How would you answer this question? What kind of teacher are you? I'm sure there are many different ways you might answer this. But in terms of how you work with students, the kind of workspaces you have, what you do with the time you have in class...what kind of teacher are you? I've thought about this many times, but the video below really poses this question in an intriguing way. Watch the video and think about what you would change about your teaching style, your classroom, your school:
It is late July, and many teachers are preparing to go back into the classroom. As you do, think about what you've done in the past, what you would like to change, and if possible, begin steps toward that change with one thought in mind - who is your audience and how will you serve them?
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Jul 25, 2012
Flash Content, Flash Browsers and iOS
In the recent flurry of discussions that have occurred regarding the flipped classroom, one hurdle that I have noticed is the ability to post videos that are accessible on iOS devices (iPods, iPhones, iPads). With the inability to view Flash content, many students who try to view videos on these mobile devices run into the issue that they are unable to view your videos. There are a few options and a few workarounds to help your students view Flash content and videos on these devices.
First, in terms of storing your videos, many people like to use YouTube as a place to post them. This is fine and tends to work well when students try to view your videos on and iOS device. One trick I have found that helps out tremendously is to share by using the URL to your YouTube video as a link from your LMS, Teacher Website, or wherever. This means that when students click on it, it will open in the native YouTube app on their iOS device.
If you plan to Embed your video, it helps to check the box marked "Use Old Embed Code". The reason for this is that some sites will often reject the standard embed code which is based on HTML 5. The old embed code is based on Flash. I know this sounds crazy since Flash is not an option on iOS devices, but sometimes you just have to play around with the one that works. If one doesn't work, try the other. But always, always, always, setup your embedded video on your website and then try to view it on your iOS device to make sure it is viewable/playable.
Second, if you are not much of a techie, there are other ways to help your students gain access to your video content on their iOS device. The easiest route is to direct them to a Flash Browser in the App Store. There are several good ones for free and some great ones that cost a few dollars. A few that I have found to be good are:
Photon Flash Browser - $4.99 in the App Store - This one works great, but comes at a cost. If students are willing to spend the money, this one allows users to view any flash content via a streaming process. There is a slight lag, but it is not that noticeable. For iPad/iPhone/iPod.
Rover - Supported by ads from educational providers such as Discovery Education, this app is Free! As a result you have ads that popup at the beginning, but once you enter your site address and navigate, the ads go away while you browse. This app is for iPad only.
Puffin Web Browser - Available as a Free and Paid App - this browser works as the others do by streaming content across the web and back to your device to provide the experience of viewing flash content. Works great. Expect ads on the Free version.
Whichever route you take in making content available to your students, make sure you spend a few minutes at the beginning of the school year going over accessibility options. This will help prevent any obstacles your students have to accessing content and viewing it as homework. Good luck flipping your classroom!
First, in terms of storing your videos, many people like to use YouTube as a place to post them. This is fine and tends to work well when students try to view your videos on and iOS device. One trick I have found that helps out tremendously is to share by using the URL to your YouTube video as a link from your LMS, Teacher Website, or wherever. This means that when students click on it, it will open in the native YouTube app on their iOS device. 
Second, if you are not much of a techie, there are other ways to help your students gain access to your video content on their iOS device. The easiest route is to direct them to a Flash Browser in the App Store. There are several good ones for free and some great ones that cost a few dollars. A few that I have found to be good are:
Whichever route you take in making content available to your students, make sure you spend a few minutes at the beginning of the school year going over accessibility options. This will help prevent any obstacles your students have to accessing content and viewing it as homework. Good luck flipping your classroom!
Jul 23, 2012
Are Computer Labs Obsolete?
Today, I read the Point/Counterpoint discussion in ISTE's Learning and Leading journal. (http://www.iste-community.org/xn/detail/2280708:Topic:133086). The question posed was, "are computer labs obsolete?" In an age of iPads, PBL, and common core values, this is an important question. Some schools across the country are moving to a 1:1 computing initiative or BYOD movement, while others are forced by circumstance or economics to continue living in the computer lab age. As this is the case, I think this is an important question, but it also raises other questions.
Do we need to teach the way we have always taught?
Computer labs were seen for many years, as the solution to provide computer access to students. They allowed students to access the internet, or allowed them to learn and utilize word processing, presentation, and database software. Many schools rely on these labs to teach keyboarding skills or to provide space for researching term papers or projects. But the difficulty became scheduling the lab so that each teacher could have access. They were a great thing in their day, but they are starting to wear with age.
So is there a place for keyboarding and basic computing skills? Yes, but not in the secondary schools as much as it used to be. These are skills that children should be introduced to at a younger age. By the time a child reaches middle school or high school, they should be well versed in the use of these tools as well as many others out there. As well, we should be teaching them less about the tool and more about the philosophy of what it means to be digitally literate and responsible. We should teach students less about software and more about the ability to determine the suitability of the tool for the situation or project. It seems we have gotten into the habit of using technology for the sake of having technology.
Do we need to spend money on new programs without cutting budgets on old programs? Do we need to explore a BYOD policy?
Today, as grant dollars flow into schools and as budgets may allow, tablets and carts are making their way into classrooms while students carry around cell phones that are the equivalent of a computing device. Are we foolishly spending money on equipment and labs while we should be changing our policies to allow students to use these devices? The argument to that last statement often comes in the form of "not all children have access to such devices". While that may be true, we do not necessarily have to provide a computer/mobile device to each child in the district. We could provide enough to allow for those students who do not have access.
While it can be argued that we do still need to teach kids how to use technology, it can also be argued that we throw dollars away on each new technology while we continue to spend dollars in other areas. If we are going to pursue the use of tablets in schools, we should scale back spending on computer labs. Mobility of tablets, laptops, and carts means the lab can be used in other ways - classroom space, commons areas, etc.... As well, we need to determine where dollars can be cut in other areas. If an increased focus on mobile devices means we move away from computer labs in the upper grades, then fewer dollars could be spent on textbooks. And if schools opened up WiFi, then students could load textbooks on their mobile devices, while classrooms reduced spending to providing 1 classroom set of books instead of 1 book per child.
What can the portable classroom and mobile devices do for classroom pedagogy?
If we were to move away from the computer lab design which can be seen as a once or twice a semester trip down the hall to do a project, we could allow for more interaction and discussion in the classroom as students are able to pull up information on the fly. With mobile devices in the classroom, students can answer those spur of the moment questions without having the teacher say, "let me get back to you on that" or "lets go to the computer lab next week and look at that".
I don't claim to know everything, but it seems that we are definitely living in an age where we look to the future while continuing to pay for the past. As a shift in thinking occurs regarding classroom instruction, maybe a shift in spending and infrastructure need to come at the same time. It takes baby steps for some schools, but it needs to occur. If you can't make change occur rapidly, then be the change agent in your school by bringing up these discussions often.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Do we need to teach the way we have always taught?
Computer labs were seen for many years, as the solution to provide computer access to students. They allowed students to access the internet, or allowed them to learn and utilize word processing, presentation, and database software. Many schools rely on these labs to teach keyboarding skills or to provide space for researching term papers or projects. But the difficulty became scheduling the lab so that each teacher could have access. They were a great thing in their day, but they are starting to wear with age.
So is there a place for keyboarding and basic computing skills? Yes, but not in the secondary schools as much as it used to be. These are skills that children should be introduced to at a younger age. By the time a child reaches middle school or high school, they should be well versed in the use of these tools as well as many others out there. As well, we should be teaching them less about the tool and more about the philosophy of what it means to be digitally literate and responsible. We should teach students less about software and more about the ability to determine the suitability of the tool for the situation or project. It seems we have gotten into the habit of using technology for the sake of having technology.
Do we need to spend money on new programs without cutting budgets on old programs? Do we need to explore a BYOD policy?
Today, as grant dollars flow into schools and as budgets may allow, tablets and carts are making their way into classrooms while students carry around cell phones that are the equivalent of a computing device. Are we foolishly spending money on equipment and labs while we should be changing our policies to allow students to use these devices? The argument to that last statement often comes in the form of "not all children have access to such devices". While that may be true, we do not necessarily have to provide a computer/mobile device to each child in the district. We could provide enough to allow for those students who do not have access.
While it can be argued that we do still need to teach kids how to use technology, it can also be argued that we throw dollars away on each new technology while we continue to spend dollars in other areas. If we are going to pursue the use of tablets in schools, we should scale back spending on computer labs. Mobility of tablets, laptops, and carts means the lab can be used in other ways - classroom space, commons areas, etc.... As well, we need to determine where dollars can be cut in other areas. If an increased focus on mobile devices means we move away from computer labs in the upper grades, then fewer dollars could be spent on textbooks. And if schools opened up WiFi, then students could load textbooks on their mobile devices, while classrooms reduced spending to providing 1 classroom set of books instead of 1 book per child.
What can the portable classroom and mobile devices do for classroom pedagogy?
If we were to move away from the computer lab design which can be seen as a once or twice a semester trip down the hall to do a project, we could allow for more interaction and discussion in the classroom as students are able to pull up information on the fly. With mobile devices in the classroom, students can answer those spur of the moment questions without having the teacher say, "let me get back to you on that" or "lets go to the computer lab next week and look at that".
I don't claim to know everything, but it seems that we are definitely living in an age where we look to the future while continuing to pay for the past. As a shift in thinking occurs regarding classroom instruction, maybe a shift in spending and infrastructure need to come at the same time. It takes baby steps for some schools, but it needs to occur. If you can't make change occur rapidly, then be the change agent in your school by bringing up these discussions often.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Jul 20, 2012
Adding annotations to YouTube videos
Found this tutorial on adding annotations to YouTube videos. Thought it might be helpful to those of you who are flipping your classroom by making your own videos and adding them to your tube channel.
http://bit.ly/O23xEB
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
http://bit.ly/O23xEB
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Jul 9, 2012
If Students Loved Learning
This is a repost of an article I wrote over a year ago on The Eighth Floor Ning. I think it lends itself to the current discussion on Flipping the Classroom since it discusses a change in traditional classroom teaching. I was recently asked if kids are watching video lectures as homework, what do I do with them during the class period in the day other than the same homework they would have done at night. In terms of the math classroom, this is one answer. . .
If students loved learning, what would it look like? Think back to the days when you were a high school student. Think of the classroom moments you remember the most. Why do you remember them? Was it because they involved some spectacular word problems? Was it because you remember writing some awesome lab procedures? Probably not. The moments you remember the most probably involved a teacher that helped you understand concepts in a way that was meaningful to you, and it most likely didn't involve rote memorization or unrealistic examples to get a point across.
I've been thinking about what those moments really reveal about learning and finding out the answers on our own. Most of these internal conversations were started by an article about Dan Meyer in Ed Week. Dan Meyer is a math teacher at San Lorenzo Valley High School in California. He has developed a wonderful approach to get students interested and involved in math. If you've never heard of him, watch the video below, read the article from Ed Week, or check out his blog. If students loved learning, it would look like this...
Hopefully watching him at work doesn't turn your stomach as you think about changing your teaching style. Instead, I hope you feel empowered to make learning more interesting and fun for your students. As I have analyzed my teaching style over the past few years, I have come to the realization that I don't teach they way I learn. If I were teaching an audience made up of 30 of "me", then I think my approach would be drastically different. Here's a thought...if you as a student would be bored with you, think about what you would change. Think about it.
If students loved learning, what would it look like? Think back to the days when you were a high school student. Think of the classroom moments you remember the most. Why do you remember them? Was it because they involved some spectacular word problems? Was it because you remember writing some awesome lab procedures? Probably not. The moments you remember the most probably involved a teacher that helped you understand concepts in a way that was meaningful to you, and it most likely didn't involve rote memorization or unrealistic examples to get a point across.
I've been thinking about what those moments really reveal about learning and finding out the answers on our own. Most of these internal conversations were started by an article about Dan Meyer in Ed Week. Dan Meyer is a math teacher at San Lorenzo Valley High School in California. He has developed a wonderful approach to get students interested and involved in math. If you've never heard of him, watch the video below, read the article from Ed Week, or check out his blog. If students loved learning, it would look like this...
Hopefully watching him at work doesn't turn your stomach as you think about changing your teaching style. Instead, I hope you feel empowered to make learning more interesting and fun for your students. As I have analyzed my teaching style over the past few years, I have come to the realization that I don't teach they way I learn. If I were teaching an audience made up of 30 of "me", then I think my approach would be drastically different. Here's a thought...if you as a student would be bored with you, think about what you would change. Think about it.
Jul 2, 2012
Nearpod - iPad Teacher App
@KleinErin tweeted about an app called Nearpod today. This app, available for FREE in Student and Teacher versions, allows a teacher to push a presentation from their iPad to a group of student ipads with the Nearpod app installed on them.
This is something I have been waiting for for a very long time; an app that would allow the ability to share, collaborate, and poll students across the iOS platform.
Best of all, there is nothing that you need to buy. As long as you have the iPads and a wifi connection, you can use this app. All the teacher needs to do is provide their students with an access PIN that allows them to view what the teacher is presenting.
The first time I logged in, I noticed there was a "store" button. I figured it would be full of paid presentations that they wanted you to buy. But so far, the store provides a pretty good mix of free presentations (NPP Format) for download.
I also noticed that there is no button to create your own presentations. But if you visit their website, you can upgrade to the Silver edition for free. This license allows you 200MB of storage. There is a School Site License that will be coming soon.
The only drawback to using this app is that once you upgrade to the Silver Edition, you can create your own presenations but to do so you must login to the Nearpod site; you do not have the ability to create them directly from the iPad app. However, this is a small obstacle to overcome. Once you login from your PC or Mac and create your NPP Presentations, they are stored on Nearpod's site (remember you get 200MB free). I don't know how long the free upgrade will last, so you might want to check it out as soon as possible.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
This is something I have been waiting for for a very long time; an app that would allow the ability to share, collaborate, and poll students across the iOS platform.
Best of all, there is nothing that you need to buy. As long as you have the iPads and a wifi connection, you can use this app. All the teacher needs to do is provide their students with an access PIN that allows them to view what the teacher is presenting.
The first time I logged in, I noticed there was a "store" button. I figured it would be full of paid presentations that they wanted you to buy. But so far, the store provides a pretty good mix of free presentations (NPP Format) for download.
I also noticed that there is no button to create your own presentations. But if you visit their website, you can upgrade to the Silver edition for free. This license allows you 200MB of storage. There is a School Site License that will be coming soon.
The only drawback to using this app is that once you upgrade to the Silver Edition, you can create your own presenations but to do so you must login to the Nearpod site; you do not have the ability to create them directly from the iPad app. However, this is a small obstacle to overcome. Once you login from your PC or Mac and create your NPP Presentations, they are stored on Nearpod's site (remember you get 200MB free). I don't know how long the free upgrade will last, so you might want to check it out as soon as possible.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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