Oct 22, 2010

Changing Education

I love Sir Ken Robinson's views on education.  He has many powerful comments on the state of education today and in the past.  I first heard about him about a year ago when he appeared on talk show in which he was talking about education and "pushing" his book The Element.  I bought the book and loved the idea that he relates about finding your passion.  Being passionate about what you do is something everyone should strive for.

I remember a few years ago, my father-in-law made the comment that I'm sure we have all heard.  He said, "You shouldn't be so concerned about finding a job that pays a lot of money.   Find a job you love.  You'll be much happier and your family will be much happier."  This spoke to me because as a teacher, I love what I do, but it doesn't pay much, as we all know.  And of course, there's nothing wrong with finding a career that you love AND that pays a lot.  But in the long run, being passionate about what I do for a living makes it easier for me to get up and go to work in the morning.


Then I thought about when I wake up my kids to go to school in the morning.  Inevitably, one of them says, "I don't want to go to school."  And I usually ask them why?  Is there something wrong?  Is someone bullying you?  Is there a problem?  They usually answer no to all of these.  And I still wonder why they don't want to go.  But recently I've begun to think that I have known the answer  all along.  They don't want to go because they aren't passionate about it.  They aren't given the experiences that make them love what they learn.

Now, what does Sir Ken Robinson have to do with this?   Low and behold, today, I get an IM from a co-worker with a link to a YouTube video from Robinson.  I have included it here.  If you are at all concerned for the state of education today, you need to watch this video.  He provides some amazing insights.  In the video he talks about the history of education and the rationale behind the way we teach kids today.  He then goes on to discuss what we probably should be doing instead.  Pass the video on to your fellow teachers as well.  It is definitely worth sharing.

Oct 12, 2010

Web Links for Interactive Whiteboards

Let's go on a journey.  We're going to go to a 3 day teacher workshop/convention.  While you are there, you'll collect knick-knacks, bags, and flyers from vendors and workshop facilitators until your suitcase is bursting at the seams.  During that time you will see and hear a wealth of information that will undoubtedly make you a better classroom teacher.  You feel excited to be a teacher and you've got a new energy that should last you until May...OK maybe January. 

When you get back to the classroom, you spend time going over the handouts with links to cool websites  that will make lesson planning and creation easier and less time consuming.  Except...each site you go to is either a dead link or it takes an extra half hour to figure out what was so cool about it to begin with.

Have you ever felt this way?  Teachers often tell me they don't know what to do with their IWB (Interactive Whiteboard) once they have it.  Short of creating a lesson with software you know little about, it becomes a backdrop for videos.  So I often get asked if I know of any cool interactive websites that could be used with an IWB.  As I have said in earlier posts, one of my jobs as part of The Eighth Floor is to maintain a wikispaces site devoted to web tools for IWBs.  To take the guesswork out of finding these supplemental activities, the 8th Floor Smartwiki is divided by subject area and provides a short list of some interesting sites that can get kids interested and interactive with your subject.  Just click on your subject area and you'll see a list of sites with a short description of that site.  Each link takes you directly to the described activity.  No more guesswork. 

The reason this site was established was to help jumpstart the new user, but also to get teachers doing exactly what IWBs were intended for, which is to create a hands on experience for students.  If you have a particularly stale subject and your finding it hard to get kids involved, try one of the links on our site.  But don't stop there.  Do a Google Search to find your own activities or as you feel more comfortable, create some of your own.  Remember, anything you can do with a mouse or keyboard can be accomplished on an IWB.

Oct 11, 2010

SMARTBoards for the First Time User

In teaching SMARTBoard classes to teachers, I often run into teachers who have no idea what to do with their board right out of the box. Many say they don't want to use it as a backdrop for movies because they don't want to feel as if they are misusing costly technology. They also complain that the kids know more than they do about the boards, and that is the very reason they are enrolled in the class. I recently ran across this article from Julie LaChance. Julie won the award for 2010 ISTE Young Educator. She has posted a Learning Progression chart for using Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs). With her permission, I have posted it here.



I'll often tell teachers in my class that you don't have to feel as if you should know how to do everything all at once; start out slowly and add something new to your arsenal of IWB know-how each week or each month.  Subscribe to blogs with tips and tricks to learn more as you go.  After all, learning is a life-long process and it never stops for anyone regardless of age.

What are your thoughts on using IWBs? As the chart shows, learning and use should not stop with the teacher. The kids should have a chance get interactive with the lesson and eventually create lessons of their own. Take a look at the chart and use it as a tool to grade yourself, then read Julie's article. When finished, post your thoughts here.