The Importance of a Classroom Website

As a new teacher, one thing I struggled with was dealing with absent students.  It is especially difficult for me because I tend to facilitate all my lessons through digital presentations like Prezi or Power Point.  To help keep my students up to date, I decided to create a class website through Weebly to give my students access to course materials.  I found that creating a website allowed my absent students to complete assignments without the need to come in after class.  I would simply take a moment after class to talk to my absent students, walk them through my website and give them step by step instructions on how to complete each assignment.

Also, I am using my website to house my America Through the Decades project for my U.S. History students. On the site my students are able to see what the project is and view an example of a final project.

I understand that the website may be missing some important details, but feel free to explore my site at mrpayadsclassroom.weebly.com and tell me what you think.  Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Teaching Globalization with Technology

It seems like technology is everywhere these days.  My students have technology in abundance in the form of their iPods, iPhones, Android phones, smart phones, and portable game players.  So why not take advantage of the technology students have in their possession?

Seeing that roughly half my class has access to a smart device of some form I decided to have students explore the concept of globalization by taking advantage of the technology in their pockets.  In my Journey of an iPhone lesson, I am challenging my students to use their internet capable phones to use google maps to help them track the process of how an iPhone is produced.  Using iPhones to learn how an iPhone is manufactured is a great way to keep students engaged and create a tangible connection to their learning.  

Please feel free to check the lesson plan and accompanying resources below and tell me what you think.

Journey of an iPhone

Oceanside High School

What I Observed
This was the first time I have observed a classroom that was structured with technology.  I was impressed seeing students do their warm up activities on the iPad.  Most of the students appeared to be engaged as they were working to solve various physics problems dealing with electricity.  What really caught my attention was the variety of problems each student was presented with.  Although each student had to solve the same problems and equations, each student were presented with different variables. I thought this was a great way to accurately measure student understanding of concepts because students could not simply copy off of their neighbor.  Furthermore, students were being assessed as they were completing their set of problems and students were given multiple attempts to work through the problems.  Since all the information is collected in real time, it makes it much easier to identify what each student is struggling with.  I find this to be helpful in helping students progress toward learning goals because it informs the teacher of individual learning needs.  For science or physics classes I feel that Mr. Fogliatti implemented the use of iPads in his classroom well.

Concerns
While I was amazed by how well thought out the iPads were utilized, I was a bit underwhelmed with the lack of creation.  It seems that the iPads were primarily used as a paperless textbook and instant assessment tool to help the teacher track progress.  I understand that this program is just in the beginning stages and I am confident that Mr. Fogliatti will identify ways to have students create with the technology as well.

Photo Editing Software as an Educational Tool

If anyone follows sports, they will surely know what this edited photo is saying:

For those not familiar of with the sporting world, this is an edited photo mocking the “Bounty-Gate” scandal in which former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, was caught for paying his players bounties for injuring opposing players.  To make a mockery of the scandal, the artist of this photo edited a picture of Boba-Fett, a bounty hunter from Star Wars, to look like a New Orleans Saints player.

Why am I talking about this and how does it relate to education?  Well as a social science teacher I feel utilizing photo editing software, like Photo Shop and Gimp, will help me relate political and social commentary to this increasingly tech savvy generation.  Photo editing software is the new form of political comic that allows people to comment on many social issues and has a couple educational benefits. 

First, challenging students to alter an existing image to reflect a controversial event or concept give students an opportunity to exercise their creative muscles.  Using photo editing software not only allows teachers to cover their content area, but also allows them to help students develop their meta-cognitive abilities.  Students will have to think critically about the topic in which they want to comment on and determine how they can creatively visually represent it.  So long as students understand how to use the software, they can make their ideas come to life. 

Second, after bringing their ideas to life students will develop a deeper understanding of the topic.  Visually depicting a comment or concept requires considerable thought and reflection, forcing the creator to dig deeper and deeper into the content.  So, while going through the creative process, students will have a deeper understanding of the topic they commented on.  And if I can get a student to think deeper about controversial issues, then I think I have succeeded as a teacher.  I see using photo editing software as a means to promote thought.

Please feel free to respond and describe how you would use photo editing software in your subject areas.

My Experience on #HipHopEd

I remember the first time I participated in an educational chat.  At the time I was contemplating on using hip hop songs in a lesson on contemporary issues.  In a nutshell, the idea I had brewing in my mind was to challenge students to investigate if music, in this case hip hop, is a reliable historical medium.  I was planning to implement this lesson toward the end of the year in U.S. History as student study contemporary issues.   For this specific lesson I wanted to have students investigate the issue of poverty during the 70’s and 80’s and how it is reflected in hip hop music.

With this plan in mind, I searched for a hip hop group on twitter and I found #hiphoped and posed the question “What are some songs that represent urban life in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s?”  Soon after, a gentleman tweeted back suggesting some songs I can use.   Soon a discussion between the two of us expanded and I began telling him my lesson idea and the songs I was thinking of using.  We then started discussion on how to implement the lesson and under what subjects such a lesson would be relevant.  At the end of the discussion my partner began following me and even complimented me on my ideas and said he was going to incorporate it into his lesson. 

After the discussion, I felt enlightened and validated.  I was enlightened because I got feedback from an experienced teacher.  I felt validated, because the same experienced teacher complimented me on my hip hop lesson idea.  After this experience on #hiphoped, I became a believer in twitter and look forward to more enlightening conversations.

Disrupting Class

Chapter 1: Why Schools Struggle to Teach Differently when each Student Learns Differently

1. Explain the difference between interdependence and modularity.  How is education currently organized?  

Interdependence is when one component of a system is designed to work within a specific system.  An interdependent system ensures optimal performance when doing a task it was specifically designed to do.  However, there is no room for flexibility as all components in the system must be changed to accommodate change.

Modularity is a system in which no component is dependent on another.  Of course a modular system is bound together by a set of “well-understood, crisply codified” guidelines (Christensen, 2008, p. 30). Having a base set of guidelines allows for independent proprietors to produce a modular component to work with a system.  Having a modular system allows for changes at the component level so long as it remains within the guidelines of the modular system. 

At present time, public education in the U.S. is an interdependent system.  U.S. education is temporally interdependent through strict grade level standards.  Learning is also laterally interdependent through English standards that prevent the adoption of efficient strategies for teaching foreign languages.    Physical interdependence is apparent in the school architecture that prevents project-based learning.  Lastly, policy and federal, state, and local politics prove to be a formidable hierarchical interdependency (Christensen, 2008, p. 33).

Chapter 2: Making the Shift:  Schools meet Society’s need

2. Explain the disruptive innovation theory.  What does this have to do with schools?

Christensen (2008) defines disruptive innovation theory that “explains why organizations struggle with certain kinds of innovation and how organizations can predictably succeed in innovation” (p. 45).  All entities will make sustaining innovations that continue to improve elements of their model that cater to a specific demographic.  Disruptive innovation occurs when another entity provides a product or model that serves people outside the traditional demographic.  In other words, disruptive innovation does not alter the course of innovation but creates its own market by catering to the non-consumers of the traditional market.  Initially, these disruptive innovations will not change the market, but as they become more refined they eventually redefine the market.

Unfortunately, due to the interdependence of education to the public, there has been little disruptive innovation.  Since all students and schools are mandated to achieve an arbitrarily set goal, there are no non-consumers to cater to.  Although the public school system tries to innovate by calling for different approaches to meet current concerns, there is no real disruptive innovation.  However, technology is being identified as a possible medium for disruptive innovation in education as it presents an opportunity to serve underserved, non-consumers, students. 

Chapter 3: Crammed Classroom Computers

3.  Why doesn’t cramming computers in schools work?  Explain this in terms of the lessons from Rachmaninoff (what does it mean to compete against nonconsumption?)

Christensen (2008) cites that “the way schools have employed computers has been perfectly predictable, perfectly logical – and perfectly wrong” (p. 73).  While schools have made a big push to incorporate more technology into their classrooms, teachers are only using the excess computers to support the traditional ways of learning and not using technology in disruptive ways.  I think part of the problem here is that teachers do not have the training or understanding on how to use new technology in disruptive ways that promote student-centered learning. 

Christensen presents and interesting example in RCA who decided to cater its phonograph recordings of Rachmaninoff to people who could not afford to attend live concerts in favor of the larger non-consumer market who do not have the means to see live musicians.  The best way to incorporate technology in the classroom is to use it to cater to the non consumers, or the underserved students, and not the students whose needs are being met by the traditional educational system.  Technology would be better utilized in serving students with different intelligences or to complement the classroom experience by giving gifted an opportunity to challenge them.

Chapter 4: Disruptively Deploying Computers

4. Explain the pattern of disruption. 

Disruption occurs in stages and at varying paces.  In the beginning, new disruptions create a new “plane of competition” by serving non-consumers.  Next, the disruption begins to adopt applications from the traditional market.  (Christensen, 2008, p. 96). Finally, the disruption transforms itself into a new market that caters to a larger demographic.  Looking at this explanation, I would argue that education is currently at the second stage in which software manufacturers are beginning to incorporate functions from the traditional school system into their systems.

5. Explain the trap of monolithic instruction.  How does student-centric learning help this problem?

The trap of monolithic instruction is its tendency to promote a one-size-fits all approach to education.  Given the strict mandates that schools and districts must abide by strict mandates, schools have begun cutting enriching courses to open up more resources to meet the federal, local, and state expectations. 

A student-centric approach can help to alleviate this one-size-fits all approach by catering students according to their learning intelligences and individual learning needs.  Carefully crafted programs can tailor the instruction according to student intelligences and provides more opportunities for formative assessments to adjust instruction on the fly. 


Chapter 5: The System for Student-Centric Learning

6. Explain public education’s commercial system.  What does it mean to say it is a value-chain business?  How does this affect student-centric learning?

Value-chains are businesses that bring in inputs and transform them into objects of higher value to sell to their customers.  Christensen (2008) likens the public schools system to a value-chain by describing as a system that organizes students into grade level classes (input), then learning the course content (adding value),  and then being moving on to the next grade (higher value).   Value chains are very systematic and highly structured preventing any form of innovation from taking hold.

This value chain model can have both positive and negative effects on student-centric learning.  For the most part, the current model has a great deal of non-consumers of educations.  This makes for a huge untapped market for student-centric curriculum providers.  On the other hand, with a ossified system in place, it is difficult to find support for student-centered providers as there is much resistance to such a movement.  But if student-centered curriculum disruption is like any other disruptive innovations, we will see a slow progression toward this new medium.

Are Grades Necessary???

The problem with grades is that they have become the point.

This is the statement that struck me best.  I can honestly admit that when I do work I am looking to get the best grade possible.  I’m not concerned about what I learned or what skills I developed, I’m only concerned about the letter I see on the paper when I get it back.    

Now, as an educator my goal is to be a great teacher.  Can being a great teacher be identified with a letter?  Since there are no grades for me to strive for, the best way for me to figure out if I am a great teacher is through peer and personal review.  If this is the case for professionals like teachers, why is it not for students?

Maybe we should just work with checklists that provide benchmarks for learning goals for each unit and the entire year.  As students progress toward the learning goals, each benchmark will be checked off as a sign of progress.  I think this would serve as a good formative assessment as well as an incentive for students as they see how far they have progressed academically. 

Now if we were to take grades out of the equation now, I think students would assume that there is no point to education.  We need to show students in other creative ways that they are learning.  I like the idea of having students work on a final unit project to share with the rest of the world on the web.  Sharing their work with other students and peers around the world will give learners a sense of accomplishment that no grade can provide.  As a new teacher looking to make my little disruptive innovations in the class, I will try to incorporate such projects to demonstrate to my students that there is more to learning than just a letter on a piece of paper.