I watched this TED video of Dan Meyer explaining what is wrong with the the way most math curricula teach problem solving. The video is on an Educational Technology and Mobile Learning post; I did not watch all of them, but you may want to check out the others as well. I went to his blog, and this guy has some truly incredible stuff.
I've spent he past hour or so looking at some of Dan's curricula, sample problems, ideas, thoughts, and philosophy about teaching math. Truly impressive. He's already given me about 100 new ideas, plus all of his curricula are posted on the blog for download - all under a CC attribution license.
If you're not a math teacher, check it out anyway.
If you are a math teacher, go to this site.
Now.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Google Forms tutorial
Not a lot to comment on here, just a good reference that fits in with this week's Wiki assignment. I found this video tutorial on some advanced features in Google Forms at Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. The video is of a Webinar session, and is about an hour long. I haven't watched all of it yet, but what I did see looked pretty good.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Parents hurting Facebook?
I found this article on the Huffington Post Tech page, where one analyst claims that many teenagers are moving away from Facebook because their parents are using it. It follows that age-old belief of teenagers that if you parents are doing it, it must not be cool. The article also cites an AP report that says kids are getting fed up with friend requests from parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents, and so are flocking to Twitter for their social networking.
This all struck me as interesting, and made me think about what we're doing as educators using technology. Will our efforts to bring the technology our students are using into the classroom make it become "uncool"? If your parents on Facebook is not cool, how about your teachers asking you to do school stuff on Facebook? Apply question that to any number of emerging technology applications.
My students sometimes send me friend requests on Facebook, but I do not have current students as my Facebook friends; too easy to post something you really don't want your students reading. With that in mind, I think we need to take care in how we're using technology in our teaching, and how much we're using technology in our teaching. We may get to the point that our students will start seeing too much of a good thing, which may well start to turn them off rather than motivate. As with anything, a good balance and mixture of technology and "traditional" teaching methods is the way to go.
This all struck me as interesting, and made me think about what we're doing as educators using technology. Will our efforts to bring the technology our students are using into the classroom make it become "uncool"? If your parents on Facebook is not cool, how about your teachers asking you to do school stuff on Facebook? Apply question that to any number of emerging technology applications.
My students sometimes send me friend requests on Facebook, but I do not have current students as my Facebook friends; too easy to post something you really don't want your students reading. With that in mind, I think we need to take care in how we're using technology in our teaching, and how much we're using technology in our teaching. We may get to the point that our students will start seeing too much of a good thing, which may well start to turn them off rather than motivate. As with anything, a good balance and mixture of technology and "traditional" teaching methods is the way to go.
Friday, July 27, 2012
China's crime crackdown or censorship?
This piece from BBC.com helps explain some of my current reality as an educator trying to find ways to utilize Web 2.0 tools effectively in my classroom. The article, "China arrests thousands in latest Internet crime crackdown", describes efforts by the Chinese government to suppress cyber crime; but it is unclear as to whether this is about cracking down on things like busting porn sites, and sites selling information illegally online or whether this latest crackdown is another excuse to initiate further censorship.
This is why that as long as I'm teaching in China, many of the tools we are using and learning about in this class will be unavailable to me and my students (I've written some about this topic in the past). This is just another entry on the lengthening list of reasons that we will probably not stay in China after the 2012 - 2013 school year; it's just getting to be too much of a hassle.
And by the way, I'm posting this from China now - Swiss holiday is over :-( So if you don't hear anything else from me, I've probably been scooped up in this latest effort to censor "harmful" writings on the web in China.
This is why that as long as I'm teaching in China, many of the tools we are using and learning about in this class will be unavailable to me and my students (I've written some about this topic in the past). This is just another entry on the lengthening list of reasons that we will probably not stay in China after the 2012 - 2013 school year; it's just getting to be too much of a hassle.
And by the way, I'm posting this from China now - Swiss holiday is over :-( So if you don't hear anything else from me, I've probably been scooped up in this latest effort to censor "harmful" writings on the web in China.
The article, "Backwards Planning Takes Time", by Rebecca Alber from Edutopia, served to reinforce several ideas that I'm sure we're all familiar with, the main one for be being that your summative assessments have to be guided and informed by the standards and/or learning objectives you want to assess. This is not groundbreaking educational insight, but this short piece did get me thinking about the ways in which many teachers use technology in their practice.
I see some of my colleagues jumping on this, that, or the other technology bandwagon, all fired up and ready to start using some cool technology in their classrooms. The thing is, they're not linking it to any standards or objectives; they just see something that looks cool or interesting and throw that at their students because they feel like or hope) it will make the topic more fun or engaging. My experience is that kids can sniff out this kind of pointless assignment a mile away, technology based or not. And while it may be fun or interesting for the students to use a new form of technology, they will quickly see that the assignment has no real point and lose interest. One thing that I have learned thus far in this master's program is that if teachers plan to really use technology in meaningful and engaging ways, they must plan for it just as they would any other lesson, project, activity, or assessment. This is done not by throwing in a cool technology project just for the fun of it, but by carefully assessing what kinds of technology-based instruction will best help the students meet the learning goals and objectives. In some cases, technology use my not always be the best solution, so we have to careful about using all of the tools that modern educators have available.
And remember, even though it would be nice to be seen as the "fun, cool" teacher who lets their students engage in a lot of technology use, the kids will become disenchanted if they're not really learning anything from it.
I see some of my colleagues jumping on this, that, or the other technology bandwagon, all fired up and ready to start using some cool technology in their classrooms. The thing is, they're not linking it to any standards or objectives; they just see something that looks cool or interesting and throw that at their students because they feel like or hope) it will make the topic more fun or engaging. My experience is that kids can sniff out this kind of pointless assignment a mile away, technology based or not. And while it may be fun or interesting for the students to use a new form of technology, they will quickly see that the assignment has no real point and lose interest. One thing that I have learned thus far in this master's program is that if teachers plan to really use technology in meaningful and engaging ways, they must plan for it just as they would any other lesson, project, activity, or assessment. This is done not by throwing in a cool technology project just for the fun of it, but by carefully assessing what kinds of technology-based instruction will best help the students meet the learning goals and objectives. In some cases, technology use my not always be the best solution, so we have to careful about using all of the tools that modern educators have available.
And remember, even though it would be nice to be seen as the "fun, cool" teacher who lets their students engage in a lot of technology use, the kids will become disenchanted if they're not really learning anything from it.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Some surprising truths about multitasking
I first got started reading about multitasking this morning with this article from the Huffington Post's technology page. Author Daniel Guloti writes about the debilitating effects of multitasking - not on the multitaskers themselves, but on the people around them. While this was mildly interesting, the more fascinating stuff came from the sources Guloti cited in support of his article.
So I followed some of those links and read more about multitasking and its effects on people's brains. One study showed that less than 3% of the population can actually multitask effectively; the researchers were unable to identify what factors separated these individuals. Other research indicated that multitasking led to reduced productivity, increased stress, and led to as much as a 10% drop in IQ while multitasking - this from the Harvard Business Review.
But the article that I found most interesting is from Mail Online, entitled "Is multi-tasking bad for your brain?", by John Naish. Naish cites several sources, including MIT neuroscientists, the Journal of Experimental Psychology, and behavioral and clinical psychologists, who all warn that not only is multitasking not really possible for most people, it is actually harmful.
The article also debunks a couple of myths about multitasking. The first is that women are better at it; the research does not support this. The second untrue myth, and far more important for educators, is that young people who are growing up as multitaskers are better at it, that their brains are being "rewired" for multitasking, and that it's a good thing. Not so, according to Naish. The research cited in the article indicates that:
So I followed some of those links and read more about multitasking and its effects on people's brains. One study showed that less than 3% of the population can actually multitask effectively; the researchers were unable to identify what factors separated these individuals. Other research indicated that multitasking led to reduced productivity, increased stress, and led to as much as a 10% drop in IQ while multitasking - this from the Harvard Business Review.
But the article that I found most interesting is from Mail Online, entitled "Is multi-tasking bad for your brain?", by John Naish. Naish cites several sources, including MIT neuroscientists, the Journal of Experimental Psychology, and behavioral and clinical psychologists, who all warn that not only is multitasking not really possible for most people, it is actually harmful.
The article also debunks a couple of myths about multitasking. The first is that women are better at it; the research does not support this. The second untrue myth, and far more important for educators, is that young people who are growing up as multitaskers are better at it, that their brains are being "rewired" for multitasking, and that it's a good thing. Not so, according to Naish. The research cited in the article indicates that:
- the more time students spend on multitasking the harder time they have focusing on a single intellectual task, like reading a book.
- studying while multitasking sends information to parts of the brain where it is difficult to retrieve.
- humans are not built to think this way - we're built to focus.
- multitasking is actually bad for a child's intellectual development.
- children who spend their formative years multitasking lose out on forming interpersonal skills.
- multitasking can rob people of self-awareness and creativity.
So think again if you really believe that the 21st century is all about multitasking, and kids being able to do several things at the same time in your classroom. A lot of the research out there says it isn't so, and that's enough for me to question, research further, and to find out what the truth really is. But as with most research done in trying to understand the human brain and how it works, there are rarely clear-cut answers.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Why arts education is important
People ask me all of the time about the differences in being a band director and a math teacher. My answers usually have two common threads. People treat me with much more respect and assume that I am much smarter now that I'm a math teacher, not a band director; and I work a lot less as a math teacher than I ever did as a band director. Most people are also surprised by these answers, but they are the truth, at least for me.
But the main thing that is true for me as a math teacher is that I no longer have to justify what I teach as being important; everyone thinks math is an essential, but few people truly feel that music education is critical to having a good school. Oh, yes, every administrator I've ever had has told me how important music is, but when it comes right down to it, music and other arts programs are the first to be cut when school budgets fall on hard times. My wife, who teaches instrumental music, is facing this issue yet again in our current school. That's why she's pursuing a degree to become a certified school counselor - she's had enough of having to constantly defend what she does as an educator. She's damn good at what she does, by the way...
That's why I found this video posted on Edutopia to be a refreshing breath of air. The music educators on the video explain the importance of music in their students' lives. The big buzz in education these days is "social constructivism", and I can say that a band rehearsal (or any performing ensemble rehearsal, for that matter) is nothing but non-stop social constructivism in action. So I was doing what the experts' consensus of "best practice" in education currently is way back in 1985, and ensemble conductors and teachers were practicing it for decades before that.
I could go on for quite some length here and bore you with my harangue on advocacy for music and arts education. Watch the video instead.
But the main thing that is true for me as a math teacher is that I no longer have to justify what I teach as being important; everyone thinks math is an essential, but few people truly feel that music education is critical to having a good school. Oh, yes, every administrator I've ever had has told me how important music is, but when it comes right down to it, music and other arts programs are the first to be cut when school budgets fall on hard times. My wife, who teaches instrumental music, is facing this issue yet again in our current school. That's why she's pursuing a degree to become a certified school counselor - she's had enough of having to constantly defend what she does as an educator. She's damn good at what she does, by the way...
That's why I found this video posted on Edutopia to be a refreshing breath of air. The music educators on the video explain the importance of music in their students' lives. The big buzz in education these days is "social constructivism", and I can say that a band rehearsal (or any performing ensemble rehearsal, for that matter) is nothing but non-stop social constructivism in action. So I was doing what the experts' consensus of "best practice" in education currently is way back in 1985, and ensemble conductors and teachers were practicing it for decades before that.
I could go on for quite some length here and bore you with my harangue on advocacy for music and arts education. Watch the video instead.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Professional development is essential in technology integration
While I really don't want to seem like I keep harping on the same topics in this blog, it seems like several topics keep on popping up in my weekly reading. Kathy Baron's article "Professional Development Adds Up for Maine's Math Teachers", from Edutopia, cites a two-year study that "examined the impact of high quality ongoing professional development" conducted with middle school math classes in Maine.
The researchers identified what "high quality" professional development entails, and the list reproduced in the article is very interesting. One of the items on the list that stood out for me was that effective technology PD begins with learning and content goals, and effective teaching methods, and not with technology. So what I'm reading over and over is that using technology in education is way more effective if it is accompanied by appropriate support, training, and professional development.
Reiterating what I've posted previously: schools can have all the latest, coolest technology, lots of toys and gadgets for teachers students to use and experiment with, and state-of-the-art hardware and software - but without showing teachers how to effectively utilize all of that amazing technology, it's not going to be nearly as cool as it could be.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Can e-readers replace textbooks?
In reading the article "Start Your Back-to-School Shopping With These Tools" from Ed Tech, the one item that stood out for me was using the Kindle Fire as a way to start replacing books in schools. This makes a lot of sense to me, especially in my current teaching situation in an international school in China. Since our language of instruction is English, all textbooks must be ordered from outside of China. I won't go into all of the gory details, but this is an extreme hassle, as I've found out since becoming the mathematics chair and being responsible for ordering all educational materials for the department.
The pilot program described in this article, also from Ed Tech, was to use funds budgeted for textbooks to purchase 100 Kindle Fire tablets for student use. E-books are much less expensive, and some publishers allow deployment of e-books to five Kindles, while others have no limitations. So for my school, we could save a ton of money on shipping costs alone, to say nothing of the import duties and screening of our educational materials by the PRC government. My wife, who teaches music, goes through all kinds of hassles since only "approved" music can be imported into China. Plus, all of our educational resources must be purchased through a special government agent. So even if we had to pay the same price for an e-book as we currently pay for the paper textbook, we still save a lot of money, time, and frustration. I'm not sure what direction educational publishers are going with making more of their material available as e-books, but I think it is something that cannot be ignored.
This is something that I will be suggesting to our administration for future exploration. The books for all of my classes are on CD, so I have been in a paperless textbook environment for the past seven years. The kids have no problems with it, and in fact most of them prefer reading their books on their device of choice rather than using a "regular" book. For the upcoming school year, our math department will only be issuing hard copy textbooks to those students who request one. I believe this will be the way of the future, and the traditional textbook will become a vanishing commodity.
The pilot program described in this article, also from Ed Tech, was to use funds budgeted for textbooks to purchase 100 Kindle Fire tablets for student use. E-books are much less expensive, and some publishers allow deployment of e-books to five Kindles, while others have no limitations. So for my school, we could save a ton of money on shipping costs alone, to say nothing of the import duties and screening of our educational materials by the PRC government. My wife, who teaches music, goes through all kinds of hassles since only "approved" music can be imported into China. Plus, all of our educational resources must be purchased through a special government agent. So even if we had to pay the same price for an e-book as we currently pay for the paper textbook, we still save a lot of money, time, and frustration. I'm not sure what direction educational publishers are going with making more of their material available as e-books, but I think it is something that cannot be ignored.
This is something that I will be suggesting to our administration for future exploration. The books for all of my classes are on CD, so I have been in a paperless textbook environment for the past seven years. The kids have no problems with it, and in fact most of them prefer reading their books on their device of choice rather than using a "regular" book. For the upcoming school year, our math department will only be issuing hard copy textbooks to those students who request one. I believe this will be the way of the future, and the traditional textbook will become a vanishing commodity.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Another look at iPads
I'm not trying to stick to a theme this week, but Ben Johnson's article "How the iPad Can Transform Classroom Learning" from Edutopia reiterates some common themes in the articles I 've been reading lately. Johnson points out that one of the keys to making student use of technology in the classroom work is that it must be planned and directed by the teacher. He points out that if the students are actively engaged in an authentic and genuinely interesting problem-solving using technology, then the temptation to use their devices inappropriately during class will be greatly diminished or eliminated.
So it seems to me that having the students making full use of the technology at their fingertips in the classroom takes careful planning, monitoring and direction from the teacher so that the kids aren't off task. It can't become a free-for-all with students randomly using their technology for whatever they feel like during class. This means that we as the educational leaders in the classroom must make certain that we plan activities, projects, and learning environments that are technology friendly for our digital natives, but that always have an educational goal and/or learning outcome at their core.
I know for me that this will take some time and careful consideration. One example for a math class that Johnson gives in his article has the teacher saying, "OK class take out your iPads and find the best geometric form for a deep sea submarine." Maybe a good foundation for the start of the lesson, but the teacher also better outline goals and objectives of the activity, give the students clear criteria as to what their answers must include, and closely monitor their activity and progress. Otherwise, you end up with a room full of students aimlessly surfing the net - and without a clearly defined goal, it will be easy for them to get off track.
So it seems to me that having the students making full use of the technology at their fingertips in the classroom takes careful planning, monitoring and direction from the teacher so that the kids aren't off task. It can't become a free-for-all with students randomly using their technology for whatever they feel like during class. This means that we as the educational leaders in the classroom must make certain that we plan activities, projects, and learning environments that are technology friendly for our digital natives, but that always have an educational goal and/or learning outcome at their core.
I know for me that this will take some time and careful consideration. One example for a math class that Johnson gives in his article has the teacher saying, "OK class take out your iPads and find the best geometric form for a deep sea submarine." Maybe a good foundation for the start of the lesson, but the teacher also better outline goals and objectives of the activity, give the students clear criteria as to what their answers must include, and closely monitor their activity and progress. Otherwise, you end up with a room full of students aimlessly surfing the net - and without a clearly defined goal, it will be easy for them to get off track.
Monday, July 9, 2012
iPad in the classroom
The article Study Finds Benefits in Use of iPad as Educational Tool posted on Emerging Ed Tech, details a study conducted at Longfield Academy in Kent, England, showing that students and teachers alike found using iPads as a regular part of instruction to be highly beneficial. Furthermore, the students overwhelmingly requested even further use of iPads in their classes.
At the risk of repeating the same old theme in several of my recent blog posts, the article did point out that two key elements for the success of the iPad project at Longfield were "Professional development was provided at the start of the program and on an ongoing basis", and that "effective project management was critical to the success of the effort". So the more I read about successful integration of technology into good teaching practice, the more I see that professional development and effective IT support are critical to its success. We all know as teachers that just being good at something (i.e. using the latest technology) doesn't mean automatically mean being good at teaching it, or using it to good effect in the classroom. At the halfway point in my Ed Tech master's degree, I feel like I have a lot more knowledge and experience in utilizing technology that I did a year ago; however in many respects, I'm still a novice in using it effectively in my teaching. Of course, we will all get better at it the more we use technology in our teaching, but in my case, the school I'm in now is sorely lacking in two key elements for success identified in this article.
If you're interested in the entire study, the results are available here.
At the risk of repeating the same old theme in several of my recent blog posts, the article did point out that two key elements for the success of the iPad project at Longfield were "Professional development was provided at the start of the program and on an ongoing basis", and that "effective project management was critical to the success of the effort". So the more I read about successful integration of technology into good teaching practice, the more I see that professional development and effective IT support are critical to its success. We all know as teachers that just being good at something (i.e. using the latest technology) doesn't mean automatically mean being good at teaching it, or using it to good effect in the classroom. At the halfway point in my Ed Tech master's degree, I feel like I have a lot more knowledge and experience in utilizing technology that I did a year ago; however in many respects, I'm still a novice in using it effectively in my teaching. Of course, we will all get better at it the more we use technology in our teaching, but in my case, the school I'm in now is sorely lacking in two key elements for success identified in this article.
If you're interested in the entire study, the results are available here.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Administrators must lead the way in technology integration
I was very glad to see this article by high school principal David Mahaley posted on Emerging Ed Tech. The article brought a smile to my face, since it supports statements I've posted on this blog, and what I've been trying to get through to my own administrators: effective integration of technology into a school doesn't happen overnight, programs need to be implemented incrementally, and - above all - it requires teacher training and professional development.
My school administrators don't get any of this in such a bad way, they thought it was a good idea to operate all last year without a technology director. To make matters worse, they still haven't hired anyone for that role. OK, so we will have a "technology coach" for the upcoming school year, who's function is still mostly unclear to the rest of the faculty. Since I've been enrolled in this master's program for the past year, I am probably the most knowledgeable member of our faculty when it comes to effective integration of technology; many of my colleagues now seek me out for tips and advice.
School administrators seem all gung-ho about teachers employing technology in their classrooms, but it seems that very few of them have a clue as to how to help support and facilitate the implementation of a meaningful technology program. I will definitely be passing the information that Mr. Mahaley presents in this article to my administrators for the upcoming school year. There is a specific expectation in our teacher evaluation that we will use technology in our practice, and that we will furthermore engage our students in technology use. However, in the three years I've been at my current school there have been zero hours of specific training or PD regarding technology.
How are things at your schools?
My school administrators don't get any of this in such a bad way, they thought it was a good idea to operate all last year without a technology director. To make matters worse, they still haven't hired anyone for that role. OK, so we will have a "technology coach" for the upcoming school year, who's function is still mostly unclear to the rest of the faculty. Since I've been enrolled in this master's program for the past year, I am probably the most knowledgeable member of our faculty when it comes to effective integration of technology; many of my colleagues now seek me out for tips and advice.
School administrators seem all gung-ho about teachers employing technology in their classrooms, but it seems that very few of them have a clue as to how to help support and facilitate the implementation of a meaningful technology program. I will definitely be passing the information that Mr. Mahaley presents in this article to my administrators for the upcoming school year. There is a specific expectation in our teacher evaluation that we will use technology in our practice, and that we will furthermore engage our students in technology use. However, in the three years I've been at my current school there have been zero hours of specific training or PD regarding technology.
How are things at your schools?
Monday, July 2, 2012
Is "BYOD" ok during your class?
NYU Professor Mary Quigly brings up several thought-provoking issues in her article Digital Generation Gap from the Huffington Post technology page.
In the article, Quigly cites recent research stating that the "under-30 GenY crowd" "...sees digital connectivity as a basic right", and that they assume that BYOD (bring your own device) is welcomed both in the classroom and the workplace. GenY goes online whenever and however they want, and many do not see the problem of doing so during such inappropriate times as homicide trial testimony and university journalism seminars - two of the examples cited in the article.
Now, while Ms. Quigly is writing more about university students and people in the business world, I face the same sorts of issues with my middle and high school students. Virtually all of my students come to my class every day with their own devices. I use digital textbooks in my classes, and many of my students find it easier to read the book from their laptops or tablets than by looking at the projected image in my classroom. But during the time in class when we're not using the textbook, the computers are still up and open on their desks. And while in some classes the students might be taking notes on their computers, it's not possible for them to work math problems without picking up a pencil.
I also know beyond the shadow of a doubt that there are times when my students are surfing the net, e-mailing, or playing video games during my class; I know because I've caught them doing it. This results in my taking their device and holding it hostage for the rest of the school day. When the guilty kids protest that they need the device for another class, I tell them they should have thought about that before they used it inappropriately during my class.
But then there are other times in class when I will make some statement, and half the students start furiously typing away. It took me a while to realize they were going online to look up more information about what I'd just said. This frequently leads to more in-depth discussion, and the students are enriching what I am teaching on their own initiative. So while it vaguely bothers me that they are online while I'm teaching, there are those times where the students' connectivity is an asset to the lesson.
Which brings us back to the conclusion of Quigly's article: where do we draw the line on BYOD, and having students connected during class? I'm all for students using all the available technology during my classes, but I also don't want to play the role of Internet policeman and being forced to monitor their device use when I should be teaching. It's a tricky question, and one we will have to face as connectivity becomes more and more accessible to our students.
In the article, Quigly cites recent research stating that the "under-30 GenY crowd" "...sees digital connectivity as a basic right", and that they assume that BYOD (bring your own device) is welcomed both in the classroom and the workplace. GenY goes online whenever and however they want, and many do not see the problem of doing so during such inappropriate times as homicide trial testimony and university journalism seminars - two of the examples cited in the article.
Now, while Ms. Quigly is writing more about university students and people in the business world, I face the same sorts of issues with my middle and high school students. Virtually all of my students come to my class every day with their own devices. I use digital textbooks in my classes, and many of my students find it easier to read the book from their laptops or tablets than by looking at the projected image in my classroom. But during the time in class when we're not using the textbook, the computers are still up and open on their desks. And while in some classes the students might be taking notes on their computers, it's not possible for them to work math problems without picking up a pencil.
I also know beyond the shadow of a doubt that there are times when my students are surfing the net, e-mailing, or playing video games during my class; I know because I've caught them doing it. This results in my taking their device and holding it hostage for the rest of the school day. When the guilty kids protest that they need the device for another class, I tell them they should have thought about that before they used it inappropriately during my class.
But then there are other times in class when I will make some statement, and half the students start furiously typing away. It took me a while to realize they were going online to look up more information about what I'd just said. This frequently leads to more in-depth discussion, and the students are enriching what I am teaching on their own initiative. So while it vaguely bothers me that they are online while I'm teaching, there are those times where the students' connectivity is an asset to the lesson.
Which brings us back to the conclusion of Quigly's article: where do we draw the line on BYOD, and having students connected during class? I'm all for students using all the available technology during my classes, but I also don't want to play the role of Internet policeman and being forced to monitor their device use when I should be teaching. It's a tricky question, and one we will have to face as connectivity becomes more and more accessible to our students.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Check the content of those "great" educational videos before you use them
I found this article on the Huffington Post Education page about a couple of math teachers doing a Mystery Science Theater 3000 style spoof of a Khan Academy video. Khan Academy was created by Salman Khan in 2008, and has been hailed on TED and by Bill Gates as one of the best teaching tools available on the Internet. The guys in the video claim that Gates has referred to Khan as the best teacher in America, and donated millions to the Khan Academy. But if you watch this video, which is about the fairly simple process of multiplying and dividing negative numbers, you can see that Khan doesn't really do a very good job of teaching - as the two teachers watching this video repeatedly point out.
Here's the video:
In the article, author Alex Kuczynski-Brown points out that, "Khan is both brilliant and talented, but he doesn't know much about pedagogy, the science of teaching information effectively." This just points out something that we as teachers already know: just because you're smart and knowledgable (and rich) doesn't necessarily make you a good teacher.
Khan Academy is a popular, well-established source for math and science instructional videos, and I have used some of their videos in my own classes. So this example can help remind educators that we need to carefully vet and examine any educational materials that come from any source with a critical eye for accuracy, and to ensure that they are in line with our learning goals and outcomes.
Here's the video:
In the article, author Alex Kuczynski-Brown points out that, "Khan is both brilliant and talented, but he doesn't know much about pedagogy, the science of teaching information effectively." This just points out something that we as teachers already know: just because you're smart and knowledgable (and rich) doesn't necessarily make you a good teacher.
Khan Academy is a popular, well-established source for math and science instructional videos, and I have used some of their videos in my own classes. So this example can help remind educators that we need to carefully vet and examine any educational materials that come from any source with a critical eye for accuracy, and to ensure that they are in line with our learning goals and outcomes.
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