Thursday, February 17, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
No More Printing! Teachers Using Dropbox
I was working with a district this week in Western New York on upgrading their curricular practice. A lot times, when I do work like this, there is an in-the-moment needs analysis that ultimately directs the workshop time.
For this workshop, the teachers had a specific need to update the way in which they deliver resources to students. In the wake of the same financial crunch that everyone is dealing with nationwide, teachers were trying to find opportunities to share resources in an equitable way without continuing to print reams and reams of paper.
I shared the online file sharing and folder syncing Web 2.0 tool “DROPBOX” with the teachers. I explained that it would be an option for sharing resources with their students as well as an option for students to “turn work in” online. (Updating previous technology ‘turn in’ options of using a shared directory on the school’s network and/or using email.)
Instead of printing up a bunch of paper resources, including lab manuals, and hauling all of these papers around every time they needed to be graded, these High School Science teachers were able to construct a plan for using a Web 2.0 tool in an innovative way that suited their particular needs.
Specifically, they planned to create folders in the Dropbox system for each class, including a shared folder that all students could access. (Permission is granted based on the students having Dropbox accounts as well.) Within their framework, each class would have its own folder, and each student would have a shared folder within that class folder. This folder would only be accessible to the student and the teacher. Additionally, all folders would be private to the teacher and the students and not to the Internet at large. (See screenshot.)
Dropbox used in this way gives teachers and students ubiquitous, anytime/anywhere access to materials, from school computers, to home, to their mobile devices, etc. One of the teachers, on that day, also added the DropBox app to his iPad, along with a companion app (Noterize) to make notations on submitted student work and re-drop into the Dropbox folders. (You could also use iAnnotate or Smartnote apps)
We talked about considerations for access, the learning curve for students using the tool, and the reality of using a web 2.0 tool for something like this, since some web tools in this economy have proven to be ephemeral and could disappear at a moment’s notice. In this particular district, most students have access to the internet at home, and those that don’t have regular access to shared computers while at school, and the local libraries also provide access. If needed, students would also have options for getting print copies from the teacher and/or turning work in a traditional way. Additionally, since this application also installs a web-linked folder to a user’s computer; if the tool goes away, the folder still stays, so no resources are ultimately lost.
I thought this was a REALLY good idea and wanted to share. Not only does it save a tree or two, it lets teachers model the 21st Century ways in which we interact with and share information. My hope is that it will make things more convenient for these teachers and their students, and perhaps prompt the students to use web tools for instruction as creatively as their teachers!
We talked about considerations for access, the learning curve for students using the tool, and the reality of using a web 2.0 tool for something like this, since some web tools in this economy have proven to be ephemeral and could disappear at a moment’s notice. In this particular district, most students have access to the internet at home, and those that don’t have regular access to shared computers while at school, and the local libraries also provide access. If needed, students would also have options for getting print copies from the teacher and/or turning work in a traditional way. Additionally, since this application also installs a web-linked folder to a user’s computer; if the tool goes away, the folder still stays, so no resources are ultimately lost.
I thought this was a REALLY good idea and wanted to share. Not only does it save a tree or two, it lets teachers model the 21st Century ways in which we interact with and share information. My hope is that it will make things more convenient for these teachers and their students, and perhaps prompt the students to use web tools for instruction as creatively as their teachers!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Walk in the PARCC
I've been wanting to use that title for a couple of weeks now.
I've been collecting resources lately for Common Core Implementations and the associated Assessments that are coming: PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) and SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium).
http://www.diigo.com/user/mikefisher821/PARCC
Additionally, all of the resources that I'm saving around the Common Core are here:
http://www.diigo.com/user/mikefisher821/commoncore
Many of those links refer to different state’s pages around Crosswalk documents and Common Core Resources. If you’d like something that is a little easier to navigate, you can visit Curriculum 21’s LiveBinder of the same information here:
Curriculum 21's Common Core Crosswalk Binder
The Diigo links will be updated from time to time as I find new resources, and if you'd like to share any resources that are valuable to you...please put them in the comments section below and I’ll be sure and add them to the Diigo list.
Hope this is helpful!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Things I'm doing instead of going to EDUCON:
- Pouting.
- Watching the #EDUCON Twitter Feed.
- Cleaning out the Hermit Crab cage and letting the crabs crawl around in the sink.
- Reading Larry Ainsworth's new book on Rigorous Curriculum Design. <---- I've read about two paragraphs so far.
- Watching a 4 year old and 6 year old build a fort out of cushions, pillows, chairs, and blankets.
- Going to Disney on Ice in the morning. <----- Would be more interested if it was Aerosmith on Ice
- Loading the dishwasher.
- Playing Angry Birds.
- Planning a LiveBinder of smart things Mark Carls (@mcarls) says.
- Still pouting, and putting EDUCON 2012 on my calendar NOW!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
State of the Union: An Out Of Context Response
While I watched most of the State of the Union address live, I’ve been getting into the habit lately of “Wordling” a text, news article, transcript, etc. to get the gist from the most common words used. Sometimes the meaning is the same, other times it’s quite different. In the classroom, this lends itself very easily to comparative analysis and critical thinking...but for me, tonight, it’s a tool to target the discussion and my thinking. My response here to the State of the Union is coming entirely from my interpretation of the Wordle, versus the actual speech. I’ve got my “educator glasses” on, too, which will impact what I “see.”
Three of the biggest words are “new,” “jobs,” and “people.” My brain is connecting that to the videos that Karl Fisch and others have made that involve the assertion that we are preparing our students for jobs that have not yet been invented. How do we prepare kids now? Much of it is rote and traditional, the same model of instruction that prepared kids for factory jobs. With the Common Core impacting many of the states, rigorous learning and rigorous instructional design and practice will hopefully upend the old paradigms, and pave the way for the “people” to have the “new” “jobs” that Obama discusses, either as a projected, forthcoming, but as yet unknown vocation, or an immediate, economically necessary position.
Other stand-out words include, “future,” “innovation,” “technology,” and “success.” It’s hard to know what the future holds, but we surely know that what was valued yesterday will hardly be valued tomorrow. We do a lot of complaining about “kids today” but don’t recognize the skills that they are developing around socialization, transparency, and global collaboration. These are skills that will help them be global competitors if we can harness the connections and critical thinking and collaboration that may have a veneer of “playing” but are really rooted in “social adaptability” and “social evolution.” Their connections and willingness to participate in “technology” will breed the “innovation” of the “future” and bring the “success” that we hope for our children.
There are many layers here to discuss--whether contextual or not. When I was thinking about the speech itself in terms of an educational lens, I found my brain was responding in an emotional and sometimes defensive way. The Wordle gave me an opportunity to abandon the emotional, and focus on just the words. What connections can you make from the Wordle? What did you think about Obama’s speech?
Three of the biggest words are “new,” “jobs,” and “people.” My brain is connecting that to the videos that Karl Fisch and others have made that involve the assertion that we are preparing our students for jobs that have not yet been invented. How do we prepare kids now? Much of it is rote and traditional, the same model of instruction that prepared kids for factory jobs. With the Common Core impacting many of the states, rigorous learning and rigorous instructional design and practice will hopefully upend the old paradigms, and pave the way for the “people” to have the “new” “jobs” that Obama discusses, either as a projected, forthcoming, but as yet unknown vocation, or an immediate, economically necessary position.
Other stand-out words include, “future,” “innovation,” “technology,” and “success.” It’s hard to know what the future holds, but we surely know that what was valued yesterday will hardly be valued tomorrow. We do a lot of complaining about “kids today” but don’t recognize the skills that they are developing around socialization, transparency, and global collaboration. These are skills that will help them be global competitors if we can harness the connections and critical thinking and collaboration that may have a veneer of “playing” but are really rooted in “social adaptability” and “social evolution.” Their connections and willingness to participate in “technology” will breed the “innovation” of the “future” and bring the “success” that we hope for our children.
There are many layers here to discuss--whether contextual or not. When I was thinking about the speech itself in terms of an educational lens, I found my brain was responding in an emotional and sometimes defensive way. The Wordle gave me an opportunity to abandon the emotional, and focus on just the words. What connections can you make from the Wordle? What did you think about Obama’s speech?
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