MACUL Reactions

Before completing this post I reviewed some of my peers’ blogs to see how others spent their time at MACUL. I wanted to determine whether my experience was different from others, or if we all had similar reactions to the conference. All of the blogs that I read gave positive reviews of the conference and all discussed seminars different from the ones that I attended, perhaps that was my mistake.

I have to be frank here; I was underwhelmed with my experience at MACUL. I saw three separate presentations, all on completely different topics, but alas I left Grand Rapids feeling no more knowledgeable about the uses of technology in the classroom than when I arrived. I saw a presentation titled “Student Creativity and High Expectations,” one that focused on 1:1 Implementation, and finally “Using Technology When Differentiating Instruction.”

I think the presentation I was most disappointed by was the seminar on 1:1 Implementation. I was excited to look at how it’s being implemented in schools, what activities and lessons educators have developed, and how some of the challenges have been tackled. Instead the hour focused on why schools should look to 1:1 classrooms in the first place. I did get to have a conversation with a Principal in Western Michigan that will be implementing 1:1 this year, it was interesting to hear about how the process was going for her as well as what exactly she was hoping to gain and what opposition she received.

I won’t go into detail on the “Using Technology When Differentiating Instruction” presentation. We were shown website after app after website, focusing mainly on math resources. Perhaps it’s all of the assignments focusing on differentiation this term, but I’m inclined to argue that having students play math games on the computer “at their own pace” doesn’t necessarily qualify as differentiation. I did take down notes on some of the websites, so I’ll have to look at them in more detail to gain a better understanding.

Finally, the first presentation I attended on student creativity and high expectations should have been scheduled for the afternoon. This was my favorite seminar of the day. It left me so excited and motivated to go home and make lesson plans, and differentiate, and create exciting lessons! Rushton Hurley was an excellent speaker and left me we a rekindled enthusiasm for teaching that was getting dragged down by assignments. I hope some of my peers were able to go to this presentation because it was fascinating.

Overall I’m glad I attended MACUL. I’ve gotten to use a TON of technology in my classes this year and we’re always trying new things. It was nice to get a few new ideas and be re-inspired as this semester comes to a close.

Edubloggers and Blogging

What I was surprised the most with (but perhaps I should have expected) was the discussion about using blogs in the classroom. I mean, these are bloggers were talking about so obviously they're pro blogs, I just wasn't anticipating the large discussion that was taking place regarding the use of blogs in the classroom.

What I read I tended to agree with. I had already begun to think about the use of blogs (for all types of classrooms but specifically my future English classes) on a regular basis in the classrooms. My mentor teacher has asked me to begin to think about how we can utilize technology in a traditional English classroom next semester (I'll be teaching a women's lit course.) One of the first things that came to mind was using blogs.

I've just been thinking about how I can motivate my students to write, and I know it's not going to happen if they're just writing essays to me throughout the semester. I was thinking about how excited my journalism students get simply because their creations are being shared with their classrooms and the world. How can I incorporate this into a traditional English classroom? Blogs! And it appears I'm not the only one.

Some of the things that have been discussed include making sure that blogging is done on a regular basis, and using blogging as a gateway to understanding other types of technology.

Of course it's important to make sure that blogs are utilized on a regular basis. If they're only used sporadically throughout the semester students won't see the value in them, or feel as large of a sense of ownership over their blog as they would if they posted every week. The second item of discussion, using blogs as a gateway for understanding other technological tools, is something I had honestly not thought of. I guess I don't consider myself technologically savvy and I don't always consider all of the possibilities. But really, teaching students how to post links, photos, and videos can add a whole new dimension to their blogs. Instead of just writing, they can add other elements to demonstrate their knowledge of a concept which allows for differentiated instruction.

Hopefully this helps spark another conversation about how to get students to take ownership of their work and how integrated we want technology to be in our classroom!

Tech in my Placement Survey

Earlier this semester we were asked to look into the technology available at our placement schools. Perhaps it was because my mentor teacher is extremely tech savvy and likes to integrate technology in the class as much as possible, but I was unsurprised by the results. Well, I was surprised about one question in particular but I’ll talk about that in a little bit.

As a Journalism class (one block focusing on print and one block focusing on the web-based newspaper) we spend a lot of time using technology. Students spend the majority of the class on brand new Mac computers, editing using InDesign and other tools I’m not quite familiar with. The students use cameras, video cameras, and recording devices (cellphones or iPods) to add auditory elements to their articles and so that they can record their interviews. Needless to say technology is a huge part of our class, all of these tools are available to us every class period. Students can also rent or checkout cameras from my mentor teacher for use when they’re not in class.

However (there’s always a however) the majority of these resources aren’t available to students when they’re not in class. The computer lab is locked at all times (teachers are the only ones able to unlock it) so students don’t have access to printing or working on the computer during their free times. The aspect that I was surprised about was actually brought to my attention by some of the students and I mentioned this on the tech tools in use survey, the library at the school is not “open” during hours that the students feel would be most beneficial to them. I’m not as familiar as I should be with the structure and hours of the library but if the students have felt the change in its availability then I must tend to agree.

Overall, completing this tech survey was useful. I do wish that I could have heard from classmates in other schools to see what the availability was, how much they use technology, and how they think they could implement it. It would have been interesting comparing our different experiences.

Podcasting in Class

While I found all of tech tools in use presentations helpful and insightful to some degree, the one I was most skeptical about in the beginning was the use of podcasts in the classroom. However, after watching the group present and reflecting upon how I could use this technology in my class in some way, I definitely can see how it would be beneficial.

            I suppose my idea came the other day in ED 402 when we were discussing how to help struggling readers (although someone probably already mentioned this already). Wouldn’t it be easy to record yourself reading and offer it up as a resource to those students? I’m sure you could find some audio versions of books on tape that you could post and have available to the students, but for those (especially shorter stories) a podcast might be an option for helping struggling readers.

            There are a few things that I would want to practice with and evaluate before utilizing this tool in my classroom. There are the obvious concerns, such as the availability for students. There are also concerns for me as an individual, such as time and literacy. When it comes to understanding how to actually create an exciting and informative podcast I feel I’m probably lacking. I have to ask myself, how much time would be devoted to this project and in return how much would my students utilize this resource?

            Overall, I feel like this could be a very useful tool when used the right way. I see it used best for struggling readers as an accompaniment or supplement to reading. While I can also see it as a fun tool for projects I don’t envision myself using it frequently for activities other than supplements to reading. What did other disciplines find? Are there benefits to this device that would outweigh the time and effort it takes to create it?  

Flipped English?

Throughout his entire presentation I was enthralled by the dedication and professionalism that Jon Palmer exuded through his videos. I completely got it. I know that I, as a student would prefer this method of learning as opposed to a lecture on physics. As a teacher though, I am a bit stumped when it comes to figuring out how to integrate this method into the classroom. The majority of class time is already spent having discussions or allowing students to work independently on their own work while we, the teachers, answer individual questions and check in with each student one-on-one. 

What I gathered from our class discussion after the presentation was that the entire point of a flipped classroom was to get students to take ownership of their own learning. I would argue that the class I am currently in already does this. Students are given three weeks to conduct interviews, write a rough draft, edit, and format their page for publishing. During class time they work on whatever stage in this process they are at. Some student’s conduct interviews in the hall, some work on editing their peers’ work, some take photographs for their article, etc. My mentor teacher and I are there to answer questions and check in to see where everyone is in the process and what help they need, if any, for moving forward. However, ultimately it is up to the student to finish this entire process within the three-week deadline so that their article can appear in the next edition of The Communicator. The thing about this process is that students want to see their article in the magazine. To see the page they themselves designed all glossy and colorful and out there for the world to see. 

So far in the school year we are about to publish the first edition of the magazine. Out of the 36 students that are enrolled in the class only one has not finished their page and article. The consequence for this will simply be that they will not have a page in the first edition of the new magazine, in addition to their grade suffering. Is this bad? Is there something else we could have done to help this student succeed? Or did we provide enough support and time for this project to be finalized that the responsibility is all on the student? Could there be a different format for teaching this material and these skills that would work better for all students? Or should we accept that 35 students were given this responsibility and succeeded and that one student might not be ready to take responsibility and ownership for their own learning? 

These are the questions that have been floating around in my head since the presentation that Jon Palmer gave. I'm interested to see whether or not my peers took away the same points. I think that the real idea was an alternative way to get students to take ownership of their learning, and I believe that this doesn't necessarily mean that a classroom has to be flipped to achieve this (it just appears to work really well in a physics classroom). My question to you, the reader, is this: what about the students who don't take the responsibility and ownership when every opportunity is given, the students who don't take advantage of the support and guidance that we offer? How can we help them achieve; or is what we're offering sufficient and it is now time for the student to take responsibility upon themselves or suffer the consequences?