Podcasting in the Classroom

If you have been following me, you may remember my research on the Flipped Classroom and how I found it be greatly beneficial to student learning.  For those of you getting up to speed, the flipped classroom involves giving instructional content for homework and using class time to reinforce and build upon independent learning.  It sounds a little like taking the book home and reading a chapter before coming to class right? Well advancements in educational technology have allowed teachers to get much more creative; podcasting is a medium teachers use to convey recorded online mini-lectures to students.  Teachers are also doing this by creating videos of themselves teaching to an empty classroom.  Each variety would involve 10-15 minutes of information/content that a student (and potentially their parents) could view on their own time and come to class prepared to synthesize their learning and participate in activities that reinforce learning. 

I currently listen to several podcasts on a daily basis, so I am pretty familiar with how it all works.  For my potential classroom I could post podcasts to my teacher website and have kids listen and answer some questions that would prove their participation in the at home activity.  I see myself blending the use of my podcasts and videos, and others' podcasts and videos to gives my students some variety.  Podcasting, would be the easier to do than creating a video.  Their are several benefits to podcasting:

A. Students have archive of information in podcast they are able to access anytime.

B. I am able to share information and news letters with parents using the teacher website.

C. Students an access podcast just about anywhere, especially secondary students.

D. Podcasts engage students in a new and creative way.

E. Maximizes class time

Since completely my research into the flipped classroom I have intended on implementing the flipped model to my future classroom.  One excellent feature of flipping is that it doesn't need to be 100% flip or traditional lecture styles; a teacher can use the flipped model when they feel it appropriate and as they feel comfortable using it.  

Smart Board and Smart Notebook

The Smart Board has revolutionized the way we as educators are able to share information and media in the classroom.  For this, I am glad our education programs emphasizes developing or skills, here at Nazareth.  I have begun to orient myself my Smart Exchange, a website that shares different Smart apps, lessons, among other ways to use the Smart Board.  I see myself using several different apps, but I have specifically drawn toward a timer, a jeopardy game, and a graphic organizer creator.  The graphic organizer creator is most important to me; as a secondary social studies teacher it will be necessary for me lecture during class, and graphic organizers have shown to be the most effective way to facilitate sound note taking. 

For my sample teaching/non-linear PowerPoint I am planning doing some first day of class activities.  I have some images about me I want to share, an ice breaker activity and a short questionnaire.  I haven't yet put much together (not that I want to give too much away), but I want to include as much new Smart tools while I keep it non-linear.  I am still trying to figure to incorporate the non-linear aspect of the assignment into my presentation.  This exercise will surely broaden my Smart Board skill set.

Education Apps and Eval Forms

We have chosen and annotated five apps for education.  I am a secondary adolescent teacher and I for my content area I explored Discovery Education Techbook and People HD. Discovery is a great app that covers all content areas and delivers content in a way only discovery can do, and its content aligns with Common Core.  With this you can organize content, organizers, maps, quizzes etc. per class and student so teachers are organized and students know what expectations are.  People HD is more of a note taking and studying app, it comes loaded with dozens of important historical figures and allows users to add their own important figures they are studying.  This app is much more limited than Discovery but will be a quick and easy way for students to use technology in the classroom.  We also found a childhood app called BrainPop; this provides learning activities for students with score tracking and opportunity to improve scores.


We found a couple of management tools for teachers, Teacher Kit and Common Core Standards.  The Common Core Standards app will make lesson planning a lot easier because it make finding and using standards a much quicker process.  Teacher Kit is to be used as a classroom management tool providing seating charts, attendance, grade book, scheduling etc. Neither app is a groundbreaking idea but both have potential to make me work a little more efficiently.


People HD was put to the test with the evaluation forms and I found the Critical Evaluation of a Content-Based Mobile App and the Evaluation Rubric for iPod Apps.  Traditionally, I like rubrics for evaluating because it uses a scale but the rubric did not provide for the name of the app, comments for content; it was just a rubric.  The other form asked 10 questions that dealt more with student learning, levels of Bloom's addressed, and a summary space.  This gave a more well-rounded evaluation and will allow the evaluator to share their information. I especially appreciated the Bloom's portion and the opportunity to provide a summer; a description of the app can explain the utility of the app beyond the yes and no questioning.

Weebly Teacher Website

My Weebly teacher website was a little more of a challenge than I was expecting.  I found that Weebly's formatting was neither very easy to use or customizable; I had trouble placing text and images where I wanted them and I did not like that I could not preview how my page would look to visitors before publishing.  I would have liked to move and arrange my text boxes and images, as they are now things are not very tight looking (especially my 'about me' page.  The next time I create a teacher website I will likely explore the Google option. 


Creating a website that is easy to navigate and visually appealing proved to be a difficult task, but this practice certainly helped me understand how a good teacher website might function.  In the future, I want to be able to use my website to communicate with both teachers and students.  I want to be able to use a blog format to post classroom information and newsletters to parents, and on another page I would like to have a space for assignments, podcasts and videos that appear on a page in like a blog;  I could use this in a flipped classroom model.  Having a space with all this information would be great for studying and it also keeps parents up to date on what is happening in class.  My research paper was on the flipped classroom (see my blog post) and one important point I made was that parents liked the flipped model because they were able to view lecture posts with their children and help them with their homework; seems like a great way to maximize my class time and get parents more involved in the learning process.  Beyond that utility, I had not planned any other pages to be apart of my site, but I will definitely be incorporating a fun homepage with class info and course goals and an 'about me' page.

Response to: Understanding Learning Disabilities

I watched the full episode of Understanding Learning Disabilities from youtube, this can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYg8sX2fv90.  What an eye opening experience; the presenters fast paced lecture was used to simulate what a natural or standard paced classroom would feel like for a learning disabled student.  The video used well-educated working professionals in the demonstration and the presenter put them under pressure, and simulated several different experiences a learning disabled student would have on a day-to-day basis.  Processing was the central point exhibited through the video, and how various processing issues impact a learning disabled student.
The presenter assumes that the teacher (his role in the demonstration) is impatient, pushy and considers LD students to be "lazy and dumb."  By exhibiting how these adults struggle and their reactions to the challenges he clearly exhibited how a LD student can get lost during class and ultimately lose interest in class and school rather quickly.

The video was filled with pedagogy that you should not use and then the presenter would inform the class how a student perceives certain teacher behaviors and directions.  The most valuable point that this video gave to me is for a teacher to accept that a student is LD and develop a strategy with that student to make them feel comfortable and confident in the classroom.  While questioning the class for understanding, the presenter suggested creating a plan with your LD student to prompt them and prepare them to participate in class.  In this situation, it was as simple as walking over to your LD student's desk standing there briefly to prompt them to listen to the upcoming question or direction because they are the next to be called on.  Because of processing issues and the pace of class, this strategy prompts the student to focus their processor on the ensuing question so they can manage that sentence.  This example and other strategies give LD students a chance to participate and give the correct answer.  Successes like this will build confidence and as a result the student will be more comfortable to participate in class.

In light of my last post and research paper, the flipped classroom would benefit a LD student.  The student centered classroom, collaborative learning, and parent involvement all implied by the flipped classroom can greatly improve the learning experience for a learning disabled student.

Flipping the Classroom

As researched continued I adjusted my topic from using self-directed learning in the flipped classroom to flipping the classroom and using the teacher website.  The self-directed learning theory did not work well with the flipped classroom model, so I decided to add depth to my research on the flipped classroom.  The research on this subject is what I called a social analysis because to this point there is no formal research on the effectiveness of the flipped model or the methods that have proved most effective. That is not to say that there is not a large amount of strong anecdotal evidence from schools and teachers demonstrating great learning gains, improved test results and an overall improved school/classroom atmospheres. 

But before I wrote this paper I really didn’t know what the flipped classroom was, and I don’t expect any of my classmates to have a great understanding either.  In short, students will learn content before they come to class and class time is used to strengthen understanding, analysis, and application.  According to Bloom’s Taxonomy, pre-class learning involves low-level cognitive work while class time focuses on high-level cognitive work.  Rather than reading a chapter in the textbook, teachers are posting 10-15 lecture videos that they create and post to their teacher website for students (and parents) to view at home before class.   Even teachers trying this for the first time claim that any adaptations they had to make were well worth it as class was more enjoyable for both teachers and students.  One survey of 453 teachers who used the flipped model found that 99% of them planned to continue using the flipped model the following school year. 

Looking to become a high school social studies teacher I am looking for a way to maximize my time in the classroom.  Critical thinking skills and primary source analysis skills are going to be essential for my students’ success, and in this model my class time can be used to build those skills through independent and/or collaborative learning exercises that I am able to guide.  This is different from assigning homework assignments and projects that students may struggle with without their teacher’s support. I fully intend on using this model and creating my own teacher website in my future classroom, maybe even giving it a try during student teaching. 

WebQuests cont.

Creating my own WebQuest furthered my understanding of how I will be able to use this teaching strategy as a Social Studies teacher.  I want to start by saying I am drawn to the concept of guided learning, a principal based on community learning, leadership, self-direction, and group reflection; WebQuests effectively fall into this approach to teaching.  From a teacher's perspective I see myself giving a WebQuest assignment and allowing my students to work through the process while I observe group communications and aid group research.  As much as I enjoy directing instruction and discussing content with the class in a traditional format I believe it essential to student development that they are able to work and communicate on their own as they work through problems or research.  Not only does this build research skills, problem solving skills, and interpersonal skills; these skills are not acquired through the traditional classroom format.  Lastly, granting students the responsibility to work independently, and in the case of my WebQuest they present and teach the class of their discoveries, will boost learning confidence as they successfully complete tasks.

As for the teacher, it gives us a chance to stand back and observe interactions among students and their approach to independent work.  We are still able to facilitate learning and control the classroom but we are not necessarily in the foreground.  Further, I am lead to believe that when teacher (or parents) give students this responsibility they will appreciate the opportunity and meet expectations if instruction are thorough and expectations clearly stated.  My goal as an educator goes beyond instruction and assessment; I want to give them useful and lasting skills.  Education is not effective if the student does not come away with skills that they can apply to continuing their education and/or their career.  In closing, I will be using WebQuests often in my classroom.

Eric

Educating the 21st Century Learner

I can only speak for myself, but something weird is happening right now: In my first year of graduate school, I'm enjoying school in ways I never have.  It may be a matter of being able to apply my education to my career but I think it also has to do with in-class interactions, and the nature of my assignments.  I have been exposed to the concept of self-directed learning and before I knew it I realized that my professors were using self-directed learning assignments on me.

My research paper will be discussing how to effectively combine self-directed learning, the reversed classroom and the teacher website.  I realize this is broad but I am pretty sure I will be able to dial in an organized central argument.  I aim to further my understanding of these pedagogical strategies so that I can meet our "21st Century" learning needs.  In other words, I will be adapting from all my previous learning experiences to becoming a teacher who facilitates learning by incorporating digital technology to supplement my class time and homework assignments.  Part of the theory behind  Self- directed learning is to blur the line between entertainment and education, and for students to advocate for their learning experience.  My goal as an educator is to [as much as possible] deliver content that captures the attention and minds of my students and to provide well-planned, compelling assignments that students can take interest in.

This is why I find this class essential to my development as an educator.  Before taking this class the concept of reaching students, especially at risk students, was a seemed to be the million dollar question; I feel that I have some great tools that I can apply to my career as an educator.

Eric

Advanced PowerPoint and WebQuests

Let me start by saying I have downloaded the Advanced PowerPoint tutorial for future consultation, but reviewing it has given me some great ideas to enhance my PowerPoints for class.  I plan on making the SmartBoard and PowerPoint a big part of my teaching strategy.  For my PowerPoint assignment I created a presentation that covers a week long in-and-out of class group assignment with the idea that such a lengthy assignment can be posted on my hypothetical teacher webpage to be used by students while they conduct their research.  Immediately I saw my assignment faintly reflected the WebQuest model we went over in class this week (9/22).  I was exposed to effective instructional strategies in class that I had overlooked while creating my assignment namely the introduction (which I associate with a hook exercise),  evaluation; the WebQuest model will prove helpful to designing effective assignments.

Yesterday I read on seventy-five page packet for a different class that introduced the Interactive Lecture Model. PowerPoint and WebQuests would not necessarily fall into the ILM according to the reading, but I see my classroom using them in tandem to create the most effective classroom experience for all learners.  The ILM maintains that lecturing is effective in maximizing the amount of content covered within a certain time period and that is hard to argue.  Having students connect with lectures and be able to harness the information is the challenge at hand, and the ILM provides practical solutions and techniques for this.  PowerPoint presentations are a great visual aid for lecturing and allows the teacher to conduct notes, graphic organizers, videos, and worksheets with ease.

A concern of mine becoming a new teacher is capturing and maintaining my students' attention; for this, I think the abilities of the SmartBoard are rather essential.  With that, it is my goal to not only engage my students in the learning process but (ideally/naively) give them a sense that learning is something that can be enjoyed.  WebQuests, along with the type of assignment I attempted to design, facilitate independent learning processes that are fundamental to developing critical thinking skills, research skills, and just maybe an appreciation for learning.

This is my journey,

Eric

Web 2.0: Social Media and Beyond

My understanding of the term Web 2.0: Second generation of the internet. This generation is far more interactive, full of different media, and advertising.  I asked my friend, a computer science major, described it simply as the internet that we know today with YouTube, all the social media, and Google etc. I want to discuss a few ways to evolve the classroom through the use of the web and technologies.

The further I investigate the role of technology in schools and in the classroom the more I appreciate it.  The use of social media in the school setting certainly is a controversial issue and I admittedly was a skeptic even though I knew we were to use it in our class.  My reservation for applying it in a high school setting is naturally fear of different forms of abuse.  For this I look forward to learning some of the different models schools have used to incorporate social media like Facebook and Twitter so that kids interact in positive and thoughtful ways.

Eric Sheninger, a pioneer of incorporating social media in schools, describes it as coming up to speed with the times and most importantly with our children and students.  Essentially, this form of communication appeals to our students in a time when schools are becoming more and more disconnected with their students.  Further, social media is free form of communication that takes very little time and allows for teachers and administrators to reach students,parents and their communities quickly and often.  As I watched a presentation Sheninger  gave at a teaching summit I thought to myself that by tweeting and posting ideas, events and updates online for the public to read it also potentially spreads positive messages among school districts.  Social media connects people; my thought is that if one principal is posting new learning ideas and positive messages about their school then I am lead to believe that those messages, along with the embrace of technology,  will spread to other school districts and their constituents.  Let's think of it as inadvertently thinking collaboratively: schools building on each other's ideas just by participating.

Another concept I am familiarizing myself with is the 'reverse classroom model.'  If you ever find yourself wanting more time to discuss topics, continue an experiment or practice a few more math problems this may be a useful model for you.  The teacher is to videotape themselves delivering lesson and upload it to either iTunes or her teacher website and assign the lesson for homework and the following class the lesson will be practice or discussed in class.  First thing I thought when I heard of this was replacing the textbook chapter reading with the online lesson.  I see it that by creating a 20-30 minute lesson for students to watch for homework is not only a more effective delivery system in that the teacher creates the message and not relying on a textbook, but it will likely take less time than reading and be more engaging for students.  

It's exciting for me to learn about this subject.  Effectively engaging students is central to my developing theory of pedagogy, harnessing technology seems to be the future of connecting with our students.

Quick bit about me

My name is Eric Ekstrom.  I'll start my brief introduction by saying my first experiences working in educational setting completely scared me away from the profession.  I was an education major concentrating in social studies at SUNY Cortland when I found myself deterred from pursuing the profession.  Since graduating with a history degree in 2012, a series of disappointing job opportunities and some soul searching has brought me back.  My first opportunity to work with kids was as a modified wrestling coach for Webster Schroeder last fall [2013] and I instantly fell in love with the school setting and working with my team.  Several months later I find myself surprised to say that working for Monroe #1 BOCES at the Start/ALA program has made me completely happy, fulfilled and has lead me to pursue my Master's here at Nazareth in Adolescent Inclusive Ed. and Special Ed.  Before my experience at Start/ALA I did not think I would enjoy working with students with disabilities, however as I settled into the setting I found myself fully committed to the students and their academic goals, social development and all around well being.  I actually am exited to start back to see everyone on September 2.

I am completely enthralled, and a little nervous to begin my graduate program while working full time.  The student population at Start/ALA all generally have some emotional and/or social disabilities, and are in an alternative school setting to better suit their needs as learners.  Everyday I learn something new; I learn from experience, I learn through conversations with other faculty and staff, and learn just by listening and observing teaching styles and interactions.  Starting this program is exciting for me as I look to develop my understanding for my student population and my skills as an educator.  This class is exciting for me in that it gives me new and different ways to interact with students that will appeal to them; you could say it puts me on the cutting edge.

I'll keep you posted.

-Eric