Run Test

http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/102223981

Classroom Presentations

1. What were some of the best things you saw during the presentations?  Why did you like them?  What were the most effective teaching strategies you witnessed?

I thought Sara’s improvisation of the Middle English when her video didn’t load was easily the best aspect I witnessed out of all the presentations: she remained calm in spite of the malfunction and showed an obvious command of the content.  I thought Cassie, Tim, Marc, and Roger all did a very good job of using their Prezis to support their presentations.  The videos and slides (stops) they had we only a portion of the overall presentation and the things they discussed were related to their stops but not redundant.  They showed great enthusiasm for their topics and were able to expand on the basics presented at the stops.  Marc in particular showed his passion (although a bit overwhelming considering how destructive they are) for tornados.  I thought as usual Cassie did a great job of roaming around the classroom and engaging the students.

2. What were the least engaging/helpful things you saw during the presentations? Why were they not effective?  What could any specific student do to improve?  [Please be honest here without being mean.  This is for critical feedback to help others improve.] 

One thing that the Prezis, and Powerpoints, do is focus the teacher’s attention on the board instead of the classroom.  This is where preperation and practice is key, when you know what is on the board and can expand on it while addressing the class, not the board.  I thought Jerry, and to some extent myself, had text on our stops that we simply read.  This is what I have been taught not to do on Powerpoints.  In my case, the text was typically the topic idea (which is fine) or the formulas.  The formulas need to be written out but Prezi does not do a good job of them due to issues with sub and super-scripts.  I could have used the smart board feature to write in the actual formulas.  If you have text you need to present, like Paula taught us, have the students read it.  Ryan also had the issue of videos not loading.  I don’t know the best solution to this problem.  He couldn’t simply improvise like Sara did and have the same effect that the videos did.    

3. After viewing everyone else's presentations, how would you improve your own (both how you presented and the project you made) the next time you were to give this presentation? 

Like I briefly touched on, I would try to write in the formulas as I went along instead of having that text on the stop.  This would give the students some time to catch up and write along with me.  The issue of advancing  stops in the full screen mode was a bit of a challenge with the mouse.  I thought Cassie did the best job of roaming and using the technology as best as she could.  I think roaming can help keep kids engaged and provide the teacher with the opportunity to control trouble making students better.  In general, I wish I was better prepared so I could talk more eloquently about each stop while addressing the class, not the board.

4. Do you like using PowerPoint/Prezi/SmartBoard as a lesson presenter?  What are the pros/cons of using it?  How might you use it with students?  Could you go back to Friday, would you have tried a different one than what you chose?

I do like using it.  The main pro I see is that it can engage students of a variety of learning styles: visual, auditory, and possibly kinesthetic if used correctly.  Putting together the actual presentation can take a significant amount of time, but once it is done and presented you can take feedback from your students, or personal reflection, and quickly improve it for use next time.  I think being able to show videos that tie the basics of a lesson into the student’s lives will increase the likelihood that they will become invested in the material.

As I mentioned in #2, sometimes the presentation can become the entire focus of the lecture and can stifle interaction between the teacher and students, and amongst students.  Having a well practiced presentation can allow the teacher to be more engaging but it can limit the free flow of ideas in a class (less so in Prezi).  If I went again Friday I think I would stick with Prezi but like I previous stated, I would also incorporate the SmartBoard into it.  By writing on the SmartBoard instead of the white board I could potentially save my drawings and share them with the class for future use.

5. After this project, what do you believe is the best way to deliver lecture material (no electronics is an option)?  How often do you think you will utilize an electronic presentation method to deliver your content and what might you use instead/in addition to?  Why do you think you will present material that way?

I’ll take the easy way out and say it depends on the topic.  However, if at all possibly I would try to incorporate some method of differentiation to the different learning styles.  Prezi seems to be able to do this quite well and allows for a semi-structured lecture format.  I am guessing I will use a Prezi type presentation twice a week in my classes, maybe more if the material is asking for demonstrations.  Simply showing YouTube clips is a way that we have done in the past also.

The method that I have learned thus far in the MAT program that I have seen the most potential for in math is jig sawing.  I was unfamiliar with it prior to the program but can see that it is very engaging for the students and can promote a strong sense of community.  In jig sawing the stronger students may be able to help me teach the weaker students, and at the same time reinforcing their own knowledge of the material.   

Social Networking and Cyber-Bullying

1)  I think that we should attempt to integrate technology into the classroom when it is beneficial, and as such, believe that the advantages outweigh the potential issues.  We all have heard that statistically, 16 year old boys are the worst drivers.  Just because we know this we don’t prevent them from driving.  In recent years states (Washington is the only one I know for sure) have started giving young drivers provisional licenses to ease them into being on the road.  This seems to me that this is what we need to do with social networking: by creating a more structured, controlled, and hopefully safe environment, we as teachers can hopefully help students develop into responsible users of social networking.

By denying the students access to social networking in class all together seems to be trying to gain control and turn back the clocks to a simpler time.  The way young people communicate today is much different than how I communicated in high school, and it sure as heck is different than when our parents were in school.  Prensky succinctly makes this point in Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants when he writes, “Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.”  I posed one of my questions in the group discussion today if we should deal with social networking issues proactively or use them as teaching moments once they develop.  Cassie gave a resounding, “proactive!” response and I would agree with her.  By proactively addressing issues that are sure to come up hopefully we can minimize some of the issues.  I did find today’s Twitter lesson very surprising: I had felt confident in labeling myself as a digital native but now find myself not so sure.  In Prensky’s Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, he claims “today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors.”Before today’s lesson I thought I was able to process information in the “different” way.

2)  The first thing I did when I got home from school today was to change my Facebook settings to follow those specified in “Facebook and the Classroom.”  We touched on the thing that really makes me in our group discussion when we talked about students manipulating images or files to make other students or teachers appear as if they have done something wrong.  We really couldn’t come up with a solution to this problem besides hiring a technical forensics expert.  Besides changing my Facebook settings, I also plan on creating a new “Teacher Andy” profile that I will use to interact with students.  This will be a much blander and boiled down version of me.  I think asking for parents’ permission is also a must.  I think including parents as much as possible in the educational process is vital, so the possibility of including them in social networking should definitely be capitalized on.  The new Google+ social networking site has “circles” that allow you to easily share things with only specific users.  Facebook has a similar method of specifically identifying what and to whom information is shared, but up until now I have had little use for it.

        I don’t see that teachers are held to higher standard, engineers (my former profession) are held to higher standards.  One issue that I had with engineering was that not only was my company liable for design errors, but I could be found personally liable for errors.  The thought of having to pay huge amounts of money because of a miscalculation weighed heavily on me.  Doctors have a similar standard but they have insurance for it.  Lawyers don't have to pay their clients money if they are found to be guilty because they made a mistake during the trial.  Teachers aren’t fined or directly disciplined if one of their teaching strategies doesn’t work or if a student does not meet the state standards, so in my view I have been liberated going into teaching.  As far as discipline for items you post on social networking sites like Natalie Munroe did, I see no problem in her being fired.  The idea shifts more towards a gray area when the nude photos mentioned in “Have You Googled Your Teacher Lately,” by Heather Carter are brought up.  In our society we have to realize we have to be respectful of extreme desire to shelter children by some parents.  It is always better to error on the side of caution when deciding if you should post questionable material.  The one problem that social networking sites do is they provide us with a means to “say” things without filter: Anu Prabhakara saying, “"When the [expletive], did parents decide that their kids are not responsible for anything they do?," also in “Have You Googled Your Teacher Lately,”  This type of comment seems inappropriate for even bar room banter between your colleagues let alone to be broadcast on the internet.

3)       I think cyber-bullying is extremely important because it can go on undetected in the “back allies” of Facebook and other social networking sites and because the damage it causes can go unnoticed to outside observers (teachers).  The bullying and hazing I dealt with as a kid tended to be more physical than emotional and was therefore much more visible (both literally and figuratively).  Being dumped in a garbage can by a senor seems harmless when compared to stories of students creating Facebook pages for the sole purpose of belittling and demeaning a fellow student.  As Principal Orsini says in the same New York Times article, “How does a 13-year-old girl recover her sexual self-esteem after reading that garbage?” in a whisper.  Physical wounds typically heal rapidly but emotional issues can scare a student for life.

Examples such as the texts the 6th girl received from her ex-boyfriends phone described in the New York Times article “Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray,” show just how mean spirited and vengeful kids can sometimes be and also how poor they are at properly communicating their feelings. In another part of the article a group of girls was talking in the hall, “We had so many fights in seventh grade,” one girl said. “None of them were face-to-face. We were too afraid. Besides, it’s easier to say ‘sorry’ over a text.”  Another concurred. “It’s easier to fight online, because you feel more brave and in control,” she said. “On Facebook, you can be as mean as you want.”  We need to proactively teach our students how to debate and disagree in a respectful manner.  We need to build a sense of community in our classrooms; the sense of community I felt during my education, and particularly my high school career, is the main reason I am in this program.  I loved being at school.  I loved my friends, my teachers, my classes and coaches.  We need to make every effort to promote this same warm feeling in our students. 

In the same article Elizabeth Englander does not believe that there should be automatic discipline for cyberbullies, “We tend to think that if there’s no discipline, there’s no reaction,” she said. “But discipline should never be the only thing we consider in these cases. There are many things we can do with children first to guide and teach them about behavior and expectations.”  Previous to readying the entire article I had thought that bullying and fights between students that take place outside of school should be punished outside of school.  I then started thinking about our responsibility as teachers to be mandatory reporters of abuse.  Doesn’t this force schools to become involved in the punishment cyber-bullying?  Examples of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse detailed in our Mandatory Reporter test all took place outside of school; how is off-campus bullying and cyber-bullying different?

Digital Natives

Q: Do you consider yourself a digital native, immigrant, or even an alien? Why

A: I would consider myself a digital native and someone who tries to continually foster this fact: I enjoy reading blogs and articles about new and updated technology and ways to improve processes.  My dad has described me as a great, “consumer,” and I would totally agree.  I always want the newest shiniest toy; be it a bike, phone, or car.  Going back to school to become a teacher is a sure fire way to guarantee myself they large salary I’ll need to support my shopping desires.

Q: What experiences have you had with technology in the classroom either as a teacher or learner?  Compare high school technology to college technology.  Did it improve your learning experience?

A: Growing up I had wanted to be a basketball shoe designer for Nike.  During my junior year of high school I came across a problem: I couldn’t draw.  I ended up enrolling in my school’s drafting class and used CAD to compensate for my inability to draw even a straight line.  I had a great drafting teacher and we had access to great programs I never saw in college (architecture and 3-d animating programs).  I took two years of drafting in high school and was able to test out of my drafting class in college.  I was surprised how little technology was offered to us in college: the Microsoft suite of programs, Mathcad, and Autocad were the only programs I used.

My big take away from my drafting lesson was that technology can sometimes fill a void in an individual’s skill set.  My senior year I had to take a basic drawing class and not only was I unable to draw, I lacked the creativity necessary to excel in the class.  Technology can help with skill deficiencies but is not as well suited at making up for a lack of an innate ability such as creativity.

Q: Has this article changed your mind about the use of technology in your future classroom?  How might you incorporate it?  What reluctance may you still have?

A: I had already been excited by the idea of using technology in the classroom.  My initial apprehension was in the fact that I didn’t know how accessible the technology would be to my classroom.  Hearing it will likely be available, and if not there are ways to go about obtaining it, was very exciting.

Prensky presented several examples of digital native lingo: “Www.hungry.com” and “Every time I go to school I have to power down.”  Being able to keep up with the ever changing student lingo seems less important to me than with the actual technological interfaces the students use.  While there will assuredly be significant overlap in knowing the lingo through becoming proficient in the technology, I don’t think it is a requisite of being an effective instructor.  From our previous group discussions in classes, effective teachers make the teaching process personal.  I don’t think a good teacher needs to understand today (and tomorrow’s) student’s “slang, clothes, body adornments, or styles,” but we do need to appreciate their individuality and keep an open mind to their forms of expression. 

My reluctance to use technology is two-fold: not everything in life will be a game and there will be an initial investment of time and money to get the technology to be effective.  I can see that teaching through video games could be an effective means of teaching, but at some point we have to allow students to see that the real world in which they will be working will not always be a game.  Sometimes you have to learn things and apply knowledge in very dry formats.  As a civil engineer I would sometimes get stuck doing monotonous tasks in the lab or running settlement analysis for hundreds of borings.  Teacher will likely need to make a very significant personal commitment to using technology in the classroom, particularly digital immigrants.  Prensky claims lesson planning it “took them twice as long as we had expected” when using technology.  However, once this investment is made, the teaching can be more effective and will be able to be improved with less effort, basically the wheel does not have to be re-invented, but only reshaped a bit.    

Introduction

A bit about me:
My name is Andy George, or Jorge, or Georgie, or Mr. George
I was/am a Geotechnical Engineer and graduated from Gonzaga in 2005 with a B.S in Civil Engineering and from Oregon State in 2007 with an M.Eng in Civil Engineering.
My Endorsement is Advanced Mathematics and hopefully will be adding Physics also.
My Favorite Food is really anything I don't have to cook (no mushrooms)
I just finished my first Ironman!

I'm somewhere in that mix of 2700 people

I hiccup ALOT.
My Favorite animal is a flying squirel because they can fly and climb trees, and are amazingly cute!