New Jing fan!

Wow! I have had a lot of fun messing around with Jing and Screencast. This technology can be so useful to me in my engineering courses. This year, I am teaching Civil Engineering and Architecture. The students have an architecture CAD program that they must learn. I am very excited right now, but I will try to be brief: Instead of always showing student what to do with the CAD software via my computer and a projector, I could create a series of tutorials via screencast! I made one here. It does not have audio--I need a microphone. Anyway--very excited--gotta go.

My Flickr Badge of My Two Best Friends

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The Children Will Lead Us

I received an e-mail from a student the other day letting me know that the JV soccer team has a blog. If it wasn't for this program, I don't know if I would have understood or even cared. But I checked it out and it's not bad.

As a coach, I understand how sports can be used to help students find their way through school. Just like academics, it is important for athletes to take ownership in their team. Blogs are a tool that allow this to happen.

New Class--More to Think About

What I have liked about this first week, is that in the articles that we have read and through the discussion that has ensued, I'm getting some good ideas. While we have learned about web gadgets here and there, it seems that the blog (with all of the 2.0 stuff) may be the most useful for education. It is a tool that can be used to teach and learn from. The possibilities are numerous, and hey--the kids already spend so much time online, so why not. Web 2.0 stuff has stimulated some debate within our study group about its role and the role of more traditional education. That kind of debate is good. It simply amazes me how much is out there ready to be used. I wish that I had more time.

Change Boardgame

I found the game to be very interesting and well thought out. In the days that followed playing the game, I had one recurring and discouraging thought: Educational change can be a huge waste of time. I mean the beaurocratic undertones of the game became downright annoying. "Communicate with so and so and so and so will be on board. Make sure you report to him so that he likes us." While that is a reality in many facets of life, it is annoying and can bog a good group down.

The other conclusion that we were suppose to reach from this game is that change is slow. Well, sometimes change is too slow, especially when it comes to pleasing the right people just to get ahead. On the other hand, slow change can be good if it means that education can avoid disasters such as ebonics and the bad fuzzy math. (Some fuzzy math ideas are valid.)

527-Leading and Data Collection

This should be interesting (quite a change from designing web pages). This will be good for me however. First off, studying leadership is good for anybody. Secondly, at Thomas More HS, we are taking a really hard look at the data we have and how we need to improve data collection. This course will be good for me on those two fronts.

Final Project Reflections

While working on the final project, I really came to appreciate how well the class progressed. What I mean is, just about everything I wanted to do, I had already done, and just had to bring it together. The instruction and assignments progressed beautifully. I appreciate the clarity of the final project. Then again, it's probably just the math part of my brain talking.

Random Thoughts

This course has really caused me to think about teaching a programming course. I have really enjoyed challenge. One thing that I am looking forward to discussing is whether all of this html stuff has been worthwhile. What I mean is this. Is learning this really useful, or is it like learning how to figure square roots to the hundredths place without a calculator? In other words, what can I do with this new knowledge. I hope that our discussion yields some good ideas. I have my doubts though. In any event, maybe learning the language is enough to spark interest in the whole process like it has been with me.

That's good enough for me.

Enjoying the Class

Maybe it's because we have clear goals, and we know when we are finished with them, or maybe it's just because there is a good "end of the year" vibe, but I am really enjoying the class. Maybe it's just because this stuff appeals to the math part of my brain. Anyway, this is good stuff.

So far, so good

So far I find this class to be a nice change of pace. I feel like we are using the other side of our brain. (Don't ask me which side, I always forget.) I found our study group's discussion of Assignment 3 to be interesting. I would really like to learn enough in this course so that I can perhaps create my own websites for the teams that I coach and the courses that I teach. A wiki is an option, but if I want to branch out a bit, I hope that this class might get me started.

533

What can I say? So far so good--a nice change of pace! I would love to create websites for my teaching and coaching.

My Digital Story

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Digital Movie Making in Engineering

My engineering students are responsible for a portfolio at the completion of each course. I am interested in supplementing their binders with some type of online portfolio. One way that I could use a digital movie is with our "Marble Sorter" project. My students build some pretty neat things with these really expensive lego-like parts. The problem is that at some point, their projects need to be dismantled and the parts stored away for later use. Currently, I have the students take digital photos of their projects and create Word documents that include a picture of their creation, a narrative description, and a print screen of the program that runs their creation. Having them create a movie would not only be fun, but it would also allow them to better document their progress. Right now, my students basically take a picture of the final product and describe what they did. With a digital movie, they could describe and show their progress and make a much more interesting presentation.

Digital Story Telling in Engineering

One of the hardest things to convince my students of in engineering is the importance of keeping a record of their work. They keep and engineering journal for major projects. In that journal, they record the progress of that day and what it is they hope to accomplish next. Students also keep a portfolio where they store pictures and summaries of the work that they do. One project involves a very expensive Lego-like kit. Since these kits belong to the school, it is necessary that the students dismantle their projects when they are done so that the next group can use them. After more than a month of working on these projects, it is somewhat of a sad day when they come down. I already have students take picures of their projects at various stages, upload them to the computer, and make it a part of their project summary. This is effective, but somewhat dry. It would be very interesting for the students to also make a digital story of their project. It would also be a great way to present and sell our program. I plan on trying it next year.

521 Reflection

The most important idea that I take from this class is how to use LoTi to challenge myself in making my projects better and more meaningful. When we first discussed LoTi, I dismissed it as educational drivel. "More theory," I thought--great! It wasn't until I was working on my unit plan that I found some value in it. My unit plan is something that I had done before. But when I took a look at it through a LoTi lens, a started asking myself some important questions: "Are students using this technology as a tool or a diversion? What can I do to move this project up the LoTi scale?" These were questions that helped make my unit plan better. And when I teach the unit later this year, it will make my teaching better as well.

This class was a little more challenging for me because of the start of track and field season, but I didn't thing that we were overworked. I enjoyed Ed's style, and his flexibility.

What's the next course called?

Tech Advantages in a Private School

There are some nice things about teaching in a private school, and then there are some less than nice things. One nice thing about teaching at Thomas More is the relative level of academic freedom that teachers have. What I mean is that if a teacher wants to try something, they try it. Of course this can be a dangerous thing. Teachers need to be held accountable for what they do in the classroom. But for the most part, our administration and executive board trust the teachers in their endeavors. That is one reason why our engineering and laptop programs were able to get off the ground so quickly and successfully. We don't have taxpayers to be accountable to, but we do have tuition-paying parents.

I hear the frustration that many teachers have with trying to get ideas approved, and I am thankful that we have less of that. If Wayne wanted to do Ning at TM, he could do Ning. If someone has a great idea, and we can afford it, we buy it. Flip-side: Unfortunately, we don't quite have the resources for a lot of the things that we would like to do. A silver lining, however: no technology goes wasted.

Perhaps privately funded charter schools lie somewhere in the middle? Just a thought.

Unit Plan and LoTi

For the first time in this course, I really felt a usefulness for the LoTi level system. As I was putting together my unit plan, I found myself referring back to the LoTi website often, and checking to see what level my plan would currently be at. When I finished my solid LoTi level 3.5 unit plan, I found myself going back to the website and trying to figure out how I could make it even higher. That was the first time that I truly felt a sense of use for the sysyem. Now I can see the value of it as a measuring tool, not just a theory. I understand now, how I can use it to challenge myself when trying to incorportate useful technology practices into the classroom.

Brett Favre, Work Samples, and LoTi

So Brett Favre retires. I'm bummed out--not because I don't think that he should. It's just kind of a bummer. Then I find out that I have no clue when it comes to my Work Sample. It's a good thing that I have LoTi to cheer me up. Actually, I don't really want to talk about LoTi except that I really appreciate the classtime that we had with our group members. That was probably the most productive we've been all program (sorry Matt). So what should I talk about? How about my love for these multimedia projects? I actually mean that sincerely. My engineering curriculum is loaded with these concepts, and it's a blast to teach. I just wish that I had the time to apply some of the same concepts to my math curriculum, but, as I stated in my text reflection, that is awfully difficult. As we progress in this class, I hope that some ideas can come to me as to how to integrate some neat projects into a traditional math curriculm.

Class Blogs

It's a simple idea, but what a great way for students to take ownership in a class. Also, what a great way to communicate with parnets and the rest of the community about what's going on inside your classroom. I plan to incorportate one into my engineering classes starting next year. I'll have each student take a turn in posting the exciting stuff that's going on in class. I have to thank Kris mentioning the idea in class.

LoTi Is Sobering

OK so that sounds a little dramatic, but I was surprised at how low my score would be for my math teaching. Other than using a graphing calculator, we don't do much else technically speaking. It is difficult to find time, in Precalculus and AP Calc, to implement stuff when it seems that we are on such a tight time frame already. In my engineering course, I am a little bit higher. The program is called Project Lead the Way and it seems as though it was modeled after the principles of this entire grad program. That part excites me. I've got some work to do in math though.

525 Reflection

The greatest benefit that I am gaining out of this graduate experience is confidence. Not that I was intimidated by computers--I wasn't. It's just that I never had time to practice. I am not only gaining confidence in the stuff that we learn in our classes (webquests, internet as a learning resourse, wikis, etc.), but also "old-school" stuff like word, powerpoint, and spreadsheets. I value this experience very much and am thankful for it. I feel that it is making my teaching better. Just this week, to start the second semester in my engineering class, all I had was rather dry powerpoint on fluid systems. So what did I do? I broke my class up into seven groups and had them create their own presentation on hydraulics and pneumatics based on their internet research. Never before would I have thought that asking seven groups to make a powerpoint on the same subject would be successful. It was a huge success. For later in the year, I plan to use a webquest about bridges, and next year, I would like the students to start some kind of online portfolio. So, even though we are early in the program, I really feel like my teaching is undergoing a transformation and becoming more interesting.

Student Wiki's and Internet Safety

We have a very nice engineering program at St. Thomas More HS. One of the problems that we have encountered is how to save or carry on the nice work and projects from one year to the next. Sure, there are portfolios, but let's be honest those can be kind of boring and don't really represent work done on a computer very well. One idea that I had is to have the first year students in the engineering program set up a Wiki page so that they could display their work for anyone to see. I was really excited about it until I thought about the "anyone can see" part of it. Is there danger in student Wiki pages? The last thing that I would want to do is have my students set up something that would reveal too much personal information about themselves. Any thought?

Educational Sites

We have a nice engineering program at Thomas More. I really enjoy teaching in it. The problem? I'm not an engineer. (Don't tell my students.) The program (Project Lead the Way) doesn't give you quite enought to work with. I rely heavily on sources other than what they have given me. For me, it used to be books and stuff, but now I look for things online. That is where I am finding educational sites to be so useful. Right now we're working on Thermodynamics. In the past, I would have Googled it and gotten a lot of information for scientists and engineers that would sail right over my head. Now I can use engines like those found on the Knowledge Network, and my search becomes much easier. I am teaching Thermodynamics right now, and I using the sites that I found to relay information, but also to have the students do some exploring of their own. It made things a lot easier this year.