What if...

What if kids were not freely handed the opportunity to forget what they learned all year over the extended summer vacation?

What if teachers left the profession the very moment they felt disconnected to the students, and didn't waste classroom space just to wait out retirement?

What if the government truly realized that they wouldn't exist without funding education properly?

What if we treated schools like palaces instead of less than prisons?

What if instead of making little changes here and there, we made monumental, gigantic changes to the HeartCore of the institution?

What if we made the teaching profession fierce, and paid teachers six-figure salaries?

What if we made schools incredibly expensive for the government and absolutely free of charge to the citizens, just like national defense? (thanks West Wing)

What if we held a whisper of a moment in our guilty, tired, sodden hands--stopped throwing stones at the sinners, finally ceased our incessant bickering over blamegame roles, metaphorically annihilated those that seek to uphold corruption over education--and actually transformed our dialogue-anger-depression-madness into action?

Four Weeks In; Reflection on Differentiated Communication

To be honest, this year is more than I expected, and not what I thought it would be. I have instituted several online tools to meet the 2.0 needs of parents; I've also found not all parents want 2.0. I found myself guilty of attempting to reach the masses, but instead I fell short and provided a severe lack of differentiated communication. What I mean by this is, simply put, most parents are offline. Just as students need me to plan my lessons so that each child receives the best instruction, parents need communication in multiple forms. Here is a brief overview of the tools I employed, and how well they "worked" (or didn't):

GoogleDocs
Objective: To create an excel spreadsheet that contained sortable contact information that could be used for virtual communication about individual students, or mass communication about classroom needs or events.

Implementation: I created an online form for parents to fill out, providing their name, student's name, how best to reach them, and an extra space for them to fill out additional information about their child. I posted a link to this on my website, as well as in my oblig sig on my email. I also opened up the laptops on back to school night and had parents fill this in. (I had papers out as well, just in case the tech died...which it did.)

Pros and Cons: While some parents filled it out successfully, most at B2SN opted for the paper version, especially once the computers began to fail. I ended up taking those sign in sheets and entered the information myself- very time consuming, but still worth it for me to have the sortable list I envisioned at the get-go. Unfortunately, some parents still haven't been reached to fill out the form, so it's not a 100% attainable method of collecting parent information. But then again, what is? I am still waiting on phone call returns and info packets to be brought back from home.

Twitter for Homework
Objective: For students to "follow" so as to receive daily tweets about homework, or reminders for class. Also for parents to follow for up-to-date information in case students were absent.

Implementation: I posted a link to this on my website for an auto-updated gadget so that if parents access the site, they can see on the homepage (and on the "tonight's homework" page) that the homework is listed in an easy to read format. This is also written in the syllabus and in students' planners. I update it daily and haven't missed a day yet- something of an accomplishment, to be sure.

Pros and Cons: I created the site. I'm up to four followers. Enough said? I guess not. In researching the demographics behind twitter users, I found that many students don't have a twitter. Most users are between my age and 35. I could be wrong with the specifics, but I'm correct in saying that not only do my students not have twitter accounts, but nor do their parents. This is a frustrating dilemma considering the ease with which I use it and the convenience that it affords me. In reflection, I'll continue to use it. Parents are coming around and actually creating twitter accounts just to follow me, and I assume that many are seeing the updates on the home page of my site, since the "most visited" page is that very one. I'll continue to ask parents as well, to see what their reaction to it is. One stark difference between last year and this, related or not, is the homework completion rate. Perhaps parents are holding kids more accountable because of their access to this tool, or perhaps I'm just getting into my teaching groove, so to speak. More on that in a few weeks, I suppose.

WordPress- Class Site
Objective: To create an online arena where all class information is posted, distributed weekly for subscribers, and a place where pertinent school information is available.

Implementation: I began building the wordpress site over the summer, and am still creating new pages, adding content, and accumulating resources for parents. I also linked this site to the school web page and to our "team" web page where other teachers' materials are also posted. I sent the link to several community members, parents and other teachers before launching to see if it was easily navigated and clear in its content. If you would like the link, please email me at mrsryansclass1@gmail.com. I can send it to you, so long as you're legit.

Pros and Cons: So far, I have yet to see a downside to this tool. While it reaches only about 50-60 views a day, accounting for only half of my students, I can't see who is viewing it yet. So it may be parents, students, or even other teachers borrowing content and resources. I hope it is indeed parents, since I have received 11 subscribers and several emails about certain content they would like to see on the site. But this all boils down to differentiated communication. Am I reaching all parents? Are their other tools that I could be using more effectively? Or others that I could use in addition to these?


Final Thoughts:
Any input from my readers would be greatly appreciated. Any ideas for more tools that are easily used in class? Or tools that could be added to better reach non-tech parents? How about more person-to-person tools? By the time I next post on technology in the classroom, I'm hoping to have used a wikispace or evernote or stixxy with the students to see what works best for online collaboration and journalling. Please follow me on twitter.com/jryanteach for more updates, tools and resources.

Social Media Use in the Classroom

This is my pre-flective post regarding this topic. I haven't used social media in my classes before, and have only heard cautions and hesitations from colleagues and others. I step into this new year with great forethought in regards to my technology implementations. I have read several articles, hundreds of tweets, and have researched on my own the benefits and drawbacks. I am only beginning to understand the benefits of social media and other online tools, so I don't pretend to be an expert in the field. I am, however, intrigued to see where this heads. I will include a class web site, a twitter feed, google documents, and perhaps a wiki space as well. As soon as I can figure out a way to effectively use Stixy.com, I'll include that too.

I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, happy end of summer.

Megan Fox is Hot For Teachers

Siftables

Please watch this AMAZING video ...I especially love the music bit at the end. This will seriously blow your mind. I cannot wait until the day that it is possible to have these as a class set. Wow.

A reflection on my inquiry; a compilation of thoughts and posts.

As a result of my Masters Inquiry Project, I have found myself to be remarkably changed. I am a professional learner, constantly yearning to gain more understanding of my students’ and their abilities. I seek to employ more effective methods in my own teaching, as well as share these insights with the colleagues with whom I collaborate. I do not feel that the classroom is a place for quiet, simple, traditional learning. Rather, I wish for my students to learn in constantly evolving ways. I desire for my students to add to my teaching abilities as much as I add to their basin of knowledge. I also expect my students to informally determine how I teach, sometimes dictating different teaching styles within a single class period. This inquiry helped me build upon this ability to be responsive, flexible and collaborative.

I believe that while I used the CST results as a preliminary data set for the analysis of my students’ achievement levels, I do not agree with lawmakers and policy determiners that this test is the only way in which students can be or should be assessed. If a teacher merely looks to this score to determine what to focus on each year, within each class, she is at a loss for differentiation. I am not a perfect teacher; I am far from the ideal instructor. I am not yet in my career highly effective either. However, using these scores as a determiner of student ability, may reflect on the ability of the teacher. Perhaps this test really is the mark of a good teacher, who does not teach to the test. Perhaps it separates those who lean on the crutch of standardized curriculum, and those who are capable of assessing their students and instilling the same knowledge in different and more effective ways. By using this standard to measure the children, I believe I am doing both my students and myself a disservice. However, when used in conjunction with other assessments—both formal and informal—I am able to truly create a differentiated instructional plan of the district-issued curriculum. In order to use this test more effectively, I did so in conjunction with other assessments and observations so that I could gauge my students’ abilities more precisely. I let it inform my research and rationale; however, what I did not let it do was dictate firm levels of ability for my students. I used it as a baseline from which to start my inquiry.

Lastly, in defense of my use of highly-involved strategies geared at the GATE-identified student, I would like to point out several reasons why I did not make immediate accommodations for my English Language Learners or my students with special needs. Distinguished Lecturer Eric Jensen reflected on GATE education in a lecture delivered at the district’s Office of Education titled “Enriching the Gifted Brain,” in the spring of 2009. He stated that enrichment is always positive, maximizing the capabilities of a student; “Enrichment is not what you do. There are no “enrichment strategies” unless they are contrasted with an impoverished condition.” I feel that this statement implies that for a student to be enriched, they must first come from a less enriched environment. I reflected on my other students, those who were not “gifted.” Jensen suggested that students who are identified as gifted thrive in school-based enrichment programs, because without them, gifted students become bored, disillusioned and are less likely to participate in school. Does this imply that because students are easily bored that we should provide them with more? I have found that through this inquiry, I have determined how to figure out when students are bored, and when they are overly challenged. I learned to truly observe my students and in doing so was able to modify the methods and strategies when necessary. However, I did not simplify the concepts. I felt this would have been a disservice to my students.

Indeed, does Jensen’s concept of providing enrichment then ring true with the non-gifted student who is also bored because he is having difficulty with a class? Should not the teacher then also provide a specific enrichment agenda for this student or class, whether or not the student is gifted? In my opinion, students—gifted or not—deserve a more enriched education. Jensen also provided “evidence” to support his claim that gifted students benefit more claiming that the “brains of the Gifted show far more connectivity between key spatial, language, math and working memory areas than more typical brains.” However, in one of my GATE certification classes, the professor discussed the development of the brain, stating that these synapses, these pathways of connectivity in the brain, are developed as a result of activity (enrichment). Should we not then again ask the question that the non-gifted brain would also benefit as greatly as the gifted one? That is why I chose to keep the concepts at an elevated level. I did not want to modify that piece of my inquiry for the English Language Learners. Instead, I chose to modify the way in which I taught those concepts. I provided more scaffolding within lessons, broke down assignments over more days, and in the future I will be making further modifications to the strategies and tools of instruction, rather than simplifying the curriculum and materials for my students at more basic levels. I know that they will benefit as much as my GATE-identified students did from this study, once I make these modifications to the delivery of the instruction.