Teacher's Diary

Xtranormal - Make Your Own Teaching Movies

Hypothesis
by: otandon

Here's a cool new tool I recently discovered: Xtranormal, a website that allows you to create your own animated movie. The program is a little buggy and it crashed my browser once in the making of this movie. It's also very slow to load. That said, the results are pretty cool and I'm interested in classroom applications. Perhaps I create a short video like this one that poses a question and students must create their own animated response? The difficulties arise from the fact that some of my students don't have reliable computer and/or internet access at home and my current school is fairly low tech, with just one computer lab and 2 laptop carts that are always in complete disarray. Last week, I tried unsuccessfully to get my students some computer time to do research for their water project. Oh well. For now, I can make my own little teaching tools - maybe animations will hold their attention more than my boring voice! One can only hope...

Guest Posting: The Dangers of Technology in Schools

Since I have been so lax in writing lately, others have sent me articles of their own. Here is one that is in response to a post I wrote last year about using technology in the classroom.

The author, Lindsey Wright, is fascinated with the potential of emerging educational technologies, particularly the online school, to transform the landscape of learning. She is a content writer for online college classes, where she writes about web-based learning, electronic and mobile learning, and the possible future of education. Here's what she has to say:

 

Cell phones, email and the advent of the Internet have brought about a number of changes to the world as we know it. Over the last two decades, the world has gone from snail mail that may take weeks or months to reach its destination to instant communication in practically every corner of the globe. People can now take online classes where they communicate with their classmates or professor via Internet and millions of people worldwide have a social networking profile that allows for instant communication with friends and relatives at all hours of the day. However, not all of these changes have been positive. With such immediate communication, people sometimes make regrettable decisions in the messages they send. Over the last ten years, the United States and other countries have seen a rise in school violence, and there have been a number of instances that have created circumstances that have put children in immediate danger.

Social Networks

There is no doubt that kids will be kids, and picking on one another for individual shortcomings is a simple part of human nature. However, with access to social websites where kids can continue their ridicule during the hours away from school, those taking the brunt of these personal attacks may feel as if there is no escape. While kids can control who has access to their profile, there are a number of ways some kids are tricked into allowing the people who insult them at school to view their pages. Promises of friendship or threatening behaviors are the most popular ways bullies are given access to their potential victims. Once access is granted, it becomes business as usual for the bully. In some instances groups of kids will team up to repeatedly insult or threaten an individual or individuals, causing severe anxiety to the person being picked on or threatened. It is estimated that almost half of kids in middle or high school have at one time been a victim of bullies. However, very few have ever reported this to a parent or person of authority.

Cell Phones

Cell phones are perhaps one of the most well intentioned inventions of the 20th century. They are necessary for businesses, parents and children alike, and have saved many lives over the years. However, over the last five years the U.S. has seen a rise in the deviant use of cell phones by young adults and teenagers – such as sexting. Sexting can be described as any text sent by a person that uses graphic language or images to sexually harass another individual. This has become somewhat commonplace in schools, yet many school officials are just now becoming aware. It is estimated that roughly 20 percent of teenagers have participated in some form of sexting in high school. There are a number of campaigns by student advocate groups as well as parent awareness groups that are bringing these topics to light. To deter sexting, parents should monitor their children's cell phone usage. This can be accomplished by simply viewing the usage and finding out what numbers are on the cell phone bill.

It is undeniable that the advances of technology have provided us with some amazing benefits in recent years. Almost any type of information we desire is instantly available to us, and all we have to do is pull out our cell phones and hit a few buttons. Likewise, social networking websites such as Facebook make connecting and keeping in touch with friends, family and colleagues just as easy. Unfortunately, these same sites provide bullies with constant access to their victims.

While some may argue the instant, 24/7 communication allowed by social networking sites still far outweighs the threat of cyber bulling, the problem is some children are unable to take insults
and belittlement in stride. There are children who begin to believe the insults or become so afraid of a bully that anxiety and stress become overwhelming. Over the last few years, the relentless taunts and threats of a single bully or group of individuals have caused several children to commit suicide. Clearly all the technology advances in the world cannot surpass the death of a child or young adult, especially when the death could have been prevented had more been aware of how the child was being taunted. As such, it is imperative that teachers, parents, students and school officials are properly educated on the dangers of incessant bullying and its effects so that the cycle of humiliation and depression can be put to rest.

No Facebook for Teachers

Should teachers be allowed to communicate with their students via social networking sites?

According to the state of Missouri, the answer is no.

A friend recently forwarded me this blog post, which describes the new Missouri law banning teachers from being friends with current or former students on Facebook and other social networking sites. The law is part of a larger act that protects children from inappropriate conduct by their teachers.

I agree that precautions need to be taken when dealing with our youth. I myself have taught students for the past two years, many of whom I know have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused by their parents and guardians. I certainly would not want them to be exposed to more hardship and trauma from their teachers. However, I feel that banning social networking of all kinds with teachers can have negative effects. I have a separate Facebook account especially for my students, where I post messages about upcoming tests and field trips and answer students' questions about homework and the content of my class. Since I will be leaving my current school, I plan to keep in touch with my former students using Facebook.

However, I am extremely careful in how I use Facebook. I never go onto my students' pages or look at what they have written to other friends. I monitor any pictures or notes that have my name tagged in them so that I am sure nothing inappropriate is tied to my name. I do not use the account for anything personal. I feel that, used like this, Facebook is an extremely valuable tool for communicating with students. Most of them do not check their email regularly, but they are on Facebook constantly. Should I stop using something that is working for me simply because others worry that it could be inappropriate?

I took the precaution this year of letting my principal know that I was using the account and offering to give him my password so that he could check my activity at any time. I think as long as teachers are willing to be open about how they are using Facebook and keep their activity in regards to their students on a professional level, things should be fine.

But that's just my opinion. Please comment if you have ideas about how social media should or should not be used as a tool for learning.

Fun Climate vs Weather Video

Another great resource from the Oneonta listserv: Get Acclimatized.

This video is a lighthearted reminder about the difference between weather and climate. Since I just started talking about weather, this is perfect to show my kids now. We finished the insolation unit with a short discussion of what climate means and initially almost every student equated climate with weather. Of course, they are related. But the definition of climate is not weather. They intuitively understood that there was a difference but it took a while for them to articulate that climate is more like the average weather, not the daily weather that prevents them from coming to school half the time.

I am trying to keep my classroom light this year whenever possible, so this is a perfect opportunity to include some educational comedy. I know even my stubbornly uninterested kids will enjoy this, if only inwardly. I hope yours will too.

Wikipedia or Not?

Ah, the age old question. Actually, this question has only arisen in the past 10 years, since the now-insidious website was launched and the Internet has become the go-to source for all knowledge. I remember being in high school and learning never to use Wikipedia as a source, not on a paper, not even for background knowledge.

But the times are a-changing. My students don't even know of any other places to look for information, try as I might to teach them the importance of looking for reputable websites. Wikipedia, too, has been changing, and I find myself using it more and more for my own background research and general knowledge. After once playing games with friends - inserting random phrases into articles on King Henry VIII, the atomic bomb and Michael Jackson, and watching to see how long it stayed there - I now can rely on Wikipedia articles to be thouroughly checked and referenced, just like any other Encyclopedia. It is convenient, fast and generally reliable.

According to this recent article from the Chronicle of Higher Education, even graduate students and researchers mine Wikipedia articles for the valid papers they cite as sources. Wikipedia is no longer a tool for fools, but a website that can provide sound information to those who use it properly. However, I am still reluctant to allow students to rely on it because they often do not use it appropriately. The ease of access to information today leads many of my students to copy blindly, without interpreting what they read or giving credit to the original authors. It is easy to tell when this is happening, but I don't want my students to be crippled by this dependence. I can't let it slide because I know how important research skills are in today's world.

I struggle to teach technology, since I am still learning so much myself. I feel it is critical that my students learn how to find and use proper sources, as well as cite them correctly. This college-level skill will help them no matter where they go after high school. It will teach them to think critically about what they read and hopefully prevent them from believing everything out there on the web. It is such a challenge, though, to follow teachers who have obviously not emphasized these skills, or let sloppy work slide. I want my students to know how and why to choose a given source, to be able to defend their choice and use it effectively.

I know this is something I will continue to struggle with, but this article really got me thinking about the pros and cons of using Internet resources. I know I need to do better at incorporating technology and teaching my students to use it responsibly.

Awesome Stellar Gravity Simulator

I was emailed this website through the Oneonta listserv (yet again, you should join!). I had to share it with all of you because it is really fun to play with and shows students the relationship between mass and velocity in the interaction between stellar bodies and planets. As you can see from the screenshot, the simulation allows you to create bodies with different masses and velocity vectors. Once you have more than one, you can watch as they interact with each other - sometimes colliding and combining, sometimes flying past each other and occasionally forming an orbit. I would recommend pairing it with the ellipse lab, since when you do get an orbit, it is always elliptical (at least, all of mine were). Check it out here!

Digital Classroom - Introduction

In my graduate class (which focuses on literacy in the content-area class), we have focused a lot on how to incorporate technology into the classroom. Now, I consider myself pretty computer literate - I mean, I write a blog, use Facebook and Twitter and can even do some basic HTML programming. But as a first-year teacher, I have been finding it difficult to find time to incorporate these things into my classroom.

For one thing, working in a high-need school, I don't have very many resources at hand. We are lucky enough to have two computer carts, but that must be shared between the 20 or so teachers. And there are only about 4 digital projectors between us. Forget about Smartboards and the like...

I used DonorsChoose to fund a projector for my own classroom, so now at least I don't have to fight for that. However, I can't use DonorsChoose for everything and it takes time to write a proposal and wait for it to be funded and delivered. Now that I have the projector, though, I have been able to incorporate videos into my lessons and have found that the one way to get every kid completely silent is to stick them in front of the screen. Even in my worst class, kids settle down when the projector comes out and a video starts.

But lately in grad school we have been discussing other ways to incorporate technology into our classrooms. There have been so many advances in what we can do with computers and over the internet that showing class videos no longer constitutes forward thinking in terms of technology. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are now being considered tools for increasing literacy. Many teachers are setting up blogs to communicate with students and get them thinking about the material outside the classroom.

It's true that I struggle to get students to do homework and something like Twitter can be accessed on a phone or Sidekick even if the student does not have a computer. Many of my students already use Twitter, but do they know how to use it responsibly? Can they use it to communicate a short, concise message that still makes sense? At first, I thought blogs could be useful but didn't see how Twitter could possibly further classroom discussion. At the same time, I myself have written about the incredible rate of change for technology today.

This week, I plan to focus on several of the articles we have read in class and discuss ways in which these tools can be incorporated more effectively into the classroom. If you are ready to make your classroom more high-tech, stay tuned for upcoming posts!

Effective Classroom Strategies: Watch These Videos!

Need techniques for moving kids around the classroom, information on how to cold call properly or tips on how to set higher expectations? These 5 short videos (all about 1 minute long) will give you some ideas. I was impressed by the teachers pictured - actual teachers filmed performing tasks with their actual classes. These ideas certainly do not exhaust all possibilities, but they are a great way to start thinking about how to improve certain classroom techniques. I especially love the idea of reading aloud and having kids follow along, but I am concerned that at a high school level, kids who struggle with reading would be embarrassed by this kind of calling technique. Maybe I will try it next year.

The videos were linked to an article from the New York Times Magazine, entitled Building a Better Teacher. The article, though long, had some great insight into some of the problems with struggling schools today and sought answers to the growing problem of how to improve the quality of teachers. Check it out when you have a minute!

Photo of the Week

This week, instead of a photo, I'm actually suggesting a video that I was shown this weekend and which I will be showing to my students in Advisory this week. You can find it on TeacherTube or by searching for "Did you know" on YouTube. This video talks about population increases as well as the fast-growing development of technology in our world today. It is definitely applicable to any class and deals with a debate I have found myself involved in several times over the past week. How can we get our students prepared for a technology-driven world when they (and our schools) don't have the resources to buy computers, nor do the kids themselves have the knowledge to use them if they are available? How do we, as teachers, create a more tech-savvy population? And is it necessary for us to do so?

In addition, this short video can help students reflect on ideas in many subject. Certainly the issue of increased technology is a gateway into a discussion about the tools and methodology of science, but the issues of population increase and exponential growth can easily be used in math and to discuss migration and development in a history class. The video even mentions that there are currently 5 times the number of words in the English language than there were in Shakespeare's time! Such a fact could easily begin a discussion of how and why languages evolve in an English class.

Even if you don't show it to your kids, I highly recommend watching it. I certainly found it to be an eye-opening experience.