Vrtis' Blog

PLC and the DLC

2009-11-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

Our school started this year with PLC's (Professional Learning Communities), this is closely related to the DLC's (Dynamic Learning Communities) from our reading this week. We are one fourth of the way through the year with the PLC's and this article helped my understanding about what my school is attempting to establish and the problems that my PLC is encountering.

In our PLC's it has taken us a while to become comfortable with the idea of shared control. We are used to having meetings where someone is in control of a meeting. Distributed control has worked better the more times we meet, but was tough initially. We have good dialogue and are flexible, but our main problem has been focus. The lack of central control is something we have left is needed. While this is listed as a possible negative outcome, I think it could be alleviated with a few check in points during the year. The PLC is a different way of decision making for our school, and without proper training we seem to be at a loss.

I agree that instruction has a negative connotation, but I do not think that it is deserved. While a learning community establishes growth of all individuals it does not match how schools are assessed. With a learning community freedom of curriculum needs to be given to let the class go where the path takes them. The teacher does have some control over the path, but with the shared responsibility of every learner, if the consensus is to explore areas not on the curriculum freedom needs to be given. The problem I always run into when looking at varied instruction is evaluation of schools. Current standardized tests do not allow for creative and free form thinking. If test were constructed in a format similar to the AP exams, where students are asked to be creative and supportive in their responses, then the measurement would work with a DLC format. If students were assessed by their individual growth for the year, as apposed to how well the scored compared to national norms, then DLC’s would be given the necessary freedom.

Media

2009-11-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

I found it interesting that this article was the week of the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. That was the show that started to shirt the focus of children's television and is one of the most successful children's programs. This show brought about the idea of having programming for children that was both entertaining and educational. I thought the point of the value of the media was important. If kids receive very little educational influence at home, then television can have some positive impact. I wonder if the connection between socio-economic level and television impact is more of an influence of how often them parents have the ability to educate their rather than the quality of educational programming.

I thought the section on cognitive skills was interesting when looking at the driver's education program at our school. The fact that video games can improve visual tracking is similar to what we had in our school's simulator program in driver's ed. However, our simulator system was antiquated, but still helped with the visual spatial skills. It gave students the ability to feel comfortable with the speed and motion of driving, while not requiring them to be on the road. However the State of Illinois no longer recognizes simulator as part of the requirements, so the program has been lost from our curriculum. Personally, I think and updated system could still benefit our students and provide them with the experience and familiarity of driving without the risk of putting them on the road without practice.

Laptops for all

2009-11-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

I found this week’s article very interesting. Our school has been tackling similar issues with a variety of results. We have slowly been integrating tablets into the hands of instructors. We started with a small pilot program of 25 teachers and now have about 150 teachers with tablets. All of our math and science teachers have a tablet and we are slowly incorporating into other departments. The unfamiliarity with new technology experience by staff members is an issue that we still encounter. As a technology coach one of my roles is too help with the transition.

We are slowly approaching laptops in the hands of our students. One of our middle schools has started a program where all students currently have a laptop. These students will be freshman next year, and we had a meeting today to discuss how this could potentially change how we do things at the high school.

I was especially interested in the mathematics teacher, for obvious reasons. It was interesting to see that initially the laptops were used only a few times, and as a reference tool. As the involvement of the technology increased in class, the lessons became more constructionist. The lessons were much more interesting, and closer aligned to the national mathematics standards. The issue that then became a problem was assessment. The assessments became more subjective, that is a difficult transition for a mathematics teacher. It did seem to work. I look forward to the challenges I will encounter when my students start showing up with their own technologies.

Advanced Distributed Learning

2009-10-26T17:59:00.001-07:00

I have seen a few examples of the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) in a few of our programs at school. I feel that ADL has been so effective in corporate setting because the system probably only is about a few topics at a time. If only one topic is cover, then a system of resources can be carefully organized and available in each trainer.

However when it is used in an educational setting, the ADL will get considerably more complicated. A complete curriculum will require a greater amount of resources. I do agree that real-time interaction is important when used in an educational setting. Our school uses two different ADL’s class.com, and Umbudsman. Class.com is similar to the example from academiccolab.com. Students have a few example videos, some resources websites to visit, online checks, and an assessment and the end of each lesson. These assessments are graded by a teacher at our school and then returned to the student. There very little real-time feedback for students, beside the online checks. An improvement would be an area where students could ask questions and receive instant feedback. Our second program, Umbudsman has greater support. Here students work through similar online trainers, but have subject supported instructors available onsite for support.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is developing standards for a more experiential form of mathematics. ADL’s could help with providing students with examples of how mathematics is used in real life settings. This would cause the roles to shift as mentioned. Students would have more responsibility for independent learning and the teachers will have to become a greater facilitator of information.

Politics of Curriculum

2009-10-21T19:01:00.000-07:00

The structures discussed have basis into our schools current system. The Reproduction Theory discussed developing "the types of personal demeanor, modes of self preservation, self-image, and social class identification that are crucial ingredients of job adequacy." Our schools attempt to prepare students for college and the working world. Through student interaction with peers they develop a sense of self image and in high school they develop their image of their personal expectations on a career. High school students have very little control of their academic direction until they attend college. High school has some freedom of electives. However, this is still only 2 classes a semester out of a total of 7 courses.

Teacher resistance has never been more evident than with No Child Left Behind. There is a mandate set at the national level with mathematically unrealistic expectations. The main forces of resistance are due to the lack of funding and expectation that all students will eventually be above average. A more realistic approach is to strive for all students to improve. Their improvement could be measured by a student’s own personal growth, rather than national standard. Even with the teacher resistance, NCLB had created a useful focus of all school subcategories.

The concept of "democratizing the curriculum" is an idea that can be very effective for schools. All stake holders should be involved in the curriculum process. This should include teachers, administrators and students. This would require a thoughtful conversation rather than a meeting to enforce state standards. All invested parties can bring their strengths. Administrators with their understanding of state assessment tools, educators with their knowledge of contents, and students with their input of ability to understand the material could bring forth a powerful partnership for change.

Assistive Technology and Universal Design

2009-10-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school I worked with a special education program through the local park district. It was an experience that has influenced my entire life as an educator. I worked in the sports program, specifically swimming and softball. The kids ranged in age from 5 to 15, and had a variety of either physically or developmental challenges. My group of friends worked to get a fully accessible playground in our town. Our initial presentation to the village board was not well received. We were told that, “Those kids don’t use our parks.” Our second presentation included 100 parents with the children that would use the park, and was better received. At the time, the park was state of the art. Now the park is very similar to any park renovation, with a universal design that children of all abilities can use.
As an educator, I have encountered a variety of assistive technology. Text books have been enlarged, digital textbooks incorporated, and the voice recognition software that Kim displayed last week was a great example of this adaptation. I think that some assistive technology can be modified for all students. Students are finding digital versions of their textbooks easier to use at home. The online modifications also includes and audio component where mathematical examples are explained verbally, in both English and Spanish. These adaptations work well for every student, but were rooted in assistive technology.
Our school had three major expansion programs and it was interesting to see where universal design was implemented and where it was missing. Our field house and theater had very little universal design. Each had handicap accessible entrances, but this is where the universal design stops. Neither area has seating that would be useful for students with physical challenges. Our theater has a dressing room and stage area that is not wheelchair accessible. Our pool has a much better level design and access. There is a zero depth access, a bulk head that can be adjusted in the pool and a chair that help raise and lower students into the pool. These changes in design can also be seen in the frequency of use. Our special needs students use the pool three times a week, while rarely enter the theater and field house.
Students have the right to have an equal opportunity. Assistive technology helps on an individual basis. Universal design has a wider reach for its benefits and will always exist in a project.

Promoting Teacher Learning

2009-09-30T15:24:00.001-07:00

I like the idea of using a teacher current content knowledge as a base to increase teacher learning. Often in development seminars not enough acknowledgement is given to the resources readily available. I think it is important to asses the strengths that teacher bring and then, develop new ideas.

Often teacher are not flexible in their teaching. Schedules are constantly changing due to assemblies, staff meetings, and a variety of other school events. With and increase in teacher learning, more thought could be giving to the variety of ideas available.

I enjoyed the pacing that this article provided. There was continued emphasis in support that this article provided. The continued supported that was suggested the article is important for teachers. The freedoms and flexibility that teachers are giving with this set up help with incorporation of new ideas into the classroom. Often new curriculum development ideas are seen as just summer workshops, or weekend conferences. The idea of continued support could make any type of staff development more effective.

I agree that educational materials should promote both student and teacher learning. At one conference I once heard that for good pedagogy teachers must really love their subject. This love of content can translate into how teachers are willing to learn more about their content area, and are willing to develop their ideas as the year progresses. Classrooms should to be controlled by the curriculum. Pacing and development should be dictated by the needs of the participants in the class. This includes both the teacher and the students.

Curriculum and Society

2009-09-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

This article talks about the rapid change in the world after the collapse of the Berlin Wall. I think the author would have to agree that here has been a great shift in the 2000's than what was even experienced during that time frame. The link between society and curriculum can be seen in just a few of the courses selections that students can enroll in at all educational levels. Environmental studies are included in more science classes than ever before. Chinese and Arabic are language courses and majors that are becoming more common. The entire field of information technology has grown due to a societal demand.

We have some courses that I think have more of a direct impact on societal influence. Our Humanities, Global Relations, Human Geography, and Contemporary Issues courses have all been created in the past 10 years in response to create a greater awareness among our students. The impact can also be seen in the activities in our school. Students have clubs dedicated to volunteerism, environmental issues, variety of ethnic clubs, and a club of students of a variety of sexual orientation. Since clubs are easier to start than create courses, I think the society impact can be seen much sooner than in the classroom.

I am not sure how many social traits affect the core subjects. In mathematics it tends to be a supplement. There is discussion of the multicultural heritage of mathematics. The Mayans, Egyptians, Chinese influences have how been added to theories of the Greeks, French, and English. The does display some of the increased globalization of curriculum, but is still a bit of a stretch.

Curriculum Integration

2009-09-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

Even though this article was written in 1979 I was surprised with the amount of reference it has to the current curriculum decisions at my school. We started a Humanities program last year. This program was the integration of reading, English, and history. The prior curriculum has three different sets of state standards. The humanities program is formed from the history curriculum and then modified to include and solve problems using reading and English. When looking at this curriculum I wonder if the result is greater than the sum of the parts. I would think that the measure of the result would be student performance. If that is true, then how do you measure that the result is greater? I don’t think that the state standards are modifiable enough to include these changes.
I think that the mathematics and physics discussion avoided the idea of letting the mathematics get a little messy. In an ideal situation physicals is modified in the set up to be the perfect scenario. These will always the mathematical computations to work perfectly. If the desire is to create a full integration, scenarios should allow for realistic conditions. This would cause more variable, matching the mathematics a little more difficult but not impossible.
True curriculum integration would take additional time. Curriculum needs to be flexible enough to allow for detours of exploration. Following an exact curriculum map would be difficult. I think effective curriculum integration would require multiple instructors who can work together as an effective team. These teams would need to have the knowledge of the integrated curriculums and the desire to explore the variety of ways those curriculums can affect each other. I think that concepts can be started in any disciple and explore in another.

TIE 536 Introduction

2009-09-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

It’s weird doing an introduction that will be read mostly by people who already know me. So I’ll get the basics done first and then so from there. I’ve been teaching mathematics for the past twelve years, and this is my tenth year at Lyons Township High School. I tend to enjoy teaching the lower levels of mathematics. I think it was due to my own difficulties in school. I was not recognized as dyslexic until I went into high school so I understand the struggles of students who just do not feel smart enough or they that they just don’t “get it.” I can still remember the high school teachers who gave me the confidence to believe I would be smart enough to make it in college. From my English teacher, Mr. Guzincki, who made me transfer to honors English my sophomore year, to Mr. Swann, my shop teacher, who said if I went and became an mechanic after high school he’d keep on kicking my ass till I went college. I remember their examples when I deal with my students.

Technology Integration is seamlessly incorporating multimedia and other innovated tools to enhance the teaching and learning of subject matter. I agree that this is the ideal definition of technology integration. In my own experience, it is never as seamless as one would prefer. However, the more technology integration used in class, the greater the amount in my bag of tricks. If the website does not work, which to the previously downloaded video. If the tablet does not work, go to the pc for the backup. It has been the paced integration of innovated tools and multimedia into class. I do think it is important to always pick up the pace and increase the involvement of students, by having a greater set of tools to use.

Going Past One Computer in Every Room

2008-06-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

I completely agree that the current state of computers in pour schools is largely inadequate. The dream of “a computer in every class,” is long out of date. A single classroom computer ends up being just a machine to cut down on bookkeeping tasks. It’s the grade book, attendance taker, and a way to communicate with administrators and parents through e-mail, but a single PC is not enough anymore. I can understand how educators feel the have enough access to do their job, but they have not have enough training or resources to go beyond Power Points, and YouTube clips.
The was to have computer in every class, then it was to set up computer labs, but schools need to be thinking beyond having a few specific areas set up for computer use and have a school that is has technology accessible to staff and student throughout the entire campus. It should be off in just a few rooms, having technology available as a one-to-one basis can help continue the integration and modernization of today’s schools.
Educators also need to be informed as to what is available. I have been fortunate enough to be on leading edge of many of school technological decisions, but our average classroom teacher has little input as to what program are available to staff. We are also limited to what is supplied by our textbook publishers. With software licensing so expensive, our school mostly will install what is freeware, of what is given to us. Many of our teachers do not have the time or resourses to search for things on their own. So it now becomes the responsibility of our tech teams to make decisions for our faculty.
With the increase technology in class it is important to look at the pedagogical implications. Technology does not cause teachers to tech differently, but it does increases the ability of things they can do in class. With this increase is resources, teachers need to be properly trained with what is available.
My school has been taking steady steps to improve the training of more staff. We started with two technology staff developers, one for either campus. They we added an additional one per campus when we had half the staff with tablets. Now with ¾ of the staff with tablets, we now have technology staff developers for each content area. We now run into the situation where we must properly train our trainers to work with our staff. We’ve taken slow and gradual steps, but we need to make sure to maintain focus and also reflect upon what our goals are for technology in our class.
I know I've been fortunate enough to work in a school where the cost of technology is not usually a hindrance. In other schools where financial decisions are made with grants and donations, it is difficult to make progress with increased classroom technology. I ran into this with my $2,000 tech classroom. You make decisions on what is available to get you your biggest bang for your buck. I did have the tough of leasing much of the equipment I was proposing, but then you run into the problem of what if it's not in the budget for next year. However, if you can establish a school's infrastructure you may be able to better budget and lease equipment for future years.

Tablets vs. Whiteboards

2008-05-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Three years ago our school hired a new Director of Technology. Part of this new position, include a mission of the integration of additional technology in the classroom. I was a part of the team of teacher involved with deciding which direction of school would take, tablets or interactive whiteboards.

Both tools can assist teachers in creating interactive lessons. There could an increase in active learning and a greater emphasis on creating a lesson together. Both tools allow for integration of a variety of software programs, the use of color for emphasis, the ability to change handwriting to text, greater digital imagery, along with a variety of additional applications. The ability to demonstrate concepts through digital videos, website, and audio are all increased with the use of these machines.

So then there was the choice, tablet or interactive whiteboard. The factors that led to the choice of the tablet were the portability, flexible set up for classrooms, classroom discipline, and student use. With the tablet, we only needed a projector in every classroom, as opposed to a whiteboard. While our teachers profiles exist anywhere in the school. The use of the tablet allowed staff to take their machine home, and work on activities and lessons while not having to stay at school and work on PC’s set up for the whiteboards. Meanwhile, we also have the flexibility of providing teachers with tablets of laptops. Both machines will work with our projectors and will 300+ projectors in our schools the tablets were a cost effective solution. The tablet also removes all barriers to being stuck at the front of the class. With the tablet teachers are able to walk around their classroom constantly and not be tethered to any board in the front of the class. The mobility allows for more informal classroom discipline. Teachers are able to stand next to kids who are talking without having to directly discipline, them message to quite down is sent.

While I’m happy about our decision to go with the tablets, the whiteboard have greater flexibility in their programs. The programs on most of the whiteboard that can be used for basic note taking have many more options than the current programs for tablets. Whiteboard have times, flashcards, randomizers, recorders, and measurement tools all built right into their programs. With the tablets we have been piecing many of thing things together through three or four different applications. As the availability of tablet software increases the gap is getting smaller. Hopefully the flexibility of the tablet will eventually match the variety of the whiteboard.

Technology Staff Developement Team

2008-05-15T17:17:00.001-07:00

As a technology staff developer I’ve had quite a few encounters with staff unwilling to attempt to use technology in their class, grading programs, and parent portals. Some of the change if forced on staff, when our school required all staff to use the same grading program and the posting of grades to our parent portal website, we had training sessions throughout a two year period. Some staff picked up on the program right away, other required almost a two year hand holding period. It is ironic that now our new staff gets a two hour training session, and that’s all they need. Meanwhile we still do not have staff using our parent portals.
Much of what we do in our Integrated Technology Program reduces staff anxiety about using technology in their class. We now have staff developers in each of the major content areas. Our program keeps teacher in our classrooms, while also helping teachers integrate technology in their class. Some of our staff we work on using e-mails, and cleaning up digital folders. These are the staff members that need a bit gentler of a hand.
Our director of curriculum would like to have our program follow a coaching model, but we have not had much training as to what is the role of the technology coach. Our job is not to evaluate, but to encourage. Word of mouth is one our most effective ways of encouraging people to come into one of two staff development labs. The recent push has been to get digital versions of old analog videos.
Our main focus has been in all of our train sessions either individually or as groups, to always give our staff something they can use in their class. Our Technology Staff Team has grown from two members, to how a group of 10. I’m encouraged by this article that much of what we have been doing are things suggested. Our team's next step in staff development is to encourage our staff to explore and push the limits of what they do in their classrooms.

Teaching with technology

2008-05-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

I my summative evaluation with my division chair yesterday we talked about my two year development plan. I am part of a team of teachers who are working to integrate the use of technology in our classrooms. It’s been two years since we started our plan and I cannot believe how fast and far we’ve grown. In out Algebra classes we are using TI-Interactive, that links all of our students graphing calculators to a collaborative group analysis of graphing or statistics. We’ve used Geometry Sketchpad as an exploration tool for just about every unit. Digital and web copies of the text book, along with One-Note, and Journal, are all programs found in daily lessons. However, all of this seems second nature now. Things I need to run my class are so varied than what I needed three years ago. The projector and tablet are used almost every lesson, switching between, note, web demos, work students, and digital images are all part of my lessons.
My lessons with the tablets have shifted the style in which I present materials. I now hand the tablet off at the start of class, and tell students to sketch a geometric shape, or find and insert an image they can find on line. We’re doing much more exploring.
However, with all of this technology is just a tool. It assists me in my teaching, but I don’t teach the technology. I can do things more efficiently with the technology available.
My hope is to have classroom sets of tablets to have in my classroom, with the eventual hopes of having every student with at tablet in the school, and electronic versions of their texts. As an educator, I hope to learn how to create more digital resources for my students to use in the class, and outside of class for review and reinforcement.