Texting for teaching?

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100426/NEWS/100429736

In several of our course discussion forums through PODetc lately, educators have been discussing what do to about texting! I have some associates who text their students on a regular basis but I have not yet tried to incorporate the practice as opposed to fighting its use. The above article is one example of a teacher using it to teach poetry with a measurable improvement in test scores. So what are some ways we could use it? Here are my thoughts:
For the group of students in my advisory -

• texting reminders of meetings, important events
• sending important updates on grades (not sure about privacy here)

For my classes -

• homework reminders - but it is already posted on a webpage so this might be too much
• word of the day
• puzzle of the day
• identify an interesting picture (if all phones receive images) - for science
• "chat" about a particular science topic
• identify main idea from a passage

These are a few thoughts but I have done nothing in terms of actually considering implementation. Send me some of your ideas on how you could use texting in your educational practice.

Do we deliver or facilitate learning?

Look at this article - http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/04/07/the-changing-role-of-instructors-moving-from-facilitation-to-constructive-partnerships.aspx

Is what we are teaching information? Or are we teaching how to learn and be "life-long" learners. Isn't it actually more challenging to facilitate learning than it is to merely deliver content? I would argue that it might be a step in the right direction if we can focus on teaching students how to effectively, ethically, authentically, creatively,.....access and use information that is out there than it is to teach course content. The flip side of it is that with technology there is access to so much information that teachers will always be relevant to help students learn to filter and validate what is there. I think with technology our jobs are becoming more critical and essential to the success of the learner but it will take a paradigm shift to understand how our new roles will shape up!

I'd like to hear your comments on this article and this shift in our role as educators.

STEM

PODetc is currently conducting a STEM class and it always provides time for me to reflect on my own practice. I started as a science teacher and continue in the classroom after some 20 years although I have mixed some administrative jobs in there at different times. Most of the participants in our PODetc Focus on STEM class are science educators, but we generally come to the same consensus that STEM is not just about science and math and technology!

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math but what it really is about is focusing on critical thinking and problem solving skills in an authentic environment. Regardless of whether a student will pursue a career in one or more of these areas, you cannot live in our 21st century world without interacting with one or more of these areas. This course gives us a chance to look at ways we can use technology to really get our kids engaged in the learning process and to be students ourselves in learning how to use these tools. Right now we are trying some collaborative concept mapping using a site called Bubbl.us. This is one of many good concept mapping tools available - others include:

• Mindmeister
• CMAP

I find in my work with high school seniors that sometimes returning to a more organic note-taking and organizing tool as mind-mapping is more effective than the linear note systems we start to expect as students get older. The advantage of these Web 2.0 tools is that they are interactive!

We are also playing with the Intel thinking tools. Intel has some incredible resources for teachers above and beyond some great interactive sites. Throughout the course, the emphasis is on sharing resources and dialoguing about how we successfully promote some of these skills within our already crowded curricula. Again, I find that my interactions with the PODetc students teach me as much as I hope they learn!

Research and Information Skills

"When I teach evaluating websites, I usually have students select one of five pre-selected websites and fill out a worksheet to determine if the website is valid. The worksheet really just helps students identify certain things about the website and then they give their opinion. It is fairly basic and there is a definite right or wrong answer. However, I would like to do something more challenging as a culminating exercise for this lesson. The website on GolfCross has been suggested to use in evaluating websites but there is conflicting information as to whether this is a bogus site or valid. One site rates this as one of the top bogus sites, , and a travel site on Mt. Cook New Zealand, lists it as an activity to enjoy along with 5 other golf courses. My research question, therefore, is to evaluate the website GolfCross to determine if this is a real site and real sport or a spoof. The Bloom’s taxonomy level would be analysis. Victoria suggested using Intel’s Showing Evidence. The Showing Evidence Tool helps students learn how to construct well-reasoned arguments and prove their case with credible evidence. The tool provides a visual framework to make claims, identify evidence, evaluate the quality of that evidence, explain how the evidence supports or weakens claims, and reach conclusions based on the evidence. This thinking tool supports activities where students debate differences, make and defend decisions, and analyze conflicting information . I would divide the class into groups. Each group would create their own researched evidence and come to their own conclusion. The groups would then compare their conclusions." S. Krueger, student PODetc Introduction to Instructional Technology.

In a recent PODetc course, a student posted this description of her lesson plan for research. What struck me about it was the clear application of analysis, evaluation, and discrimination in filtering information. This is a critical skill we need to foster in our students as we have access to exponentially more information every day!!! The ISTE NETS Students #3 is specific to "Research and Information Fluency" - with the goal that "Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information."

There are a number of tools on the Internet that can help you, including the Intel thinking tools mentioned above. Whatever tools or strategies you provide, it is important to remember that our students who are born to a world that is flush with information on any topic imaginable are not necessarily good at discriminating validity. It is our role as educators to teach students to use their critical thinking skills to filter this onslaught of information and to focus their research on specifics applicable to a specific question.

How do you develop those skills in your students - comment and let us know!

See our January Newsletter to find out how we can help in your professional development in the New Year!

PODetc is off to a great start in the New Year. For our Winter term we are offering our full range of courses beginning next week with Introduction to Instructional Technology in the Classroom. In this highly interactive course, participants will begin to explore tools and technologies that can enhance their own classrooms. In February, we will offer Creativity and Innovation in the Classroom and Technology Literacy 101: Foundations in Collaborative Tools. April and June offer even more options.

Visit our site to see how we can help you learn!!!!

Learning continues

This month I conducted a new class in PODetc entitled "Focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math): Instructional Technology Strategies for Science and Math." I also decided to participate as a student in three other PODetc courses occurring concurrently but taught by other teachers. I also am a full time teacher and department chair in science so how I survived is a minor miracle!!! But that is not what I want to address here. The courses I participated in were:

• Survey of Emerging Technologies taught by Theresa Stanley
• Creativity and Innovation in the Classroom taught by Connie Jaeger
• Technology Literacy 102: Building Knowledge Management Systems taught by PODetc founder and CEO, Tammy Stephens

First, I have to say that I am lucky to be working with such knowledgeable and versatile instructors. They make the courses interactive and meaningful for all students coming in at all levels and experiences. It was really a great opportunity for me to participate in the discussions and activities both with the other students and with the instructors where my role this time was a student.

While I have of course reviewed all of our PODetc courses and have regularly lurked in the background to keep current with our offerings, participating as a student was a great learning experience. Among the four courses we built blogs, wikis, nings, delicious networks, diigo lists, interactive lesson plans, collaborative rubrics, Intel lessons emphasizing critical thinking, collaborative concept maps and more. Not only did we build them but we put them to work and found applications to each of jobs outside of the course. Instructors helped me stretch my use of these valuable tools and guided me in linking them together for ease of access and application. In our discussion groups we addressed the challenges of teaching students in this age of technology when our backgrounds, budgets, audiences, and resources span the gamut of possible combinations and complexities. We evaluated samples of each others work and each found growth and improvement through the feedback we received.

I cannot emphasize how valuable this month has been to me in terms of really fine-tuning and motivating my own skills as an educator!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to our fabulous instructor and students!!!

Learning in the 21st Century

In my current STEM course we are talking about "21st Century Skills" and STEM skills for our students. Recently we started a discussion forum on what those are and began to discuss "agility and adaptability." One student gave us a good reminder that brought back memories of some of my experiences over the last 20+ years of teaching. The post was as follows:

"This has to start with us as teachers. As a teacher I don't teach the same way every year. I am constantly trying new things and the students (most of them) enjoy trying something different. I think this is good to role model adaptability and the agility to switch how something is done when you see it is not working. Changing methods of teaching is good role modeling and will make the students more likely to open their minds to be more agile and adaptable.
Students need to be encouraged to step outside of their comfort zones. As teachers we meet annually and evaluate what, how and why we teach concepts and core curriculum to our students. Changes are made to include technology as it changes, update concepts and methods."

I clearly remember days as a young teacher when I was told not to dare try anything different than the other teachers as that would just upset everyone. I even got hired once for my innovative ideas and then told not to use them!!! At one district, I was told after an interview with the superintendent that he would love to hire me but I would raise the bar too high for the other teachers and they would not be comfortable with change. WOW - this is education????

As teachers we have to change to keep up and be willing to learn as we go more than perhaps any other career. It is incumbent upon us to look at our teaching on a daily basis to see what we can do better. Go to conferences on brain research or read the literature to see what we know about how children learn. This career can be so exciting and invigorating if we put the effort into making it so!!!

Classes still open for enrollment in December - visit http://podetc.com

• Introduction to Instructional Technology in the Classroom starting November 30
• Technology Literacy 101: Foundations in Collaborative Tools starting December 7
• Technology Literacy 103: Utilizing Social Networking Tools in a Leadership Capacity starting December 7