Vocabulary Video - Ebullient

As I wrote about earlier, one of my goals this year was to create vocabulary videos with my students. The above is an example video I created and shared with my classes. By early next week, my seniors will have made their first videos. The freshmen will follow suit. I'm excited about the possibilities of this new teaching tool.

Principal encourages social media in the classroom

It's nice to know that educators like Eric Sheninger are getting recognized for their sensible approach to technology and learning. Sheninger, principal of a high school in New Jersey, believes in tapping the power of social media to engage students.

"The Internet as we know it is the 21st century," Sheninger says in a recent article from USA Today. "It is what these students have known their whole lives. They're connected, they're creating, they're discussing, they're collaborating."

I have been very fortunate to have worked for a principal who embraced technology and supported my efforts to use digital tools and social media in the classroom. While he retired last year, his replacement seems equally interested in using Web 2.0 tools, and has plans to start a blog in order to allow him to communicate with students, parents, and faculty. I think it's a wonderful idea.

If you're an educator, and you aren't blogging, you should, according to Wired Educator's Kelly Croy.  Click here to get started and join the conversation!


Social media image by Stephen Traversie

Vocabulary Videos

One new idea for this coming school year involves having my students create vocabulary videos. While I have yet to formally think everything through, the gist is that every week or so, students - working in groups of two to four - would create a one-minute video on a given vocabulary word, Latin or Greek root, or literary term.

Each video would contain certain ingredients (a brief history of the word, its usage, parts of speech, synonyms, antonyms, appropriate background music, use of props) and would be uploaded to a private YouTube account which only students in the class could view.

Students would be given one or two class periods to do research on their word, strategize for their video, film, and edit. What they didn't accomplish in class would be homework. Then, on "viewing days," I would pull up the class's YouTube page, provide each group with a critique sheet, and we would watch the videos. Each group would be assigned to assess another's video. The assessment sheets would ask students to think about the required video "ingredients" and ask them to observe if they were absent, present, or exceptional (or something like that).

The idea is that if the video had all of the required pieces and conveyed the meaning of the word in an accurate, entertaining, and creative way, the group would get an "A" for the video. Points would be deducted accordingly for videos that didn't meet the various criteria. Students would be shown sample videos and given an opportunity to assess them before actually grading each other's. This way, students would hopefully be "calibrated" and have a grasp of what constitutes a complete and well-crafted project.

After all the videos were viewed, students would share their rating sheets with the respective groups whose videos they evaluated. This would give students an opportunity to discuss with each other the strengths and merits as they saw them. In the event a disagreement arose about a group's rating, I would step in as mediator and help the students work things out. In the end, I will have the final say about what each group gets for a grade, but I'm optimistic that the students will be fair and accurate evaluators of each other's work. When I've done peer assessments in the past, I've found students to be as - if not more - critical than I. The key is getting students to look for strengths as well as weaknesses. 

The creation of these videos will serve as a substitute to more traditional vocabulary quizzes. Too often I've seen students cram for vocabulary quizzes, get the necessary information into their short-term memory, do well on a quiz, and then fail to use the words later on in their speech or writing. My theory is that by producing something and being actively engaged in "meaning-making," they'll retain the words and their meanings better (and hopefully use them more frequently).

The nice thing about uploading the videos to YouTube is that they'll be available for viewing later on. Then, maybe every four or five weeks, I'll have some kind of written assessment where students have to use the words in sentences or fill in the blank or match or write an antonym or something. In order to review for the written assessment, they'll be able to cue up the YouTube page and peruse the videos of the words they don't know.

While I'm sure there will be some kinks to work out and quirks I won't have planned for, I'm confident we'll be able to overcome them.

As for the technological end of things, I've been able to acquire a number of computers for my classroom over the years, and, thanks to websites offering educators steep discounts, I have a handful of Flip video cameras I can lend to students. They'll also, of course, be able to use their own devices to create and edit the videos should they so choose.

Look for me to post my own vocabulary video(s) in the coming weeks. Also, if you've ever done something like this before, or know of any possibly helpful resources, feel free to drop a note in the comments section. Thanks!

Video camera image by chelzdd

Field trip

Tomorrow my Journalism students and I will venture to a nearby city for a tour of one of the area's daily newspapers. This will be my fourth year taking the students to the paper, and I have no doubt that it will be - as it has been in the past - one of the year's highlights.

The editor-in-chief has graciously agreed to give some of his time to the students and lead them through an editorial exercise where they will be responsible for selecting the stories that would have run on both the main and local front pages. Students will split into teams of four, be given a list of about 20 articles the paper was planning to run, and then decide what gets prominent placement and what doesn't.

After the students reveal their choices, the EIC will display that day's paper and explain why they ran what they did. It's a fast-paced, authentic activity that simulates the decisions editors must make as they work to create each issue.

This will be followed by a tour of the newsroom and the paper's printing press. Finally, the students and I will adjourn for lunch before heading back to school. Not a bad way to spend a Thursday.

Mass Ed Board Adopts National Academic Standards

From the Boston Globe:

State education officials have been exploring the possibility of adopting the national standards for more than a year, a controversial proposition for a state known to have some of the most rigorous academic standards in the nation.

The national standards, which Massachusetts officials helped to develop, specify what material should be taught in English and math at every grade level. The voluntary effort was spearheaded by associations representing the nation's governors and state education leaders and has received the support of President Obama, who is now pushing states to adopt the standards by offering financial incentives.

***

I'm not sure how I feel about this. To be honest, I don't know enough about the national standards to make an informed comparison. I do know that Massachusetts has spent billions of dollars implementing its own standards - standards which have launched the state to the pinnacle of the student achievement mountain. That old adage about not fixing something if it ain't broke seems to reverberate loudly with this decision.

Of course, as the Globe article states, this choice is as much about money as anything else. When states appease Obama and sign on to his national standards, they are eligible for federal dollars. The question is, how much cash will Massachusetts get, and is that amount worth giving up control of an educational system that - while certainly not perfect - seems to function better than the rest of the country.

Links: National Common Standards, New York Times Common Standards Discussion

Photo by Joanne Rathe, Boston Globe Staff

A teen summit on bullying

Area teenagers discuss bullying with reporters from the Daily Hampshire Gazette. For those looking for a deeper understanding on the root of bullying behavior and its effects, this is a worthwhile view.

Giraffes!

Because everyone can use a good laugh...

Remix Culture: Fair Use is Your Friend

A decent primer on how to use copyrighted material in online videos. Click here to download the "Code of Best Practices" in PDF form.

Is online reading "real" reading?

The New York Times article "Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?" has made its way across the education blogosphere in recent weeks as educators, students, and parents weigh-in on the merits and criticisms of reading Internet text.

There's little doubt in my mind that novel reading and Internet reading are different. Sure, both activities involve the processes of reading, yet most of the digital reading I do is efferent reading - reading done to elicit facts or information. When I sit down to read a novel, I am reading aesthetically - becoming absorbed in the world of the text as I attempt to recreate it in my mind and experience it as the characters do.

I don't think one is better than the other. I believe they're complimentary. It's also certainly possible to find aesthetic texts on the Internet - serial novels, poetry, short stories - and there's no doubt millions of efferent texts exist in print (textbooks, newspapers, encyclopedias, manuals, etc).

What is your digital reading experience like? Does it dominate or compliment your overall reading identity? Do you agree that digital reading is the "intellectual equivalent of empty calories" or is it "cognitively demanding" and legitimate?

Area eccentric reads entire book

This article from today's Onion can be appreciated by all lovers of literature - students, teachers, parents, authors. Enjoy!

Teachers and the media

We need to be wary of how Hollywood and the media portray our profession. The following excerpt from a 2004 English Journal article by Kenneth Lindblom, "All I Need to Know about Teaching I Learned from TV and Movies," is telling:

If, through representations of teaching and learning in popular culture, ordinary people come to believe that teaching is a natural talent that does not require much professional development, they may be loath to pay for it. If they come to believe knowledge is simply knowing isolated facts, they may clamor for even greater amounts of testing. If they believe teachers should be treated as saints, in the profession only for the chance to do noble work, they may be less willing to understand the need for pay raises. I enjoy as much as anyone the shows and films that include teachers, but their impact gives me pause.

In the wake of the recent success of Freedom Writers, Lindblom's words ring loudly.

Polishing the whole apple

Last Sunday the Boston Globe ran this editorial about the state of education in Massachusetts.

It contained a host of information, including details on sound legislation that would "set up a pilot plan for a sophisticated [teacher] training system -- one that far exceeds anything that now exists in the United States."

In addition to revamping teacher training and professional development, the bill calls for improved teacher evaluation and increased communication and planning time for teachers and administrators.

The article also articulates the skills and competencies required by public school educators:

Teachers and administrators need to know a huge amount: what to teach, how to teach, how to align with state frameworks, what cognitive science says about how children learn, how to motivate students, how to manage classrooms, and how to engage parents and communities.

Given the above, it's a no-brainer that teacher education and professional development needs to be relevant, current, nuanced, and top-notch.

One of public education's greatest ironies is that the current system provides little time for teachers to help each other improve what they do in the classroom.

School districts - looking for a panacea - too often contract professional development speakers who know little about the inner-workings of a particular system. As a result, the prescriptions these individuals dole out usually effect little positive change.

Aside from attending specific conferences tailored to what I do in the classroom (such as the New England Association of Teachers of English's annual New Hampshire colloquium), the best professional development I receive comes from those most familiar with my curriculum and students - the colleagues with whom I work.

It would be wonderful to have more time to learn from them.

Scratching the surface

This article from eSchool News online does a nice job giving a basic overview of the rise of employee blogging, and the questions that administrators and CEOs face when it comes to crafting guidelines and regulations for employees. It also praises blogging's potential, especially for educators:

Self-initiated and often self-sustaining, employee blogs can speed information sharing, increase problem-solving, and improve productivity within an organization. For example, teachers can post an internal blog about a challenge they're facing in the classroom and receive hundreds of potential
solutions from their colleagues quickly and easily.

Combined with RSS feeds, which automatically update subscribers whenever new content is posted, blogs can be used to swap lesson plans, teaching strategies, discipline tips, and new research. Blogging's potential for connecting and engaging employees in online conversations can help reduce classroom isolation,as teachers find a home in professional online communities.

Blogging also can help educators meet and converse with colleagues in other district schools without leaving their respective school campuses.
By increasing collaboration, many school leaders hope blogging will help their faculties generate new and better ways to help students succeed.

Since I began blogging in December, I've felt more energized and excited about what I'm doing in the classroom. Being able to easily communicate with educators from across the country and the world has broadened and deepened my sense of professional community. I still find it amazing that I'm able to get lesson ideas from teachers in Texas, Hawaii, or Alaska - but I can, and I have.

I feel we are just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of the digital innovations that will shape public education in the 21st century.

A Stand Against Wikipedia

I recently did group research projects with my 9th grade students on Ernest Hemingway and deep-sea fishing. I worked with our school's librarian to help students learn how to search for information, and wrote two blog entries about using Infotrack and Google Advanced Search to search for information.

While most of my students found a variety of primary sources, one group used Wikipedia as a source. I remember feeling a little uneasy about that group's choice to use Wikipedia, but I allowed it because the information seemed solid, and they did have other sources.

In the future, as this article from InsideHigherEd.com suggests, I will allow students to use Wikipedia as a starting point, but explain to them its limitations and potential for inaccuracy, and require that they use primary or academically sound secondary sources for research.

As the Internet continues to grow and new tools become available, I believe it is important for teachers to stay abreast with the times and be able to give students accurate guidance when it comes to navigating the overwhelming amount of information available to them at the click of a button.

Disturbing

It was with shock and horror that I read this front page story from today's Boston Globe. It was a reminder that schools - for better or worse - are a microcosm of society.

Despite the best efforts of teachers and administrators to provide safe learning environments for students, tragedy can still strike. According to the Globe article, a 16-year-old sophomore stabbed and killed a 15-year-old freshman after an argument broke out in a boy's bathroom.

The article goes on to paint the defendant as a psychologically troubled, "sketchy" young man who wore a trench coat and was on multiple medications.

I know that students at the school where I teach were legitimately concerned for their safety after we received a bomb threat at the beginning of the year. However, three additional bomb threats later and it's amazing how desensitized some of us have become to this legitimate threat of violence.

Reading this article made me think about how fragile life really is, and how one single action can affect thousands. I would hope that I am the type of teacher whom students feel comfortable talking to if they're feeling stressed and pressured and need to vent.

I know my school has a great group of adults who genuinely care and are readily available to lend an ear to students in need. It's sometimes easy to get caught up in the pressures and expectations of the day-to-day and forget about the big picture.

No school staff or student body should have to suffer the plight of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.

The right ingredients

As a teacher, I draw inspiration from successful coaches and players. It's easy to buy into the Patriots' formula because it works and produces the desired results. Yes, more victories will be necessary for the Pats to achieve their ultimate goal this season, but it's easy to appreciate what they've done so far.

Off-season signings and injuries found the Pats without a number of their usual contributors for another postseason run, yet here they are, three victories away from a fourth Superbowl trophy.

Teamwork, preparation, discipline, cooperation, trust, hard work. Mix those ingredients with a little knowledge and talent, and you have the recipe for a successful sports team... and an effective school classroom. Congrats Pats. On to San Diego.