tech4teaching

Dear First Year Middle School Teacher,

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Sun, 23 Aug 2015 12:25:00 +0000

A colleague and I were recently talking about our start in education. She got hired on the first regular workday (after new teacher orientation was over). I was hired after school was well underway. My orientation consisted of a five minute tour of the building on a Friday afternoon before escorting me to my classroom where I would meet 120 middle school students a little more than 48 hours later. I learned *SO* much about myself, my students and teaching that year, but I wouldn't wish that "trial by fire" experience on anyone!

Teaching in middle school is tough, but I love it! For those teachers just starting out in middle school this year (and maybe for those with some years under their belt too), here are some tips and resources that I gleaned from Matt Davis' excellent post at Edutopia and combined with my own experience.

#1. You are not alone.
When the bell rings and the door closes, it is very lonely as a teacher in a classroom. However, in reality, there are many people in your school who can offer community and support if you just let them. Turnover in middle school is notoriously high. So your building colleagues are all cheering for you and want you to be successful.

You can also reach out to other middle school teachers online, New Teacher Chat on Twitter and Mrs. Phillips' blog, Caught in the Middle and Middle School Math Rules.

More tips on building a support network from LEARN NC

#2. Classroom management is key, but you need to develop your own style.
Study what the experts say, but adapt it to your own beliefs and situation. What the teacher next door does to get her students quiet may not work for you. I remember learning the hard way that I couldn't call students out the way in the hallway the way my mentor did because I hadn't established a relationship with them like she had.

Edutopia's classroom management resources for new teachers

#3. Take it one day at a time.
There is so much to learn, try to keep it in perspective and focus on what is important for today and this week. In middle school you often have the advantage of teammates to help you know what needs your attention. Rely on their wisdom and guidance. There will be many demands on your time during the school day and you can't do it all. Scholastic has a month by month guide that can help you with your challenge du jour.

#4. It's all about the kids.
Ask any veteran middle school teacher what they love about the job and they will tell you it's their students. {Check out Patti Grayson's reflections.} Don't get me wrong. Adolescents can be challenging! They are independent and strong-willed one moment and emotional and uncertain the next. They don't love you just because you are their teacher like elementary school kids, but if you earn their respect they will walk through fire for you. Treat them with respect and get to know them and you'll never want them to graduate!

Hope you have a great year!

Back to School Shopping for Internet Access

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 19:16:00 +0000

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22280677@N07/2272656387

I love this time of year when summer's heat begins to wane and the lazy, hazy days give way to crisp mornings full of excitement. Well, honestly I will miss the opportunity to sleep past 5:30 am and since both my kids are in high school there isn't that much excitement about the first day of school, but I do LOVE back to school shopping.

I am fortunate to be able to stock my kids' backpacks with notebooks, pencils and highlighters. There are many families that can't provide these essential supplies to their children. In our community, great organizations like Crayons2Calculators help students who can't afford supplies, but what about the new essential homework tool - the Internet.

More than half of the poorest Americans don't have Internet at home (Broadband report). Here in the Triangle, that means about 1 in 4 students don't have Internet (Herald-Sun article).

Can you imagine doing research for a paper without the Internet? How would you check the homework assignment your teacher posted? So many routine tasks are now Web based. My daughter used a computer and Internet nearly every night for homework last year - Quia quizzes for physics, submitting papers online for English, practicing French on Quizlet, etc. Seven in ten teachers assign homework that requires some Internet usage. This mismatch of need and access is being called the homework gap (FCC Commisioner article).

I am working on an initiative in Durham Public Schools aimed at reducing the homework gap called Project Z. We are identifying students who lack Internet and/or a computing device and providing access. It is just a small pilot in one school now, but we are hopeful it can expand to help address the estimated 8,000 DPS students without access to Internet. In 2015-16 we will be partnering with the Durham Housing Authority and EveryoneOn to connect students in public housing to high speed Internet via Google Fiber. We are also partnering with Verizon to provide Chromebooks with embedded Internet hot spots to 45 middle school students.

We must address the homework gap or risk allowing 25% of our students to fall behind!

If your not failing, your aren't trying hard enough

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 00:23:00 +0000

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8047705@N02/5366637592

I am a bit self-conscious - maybe you are too. I like to put my best foot forward. So I clean my house like a crazy person when someone is coming over. I cringe at the thought of other people seeing the usual disarray of shoes, half-opened mail, used cups, etc. that normally decorate our living space. I don't like to look unprepared or foolish, especially at work. So I spend time pondering new ideas, researching and calculating, turning them over and over and over in my own mind before I put them out in the world. Some might call this analysis paralysis, I call it being thorough. :)

Like most Americans, I buy into the culture of success. We are a culture of winners and over achievers who show off brilliant business plans on Shark Tank and well polished talent on American Idol, The Voice, etc. No one wants to be embarrassed by the "judges" in their life when they point out their lack of preparation or hard work.

I have been inspired recently to be more willing to screw up. In the spring my friends at North Carolina Digital Leaders Coaching Network talked about failure as a good thing. To bring about innovation in education, we have to empower each other to take risks. I nodded my head yes, but thought to myself - that is for other people. I have been seeing this idea all around me ever since. It really is the IN thing - Forbes article on failure, 7 TED talks about failure. Apparently if you are not failing, you are just not trying hard enough.

So I am ready to embrace failure. I am going to be brave enough to let go of my old ways and reach for the new opportunities. When I fail, I promise not to beat myself up (too much). I am going to break out of my analysis paralysis and try.

I am challenging myself to put my riskiest ideas out there. The ones with the most potential impact, but also the potential for failure. I am going to set a big stretch goal, so I can celebrate (and learn from) my failures.

My goal for 2015-16 school year - Help students throughout Durham connect to the Internet from home to access academic resources.

Ten Stimulating Summer Activities for Teens

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 13:31:00 +0000

Source: Wikipedia

Parents of teens often struggle to get kids off the couch or out from behind the screen during long summer days. When my children were in elementary school it seemed so much easier to keep them active in the summer. Now they aren't so easily persuaded to go to the park, the library, . . . or anywhere that requires getting off their device or out of their pajamas. Here are some suggestions for activities you and your teen can agree on. (Shh! don't tell them the activities might be educational)

Activities

1. Go to your local bookstore for snacks

The draw of baked goods and frozen drinks is enough to entice them to get out of the house. Then the magic of the bookstore's marketing will likely convince them to pick up a book.

2. Invite a group of friends over for game night
You might not be able to get your child to play their childhood favorites with you anymore, but games have made a resurgence. There are new games that have a cool factor strong enough to overcome even adolescent angst. Games teach strategy, problem solving and interpersonal skills.

Apples to Apples
Settlers of Catan
Say Anything
Pandemic

3. Plan a family vacation or outing

Involve your teen in the planning phase to help ensure buy-in during the trip. Challenge them to find a good deal on a hotel, research a restaurant for dinner, or plan the itinerary for a day.

4. Extend a personal interest or fandom
If your teen has an interest in a sport, hobby or even a popular entertainment figure you might be able to extend that interest into another area. My daughter likes Anime and the local library offered an Anime related craft activity for teens. If your teen hesitates to try something new, offer to pick up a friend to join you. Teens often resist attending events where they don't know anyone.

5. Play an audio book with teen interest in the car

One of my daughters is reluctant to pick out a new print book, but she is 100% engaged when we listen to audio books. I have gotten her hooked on a couple book series this way and listening to the book together is a great shared experience which opens the door to many conversations.

6. Become a maker

Crafts are cool again! The crayons and pony beads of their childhood may not grab your teen's attention, but try a project with a bit of a challenge and updated interest like these: http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2015/07/take-it-make-it-6-grab-and-go-kits-for-tweens/

7. Connect a book to a movie

Many popular young adult novels have been adapted for the big screen. Use this as an opportunity to get your teen to read the book or another in the series. Watching the movie as a family for the first or second time can be a fun celebration after finishing the book. (Most of the movies are rated PG-13 and may contain some mature content. So evaluate whether they are appropriate for your child first.)

Fault in Our Stars
Harry Potter
Hunger Games
The Lightning Thief
Maze Runner

Online Activities

I know parents are rolling their eyes at this section. You are fighting with your teen to try to get them AWAY from their screens day and night, but there are some online activities that are stimulating to young brains. Perhaps you can build some goodwill by suggesting these instead of insisting on powering down.

8. Learn how it's done - coding your own site or game
Even if you don't think your child has an interest in becoming a computer science major, learning some coding skills can be beneficial. They learn logic, problem-solving and an appreciation for how software works. These sites allow teens to practice basic programming skills independently.

9. Connect with the world
Have a teen who never looks up from their phone? Geocaching is a way for them to use their device to interact with the physical world. You might even have the thrill of discovering hidden items. This site can help get you started, https://www.geocaching.com/play.

If your teen doesn't want to leave the house, but wants to explore the world this game is fun! Geoguessr selects a site from GoogleMaps and shows you the view. You can rotate 360 degrees, but you can't zoom out. You guess where in the world you are in GoogleMaps and get a score based on how close you were.

10. Open an online studio
These tools allow your teen to create a professional looking product with very little experience. Creating with the computer provides experience imagining, designing, and publishing ideas in an electronic format - valuable skills in the digital age.

Animoto - create cloud-based videos from your own images, clips and text
GoAnimate - create animated videos in a click and drag environment
ToonDo - create comic strips and cartoons

It can be hard work engaging teens in "productive" activities. Remember to value their interests and preferences. It is also hard work being a teen and trying to balance your own wants and fears with parental demands. Don't be afraid to push a little, but be flexible where you can and acknowledge their attempts to cooperate. Savor the summer, all too soon we will be back to the rushed schedule of the school year.

A Tale of Two Cities - ISTE & School

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 23:00:00 +0000

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness . . ." - Charles Dickens

This week I feel as if I have had my feet in two different worlds. I have been attending ISTE via Twitter and the Google+ NOT AT ETC community. I've also been providing instructional technology support to reading remediation camps.

Remediation camp is for students who didn't score high enough on their end of grade tests or their end of year reading assessments. By state law the school district must provide the option for students to attend a camp with reading instruction. Unfortunately on some levels the camp feels like punishment. The lessons are tightly scripted and leave little room for student or teacher creativity. Students are assessed repeatedly during the short camp and then retake a paper and pencil test on the last day.

At ISTE, educators are talking about teacher collaboration, the maker movement and differentiated instruction. In camp, students are completing worksheets and receiving the same instruction regardless of their instructional needs. There was pressure to provide cookie cutter, sage-on-the-stage style instruction. Some of the teachers bucked the system and provided innovative, creative instruction that empowered and engaged students, but we need much more of that!

As Scott McCleod said, "the work of transforming school systems is slow work." I couldn't agree more, Scott. Education is a tale of two cities. We are at once in the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness. We have to keep pushing to get the foolishness out of our schools and implement best practices everywhere!

Designing Personalized Instruction for TEACHERS

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 14:53:00 +0000

I have read articles about personalized learning for teachers from Eudemic, Edsurge, and Edutopia. They tend to focus on Web based PD teachers seek out themselves. While I agree this is a powerful option, I want to offer school based PD that is also personalized. We expect teachers to differentiate in the classroom and I want to model that in the professional development I offer them. How can I design my PD plan to begin creating personalized quality professional development?

Design face-to-face large group sessions with multiple options or centers
Design half day trainings as Edcamps with teacher presenters and attendee choice
Provide optional training after school for teachers to self select
Enlist teachers to lead mini sessions and serve as mentors to their colleagues
Share general PLN resources via email with the staff as a whole and specialized PLN resources with individual teachers

Some other educators are thinking about this too:

designing PD based on data about educators needs & abilities
Edcamp - an unconference approach to networking and learning
using technology and coaching

Google Wants Chicks

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 00:55:00 +0000

38% of Yahoo's employees are women

~30% of Google's employees are women

Source AP

There is a pervasive gender imbalance in the tech industry. When I was studying to be an engineer, guys outnumbered girls at least 3 to 1 in all my classes. Decades later, women are still lagging behind men in pursuing science and engineering (http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/05/05/getting-girls-to-study-stem-its-about-more-than-just-making-science-cool).

Less than 1% of girls consider comp. sci.

The number of females studying computer science has actually dropped since the 1980s. We need to encourage middle school age girls and high school girls to become more involved in computer science. Google is leading the charge with a new campaign, Made With Code. On their Web site they feature young women girls can identify with talking about their career using code.

Show female role models in tech.

Girls and young women want to make a difference in their world. They choose career pursuits that help people. I think if we can help girls see how computer science affects people and makes the world a better place they will consider becoming coders.

Connect technology to a personal outcome.

Encourage a teenage girl you know to check out "Made With Code".

I'll be showing it to my CyberChicks when school is back in session.

Digital Equity & The Summer Slide

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 00:10:00 +0000

http://www.webjunction.org/news/webjunction/
the-internet-is-important-to-everyone.html

Only 28% of lower-income kids use educational content on mobile devices (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/zero-to-eight-2013-infographic). This is in stark contrast to 54% of higher-income kids. I think about these differences particularly during the summer when higher-income kids have the benefit of camps, family vacation trips and visit to the library while lower-income kids typically don't. According to some research, much of the achievement gap can be explained by the lack of intellectual stimulation and reading practice lower-income kids experience during the summer months (http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=know_the_facts).

Now we have yet another way lower-income students are losing ground. The time they spend using media is much less likely to include educational content. Children aged zero to eight spend nearly two hours (1:55) of the day with a screen (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/zero-to-eight-2013-infographic). Every day I battle to keep this number from inching up higher in my household. Especially in the summer, when friends are not readily available and hot temperatures outside make a nice walk feel like a steam bath. So I encourage educational content when they are using their screens - Minecraft, writing on GoogleDocs, researching day trips or looking up recipes for cooking projects.

We need to work toward digital equity for all students! The digital divide is still persistent and threatens to push lower-income students farther behind. As I am becoming more aware of this issue I want to work to improve access and use of information technology in my community. One way to do this is raise awareness of free Internet access points. Here is a list for my community.

BYOD of One (so far)

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 02:01:00 +0000

My school is considering a BYOD program. One parent requested taking part early because her student has trouble keeping up with assignments. (What middle school student doesn't have that problem?) So we have a test group of one individual, but so far it has some promising results and some challenges. The first week of the BYOD experiment the student had to be redirected to use the device for instructional purposes. I haven't heard of a problem since then. The student wanted to be able to print some documents to turn in. So we downloaded an app for our printer, but it still wouldn't connect. Our IT technician determined that the app wasn't designed for an enterprise environment where there were 12 of the same printers on the network. So we abandoned the search for a printing solution and decided to go paperless. So far teachers are reporting that the student emails his assignments and it is working fine.

I hope this is the start of big things for us.

More BYOD - I presented the next steps of the BYOD program to our PTSO Board last night and they were enthusiastic. I will present to our faculty next week. We are waiting for a filtered, open wireless network to start a larger pilot.
Less Paper - We use a ridiculous amount of paper. Perhaps if a few teachers experience carrying assignments home on their laptop, phone or tablet we can have more paperless assignments for all students!

Teens & Video

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 22:03:00 +0000

I have a budding videographer in my family. She has tripods, cameras, sets, lighting, and props. She has her own YouTube channel. She is a middle schooler. So I was very interested in this article about Instagram and Vine from Common Sense Media. Instagram is a photo and video sharing app. Vine is a video only app. In keeping with the techno trend for ever more compact content, Instagram videos are up to15 seconds long and Vine videos are up to 6 seconds.

Some of us over 30 don't quite understand all the issues with many of these new social networking sites.I didn't realize you could share video with Instagram. Nor did I know that Vine is owned by Twitter - makes sense - 6 seconds is so Twitterish. I hear the middle schoolers around me talking a lot about Instagram. I know one twelve year old who has an Instagram account, but her mom won't let her have a Facebook account yet.

That brings up the issue of appropriateness. Technically, twelve year olds aren't allowed to have Instagram or Vine accounts according to their user agreements. However, we all know that doesn't stop tweens and younger kids from joining.

Just like YouTube, there are videos on Instagram and Vine that will make you blush. There is content you wouldn't really want your young teen watching. I recommend having an open conversation with your child. If they are under 13, consider telling them 'no' for now. Take it from a middle school teacher, there is a difference between 12 year olds and 13 year olds. Regardless of your decision, talk to them about privacy. You wouldn't invite the world into your home, so don't invite them to see your personal footage. Talk to them about cyberbullying. They should tell an adult if it happens and block the offending 'friend'. Stay involved and ask to see what they are sending and watching.

Today's teens relate to each other largely through electronic media so as today's parents we have to actively participate and guide them.

Grammar Snobs TXT 2

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 13:00:00 +0000

I am a stickler about grammar, but I love to text. I use abbreviations and incomplete sentences when I text, but not when I write more formally. I think there is a place for both. Last week model Kate Moss said she doesn't like to text. She is a stickler for grammar, so she says texting takes too long because she attends to the grammatical details of her messages. I think she is forgetting about another important writing rule - remember your purpose and audience. Your audience when texting is normally a close friend or family member. My children know that I can spell the word "too", but I can type it faster in a text as "2". My purpose in a text is to convey my meaning clearly in a brief message. So cutting corners on spelling and grammar is acceptable. However, I would never use that informal, abbreviated style in a work email. The audience and purpose are totally different. Last night on the John Tesh radio show he mentioned the importance of grammar in the work place and blamed texting for the declining grammar skills of our nation. I do think we should all be precise in our formal writing. I do consider myself a grammar snob and enjoy reading Grammar Girl's posts, but I don't think that means I can't text my friends using a different set of rules. KNIM?

School for Creative Studies - Tech Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:45:00 +0000

The School for Creative Studies just opened in Durham. Its a magnet school and is decked out with technology from what I have heard. Each student has a Mac book of their own. I was talking with a student recently and she was very excited about the technology. I was intrigued by the things she mentioned.

Teacher Web Pages
She is thrilled that her teachers all have Web pages. I never thought students would really be interested in this. I thought of teacher Web pages in middle school as advertising to parents. The student I talked to said it will make keeping up with her homework easier. Some of her teachers post notes on their page too so if she missed something in class she can go back to it.

Laptops Stay @ School
She was disappointed that students don't get to take their laptops home. Of course we would all like to bring cool toys home I thought. This student has plenty of access to a computer and the Internet at home, so I didn't think it really was a big inconvenience to her. She mentioned that on the 6th day of school she is already growing accustomed to using her school email for her work. While she could access her school email from her home computer, I think her underlying concern was not having access to the school computing environment at home. I see how this can be an issue. Cloud storage can help with some of the most common problems of file access, but there is no substitute for having your "own computer" in your hands when you are working. She also mentioned the students who don't have computers at home. I think this is a big issue, but in the current budget and legislative environment in North Carolina, I don't think we will be able to address the Digital Divide at home.

I am excited to see how this experiment at School for Creative Studies proceeds and it renews my hope for getting 1:1 computing for the students at Lucas.

Two clicks from impatience

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 01:40:00 +0000

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier and streamline processes. I just got a new dryer and that definitely streamlined the laundry process! I sold a text book on Amazon this week and got a nice chunk of change back. I never would have been able to connect with a buyer in Tennessee without the Internet and Amazon and Paypal and the USPS Web site. I was pretty impressed with how quickly the whole process went. I posted my book on Saturday morning and it sold by noon. The book is now in her hands 3 days later or at least in her mailbox according to the tracking info.

However, there are times when a little glitch in the system makes the whole process VERY difficult. With my new enthusiasm for online merchandising, my daughter got in in the act and bid on a toy through eBay. She won and was anxious to complete the transaction. However I saw that it had an old credit card - before last year's fraud, but that is a story for another day. I wanted to change it to a different card. So I had to end the transaction and login to my Paypal account, add the card, verify the completed transaction which required logging into my credit card company's Web site and then delete the old card. By the time I did all that my lunch was cold and my daughter had lost interest. I know it was still faster than driving to the store and back but . . . And now the Pinterest app won't let me login because I have some setting wrong between Pinterest and Facebook but I have no idea where the setting is. Sheesh! I might have to walk upstairs and use my computer instead of my phone. How inconvenient! What has technology done to my expectations? And what does it mean for our kids who are growing up this way?

JIT Videos - Thanks DiscoveryEd

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:25:00 +0000

I was listening to my daughter explain what they learned in science this week, when we came upon a challenging term in her notebook, mid-ocean ridge. I asked what it was and she couldn't tell me so I pulled my smartphone out of my pocket. She wanted to go to Google, but I insisted upon another approach. I figured Google would send us to Wikipedia and while the answer would be correct, it wouldn't be very accessible to a 6th grader.

I logged into DiscoveryEd (thanks Durham Public Schools!) and typed the word into their search. And sure enough several videos came up. This one, http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/3EB61358-BE93-4E30-99C6-F106C2CC4D8B, was the best. It had two experts explaining the term and showed an animated globe with a mid-ocean ridge. It was under 5 minutes long.

I learned in my videography class this week that short segments are helpful because students don't lose focus. Score! So after Hannah and I watched the video, I emailed the link to her science teacher so the whole class can watch on the data projector! I was delighted!

Blogging with the Beavers

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:34:00 +0000

My Little River colleagues are blogging with me. I learned how to post with the Blogger app on my phone.

Content Creation

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:55:00 +0000

My soon to be middle schooler has discovered the joy of creating content. H got a parent sponsored email address last week. She figured out on her own how to add it to her iPod Touch and wasted no time creating messages. She ran into my office and asked for my email address and seconds later came back to see if I got the message.

I had forgotten how thrilling email can be! I think she suddenly felt a part of a new world where she could solicit answers to questions in a mature way. No more yelling at Mom over the sound of the dishwasher and the TV, send her an email. . . and then yell "Mom, did you get my email?"

After tasting the thrill of sending text content to someone I encouraged her to take another step. She loves to watch videos on YouTube and I struggle with limiting her time on this medium. Yes, I have restrictions set on her iPod, but I want her thinking and creating not passively receiving. So I suggested that she could make a movie and publish it to YouTube. She has created four now, well that was the count as of 9:00. She started a series and is thrilled to watch her views and comments.

I know from my work in educational technology that creating for a wider audience is motivating to students, but I have seen it in action this summer. Watch out George Lucas, the next great cinematographer is in training!

School's Out for Summer!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 21:18:00 +0000

I'm not an Alice Cooper fan, but I love singing "School's Out for Summer" at least once every year. It was a big year end for me personally. My daughters each graduated, one from elementary school and one from middle school. We marked the occasion with small celebrations - pizza with friends, mother/daughter lunch, cookies baked by a favorite teacher, bestowing of gifts, thank you cards for teachers well loved. I feel blessed by their many talented teachers. I enjoy their giggling energetic friends. Such passages are always bittersweet. My heart swells with pride at their many accomplishments and yet I know that we are closing a chapter that cannot be revisited. Along with the celebrations I shed tears, all the things parents do.

I felt like I had tied everything up neatly with a bow on Thursday after the last graduation. On Friday morning, my last day at Little River for the year, I realized that I hadn't taken the time to reflect on the end of MY school year as a teacher. With the help of Caitlin Meseck and Candace Dymond, we launched an iPod cart. And then added a second iPod cart. Once hesitant teachers were using their data projectors regularly. I created videos in MovieMaker and iMovie, tools I had never used. I launched a fundraiser with much trepidation and raised over $1,000 for technology purchases.

It was a successful year in many respects, but I am left feeling that I could have done more. I was exhausted at the end of the day yesterday, but I couldn't stop thinking about unfinished business at school. I am ready for a good rest, change of scenery and recharge of energy. However, I know when August rolls around I will be ready to take on the challenge once again.

Remediation Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Mon, 28 May 2012 04:07:00 +0000

I recently suggested to the teachers at my school that they might be interested in creating videos with their students. Students who have mastered material could create a video to help students needing review. When they are finished the teachers will have a video for remediation this year and for instruction next year.

Need some inspiration? Here’s an example I found on YouTube - http://youtu.be/uBrhEJc8Ff0. I searched “fractions third grade students” to find it.

One of the third grade teachers, Anna Larson, is running with it and I can't wait to see what her students create!

Here are some basic steps for one-take videos from http://www.techlearning.com:

Pick a Topic

Decide whether the video will explain a concept or demonstrate an idea.

Assign the groups

Roles you might want to have for each group – script writer/reader, prop creator/manipulator, project manager, technical manager/camera operator

Pre-production

Students write the script. Assemble props. Rehearse without the camera.

Final production

Record! We have a full digital video camera and also several Flip cameras. Retake if there are any major mistakes. The idea is to avoid the editing step to accelerate the process.

Tech Fitness

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:59:00 +0000

I am planning to get back on my bike now that the graduate school semester is over and I have a little free time. I recently read about this cool Web site and thought it might help me stay motivated to workout! http://www.mapmyfitness.com You can map a track for jogging, cycling, walking the dog or completing a triathalon. You can see tracks other people have created or create your own on the Web site. It will estimate your calorie consumption. It has a social component so you can share your tracks on FaceBook or Twitter too. It seems pretty cool. There's an app too so if you have a smartphone you can carry your fitness map with you on your workout.

No More Bubble Sheets!

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:13:00 +0000

In just three short years, students in North Carolina will take state assessments on computers instead of with paper and pencil. Beginning in the school year 2014-15 all EOCs and EOGs will be administered online. This is an effort to provide 21st century assessments.

The state is already developing these assessments. Selected students at my school piloted an online version of the test last month. The test looks VERY different online and we need to start preparing our students now.

If you would like a quick preview of the test, you can go to this link and select a test to preview. http://go.ncsu.edu/nctdemo

You will need to turn off the pop up blocker in your browser first. Then click the drop down arrow, choose a test and then click 'Login'.

You can even share these resources with your students and give them some practice with taking the test online.

More Resources

Online Assessment Quick View Video – https://center.ncsu.edu/nc/pluginfile.php/1023911/mod_resource/content/4/nctestv25_promo_v1_viewlet_swf.html

Test Specifications for 2012-13 (ELA, Math, Science) – http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/assessment/online/

Online Assessment Best Practices Guide – http://www.ncpublicschools.org/acre/assessment/guide/

SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium - http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

Poetry Month Activities

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:26:00 +0000

Here are some great elementary school resources for National Poetry month. Teachers could share these with their class using a projector or as a center using a few classroom computers.

Poetry idea engine – This is a fun introductory activity that needs little supervision from a teacher. Students choose what type of poem they want to write. The “poetry engine” creates a framework, leaving some blank spaces for students to choose a word. They can print their poem when they are finished.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/activity/poetry-idea-engine-writing-writers-activity

Animated poetry readings from Shel Silverstein – students can click on a poem and then hear Shel Silverstein read it and watch his animated drawings. Great activity to project for the whole class or let students explore on their own on your classroom computers.

http://www.shelsilverstein.com/html/books.asp

Poetry writing with writers – This activity is more involved. Students use suggestions from famous poets to create their own poetry. Teachers would need to go over this in detail with their class or could use the ideas to make their own poetry writing activity.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/activity/poetry-writing-writers-activity

Parenting in a Flat World

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 18:48:00 +0000

The generation in power typically criticizes the up and coming generation. They bemoan how easy life is for the new generation. Mark Bauerlein in The Dumbest Generation identifies this argument as the "old fogy" complaint, even though he denies that his evaluation falls into this category. Bauerlein and Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat both criticize Generation Y for not reading more. I can agree with this argument. At 13 and 10 I still take my children to the library regularly and ask about what they are reading for school and pleasure. I think reading is key to academic success.

However, I question the assertion that screen time is the downfall of this generation. You can learn a great deal from documentaries on TV. Kids can learn strategy, decision making and teamwork from electronic games (Prensky, 2004). Children of this generation need to master technology tools. Their jobs will certainly require use of technology.

I believe the failure of parents today is not being involved with what they children are doing. What kind of games are they playing? What kind of shows are they watching? What lessons are they learning? What are they reading on their Kindle? Talk to your children about Fineas and Ferb. Find out what they are doing on Facebook? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using technology for different tasks. Should we look this word up in dictionary.com or pull the Webster's off the shelf? Go to the school Web site for tomorrow's lunch choice or the calendar in your backpack.

Yes, we should limit screen time, but we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water and cast technology as 100% bad for our kids.

Do You Edmodo?

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:45:00 +0000

I have been hearing more and more about Edmodo. It came up at NCTIES last month. I signed myself up for Edmodo, but I haven't started using it yet. (My group code is 39z8jh.) It looks a lot like Facebook and I am sure that my students would LOVE it. You can send messages, but students can't send them directly to each other. They can only send them to the teacher or the whole class. You can give assignments on Edmodo and track grades. You can even give the parents a code and let parents track their student's activities on Edmodo.

A colleague mentioned at bus duty this afternoon that her first grade classroom may go paperless next year. She asked me about keeping a Web site to post homework information and other updates for parents in place of paper. I almost did a cartwheel on the sidewalk!! I told her that we have many free tools for creating quick Web sites Pbwiki, Weebly, and Blogger. However, I suggested that she consider Edmodo. And she had heard of it too! So I think we will be going on an Edmodo adventure together.

One of the advantages I see for Edmodo is providing a safe social networking platform for teachers to interact with their students. I can imagine using it as an opportunity to discuss social networking outside the classroom with my students. It is definitely a great 21st century tool!

I am going to be looking for feedback from other teachers (especially K-5) who have used it. Here's the first one I found, http://blog.web20classroom.org/2012/03/why-you-should-give-edmodo-try.html.

"The Cloud" becomes Vanishing Fog

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:57:00 +0000

Vicki Davis, co-creator of the award winning Flat Classroom project, recently blogged here about problems with Google forms. She had a Google form removed without warning. She was tracking logins for a collaborative project with the form. Google has offered no explanation or apology for the removal.

Davis' researched the problem and found similar reports by others. Google's 'Terms of Service' explicitly says that users should NOT include userids and passwords in their documents. One of the people who commented on Davis' blog hypothesized that the problem stems from phishing campaigns. She suggests that removing documents with userids is one way that Google protects its users.

I believe that Google could protect its users and provide a much better service to its users by alerting them before removing their files. However, this does serve as a reminder to all of us.

The cloud is not foolproof. You should have a backup of you data. Don't rely on the magnanimity of a corporate entity to secure your data. They will not be up all night retyping your paper if it is lost.

Posting for Privacy, Peer Networking and Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Laura B. Fogle) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:42:00 +0000

Social Media has been on my mind this week.

I talked to 5^th graders at my school every afternoon about Internet safety. I stressed the importance of keeping personal information private and only meeting and friending people that they know in the face-to-face world. All the students are younger than 13, but they all knew what I was talking about when we discussed social networking and FaceBook. I think it is crucial for these tweens to start thinking about the Internet as critical consumers. This the activity I use as a follow-up to our conversations.

I also started using Google+. (Add me to your circle.) I was in a Google+ Hangout with fellow grad students on Thursday night. It was actually quite amazing. No one had to setup a Web telecast, schedule a teleconference bridge or even pass out a password. We just clicked on a link to join a Google+ Hangout at a time we shared through our class discussion board. It is much easier than Elluminate and can include more people at once than FaceTime or Skype. You can even participate if you don’t have a webcam through the chat and audio link. I am not sure Google+ will attract as many users as FaceBook but the online conferencing ability holds HUGE potential for education.

On the way home from the store this afternoon I heard this story about Middle East peace and FaceBook. It seems that citizens in Israel and Iran are posting on FaceBook, trying to calm the hawkish rhetoric that some politicians are spreading. And some Iranians have responded with positive, peaceful posts of their own. I had just read an article this week about educating students on the potential uses of social networking tools to drive social change. Move over Farmville, the peace movement is coming to FaceBook!