What My Son did over Christmas Break

For some of us, Christmas break is a time of relaxing and spending time with family and friends. For others, it involves projects of varying kinds.   As parents, we find ourselves asking what to do to keep our kids occupied during their time off from school. We don’t want our kids to necessarily sit around and do nothing, but we also don’t want to make them do things they are not interested in doing. I would like to share with you how one of my sons chose to spend his break.

Motivation: It all began with a contest on Youtube.  My son is a big fan of Legos, and was browsing videos of some neat Lego creations.  Another kid about his age had issued a challenge for others to build a Lego candy machine and post a video of it to his Youtube channel.

Process: My son opted to build a Starburst candy machine that would give you a Starburst for a nickel. It took him several days of trial and error to build the machine, but when he finished, he had accomplished his goal: a Lego Starburst machine that would take no other coin than a nickel. It even has a trash dispenser for the wrapper. He used his iPod Nano to record a video of the project, he used iMovie to edit the video, and published the video to Youtube.

Outcome: He won the contest!  He was very pleased with the result of his hard work.  The interesting part is, the prize was recognition - a recommendation from the contest host to “subscribe” to my son’s Youtube channel, and almost 300 views of his video to date.  Of course, this success lead to several other Lego creations with videos on his own Youtube channel.

What’s the educational point? This is a great example of how kids learn in the 21st century.  In this case, video (Youtube) was used as the delivery of instruction in coming up with Lego project ideas. It was also a tool in accomplishing his goal, and was an excellent method of evaluation from his peers.  

How can teachers use video to motivate students?  The great thing about using video is it can be used cross-curriculum. From creating video book reports to viewing science experiments, from creating history reenactments to viewing specific steps in a building process, using video to deliver instruction or to record student work is a powerful technology tool!  Teachers can create a Youtube channel for their classroom’s videos with very little effort.  Is Youtube blocked at your school? There are a host of very similar video sites available to educators for free, including schooltube.com, teachertube.com, and nextvista.org.

Website of the month:  Next Vista for Learning  An online library of free videos for learners everywhere. Their goal is to gather a set of resources to help you learn just about anything, meet people who make a difference in their communities, and even discover new parts of the world. Next Vista for Learning wants to post your educational videos online, too. Everyone has an insight to share and yours may be just what some student or teacher somewhere needs!

Lego Starburst Machine

My son wanted to build a candy machine out of legos. He found a way using some videos from YouTube and using some of his own intuition. Here is his Lego Starburst Machine. Enjoy!

My Top Five Tech Tools

After reading the recent NETA newsletter, my friend and colleague, Jason Everett (ESU 10), wrote an article about what he calls “The Top Five Tech Tools for Teachers.” As I read his article, I asked myself, “What are my top five tech tools?” What do I use almost daily or often enough to be considered the top five? So, here are my Top Five Tech Tools:

Number One: As I write this article, I am using Google Docs. I cannot begin to share how helpful this application has become in my work. I can put up a document as a draft and invite members to collaborate. I use Google Docs for meetings, for handouts at workshops, and for gathering my thoughts to share with others. For me, it is all about collaboration. The more I can get people to collaborate with me, the better my writing becomes.

Number Two: My blog. I use my blog (http://grobke.blogspot.com) to communicate the things I write and make them available to anyone in the world. It provides a public space for my thoughts. It allows me to get feedback on what people think of my ideas. There are all kinds of blogs out there for people to follow - educational blogs, personal blogs. Blogs for moms and dads, etc.

Number Three: iChat. iChat is a Mac product, but I can use the same type of app on my Windows machine using AIM instant messaging. It is a place where I can help people troubleshoot problems they may be having with their computer or simply to offer advice. The nice thing about this software is that it is instant communication vs. waiting for an email to arrive. With email, I have to respond, then wait for a response. With iChat, I can continuously converse with other people. I can even have more than one conversation at a time. Talk about multi-tasking! Try it out for yourself and iChat with me at robkeg@mac.com.

Number Four: My iPod Touch. I am finding that my iPod Touch can do everything I can do on my computer, only the screen is a little smaller. I use it when I go to meetings because it is a more mobile device than my laptop. I can use it to access my email, to iChat, to look up my Google Docs. It is all integrated and synced with the things on my computer. All my calendars and contacts are stored on my iPod Touch as well. I use it to download podcasts to listen to while I am traveling. With the new iPod Touch, I can even use it as a video camera as well as a digital camera.

Number Five: My cell phone. I don’t leave home without it! Few people disagree on the value of their cell phones today. If you have a smart phone, most can do all of the tasks mentioned above for the iPod Touch.  Droids and the iPhone are easily the top two smart phones on the market today. Since I cannot use an iPhone because of service restrictions, I carry a simple cell phone with me and use my iPod Touch for the things an iPhone can do.

If you have not read the latest NETA newsletter, it is full of useful information and you can get it for free at the NETA site (http://netasite.org). Click on Resources on the left and it will take to the newsletter section. As you think about my top five tech tools, I’d like to ask what are your top five tech tools?  Do you introduce them to your students? If so, then ask your students what their top five tools would be.  And finally, I’d like to ask if you are using the tools in the classroom that students use outside of school? Do you have a plan to implement any of these tools into your curriculum? Is your school thinking about ways to allow these tools inside your school if they aren’t currently allowed?  These are all questions that schools should be considering. As always, I’d enjoy having this conversation with you, your district, or your technology committee.

You've Got Text

Remember that movie, You’ve Got Mail!, with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan who get connected via email? E-mail has become a natural way of communication. We can easily send messages to many people and communicate to them our concerns, questions, or comments on whatever topic interests us. Have you ever thought of how adults use email vs. students? Is email losing its ability to be an avenue for communication? Is it more about using cell phones and text messaging? Or, what about smart phones and the ability to video chat with others through software? I know that my own children would rather text than send an email. They get immediate feedback from a text message vs. an email that may take days to get a response.

There are many positive ways to use cell phones in the classroom. But, as we think about using them for education, we must consider their relevance for the curriculum. In order to be effective, there has to be an outcome. Cell phones can be engaging and fun if used effectively. And, we can use that time to teach appropriate uses of the technology.

There are also ways in which students use cell phones negatively. Students are using cell phones to bully other students. They do this by sending obscene texts or obscene photos to other students they may not like. They also use their social networks to take more “jabs” at each other. As parents, teachers, and administrators, we need to watch out for this kind of behavior. The bully is no longer the big kid on the playground. There have been several recent stories relating to this very issue. Ones that really disturb me are adolescents who end up taking their own lives. One example is the story of a 13-old girl in Florida who committed suicide after an explicit cell phone photo she had texted to a boy was forwarded to several other students. You can read the full version of this story at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34236377.

Each year, the Nebraska ESU’s sponsor a contest for “Internet Safety.” The contest is sponsored by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office and concludes in April. Our goal is to get the word out and help students understand the “risk” of rude behavior online. There are numerous organizational web sites whose goal is to help students understand these risks. In fact, Anderson Cooper has interviewed students regarding the very issue of Cyberbullying. You can see the episodes on AC360˚. One of his episodes is titled, “In a Wired World, Children Unable to Escape Cyberbullying.”

I believe we (parents, teachers, administrators) have a responsibility to teach appropriate uses of these technologies - cell phones, online social networks, and Internet behavior. It can be effectively integrated into our curriculum if done appropriately. Many futurists predict that every student will have a digital device (a phone) to carry with them to school in five years. Are we prepared for this as educators? Instead of “You’ve got mail”, perhaps we should start saying, “You've Got Text!”

Oct 2010 tech news

Interactive Whiteboards
I recently ran across an article by Robert Marzano on the effective use of Interactive boards in the classroom. It was interesting to note that in that article, he states, “using interactive whiteboards was associated with a 16 percentile point gain in student achievement. Using voting devices was associated with a 26 percentile point gain in student achievement (along with interactive whiteboards). A third feature is the interactive whiteboard reinforcer - applications that teachers can use to signal that an answer is correct or to present information in an unusual context. These practices were associated with a 31 percentile point gain in student achievement.”

After reading that, I wondered how many schools in ESU 4 have whiteboards? And, how many of those are effectively used? Interactive whiteboards have been around for many years, but if we as teachers and learners do not take time to use them properly, then you may not see any gain in student achievement at all. In fact, Robert Marzano states, “As is the case with all powerful tools, teachers must use interactive whiteboards thoughtfully, in accordance with what we know about good classroom practice.”

There are lots of ways, fun and exciting, to use whiteboards in the classrooms. Many schools already have them. Some are using MOBI’s and other hand-held devices which are just as engaging as interactive whiteboards. Get the students moving, get them collaborating, get them discussing important concepts. Then, use the interactive board with voting devices to engage them fully. If used appropriately, you will see some dramatic results. It all takes time and training. If you need any help, feel free to call or email.

For the full article, check it out at http://bit.ly/9HlRMW

Upcoming Workshops
Sept. 27 - Tech Plan Update starting at 9 AM
Sept. 30 - tcadre meeting starting at 9 AM
Oct. 18 - NSSRS work day beginning at 9 AM
Oct. 22 - tcadre meeting starting at 9 AM
Oct. 26 - eInstruction workshop starting at 9 AM with Dustin Frank
Oct. 29 - ANGEL workshop starting at 9 AM
Dec. 10 - Using iPods/iPads in the classroom beginning at 9 AM

Website of the Month
This web site of the month is more for secondary teachers, but has lots of opportunities to enhance your classroom. The Khan Academy features over 1600 free video lessons on math, science, technology, and other subjects. Check it out at http://www.khanacademy.org/

ESU 4 Cadres

Here are links to our wiki cadre sites:

http://esu4newteachers.wikispaces.com - For new teachers
http://esu4mathcadre.wikispaces.com - Math cadre
http://esu4artcadre.wikispaces.com - Art cadre
http://esu4literacycadre.wikispaces.com - Literacy cadre
http://esu4sciencecadre.wikispaces.com - Science cadre

August, 2010 News