Teaching Critical Thinking (with Dog Food)

Now more than ever students need to learn how to think critically.  So many times when I am teaching middle school students are so concerned with what is the answer?  But, more importantly they need to think about thinking. 

This article discusses an process which uses a box of Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal.  When the students are asked what it is they state “Mini-Wheats” because that’s what the box says.  When the boxes is dumped out, out comes dog food.  In this article Bach uses a 3 word (Huh? Really? So?) to help involve critical thinking to a question:

Huh?

• Do we understand what is being talked about?
• Is it confusing?
• Vague?

Really?

• Is it factually true?
• What hard evidence do we have for it?

So?

• Why does this matter?
• To whom does it matter?
• How much does it matter?

I thought this was an interesting approach rather than always teaching bloom's revised taxonomy in a lesson that involves critical thinking.  Huh? Really? So? are easy words middle schoolers may relate to better and it can easily help them to critically think when a question is ask during class.

Article Citation:

Bach, James (2013, November 30).  Teaching Critical Thinking (with Dog Food).  www.edutopia.org/. Retrieved November 30th, 2013 from:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-critical-thinking-dog-food-james-bach

Response to Social Media in Plain English video

I found it interesting how the author related social networking to everyone being able to develop their own flavors of ice cream.  For years, people all had only the same methods of communication, either by writing a letter, talking on the telephone or talking face to face.

Now through the Internet, many more establish methods of communication exist.  When I was in high school instant messenger was becoming popular, now Facebook has incorporated instant messaging with social networking.  Many other websites have become available to choose from enabling different methods of communication such as wiki’s or blogs.  Similar to how the video stated, Internet users have many choices when it comes to communicating.  Users must experiment to see which methods work best for their needs, multiple methods or creating one’s own flavor of communication is the greatest solution in today’s world!

Reaction to Chapter 6

Twitter can be a great resource to share information, communicate with family or even be used as a resource for education.  Schools are currently using it to be able to communicate with parents and the community.  Edmodo.com is a free substitute source for teachers as well.  Richardson suggest before using a resource such as Twitter in the classroom “Think about Twitter for yourself first” (89, Richardson).  Use it as a resource to connect with others about interest first and see if you can incorporate it to use in the classroom.

Social bookmarking is a great way to keep track of information specifically list of URL’s.  Not only can you add or “tag” URL’s of websites you want to visit another time you can also add keywords describing the website.  This information then get shared with others as they view the same websites with a social bookmarking website like Delicious.com.  You can either keep bookmarks private or choose to share them with specific groups such as students.  Annotating is also a great way to leave notes or comments about a specific URL you have posted for a group to see.

The most important part about social bookmarking is that it is web based.  Before social bookmarking when you use your browser to social bookmark it would only impact that one computer.  Now by using social bookmarking, you can find pages that were previously visited on any computer as long as it’s connected to the internet. 

Educators can use social bookmarks as a tool to not only share websites but collaborate with students by feeding them information.  Social networking can also be used as a method of communication within education.  As technology and BYOD continue to grow in the classroom, these tools will become essential to digital learning. 

Reaction to “The Biggest Hurdle to Flipping Your Class”

As a teacher you hear the term “flipping your classroom” constantly.  Why should educators do this if school has been structured the same for centuries?  The article answers that flipping your classroom “Makes class time more enriching and more valuable.”  This certainly sounds like something teachers should implement.

The article states that students are not just given the content but are forced to “learn how to learn”.  I have tried flipping things in my classroom this semester such as a video recorded instruction as well as providing the entire course notes on Blackboard but still think I have many enhancements to make. 

The issue for me has been so far at middle school; students don’t want to or expect to view elective class notes from home.  Some students may not have a computer from home so I still have to dedicate time in the classroom for students to view the instruction I have provided online.  One of the most important things to teaching in a flipped classroom is implement a routine with the class from day 1.  One major benefit I have seen is that some students will go home and view my instructional videos multiple times if they don’t understand something.  Students have mentioned to me that they wish their core classes especially math and social studies would record daily lessons they could go back later and view.

Overall, I think flipping your classroom is a neat idea and it works differently depending on each teacher’s situation but should be able to be performed to some extent in all subject areas.  Flipping your classroom is the imminent of education and we will see more of it in the future as technology improves.

Article Citation:

Bergmann, Jon (2013, November 18). The Biggest Hurdle to Flipping Your Class. http://www.edutopia.org/.  Retrieved November 23rd, 2013 from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/biggest-hurdle-flipping-your-class-jon-bergmann

Response to, 7 things you should know about…Wikis article

Throughout the course EDU 653 we have been using a course Wiki in order to upload many of our class projects.  We also are using a wiki for group collaboration.  The article describes an scenario of students working collaboratively and being able to submit their findings instantly for feedback.  It list 7 important things to know about Wiki’s and describes them as “open-ended collaborative group sites”.  Wiki’s were first developed in the mid 1990’s by scientist and engineers who used them to share and receive knowledge on specific topics.  Basically, all it takes to edit or create a Wiki is an internet connection and a special script on a website such as a form that allows users to post to the page.

One of the most important points within the article is number 4 which discusses the significance of Wiki’s.  The fact that wiki’s allow for group interaction and that they can be used for students, teachers within or outside of the classroom is very vital and helpful in today’s world of distance education.  One of the biggest downfalls to the use of Wiki’s is that any user can modify the content or post inappropriate material  If used in classrooms teachers would need to moderate content and be sure to omit anything inappropriate that students (or outsiders of the classroom) may post.  One way that I chose to do this in my computer skills course is to use the Blackboard Portal website.  Within Blackboard, students must be logged in before they post.  This prevents outsiders and also allows tracking of students post so they are aware that they are identified which may prevent them from posting unsuitable information.

Finally, the implications for teaching and learning are infinite.  Wiki’s can be used for collaborative projects e-portfolios, editing textbooks, reading lists, teacher syllabus, research projects…the list just keeps going!  Because Wiki’s are so versatile, easy to create and use I think we will see them being used more often within educations future.

Response to using Wikipedia for Academic Research

Throughout college professors have always said not to use Wikipedia for research.  I liked how this video discussed the fact that it's typically the first link that shows up when using a search engine.  It also identified that Wikipedia typically can't be used as a source but may be a good place to start with your findings. It can be used to give you ideas on key ideas to research and brainstorm ideas.

Since I have always been told to stay away from Wikipedia as a source, I tried not to use it at all.  This video however gave me some great ideas as to how to use Wikipedia to “aide you in your research process”.  Also, it suggests viewing the sources at the bottom of Wikipedia which may lead to academic articles in which can be used to further research.

Perhaps always telling students to “not use Wikipedia period” is not a good approach.  Maybe educators should teach students how to use Wikipedia as a tool, not a source for research.  Students are confused whenever they do a search on Google and the first thing that comes up is Wikipedia but the teachers said they can’t use it.  I have witnessed this first hand and have always told students it’s not a valid scholarly source.  Instead describing to students what Wikipedia is and how content is shared would be a much better approach.  Students would then still be able to use Wikipedia as an instrument just not a resource to take content from in their finding.

PCs won't die for the simple reason that no one has yet figured out a better way to write or code

As a keyboarding teacher reading this article was very interesting because it discusses the importance of an important input device I teach about “the keyboard”.  It’s a known fact that the PC mark has been going down as the price of tablets drops and also allow users to do more.  However, for work getting words into an electronic format can still be done much easier by use of a PC.

This article reminds me of when I got my first netbook I sold my laptop and I ended up having to buy a new one because, teaching, creating and editing website and photo manipulation would work on a netbook but it was much more difficult.  Although I don’t own a tablet of my own I have use one from the school media center.  They are great for a lot of things but there are times when you just need a real computer to get your work done easier.  As the article states at its end, “The writers, spreadsheet jockeys and coders will still rely on the PC” (Proffitt)

Article Citation:

Proffitt, Brian (2013, November 14). PCs won't die for the simple reason that no one has yet figured out a better way to write or code. http://readwrite.com/.  Retrieved November 16th, 2013 from http://readwrite.com/2013/11/14/how-qwerty-keyboards-prevent-pc-obsolete#awesm=~onoiqfbYcBUYfo

Response to Chapters 5 & 8

“You can read more content from more sources in less time” (Richardson).  Chapter 5 Richardson really encourages educators or any active reader that RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication) are today’s tool to be able to read what you want without the hassle of filtering out what you don’t want to read.  Although we have already set-up a blogger account for class so we have been reading RSS feeds already I didn’t realize this could be used for such a wide variety of content.  I had to stop reading the book, get out my smart phone and download a few new apps which included Zite and Newsfree.  More important than personal use, Richardson brings up great methods to incorporating RSS feeds in the classroom.

Similar to our EDU 653 Course, having student post weblogs is a great opportunity for student to write on the web.  Rather than clicking on (in my case) over 120 URL’s to view my student responses I can simply just use an RSS feed aggregator, collect all of their responses and I can view them all from one site.  Richardson states that RSS could stand for “Reading Skill: Scanning” or Reading Skill: Synthesizing” (Richardson), which both mean a lot when it comes to educating using common core standards and students using 21^st century reading skills.  Teachers should get into routine of reading through students work using their RSS feed and can even develop websites to share student learning.  Students can also gain a great deal of knowledge or conduct “24/7 research” (Richardson) by integrating RSS feed tools into today’s classroom.

Chapter 8, changes course to discuss different resources of sharing various multi-media types in the classroom. I am new to Podcasting and have never listened or created one that I know of so I am excited to learn what they are and how I can use them.  Podcasting “is the creation and distribution of amateur radio” (Richardson).  This can be done using many different types of software however Richardson recommends Audacity because it’s free and open source which can be used to easily mix audio files.  CCmixer.org is a free-to-use audio website which allows users to mix in music within the Podcast.

Video Publishing is also becoming popular in schools because of the video aspect.  YouTube is by far one of the most popular and is constantly obtaining new videos every minute.

Putting both of these resources together educator can use “Screencasting” to display with narration classroom directions, previous work and examples.  Although this can be a bit more difficult because it involves use of video I certainly think the visual aids can be very helpful, especially in middle school where students can watch the screencast multiple times to understand direction.

One final method Richardson discusses that could be used in an educational environment is live streaming.  Teachers could use this to have students create a live TV show about any particular classroom topic.  This can be a bit more difficult because it requires a fast internet connection and primarily works better on Apple products and mobile phones.  Since there isn’t a good free source to use for PC’s, this would be rather hard to implement at my schools environment but I’m sure it won’t be long for a good resource to come available.  After reading about all of these useful tools I am looking forward to implementing more different types of multimedia into my classroom!

Pen Pals of the 21st Century

I can remember back in elementary school writing hand written letters to another student as a pen pal across the United States.  With the rising cost of postage it is very difficult to have students send and receive letters as much as a learning experience as it can be.  By finding pen pals electronically students can continue to collaborate across the globe using electronic devices.  This article describes Edmodo as one source teachers can use to find pen pal classes to communicate with.

In business education students learn how to format a letter properly, by sending a letter electronically to a real person rather than giving it to the teacher can be much more meaningful and educational.  This can be used in many other types of classes to in which tools such as Skype can be used to connect classes from anywhere and collaborate with one another.  Check it out to see how you can find electronic pen pals for any type of class!

Article Citation:
Mims, Lisa (2013, November 6). Pen Pals of the 21st Century. http://www.edutopia.org/.  Retrieved November 9th, 2013 from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pen-pals-in-21st-century-lisa-mims

Response to chapters 4 & 7

Wikipedia – Wiki (Hawaiian for quick) is an amazing collaborative source.  Each entry is essentially a report written and edited by a bunch of anonymous users and is updated every day.   Is this information reliable and should it be used in schools?  For the most part I agree with Richardson, the information is accurate and is already written in report format taking away the work from the students.  However students need to be able to use other sources besides Wikipedia.  I allow my students to view Wikipedia for aide or for a quick reference however for a research report students need to find their own cite able sources with credible authors in order to prove their argument.

            As Richardson says, if Wiki’s are used in a K-12 classroom, their needs to be some type of security and acknowledgement of authors in order to prevent vandalism.  Teachers may use websites such as Wikispaces, PBwiki or something with a login and username in order to monitor students.  By using Wiki’s in education teachers can have students be part of the “process” of collaborating information.

            In Chapter 7 Richardson introduces the website Flickr which allows anyone to access web-based digital photography.  One of the best things about Flickr is that many of the images contain a Creative Commons copyright license.  Meaning many of them can be used by others as long as certain guidelines are followed.  This is a great resource for educators to have students use rather than Google Images because of the many copyright issues.  By having students use a Creative Commons website such as Flickr it helps to reinforce academic integrity in that not every image from the Internet can be used and there are limitations on how resources can be used within student work.

Should Coding be the "New Foreign Language" Requirement?

This article is very informative and really makes me start to think, as an elective teacher why am I not teaching coding?  Since “only 10% of all high schools in only 30% of the United States” it’s not surprising that it is not offered at the middle school level.  Coding teaches many of the same skills such as increasing perception, being able to multi-task.  It also is “the global language” in computer instances and is more commonly spoken than: English, Chinese or Spanish.  There is a high demand for students who achieve a computer science degree and learning to code different programs in the future of our global economy is expanding.  Schools need to start offering more courses on coding and allow students to replace foreign language courses with coding as it is learning a new type language.

Article Citation:

Adam, Anna; Mowers, Helen (2013, October 29). Should Coding be the "New Foreign Language" Requirement?. http://www.edutopia.org.  Retrieved November 2, 2013 from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/coding-new-foreign-language-requirement-helen-mowers

                     

Response to Chapter’s 2 & 3

I thought it was interesting and educational to be posting a weblog on a reading about a web blog.  As Richardson mentions having a class portal certainly have helped me eliminate questions from students like “I didn't know we had homework”.  Having things available digitally is a big help in my classroom especially when students are absent they are able to check my Blackboard website and see what they missed.

As a webmaster for a school website who works hard to keep the school website up-to-date I am interested in seeing how I can implement weblogs within my schools site.  In our county we have a lot of control over what can go on our schools website and every time I update date it I must go through an approval process.  I can see this being difficult for some departments who wouldn't want to spend the time on it but very beneficial for things like posting the morning announcements each day.

As Richardson states, teachers need to establish a safety policy and discuss it with students prior to using blogs.  While using blogs in my class last spring I encountered an issue where a student posted an appropriate comment on another student’s blog within Blackboard.  The good thing about using a portal such as blackboard though is that it tracks the students name and time and I was able to remove and contact the parent of the student with the issue in a timely manner.  But, as an educator giving students the freedom of collaboration online you must be prepared to take care of behavior issues immediately so they don’t continue.  Richardson gives some great other blog software educators can use that are open source.  I would like to test some of these other sources including Weblogg-Ed or Blogger and compare the usability to the Blackboard portal.

Instructional PowerPoint

Please view my Instructional PowerPoint assignment for week 2 on my Wikispaces Page!  Thanks - Chris