Tech Troubles & Solutions

Parker, Linda

ET
CA
CO

K. Schwartz. (2013, April 11). Finding solutions for tech troubles in schools [Web log

       post]. Mindshift.  Retrieved from:

       http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/04/finding-ways-to-boost-broadband-for-schools/

I found this article very interesting because we are experiencing these same problems at our school currently.  It becomes a matter of technology advancing so quickly, not only can we not keep up with managing devices, but managing infrastructure becomes an issue as systems are fast out-grown and quickly out-dated.  Going to  "The Cloud" is a concern to due security issues so our school has been resistant to this idea, however, Schwartz raises an excellent point: how can we ensure there's enough broadband for everyone?  Technology is a great thing, but we are being led around by it sort of like the bull with the ring in its nose.  Here's the rub: how can schools supply what's necessary with ever-shrinking budgets?  One suggestion, although it comes with concerns is: make school a BYOD (bring your own device).  It saves money, but there are management and content issues to consider as well as bandwidth availability.  Another aspect of this article the author mentions is the Designing Education Network (DEN) which is a forum to compile best practices for quickly and carefully building up one's IT infrastructure.  We'll have to be watching to get glean some solutions for our own school.



     

Peace with Lions

Parker, Linda

ET
IL

TED Conferences, LLC.  [TED2013]. (2013, March). Richard Turere: My invention that

        made peace with the lions [Video file].  Retrieved from 

        http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_turere_a_peace_treaty_with_the_lions.html?                                           

This video shows an amazing African boy who had a problem: lions kept killing his family's cows.  As the tender of this flock, young Richard set out to find a way to solve this problem.  After some trial and error, he discovered that lions seemed to be fearful of moving lights, so he developed a system that would create that illusion.  The result: the lions stayed away, the cows survived, Richard installed other devices on other local farms, and he ended up getting a scholarship to an excellent Kenyan school.  He aspires to be an engineer one day and I'd say by the looks of things, he's well on his way!

Thoughts on Differentiated Instruction

Parker, Linda

ET
CO

Huebner, T. A. (2010). Differentiated instruction. Educational Leadership, 67(5), 79-81.

Since I didn't really know anything about this topic, I found this article provided a good platform for describing differentiated instruction.  The old school way of doing things was to mold the child to fit the curriculum, however, under principles of differentiated instruction, the curriculum is molded to fit the student.  Everyone is different and, therefore, brings to the table unique background knowledge, influences, learning styles, language, and cultural issues which impact their learning.  Differentiated instruction is an attempt to take all of these factors into consideration to maximize the learning experience for all ranges of students within the same classroom - from learning disabled or challenged to gifted students because a "one style fits all" approach to learning/teaching seems to be less effective.

Understand by Design: The Big Idea

Clayton, S. (2011). Understanding by design: Designing learning, assessment and teaching for understanding. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (Singapore), 16, 63-66. Retrieved from http://www.ascdsingapore.org/images/Vol16pg63-66.pdf

Synopsis:

The basic idea underlying Understand by Design is that lessons are prepared backwards and always with the students in mind. Teachers plan lessons with ultimate goal, the main lesson or concept that needs to be taught, in mind at all times and only incorporate assignments that will facilitate students achieving that knowledge. Many people and institutions have issues with this form of teaching and preparing lessons because it does not offer mini lessons for every little thing that was originally required. In her article, Susan Clayton offers readers an examination of “the philosophy that underpins the model, a brief description of two key pieces of the model and how UbD works with the 21^st century skills concept” (p. 63). Clayton identifies that a big part of being able to achieve this form a teaching will require teachers to “be aware of the education theories that influence their thinking and the culture of education that shapes their philosophy of learning, assessment and teaching” (p. 63). Susan Clayton does not just discuss the theories of UbD, she also offers examples from a workshop she ran in Singapore. She worked with the teachers to modify their teaching practices, which are traditionally teacher centered, to incorporate UbD theories.

Review:

I think Susan Clayton did a great job of relating the theory and basic premise of Understand by Design. She does not focus on the little details that make up the theory but instead offers a look at the bigger picture the theory is meant to relate to teachers and learners. She illustrates the intended result very well in her brief discussion about the difference between “knowing” and “understanding”. The visual of the toy, wind-catcher and the windmill made the concept accessible to multiple learners and illustrated the main idea as well. The examples that Clayton supplies of her work with the Singaporean schools gave readers enough information to see how the process works but also identified that this transformation is still a work in progress. 

Posted by Jessica King

Backwards Planning and More for Inclusion of Special Ed Students in General Ed Classrooms

Michelle Windell

ET

Spaulding, L. , & Flannagan, J. (2012). Dis2ect. Teaching Exceptional Children, 44(6), 6-14.

This article elucidates the DIS2ECT framework for inclusion of special needs students in a general education science curriculum.

D = Design. the design model for lessons is backwards planning, which involves 4 steps: 1. Know your learners; 2. Identify curricular agenda; 3. Design assessment framework; 4. Create learning activities.

I = Individualization. Provide students text at their reading levels, prepare for students’ problem areas (deductive reasoning given as an example), and prepare scaffolding and strategies for them.

S1 = Scaffolding. Provide bridges to understanding, guided inquiry, based on prior knowledge.

S2 = Strategies. Instruct students in a variety of approaches to solving problems.

E = Experiential Learning. Hands-on, discovery-based learning promotes excitement and deeper understanding than reading alone, and gives context for later reading.

C = Cooperative Learning. Students working together in partnership or small groups, sometimes with mutually dependent roles to fill, allows for new learning opportunities and also for social growth.

T = Teamwork. This refers to team efforts in teaching, between general and special education teachers. We apply the idea in this course to the collaboration between the teacher librarian and the classroom teacher.

Additionally, this article includes an example lesson plan for an 8th grade physical science lesson to illustrate the points. I really liked this article for its demystification of the trend for full inclusion of special ed students in general ed classrooms, and how it might be accomplished successfully.

The Flipped Class: Myth or Reality?

Parker, Linda

ET
IL

Bergmann, J., Overmyer, J., Wilie, B. (2011, July). The flipped class: What it is and

       what it is not (Part 1). The Daily Riff. Retrieved from:

       http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-conversation-689.php

The first part of this article shares some important details about "flipped education" and debunks some of the myths or controversies associated with this new trend.  The authors state that this platform is not a means to replace teachers with videos or a method to keep students isolated at their computers.  The purpose of "flipping the class" is to increase the opportunities for teachers to have more one-on-one instruction or guidance with students to maximize learning and understanding.  Some of the benefits of this type of instruction are that is it archived so it can be accessed anytime from anywhere with an Internet connection; it provides accessibility for students who are absent so they will not be left behind; students are more engaged in their learning and taking ownership of it, so-to-speak.

What is "flip teaching"?

Parker, Linda

ET
CO
IL

Fulton, K. (2012). Upside down and inside out: Flip your classroom to improve student

       learning. Learning & Leading With Technology, 39(8), 12-17.

Fulton's article effectively describes "flip teaching" from how and why it got started, the success of the "flipped classroom", student and parent feedback (both positive and negative), as well as expansion of the process to provide greater subject coverage by a wider variety of teachers.  Since I knew nothing about this concept, I found the article very informative.