Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.
- Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784), quoted in Boswell’s Life of Johnson
It is another long one; it is (in my humble opinion) very worth it.
thanks to “the bad Mark” for sharing this with me.
“Game shows are designed to make us feel better about the random, useless facts that are all we have left of our education.”
- Chuck Palahniuk
A couple of random but powerful links came to me this morning. As is often the case these links came to me from all over the place; some more surprising then others.
The first was sent to me by the elementary literacy specialist here at CMS. This was a little surprising as she is an admitted technophobe (and my wife). It was one of the many posts that my NetVibes had marked as unread. Take a quick look at the “Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make Using Technology” from the always fantastic Blue Skunk blog.
The Second was this video, which i think does a fantastic job of demonstrating what i believe should be our goal in EdTech:
I love the focus on Personal Learning Networks; I really feel that this is the term that we should all be using.
Finally this video found itself in front of me this morning (found here). I find it to be a great little motivator if you are in need of a “pick me up” today.
“My life has a superb cast but I can’t figure out the plot.”
~ Ashleigh Brilliant
The sixth grade English teacher here combined plasticine, digital cameras, QuickTime Pro and the five phases of plot to create a dynamic and interesting lesson that few of her students will ever forget.
Ms. Culligan a new teacher here at CMS approached me a little with some steps to a project that she wanted to try. She obviously wasn’t entirely comfortable with the process or technology involved and i love it when teachers do this to themselves. We ran with the project got some help from Bill Farren a middle school technology facilitator … y voila!
Here are some goals and reflections from the teacher on the project:
That students would create a story map, applying the five phases of plot that we had discussed in class (Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falliing Action, and Resolution), and would then tell that story by building a 3D clay model and photographing a sequence for a claymation movie. They accomplished this goal in the sense that their written plans for the stories showed all the steps of plot; but in the actual movies those steps are really hard to distinguish.
That after the project, at least 90% of the kids would get an A on a quiz where they had to identify and explain the steps of plot. They accomplished this, so I think the project was effective that way.
That they would work together, fulfill the expectations of their jobs, make compromises, and generally be good contributors to their group; consistently adhering to the Tribes agreements. This worked out really well actually, for most groups, even with kids who often have a difficult time working in groups. There were two groups out of 28 or so that didn’t finish their movies, but at least they got the chance to do self/peer reflections to decide what went wrong. I did hear a lot of Spanish being spoken during the process of making the movies, because it was difficult for me to monitor with all the activity, so that was a downside of the group work.
That the kids would have fun. Most said it was their favorite thing we’ve done this year, so I know they enjoyed it.
If you would like a copy of the steps involved in this please contact me.
Great job Ms. Culligan!
Thanks for pushing yourself and your students
“The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence.”
- Robert J. Shiller
How many times have i heard teachers tell me that their students can’t focus?
More than i would like to recount.
Immersion by New York photographer Robbie Cooper is a four minute piece that proves those individuals wrong. Kids can focus; in fact they can focus so well it can be a little scary.
What are they focussing on? is the question that i find far more alarming.
