Information Watchers

I found this to be among the most interesting books we read, along with Sabertooth Curriculum and Victorian Internet. The author says we’ve been overwhelmed with not just information but poor quality information. Like consuming excess poor quality food, consuming so much poor quality information can have negative health effects.  The author suggests several ways that people can increase the quality of information and lessen the amount of information we intake.

With the age of self publishing, anyone can put their thoughts out for everyone to see… and it turns out that not everyone has something worth saying.  Worse than that, some people will intentionally put out misinformation to promote their cause. In this world, we need our students to be able to assess information for its quality.  We also need students to be able to step away from the constant stream of information so that they can live balanced healthy lives.

Over the weekend, I’ve tried to implement some changes in the way I consume data. Typically, I listen to NPR whenever I am in the car. I’ve already switched to only listening to it on the way to and from work and listening to music the other times. I don’t see this as having a negative effect on being informed of events, as the commute times are their big news hours and will have all the important stories, it just means I’m getting the headlines instead of being flooded in details.

I’ve also reevaluated my Facebook feed. I attempted to “localize” it by removing any politician or organization from out of the DC region with a few exceptions. I’ve excluded groups that are close to my life such as educational pages, being a teacher, and gun control groups, having had people close to me affected by gun violence.

You're a designer! You're a designer! EVERYONE'S A DESIGNER!

Not only are teachers designers, students are too.  We can empower them as designers by giving them voice in assignments.  By allowing students to create they take pride in their work.  With imagination, students are going to learn more and be more actively engaged in tasks. And by making these tasks interdisciplinary we make them more related to real life and help students make lasting connections.

This means that students learn best not by filling out worksheets but by making stuff! And by stuff I don’t just mean towers and bridges but anything. Pamphlets, posters, presentations, letters and of course… towers and bridges…

I have always tried to allow my students to make things rather than just do worksheets but I know I’m on the journey and not at the destination. I look forward to including more well designed activities that allow students to design and create.

Welcome to... The Price Is Right!

Affordance analysis is used to evaluate technology. By looking at what a technology CAN do and what a teacher NEEDS affordances can be created… however, certain technologies are going to be a better fit than others.

If teachers follow this, they can use the technology they have effectively. More importantly, it can be used to evaluate possible NEW technologies that a teacher or school might wish to invest in to determine if it’s a worthy investment… or merely a new educational gimmick.

I’ve already seen this affecting my practice. On Friday, I recommended both Ozobots and Osmo for our school STEM lab to teach basic training.  We’ve added them to the list of products we want for the STEM lab as this is our first year and we’re still setting it up.

I’ve also thought more about the tech I already use, switching from Google Forms to an open ended discussion question on Google Classroom for science homework. Also it’s caused me to think more deeply about what technology I want to use for upcoming projects.

Technology: Boon to society or uncontrollable menace?

I was fascinated by The Victorian Internet but even more so by The Day the Universe Changed (even though its title might be a little overblown for the current impact of the little blue marble in the universe). Because of this, I have decided I want to talk about both of them! Both of these were stories of new technology that facilitated, and dramatically increased the distance of, communication. As such they had both intended and unintended consequences.

This means that when new technologies come about, we need to be prepared both for the expected (increased globalization, interconnectedness, etc) as well as the unexpected (illicit use, profiteering, etc).  We saw this in both the technologies described but we also see it in current innovations such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Facetime.

For us as teachers, it means that we must be aware of the ways technology can be misused. For example, students misusing Google Apps email or comment feature to discuss inappropriate things or harass other students. But this doesn’t mean we should be fearful of new technology though as consequences can also be positive such as increasing collaboration and allowing students to continue to be a part of the classroom community even when they can’t be there physically.

For example, I had a student move to Germany during the middle of our big end of the year project (that literally takes all of 3rd and 4th quarter Social Studies and most of our Language Arts time too). He was able to use Google Apps and Facetime to continue with the project, not because he had to (as he was no longer subject to a grade) but because he was engaged with it and wanted to continue working with his group.

It's Time To Play!

Hooray! I was dismayed when we read Sabertooth Curriculum and New-Fist saw the children playing and said that they were wasting time and could be put to better use. So much so that I cried aloud. Therefore, I was obviously overjoyed that Vygotsky understands that play is learning!

Even though I was already a firm believer that the power of play, my feelings have been reinforced by the reading we did. Even the youngest children are learning when they play. Learning the rules of the world around them and then learning how to exploit those rules.  As students age they learn the rules of society around them through play and again, learn how these rules can be used to their advantage.

Vygotsky also talks about the Zone of Proximal Development. This means that students cannot miss the opportunity to read, or write, or learn mathematical concepts. It does mean though that students may not all be ready to learn a concept at the same time.  This is why some students don’t get rounding in 2nd grade… or 3rd grade… or 4th grade… but suddenly in 5th grade it makes sense. They were finally in a place where they were ready for the information.  This is in stark contrast to Piaget’s view that students were ready for certain activities at a certain age.

As teachers, we need to make sure that our lessons allow for play. This doesn’t mean that we need to get out the Recess equipment for every lesson, but rather that learning should engage students imaginations and allow them to work together in a playful manner. And ultimately this play needs to mimic real life, otherwise the benefit is lost.