Friday, October 22, 2010
MACUL conference
I'm here at my first session of MACUL's "Teaching in the Cloud" conference up at Holland Christian. We're learning about how the world has changed and where we're going digitally. Trust me when I say the future is awesome. More to come.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Grad Class Vol. 2: Discipline and Punish
After the second time juggling grad class, teaching, side job, and life in general, things are going well. However, last night's class blew my mind a bit. Let's recap, shall we?
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison
Other than the first chunk of reading being on the bit disturbing side, this was actually intensely interesting reading and discussion. As a class we discussed some hard hitting topics, ranging from historical transition described in the text to social mechanisms to education (of course). At one point, we even took a turn to discussing the various crimes CSI and other popular shows fail to consider. Ultimately, it seemed like everything connected to or tied in with the idea of the panoptican, whether personal or actual.
The idea of the panopticon is quite interesting, especially when you consider how we, as a society, construct our personal versions. We keep our society from slipping into utter chaos by internalizing the power structure-- the idea is that someone is always watching us, no matter what. So if I'm in a candy store by myself and I steal something, someone will hunt me down and make me pay for whatever I stole. We reinforce it in our pop culture. Take a look at an episode of CSI and consider the fact that the bad guys are almost ALWAYS apprehended. In real life, not so much. But we continue to craft this idea that it happens, which creates self-regulation and prevents chaos. Cool, right?
Of course, we ended up getting into education eventually... let's leave it at this: I hate normalized testing and the way we ineffectively use them as a basis for AYP. Seriously.
Next week? MARXISM. This should be interesting!
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison
Other than the first chunk of reading being on the bit disturbing side, this was actually intensely interesting reading and discussion. As a class we discussed some hard hitting topics, ranging from historical transition described in the text to social mechanisms to education (of course). At one point, we even took a turn to discussing the various crimes CSI and other popular shows fail to consider. Ultimately, it seemed like everything connected to or tied in with the idea of the panoptican, whether personal or actual.
The idea of the panopticon is quite interesting, especially when you consider how we, as a society, construct our personal versions. We keep our society from slipping into utter chaos by internalizing the power structure-- the idea is that someone is always watching us, no matter what. So if I'm in a candy store by myself and I steal something, someone will hunt me down and make me pay for whatever I stole. We reinforce it in our pop culture. Take a look at an episode of CSI and consider the fact that the bad guys are almost ALWAYS apprehended. In real life, not so much. But we continue to craft this idea that it happens, which creates self-regulation and prevents chaos. Cool, right?
Of course, we ended up getting into education eventually... let's leave it at this: I hate normalized testing and the way we ineffectively use them as a basis for AYP. Seriously.
Next week? MARXISM. This should be interesting!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Recap of Yesterday
After my first morning session yesterday, I went to another tech one that BLEW MY MIND! It was the most intense, most informative session that I've ever been to in my life. Those in attendance that had laptops took part in a back channel conversation-- essestially (for those who don't know what this is), it is a chat that occurs in tandem with the presentation, is part of the presentation, and is about topics that come up in the presentation. It was one of the most engaging experiences I've had as a learner. A topic would be mentioned, and those involved in the chat would begin discussing further in depth. From time to time, the presenters would pull up the conversation and reference things being discussed. It was incredible to be interactive in a presentation. Also, we would discuss various links and actually go to them as a group and add in more that are along the same lines. Simply incredible. And chaotic-- that was the downside. One of the things we discussed was whether or not it was too taxing on our attention levels and therefore, something we would not want to use in the classroom. I feel as though it would take practice and we would need to model it, but ultimately, it would truly enhance the conversation.
Since my own presentation will occur shortly, I don't have time to discuss the other presentations I went to. Both were on using graphic novels and hypertext in the classroom. More on those later.
Wish me luck!
Since my own presentation will occur shortly, I don't have time to discuss the other presentations I went to. Both were on using graphic novels and hypertext in the classroom. More on those later.
Wish me luck!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
I need a promethean board. Here's why:
The session I just attended was the Tech Toolkit, which had a round table set up. I chose to attend the breakout sessions for Google tools and Glogster. It was incredible and I am SO excited.
Google
The guy that presented on Google tools was a Google trained teacher. He told us about some things I was already familiar with (Google docs and spreadsheet, thanks to Ben), but showed me other things that I had no idea existed-- I am quite certain these things will change my teaching life. What was of core interest? Google Squared, Wonder Wheel, and the RSS feed. Check out his website. I need to play around with these more, but I have already started email colleagues the links because it's so much fun. Check out my Frankenstein comparison on Google Squared!
Glogster
I'm still playing with this. I'll have a link shortly. It's a blast.
The session I just attended was the Tech Toolkit, which had a round table set up. I chose to attend the breakout sessions for Google tools and Glogster. It was incredible and I am SO excited.
The guy that presented on Google tools was a Google trained teacher. He told us about some things I was already familiar with (Google docs and spreadsheet, thanks to Ben), but showed me other things that I had no idea existed-- I am quite certain these things will change my teaching life. What was of core interest? Google Squared, Wonder Wheel, and the RSS feed. Check out his website. I need to play around with these more, but I have already started email colleagues the links because it's so much fun. Check out my Frankenstein comparison on Google Squared!
Glogster
I'm still playing with this. I'll have a link shortly. It's a blast.
Two Sessions from Yesterday...
With yesterday's sessions behind me, I've had a chance to step back and think about my experiences so far. After I grabbed lunch at Reading Terminal Market, I attended Rob Rozema's session on Faculty and Facebook. The video that started the whole session out was amazing. Check it out:
http://ncte2008.ning.com/video/2256925:Video:1072
It was so interesting because many of my students ask why I won't accept their friend requests. It's such an interesting dynamic- whether it's friending, unfriending, post pictures or whatnot, each action is so deliberate that it's hard not to read into it. During this session, we discussed projects that can be done with students on facebook, the benefits of having a facebook as a professional, and the "creep factor" for students (having a professor/teacher on facebook can be weird for some, though it has never bothered me with my professors). This session was definitely food for thought.
The last session of yesterday was less fruitful than all the others. It dealt with using student skepticism in literature, though most of the information felt oddly out of place. I did pull some great ideas for teaching The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (one of my favorite books), though I do not teach American Lit anymore. There was heavy emphasis on the idea of the rebel-- I feel like I really strive to cultivate that in my classroom, but in a less "shake your fist at the man" way and a more "question where your information comes from and why you're only getting THAT piece of info" sort of way. Odd, right? ;) It was a bit too in your face for me.
After sushi, I had a chance to look over some of my materials. I have a great new Hamlet resource to show my kids. YAY!:)
More later...
http://ncte2008.ning.com/video/2256925:Video:1072
It was so interesting because many of my students ask why I won't accept their friend requests. It's such an interesting dynamic- whether it's friending, unfriending, post pictures or whatnot, each action is so deliberate that it's hard not to read into it. During this session, we discussed projects that can be done with students on facebook, the benefits of having a facebook as a professional, and the "creep factor" for students (having a professor/teacher on facebook can be weird for some, though it has never bothered me with my professors). This session was definitely food for thought.
The last session of yesterday was less fruitful than all the others. It dealt with using student skepticism in literature, though most of the information felt oddly out of place. I did pull some great ideas for teaching The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (one of my favorite books), though I do not teach American Lit anymore. There was heavy emphasis on the idea of the rebel-- I feel like I really strive to cultivate that in my classroom, but in a less "shake your fist at the man" way and a more "question where your information comes from and why you're only getting THAT piece of info" sort of way. Odd, right? ;) It was a bit too in your face for me.
After sushi, I had a chance to look over some of my materials. I have a great new Hamlet resource to show my kids. YAY!:)
More later...
Friday, November 20, 2009
Three Sessions Down...
After three sessions, I already have a TON to think about. The Shakespeare session used Hamlet as a model, so I have an incredible amount of tools for teaching it this year. I'm considering creating a wikispace that utilizes reciprocal teaching toolds-- each student would have a specific role to fulfill while reading. My second session dealt a bit with Web 2.0- ironically, it meshed perfectly with the the previous session and gave me the idea for the wikispace. Unfortunately, they gave little in terms of what to do if this information is blocked. Facebook and Myspace could be great tools for instruction (create a site for Frankenstein's monster-- do as if he is trying to get a date), but those tools are blocked. This session discussed the idea of the "milennial student" and discussed how students expect to be able to be social and technological in their classroom experience. So, shouldn't we respond to their needs?
The other session was about the one-to-one laptop classroom. This information is incredible- they talked specifically about blogging and being multimodal in the classroom. We discussed the skills and traits of successful blogs and, as a whole group, created a list of how to assess blogs, targeting specific skills that we need to target as teachers. Check out this site: http://ncte2008.ning.com/forum/topics/writing-in-the-onetoone-laptop
They also have a google docs page where we are currently working on this information.
This is awesome!
The other session was about the one-to-one laptop classroom. This information is incredible- they talked specifically about blogging and being multimodal in the classroom. We discussed the skills and traits of successful blogs and, as a whole group, created a list of how to assess blogs, targeting specific skills that we need to target as teachers. Check out this site: http://ncte2008.ning.com/forum/topics/writing-in-the-onetoone-laptop
They also have a google docs page where we are currently working on this information.
This is awesome!
Friday Morning-- Adventure Starts Early
After FINALLY making to Philly last night (yes, last night, when I was supposed to be there at 4pm), I'm here at the Philadelphia Convenion Center. I missed Julie Andrews because I needed to register and couldn't last night, so that is a bit of a bummer. However, I have decided on my first session- SHAKESPEARE. Exciting, right?
On a different note, it never ceases to catch me by surprise how incredible people are at these conferences. I sat next to Jill VanAntwerp, the department of English Chair at Grand Valley University, on the way out here, and met five other professor from various Michigan universities. We talked about grad and PhD programs, preservice teachers, and my experiences and obstacles from the past year of teaching. It was such a great way to spend 6 hours stuck in the Detroit Metro Airport. We ate and discussed; I haven't had that type of "thinking just to think, discussing just to discuss" discussion in a while. It felt great. They reminded me that it is NECESSARY to have a cohort of people that strive to educate and discuss- though some of my cohort (Randall and Dan) are gone, I know I need to make the effort to reconnect and build a new cohort. OH, and I can't WAIT to start grad school. :)
Well, internet connection is sparse here (Thousands of people apparently tax the network. Go figure.), but I will try to continue my updates after each session. Shakespeare, here I come!
On a different note, it never ceases to catch me by surprise how incredible people are at these conferences. I sat next to Jill VanAntwerp, the department of English Chair at Grand Valley University, on the way out here, and met five other professor from various Michigan universities. We talked about grad and PhD programs, preservice teachers, and my experiences and obstacles from the past year of teaching. It was such a great way to spend 6 hours stuck in the Detroit Metro Airport. We ate and discussed; I haven't had that type of "thinking just to think, discussing just to discuss" discussion in a while. It felt great. They reminded me that it is NECESSARY to have a cohort of people that strive to educate and discuss- though some of my cohort (Randall and Dan) are gone, I know I need to make the effort to reconnect and build a new cohort. OH, and I can't WAIT to start grad school. :)
Well, internet connection is sparse here (Thousands of people apparently tax the network. Go figure.), but I will try to continue my updates after each session. Shakespeare, here I come!
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