I'm totally excited about this coming year. I'm starting my 13th year, and I can say I haven't been this excited about what the year will bring in a long time. I'm adding some pretty exciting things to my class.
1. Gamification
For the past 9 years, I've been teaching World Cultural Geography, a non-AP geography class. I've struggled many times each year to find a way to make it meaningful to the students. It is hard to get my 9th graders to find interest in some of the content. Well, after spending some time researching gamification, talking with Tom Driscoll through Twitter and phone, I've decided to take the jump and gamify my World Cultural class. We are going to be members of the WIA (Wildcat Intelligence Agency) working our way throughout the world as an elite group of operatives, helping to solve many of the crises in various countries and regions. I'm super excited about the potential this will have for my class. Hopefully, it will energize me as well. I teach just one prep of this class, so I need something to make me want to be better for them. I will be continually updating my blog with the successes and failures of this project.
2. Augmented Reality
I started using this last year in both of my geography classes, and I LOVE the excitement it creates in the room. I'm very excited that I get to work closely this year with Brad Waid and Drew Minoch , of #2guys fame, as they transition to their roles at DAQRI. I've created a few things that we will be using at the beginning of the year to try and get the students excited as well. I envision many of the challenges from the gamification will be delivered to the teams via AR. As the school begins to incorporate this more and more into each classroom, I am very excited about the possibilities. I'm excited our science classes will be using the element cubes and the Anatomy 4D programs as well. I can't wait for their visit in September to get the faculty on board and excited as much as I am.
School starts on Monday. I can't wait for it to come. I'll keep you posted on the successes and trials throughout the year.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Leading from the Classroom
I just finished a leadership class at my church entitled, "A Leader Worth Following". It was a shift to the conventional look at leadership. What I liked most was it focused on leadership as influence rather than title. Just because someone has a "leadership" title, doesn't mean they are necessarily a leader worth following. There are people that have a leadership title that are, indeed, worthy of being followed. But, I was challenged to understand that I am a leader even without a "title". I'm a leader in my house, and I'm a leader in my classroom. Many times, teachers miss this. We know we are impacting and influencing the lives of so many students far beyond the walls of our class, but we miss that this is being a leader. I loved the facilitators take on leadership, and it is so relevant to the classroom, I knew I wanted to share. He said all leaders worth following have to focus on three areas: Authentic Character, Exceptional Competency and Relational Connections.
1. Authentic Character- Being authentic in the classroom is something that pulls students in and makes them want to learn and participate in the classroom. Having great character means that all students are treated with respect and know that they are valued in the classroom. Having authentic character also means that all students can feel safe in the classroom. Also, it means that we do what we say we're going to do. Students appreciate a teacher that is consistent with everyone. I try my best to be an encourager, a safe place for all students, and consistent.
2. Exceptional Competency- This is one that I think is of utmost importance in the classroom. There are so many great and new strategies out there, and we need to be looking for the best ways to engage our students in the classroom. Also, we need to be constant learners of our content. I have learned so much Human Geography over the past 7 years, that it makes what I thought I knew my first year teaching the course laughable. I keep thinking if I never attempted to learn more about the subject matter, how pathetic my class would be. My students would hate it! I would hate it! I would probably want to quit. I am very proud of the fact that my course and my teaching style isn't the same as it was 7 years ago or even 2 years ago. Over the past year, I've learned more about teaching and learning through engaging on Twitter than I have in the previous 11 years teaching. We NEED to model what it means to be a learner. Our students don't know what it takes to be a true learner. So many of them have perfected learning for the grade which will only get them so far. They need to learn the importance of exceptional competency as well.
3. Relational Connections- We all remember those teachers that made the biggest impacts in our lives. They are the ones that took the time to create a connection with us. I've seen the importance of relationships. This year, I decided I would write every one of my students a note and stick it to their answer sheet prior to the AP exam. This was born out of this class I took. It was very time consuming to write 110 individual notes, but when the students saw me after the test, they were so thankful. They recognized the time it took to write each of them, and they were impressed they were each individual. Many of them even posted pictures of them on Twitter, tagging me to show their gratitude. I'm not sure if the notes will help them do better on the AP test, but they knew their teacher thought enough of them to write them a personal note. One girl said, "Mr. Parker, did you really mean what you wrote?" I said, "Of course I did!" She almost started crying. She told me it was the nicest thing a teacher ever said to her. I know I'll remember the reaction these students had to such a small gesture. It made me want to make this feel this special so many more times throughout the year.
So, teachers, you are a leader! You have influence over a group of young people for a given time. What will they take away from your classroom? I want my students to learn as much geography as they can, but I want to instill in them a love of learning and a new perspective they've never before seen. So, no, I have no official "leadership title", but I am a leader. I hope that I can be a leader worth following to my students!
1. Authentic Character- Being authentic in the classroom is something that pulls students in and makes them want to learn and participate in the classroom. Having great character means that all students are treated with respect and know that they are valued in the classroom. Having authentic character also means that all students can feel safe in the classroom. Also, it means that we do what we say we're going to do. Students appreciate a teacher that is consistent with everyone. I try my best to be an encourager, a safe place for all students, and consistent.
2. Exceptional Competency- This is one that I think is of utmost importance in the classroom. There are so many great and new strategies out there, and we need to be looking for the best ways to engage our students in the classroom. Also, we need to be constant learners of our content. I have learned so much Human Geography over the past 7 years, that it makes what I thought I knew my first year teaching the course laughable. I keep thinking if I never attempted to learn more about the subject matter, how pathetic my class would be. My students would hate it! I would hate it! I would probably want to quit. I am very proud of the fact that my course and my teaching style isn't the same as it was 7 years ago or even 2 years ago. Over the past year, I've learned more about teaching and learning through engaging on Twitter than I have in the previous 11 years teaching. We NEED to model what it means to be a learner. Our students don't know what it takes to be a true learner. So many of them have perfected learning for the grade which will only get them so far. They need to learn the importance of exceptional competency as well.
3. Relational Connections- We all remember those teachers that made the biggest impacts in our lives. They are the ones that took the time to create a connection with us. I've seen the importance of relationships. This year, I decided I would write every one of my students a note and stick it to their answer sheet prior to the AP exam. This was born out of this class I took. It was very time consuming to write 110 individual notes, but when the students saw me after the test, they were so thankful. They recognized the time it took to write each of them, and they were impressed they were each individual. Many of them even posted pictures of them on Twitter, tagging me to show their gratitude. I'm not sure if the notes will help them do better on the AP test, but they knew their teacher thought enough of them to write them a personal note. One girl said, "Mr. Parker, did you really mean what you wrote?" I said, "Of course I did!" She almost started crying. She told me it was the nicest thing a teacher ever said to her. I know I'll remember the reaction these students had to such a small gesture. It made me want to make this feel this special so many more times throughout the year.
So, teachers, you are a leader! You have influence over a group of young people for a given time. What will they take away from your classroom? I want my students to learn as much geography as they can, but I want to instill in them a love of learning and a new perspective they've never before seen. So, no, I have no official "leadership title", but I am a leader. I hope that I can be a leader worth following to my students!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Why is there so much resistance?
Last month, we held our annual Curriculum Celebration. Working with the Curriculum Resource Teacher, I suggested that we use it as a time to focus the faculty on educational technology. I teach at a school where many seem focused on not letting technology become a part of the culture. You go to meetings and hear all the excuses why we shouldn't bring tech into the classroom ranging from not every kid has a device to it is way to distracting for the students. There is even a teacher that has a basket in front of his class and expects all the students to place their phones or devices so they don't use them at all in the classroom.
How do you work to encourage the use of technology more in the classrooms? After using it in my classroom frequently, I know the benefit it has in making the classroom more engaging. Now, this isn't to say that there are days where I still do a lesson without technology. I am just tired of meeting resistance from the classroom and the administrators about the use of technology in the classroom. My school is slipping further and further behind so many schools in the area and state because so many refuse to even try to see the importance of technology in the world outside the classroom. We used to be a leader in the district, but we are from it now!
So, if you're facing a school full of resistance like I am, here's my advice to you. Stay the course with your integration of technology. I have found I get more teachers on my side when I invite them into my classroom to see how a specific technology is being used. This shows them how they can use it in their classroom as well. Sometimes it is hard to sit at a training or read an article about technology and bring it to life in your classroom. After inviting people a few times to my classroom to see Augmented Reality in use, one of our English teachers decided she would try it out in her classroom and created an amazing lesson for her Shakespeare unit that everyone else in the department loved so much, they used it as well. I have now won over the English department. Slowly, but surely, I know I'll have a majority of teachers on the side of technology that the others will feel alone in their complaints.
Be prepared to have a lot of questions from teachers as they start using various technology in their classroom. I welcome the questions because it means they are trying to use it.
Hopefully, that will happen soon, for the sake of our students!
How do you work to encourage the use of technology more in the classrooms? After using it in my classroom frequently, I know the benefit it has in making the classroom more engaging. Now, this isn't to say that there are days where I still do a lesson without technology. I am just tired of meeting resistance from the classroom and the administrators about the use of technology in the classroom. My school is slipping further and further behind so many schools in the area and state because so many refuse to even try to see the importance of technology in the world outside the classroom. We used to be a leader in the district, but we are from it now!
So, if you're facing a school full of resistance like I am, here's my advice to you. Stay the course with your integration of technology. I have found I get more teachers on my side when I invite them into my classroom to see how a specific technology is being used. This shows them how they can use it in their classroom as well. Sometimes it is hard to sit at a training or read an article about technology and bring it to life in your classroom. After inviting people a few times to my classroom to see Augmented Reality in use, one of our English teachers decided she would try it out in her classroom and created an amazing lesson for her Shakespeare unit that everyone else in the department loved so much, they used it as well. I have now won over the English department. Slowly, but surely, I know I'll have a majority of teachers on the side of technology that the others will feel alone in their complaints.
Be prepared to have a lot of questions from teachers as they start using various technology in their classroom. I welcome the questions because it means they are trying to use it.
Hopefully, that will happen soon, for the sake of our students!
My First Experience with Augmented Reality
I was relatively new to Twitter. I was trying to build my PLN to see the effectiveness of the tool. I found two guys, Brad Waid and Drew Minoch. They have a blog, 2 Guys and Some iPads. I started looking around there, watching their web show (which is awesome!), and I quickly learned about Augmented Reality, specifically Aurasma. Seeing this in action on the episode made me think, "How can I use this in my high school geography classroom?" So, I decided to give it a try.
There was a lesson that I've done a few times dealing with Population Pyramids where the students analyze a pyramid to determine what is going on in a country based on the size and the shape. In the past, I've had the students analyze the pyramid and then come to me and see if they were correct. This is a great activity, but it lead to a lot of standing/waiting time while I discussed with the students about their answers. There would be times that there were 5 or more students standing in line waiting for me, which meant they weren't working. So, I decided to augment the lesson.
It took a while for me to get used to the whole process, but by the end of the preparation, it was so much easier! There were 10 pyramids they were to analyze. I wish I had a picture of my students faces the first time they saw the purple swirl appear on their smart phones and then the video pop up describing what they saw in the pyramid. I still remember the shocked looks and the cries of "WOW!!!" and "THAT'S AWESOME!!!!" This is definitely something I knew I had to use more than once in my classroom. After they all got to working, the room was full of a great excitement. I was now free to walk around and talk with each pair independently. This allowed me more time with the work with students that didn't understand what one of the pyramids was telling them about the country.
After my first AR experience, I was a total believer. It made me want to learn more and more about a variety of EdTech out there. It inspired me to be a better teacher and to integrate more technology into my classroom. Just trying this has made me a totally different teacher...
for the better.
So, if you haven't tried or even heard of Augmented Reality, give it a try. You'll become a huge fan just like me!
There was a lesson that I've done a few times dealing with Population Pyramids where the students analyze a pyramid to determine what is going on in a country based on the size and the shape. In the past, I've had the students analyze the pyramid and then come to me and see if they were correct. This is a great activity, but it lead to a lot of standing/waiting time while I discussed with the students about their answers. There would be times that there were 5 or more students standing in line waiting for me, which meant they weren't working. So, I decided to augment the lesson.
It took a while for me to get used to the whole process, but by the end of the preparation, it was so much easier! There were 10 pyramids they were to analyze. I wish I had a picture of my students faces the first time they saw the purple swirl appear on their smart phones and then the video pop up describing what they saw in the pyramid. I still remember the shocked looks and the cries of "WOW!!!" and "THAT'S AWESOME!!!!" This is definitely something I knew I had to use more than once in my classroom. After they all got to working, the room was full of a great excitement. I was now free to walk around and talk with each pair independently. This allowed me more time with the work with students that didn't understand what one of the pyramids was telling them about the country.
After my first AR experience, I was a total believer. It made me want to learn more and more about a variety of EdTech out there. It inspired me to be a better teacher and to integrate more technology into my classroom. Just trying this has made me a totally different teacher...
So, if you haven't tried or even heard of Augmented Reality, give it a try. You'll become a huge fan just like me!
Monday, March 3, 2014
I'm not a EdTechie, but trying my best
I think the biggest issue teachers face when looking at technology is they feel inadequate. Believe me, I know the feeling. Every time I turn around, there are new apps to do this or a new program that does that. It is daunting to cull through all of these when you don't feel like a major techie at all (heck, its more daunting for us novice techies!). Over the summer, I was asked to help write the "digital curriculum" for my course for the district. It is the desire of the district to move completely digital in a few years. I was asked, not because I am super amazing with technology and can give some amazing ideas of how to incorporate it into a classroom effectively, but because I was the "content expert". I must admit, what I did was far from stellar. Well, that few weeks looking over a variety of internet sites got me totally interested in radically changing my classroom. So, this year, I decided to start slowly integrating some digital curriculum pieces to see how they work. Here is what I've learned so far.
1. You don't have to be an expert in everything to move towards a digital classroom.
Like I already said, I am in no way a technie. You can talk with my brother about hardware and software, and he'll understand most everything you're saying. I'm not even sure I totally understand the difference between RAM and ROM. However, that doesn't stop me from finding things and trying things with my students. I'm not an expert, but there is definitely someone who is, so find them and beg, borrow and steal as much as you. There are some pretty amazing educators who use tech in their classrooms every day that I only wish I could be like.
2. The students are experts in the technology truly relevant to them. Let them show you.
This is what I love the most. I tell the students often that I do not know or understand all of the apps and websites and things that they spend a good portion of their live fixed on. I like that I can let them explore and try new things with whatever they want to use. Often times, I even ask them, "Hey, this is what I want to do, what are some ways I can do that?" That empowers them. My students know that I will never declare I am the only expert in the classroom, and that I often admit that I am not an expert about a lot things. Giving them the chance to use what they want the way they want to get the information across empowers them in ways they've never been empowered before in a classroom.
3. Try new things. Even if they don't work, you will find something else that will work better.
I had a great idea of having my students work on a world religions project using Prezi. The students were in groups covering different religions. I thought that we could create a Prezi that every student in the classroom would access. We were in the computer lab. The students were working, but the more stuff they put on the Prezi, the more it crashed. Students would hit the wrong undo button and clear whatever was done in the last few minutes. It was a DISASTER! The students were frustrated, I was frustrated, and I feel that the purpose of the lesson was lost. It was unfortunate, but now I know a few things that I didn't know. Yes, you can crash Prezi! Yes, just because it is technology doesn't mean the students will love the lesson. Yes, it is ok to admit you made a mistake in curricular design and the students won't think you're the worst teacher ever. It has now become a running joke with my classes this that when we doing something using the computers. Every period, they are begging, "Please, don't let is be another Prezi!!!!!"
4. Don't just take an old worksheet, post it on a website and call it using technology.
The students can see right through that. It is a start, but please don't think that is moving into the 21st century and using technology in an appropriate way. I have to confess, this is mostly what I did for the "digital curriculum" for my district. It is embarrassing now looking back and seeing what I came up with.
So, hopefully this can help. I will be posting periodically about my journey into the tech world. It is a scary place to be, but it is really exciting! Thanks for joining me on my journey.
1. You don't have to be an expert in everything to move towards a digital classroom.
Like I already said, I am in no way a technie. You can talk with my brother about hardware and software, and he'll understand most everything you're saying. I'm not even sure I totally understand the difference between RAM and ROM. However, that doesn't stop me from finding things and trying things with my students. I'm not an expert, but there is definitely someone who is, so find them and beg, borrow and steal as much as you. There are some pretty amazing educators who use tech in their classrooms every day that I only wish I could be like.
2. The students are experts in the technology truly relevant to them. Let them show you.
This is what I love the most. I tell the students often that I do not know or understand all of the apps and websites and things that they spend a good portion of their live fixed on. I like that I can let them explore and try new things with whatever they want to use. Often times, I even ask them, "Hey, this is what I want to do, what are some ways I can do that?" That empowers them. My students know that I will never declare I am the only expert in the classroom, and that I often admit that I am not an expert about a lot things. Giving them the chance to use what they want the way they want to get the information across empowers them in ways they've never been empowered before in a classroom.
3. Try new things. Even if they don't work, you will find something else that will work better.
I had a great idea of having my students work on a world religions project using Prezi. The students were in groups covering different religions. I thought that we could create a Prezi that every student in the classroom would access. We were in the computer lab. The students were working, but the more stuff they put on the Prezi, the more it crashed. Students would hit the wrong undo button and clear whatever was done in the last few minutes. It was a DISASTER! The students were frustrated, I was frustrated, and I feel that the purpose of the lesson was lost. It was unfortunate, but now I know a few things that I didn't know. Yes, you can crash Prezi! Yes, just because it is technology doesn't mean the students will love the lesson. Yes, it is ok to admit you made a mistake in curricular design and the students won't think you're the worst teacher ever. It has now become a running joke with my classes this that when we doing something using the computers. Every period, they are begging, "Please, don't let is be another Prezi!!!!!"
4. Don't just take an old worksheet, post it on a website and call it using technology.
The students can see right through that. It is a start, but please don't think that is moving into the 21st century and using technology in an appropriate way. I have to confess, this is mostly what I did for the "digital curriculum" for my district. It is embarrassing now looking back and seeing what I came up with.
So, hopefully this can help. I will be posting periodically about my journey into the tech world. It is a scary place to be, but it is really exciting! Thanks for joining me on my journey.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
A Real World Audience
Yesterday, my students held our first ever "Know Your Food" Food Festival. I keep hearing how important it is to have a "real-world" audience in mind while presenting a topic. I've tried this with most of the presentations I've done with my AP students. They've done presentations as if they were in front of the United Nations seeking assistance or to a group of NGOs trying to vie for their support depending on how their goals for development in their own country. They've taken a role, and tried the best a 14-15 year old can do to understand the intricacies of that role. In their presentations yesterday, they didn't have to present to an imagined audience, they presented to their peers during their lunch hour. The project was based on the topic, "What every high school student should know about their food".
So, a bunch of high school freshmen were presenting to other high school freshmen what they thought they should know about food and the food industry. There were booths that were comparing organic and non-organic farms, discussing the unequal global distribution of food, looking at cage free farms and feedlots. The best part about this project is that I laid the foundation for the project, but I gave them few parameters. They chose their groups, topics (not from a list of topics I generated, but one they wanted to research and present), designed their booths in a way that would attract a high school freshmen. The best part is they know what high school freshmen would be interested in because they are high school freshmen. So many times, the "real-world" audience is still so far removed from their lives. My students have no knowledge of understand about the United Nations. What happens in that building is totally foreign to them. But ask them what would get a student to come to your booth during lunch to learn about food? They knew exactly how to attract their classmates. Over 500 students participated. My students were on it. They had their talks ready, short and concise to keep the attention of the audience. They had giveaways and food to attract people to their booths. The captivated their "real-world" audience, and the other students loved it!
So, a bunch of high school freshmen were presenting to other high school freshmen what they thought they should know about food and the food industry. There were booths that were comparing organic and non-organic farms, discussing the unequal global distribution of food, looking at cage free farms and feedlots. The best part about this project is that I laid the foundation for the project, but I gave them few parameters. They chose their groups, topics (not from a list of topics I generated, but one they wanted to research and present), designed their booths in a way that would attract a high school freshmen. The best part is they know what high school freshmen would be interested in because they are high school freshmen. So many times, the "real-world" audience is still so far removed from their lives. My students have no knowledge of understand about the United Nations. What happens in that building is totally foreign to them. But ask them what would get a student to come to your booth during lunch to learn about food? They knew exactly how to attract their classmates. Over 500 students participated. My students were on it. They had their talks ready, short and concise to keep the attention of the audience. They had giveaways and food to attract people to their booths. The captivated their "real-world" audience, and the other students loved it!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
To Flip or Not To Flip?
To Flip of Not to Flip?
So, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the "Flipped Classroom". I LOVE it! I've done it a few times in my classes, and I think it has worked out amazingly well. I don't do it for every lesson, but I choose the ones that are the most difficult for the students to comprehend and do it then. The problem I have is I see other using "the flip" in very ineffective ways, and it is really upsetting. I don't know how to address them in a way that would be constructive and non-threatening.
For instance, there's a teacher that claims to be flipping her class. Her students go home and take notes on a PowerPoint. They come back to class. She may spend 5 minutes (this is her own admission in a parent conference) answering questions. She then has the students complete guided notes over the information as she sits at her desk and waits for them to approach her with their questions. If they don't have any questions, she'll either grade papers or work on her computer (yet again, her own admissions in a parent conference).
I see this as a complete waste of flipping a class. How is this any different from what the students used to do when they would go home and read the textbook, taking notes? I think in classes that are still structured like that, those teachers still lecture, so the students are getting some guidance in the attainment of content. The students feel unsupported in this classroom. It is so unfortunate because these are the best students in our school and would benefit so much from the flipped classroom.
This is the one thing that frustrates me about the claim of a student-centered classroom. You have teachers who take that as it is the students' job to figure out what they know and what they don't know. I'm just here to guide them along the way. Really? I teacher 14 year olds. They aren't sure about anything in their lives, let alone what they completely understand and what confuses them about Geography or Algebra 2 or Biology or Shakespeare. I'm all for them learning this, but I know they don't have that expertise just yet. Heck, there are things I think I understand and can do, but I only realize I can't after giving it a try.
I'm not sure what the answer is, I just want people to be mindful of going along with the new eduction trend, but not doing it in a meaningful way. There are so many great ideas out there, choose the one that best fits you and your classroom, and do it all the way. Your students will know that you don't fully buy into it, and they may possibly revolt against you at some point in the year.
Just some thoughts.
Stewart
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