hot or too cold in the room, but for whatever reason, the kids could not stay on task.  His solution: a fly swatter.  He bought a plastic fly swatter and then challenged himself to think of games that were interactive that the kids could engage in via the fly swatter (this was the pre-Smartboard era).  He made vocabulary posters and hung them around the room and then had kids run and find the right answer and swat it with the swatter.  And he developed a myriad of other games.  Years later when he received the first Smartboard in his school he tells us, “Making the transition was effortless because I already knew how to design and manage an interactive classroom where students were moving around out of the desks.  I didn’t need technology to make that happen.”

Hmm…he raises a very valid point.  Is the technology we have in our classroom used in a way that truly makes it interactive?  I have been in numerous classrooms where the teacher was blessed to have a Smartboard, but she still spent all of her time lecturing.  The only difference is now she had colored slides to accompany the information she was sharing with her students.  No student ever got out of their seat, no images of any kind were used, no games were played; she simply had some really pretty notes to show the kids.

It is imperative that we remind ourselves that as educators our job is not to just create a pretty version of what we already do when we are lucky enough to get new technology in our room.  The challenge is to courageously ask ourselves: what can I do to truly improve the quality of my teaching and the quality of student learning by utilizing this new technology?  It is not enough to simply move from giving our lectures from our notes to showing kids our notes via the Smartboard.  We must create a new learning experience.

This, of course, can be done in a plethora of ways.  Images are so powerful and there are many that directly relate to what we are teaching.  If I teach a book about the Civil Rights movement, my Smartboard can allow me to show images of Martin Luther King, Jr., the sit ins, Rosa Park, and the integration of public schools.  I can show my kids videos and have them interact with games and challenging puzzles.  I can download movie clips from youtube and have them group brainstorm while organizing their ideas on the Smartboard.  I can give class quizzes and think of interesting ways to create other assessments.  In short, the possibilities are endless.

I used to work with a teacher who had file cabinets filled with mimeographed handouts.  He would open a file draw, pull out a quiz written thirty years ago and hand them out to his students. Oh, and he also had a Smartboard on the wall in the front of his room.  Utilizing the Smartboard would not have necessarily made him a better teacher, but it would have challenged him to finally let go of the mimeographed papers and think about how to reach his students by using technology that they were familiar with and that literally offered him the world.  It would have made his teaching more interesting to him, and I would assert, his students as well.

Technology doesn’t make a poor teacher a good one.  However, it does offer us a new tool, that if used effectively, can make our students better learners.

Dear Diary

If you came to my house and looked through my bookshelfs and my bedside table and my desk, you would find myriad journals.  You would find journals of handmade paper, journals with Big Bird on the cover, and gorgeous leather journals.  If you looked inside those journals, you would find that many are themed journals.  I have journals of favorite books I have read, travel journals, and personal journals.  The problem is few of the journals have much in the way of entries.  Oh, I have the best of intentions.  In fact, I really want to be a faithful journaler.  But life always seems to get in the way or I forget or I feel I have nothing to say to my journal on a particular day.  It’s a sad reality…I am bad at journaling.

Interestingly, I was very intrigued with blogging as it is really just an opportunity to journal online.  Maybe I would be better at this, I pondered.  I mean its right there on my computer, right?  I just have to journal when I sit down to check my email.  How difficult can that be?  Sadly, the statistics tell me it is going to be pretty darn difficult.  In 2006, the Pew Internet and American Life Project estimated that the US “blog population has grown to about 12 million adults.”  That’s impressive, right?  Unfortunately, according to Caslon Analytics (caslon.com), “60% to 80% of blogs are abandoned within a month.”  What?  You mean other people have the same problem as I do with journaling? 

After reading this I was a little less enthusiastic about the classroom blog I had intended to start with my senior English students.  If the statistics are so overwhelming that I will fail, why even begin?  Well, shame on me for even thinking that way!  There are a plethora of reasons to begin, the main one being that it will allow my students another way to experience language arts.  So, how do I make it successful? I think it comes down to having a plan and then carrying through on the plan. 

Blogs can be used in the classroom in so many ways and it is a wonderful opportunity for students to “publish” their voice or for teachers to communicate with students or parents.  The trick to success, I believe, is having a very definitive plan about what you want to do with your blog and then setting specific goals about when you or your students will post.  Having a vague notion to post a new blog whenever you think of it is like trying to remember to call your mother.  It just doesn’t happen as often as it should.

So it would seem that a calendar is a good idea or at least a day of the week that you will commit to blogging.  Like most things in life, having things written down gives us a much better chance of being successful at it.  So whether it is your own personal or professional blog, or your student’s blogs, set a date as to when each blog is due.  Then stick to it.

If you are using blogs with your students, you may want to have them blog about a specific topic like poetry.  For example, if you hand out a poem on Monday for them to consider, their blog about that poem is due on Friday.  This will give them time to consider the poem, ruminate on it, and then spend a little time blogging about it.  Knowing that the poetry is the focus will remind students that every time they receive a new poem in class, they should be thinking about a blog.

Success in any endeavor almost always comes down to having a plan and a way to stick to that plan.  The same is true with blogging.  We should not be discouraged by the statistics—we are better than that.  We will not be one of the millions who begin a blog and then leave it abandoned.  As teachers we understand the value of integrating all types of technology into our classroom and blogging allows us yet another creative way to do that.  Stay focused, have fun, and I’ll see you on the web!

"I Wanna Be A Millionaire So Freakin' Bad"

So, I'm cruisin' along this summer, singin' loud to the tunes emanating from my car stereo.  I'm feeling fee and easy as my husband is not in the car to remind me that I cannot sing on tune when trying to sing with the radio.  Whatever.  No one sings on tune with the radio.  So, I am serenading myself and feelin' real good when I hear it: a song that I believe is anathema to all that is good in music.  Granted, the tune is catchy, and I imagine the song is easy to dance to if one knew how to do that anymore.  But the lyrics?  Blasphemy!  "I Wanna Be a Millionaire So Freakin Bad"--that's right, a song about the covetous desires of a culture that no longer recognizes that money doesn't buy happiness.  Or so I thought.

Upon closer listening, I discover the song has a great deal to say about philanthropy and a government with a Federal Emergency Response program that doesn't work when a hurricane decimates an entire city.  Hmm...maybe I had been too quick to judge.  So I watch the video.  Yes, sexual allusions and girls in bikinis, but still, the song had something to say.  So I did it.  That's right, I challenged myself to teach a lesson with this song at its core.  And I would do it the first day of school.

Problem one: finding the song.  Needless to say, this type of music doesn't normally find its way into the my bag at the music store.  I had recently been given an iPod by my children, so I thought I would give it a whirl.  Unbelievable!  I pushed a few buttons and voila, I had my song.  Folks, I have to tell you, the first day of school rolled around and I stunned the kids in my class by plugging in my iPod, telling my new students with their shiny faces that I had a song for them to consider, and hit the play button.  Magic!  I could see the surprise on their beautificous (did I make that up?) faces.  Some began to sing along.  And what followed was a wonderful discussion on whether such songs define the youth of today, what my students want out of life, what motivates them, what they care about, what it is to engage in philanthropy, what happens when our government lets us down. I know, I know, you're thinking, really?  From one silly little song? Yup, I'm tellin' you the truth.

So now I begin to wonder what else I can do with this little magical music maker. I have another idea.  I am introducing poetry. Out comes the iPod.  I'm thinkin', "Hey, let's teach poetry through music!"  So I start with ballads.  Did you know you can immediately download Jimmy Dean's "Big John" and Johnny Cash's "Boy Named Sue"?  A whole lotta other songs, too.  What a fun way to teach plot and climax and characterizaion.  Simile and metaphor. Personification.  You name the literary term, I got a song that has it covered! Even John Prine's "Onomatopoeia." Ha!   And once again it is a huge success!  These kids can't believe how cool their teacher is!  Well, not until they actually get a grade for the project.  Then, once again, I'm not so cool.  Whatever.

Here's a joy of technology: this tiny little music box that fits in the palm of my hand allows me access to all kinds of songs that I can use to teach all kinds of lessons.  Rock, hip hop, folk.  A little Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin (two folks every kid should be familiar with!).  Technology has saved me the task of rummaging through a library for old songs that I can use to teach my kids.  Push a button and teach.  I love it and so do my kids!  Music speaks to what they know and most often they are open to even the silliest songs I bring in!  What kid doesn't want to hear Shel Silverstein sing "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out"?  And how magical to hear Lucy Tapahonso reading her brilliant poem "Raisin Eyes." 

We can complain about kids being plugged in or we can take a clue from these clever kids and get wise.  Music and our iPods allow us to expand our teaching and, hopefully, expand our kids' knowledge.  It also provides a great way to limbo in the hallways on a Friday morning to the tunes of Harry Belafonte!  Give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised and so will your kids.  Just don't hurt yourself going under the limbo stick!

Come on Baby, Light My Fire: Lessons From Guitar Hero

Like most Americans who have any contact with videogames, I have played Guitar Hero, badly.  And not too long ago, after an evening out with some of my teacher friends, I was invited back to their house to play Halo.  I did that badly, too.  I think I just don't have enough hatred brewing in my blood to want to kill animated little warriors on a TV screen.  But as I sat there watching my friends communicate with people from all over the world while teaming up to decimate both man and machine, I began to think that there was quite a bit we could learn from videogames that are relevant and applicable to our classrooms. 

Like my friends, the teenagers I teach love videogames.  Bring up any current videogame, and they are qualified to offer an opinion on its virtues and vices.  As a teacher, I have long thought videogames have little to offer me in regard to my teaching.  But that night with my friends, I began to think about what was happening they played their electronic game.  There were a number of valuable skills that were being developed in the course of play and I believe, granted wtih a little creativity, we can utilize the skills required for successful videogame play into our classrooms.  Here's a list of videogame skills that I think teachers might think about incorporating into their classrooms:

1.  Videogames require varied skills.  You cannot be successful in any videogame without mastering a number of different skills.  The ability to climb imaginary mountains, annihilate the enemy, and communicate with someome living in Scotland are all required for Halo.  This is something we should think about when we are teaching. Do the activities that we require of our students demand varied skills?  As teachers of language arts, do most assignments challenge our students to communicate with others, pre-write, revise and edit?  Is a task completed with one simple skill?  If so, we might take a hint from our videogame counterparts and think about how we can integrate various skills into many of our lessons.

2. Videogames require repetition until a skill is mastered.  How many times have you given an assignment, waited for the student to complete it, collected it, graded it, handed it back, and then moved on to the next assignment?  Task done, you think, let's move on.   We all know that some of our students are completely capable of mastering a task the first time.  But like most videogames, many of our assignments require some students to try it multiple times.  And that's not a bad thing.  Slow down, provide advanced practice for those who finish a task after one shot at it, and allow those who need more practice the opportunity to repeat their efforts until they have mastered the task.

3.  Videogames involve music, visual stimulation, and, sometimes, kinesthetic ability (think Wii).  Utilizing differentiated instruction well and allowing students to learn in a variety of ways takes a great amount of work.  But, if done correctly, the effort will yield a great payoff.  There is a reason kids enjoy videogames and you would be wise to question what makes it enjoyable.  Can you integrate music into your lesson?  What about movement?  Is there a video clip you can show to reinforce the concept you are teaching?  Be creative, have fun, and challenge yourself to go far beyond paper and pencil!

There are myriad elements of videogames that can be applied to our classrooms.  Think about the competition involved, and the scaffolding of skills and knowledge necessary to master level after level of a game.  The feeling of accomplishment a child has when doing well might also be taken into consideration.  It would sadden me to believe that someday children will learn all they need to know through educational videogames.  I will always cherish the value of relationships--both between teacher and child and child and peer.  I am hopeful that what we as teachers have to offer will always trump a joystick and large screen TV.  But videogames are not an educator's nemesis, either.  With a little creative and a willing spirit, we can learn much from videogames.  It just might be fun to see how we can incorporate that newfound knowledge into our classrooms!