One Word… BEATING!

There was an eerie quiet in the hallways today. At first glance our school seemed to be absent of students, but we seasoned educators know what this means… TESTING.

Today students all across Texas suffered through the ELA section of the TAKS test while teachers suffered through the task of watching students test for hours on end… talk about boring.

We had students testing at the ninth, tenth and eleventh grade levels, and we also had seniors retaking the exit level who still need to pass it. We had the added joy of out of school testers on our campus today which means students who have “graduated” credit-wise but have yet to pass all four sections of the TAKS. We even had TAAS testers… talk about perseverance.

All in all the day went well. There were no irregularities and students seemed to take the test very seriously (so seriously in fact that over 100 students had not finished testing by the end of the school day and since it is not timed they could still be testing for all I know).

One test down and three to go in April… beating.

Welcome to the Conversation

There is a new voice in the edusphere.  Head on over to The Other Side of the Desk and give it a read.

The Power of Connections

Jeff Utecht at The Thinking Stick has written a thought provoking entry about the power of connections via web 2.0. His entry is quite apropos in the context of my previous entry.

 I particularly like this thought from Jeff, “…This whole experience has me thinking about our students and the content they produce on the web. Everything from the videos my students have on YouTube to their personal Myspace accounts. It’s a great lesson that content can lay dormant for a long time, and it only takes one connection to bring it to life. I think about our high schoolers today who are putting things on the web that today seem harmless, but tomorrow could cost them their job, or impact a family member or friend’s career. There is a lesson here that connections are constantly being formed; everything and anything you put on the web can be connected to. Our students, no matter what their grade, are creating their digital profiles, a profile that is clickable, connectable, and tells a story of who they are.”

The Internet is PUBLIC and it is archived. Students may not advertise what they create, but that does not mean that someone will not stumble upon it.  We need to constantly reiterate this idea to our students because I would hate for them to post something today that might upset their lives years from now.

Social Networking Gone Wild?

I am a little behind on my RSS feeds and am attempting to catch up on as much as I can before Grey’s Anatomy tonight. 🙂 

In my reading I came across a rather upsetting article in the New York Times entitled Teenagers Misbehaving, for All On-line to Watch. 

The article discusses inappropriate and sometimes malicious videos and pictures being posted on the web for all to see (and I don’t really think it is fair to imply that this is only done by teenagers).

“Most suburban teenagers, it seems, can rattle off a litany of the latest teens-gone-wild offerings as though they were the local multiplex listings: boys holding cellphones under the lunch table to photograph up girls’ skirts; an innocent kiss at a party posted out of context on an ex-boyfriend’s Web site; someone bursting in on friends who are in the bathroom or sleeping, drinking or smoking; students goading teachers into tantrums; assaulting homeless people.”

I think it is horrible to create a video that depicts someone in a poor light and post it on the web, but the question I struggle with is what do we do about it?  Students (and people in general) have been making fun of each other, playing pranks and being mean to each other forever – the only difference is that it is now being published for the world to view.

I definitely think we should discuss the ethics of such behaviors with our students but beyond that I think we enter a grey area…

• If inappropriate material is filmed on school property or with school material and then posted to YouTube is it the school’s responsibility to deliver a consequence and if so, what should it be?
• What if a malicious video is filmed outside of school property with a student’s personal camera and then posted on-line? Is it now out of the school’s jurisdiction or do they still intervene? What if students are viewing the video at school?

I am just not sure how these types of “offenses” should be handled, and unfortunately, I think we are going to be faced with making the call about these types of behaviors more frequently.  I don’t know what the “correct” answer is… or if there is one, but I think we need to open the dialogue because we are going to have to work through the problem and not just try to “block” our students from viewing theses types of materials at school.

What do you think?  How should teachers and administrators handle these types of situations?

Do You Have Something To Present?

The Region 10 Education Service Center is accepting applications thru March 1st for the 13th Annual Technology Planning Conference.  This year’s conference “Technology H.O.T.S” will take place on May 15th and include the following strands:

• 1 to 1 Initiatives
• Technology Integration/21st Century Literacy
• Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, etc. (Interactive Web 2.0)
• H.O.T.S (higher order thinking skills)
• Distance Learning
• Open Source
• Networking/Technical
• Emerging Technologies

Visit this site if you would like to find out more information about the conference and/or to download an application to present.

I am thinking about possibly presenting… send me any ideas you might have about what I should present (if anything).

What Types Of Animals Are Your Students?

I came across this post on the Fishbowl and it led me to this video which made me think about what we sometimes inadvertently do to students in school – force them to conform.

Teachers are told to differentiate and at the same time students are held to the same standards thanks to standardized tests like the TAKS… it doesn’t really make sense.  The video made me reflect on many of my students who had difficulties passing sections of the TAKS – outstanding artists, students gifted in language but not math, musicians, technological geniuses, etc.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses and these differences are what make us unique. I don’t know about you, but I am certainly grateful that I never had to pass a standardized test in music or art because I am afraid I would have become a kangaroo.

Belated Thoughts on TCEA

I have been planning to post my thoughts from Thursday, February 8th, (which is the last day I attended TCEA) but I just haven’t had a chance.  I attended some interesting sessions and got some good ideas.

I learned about some useful tools in a presentation by Wesley Fryer and some of his colleagues from AT&T – Global Voices – Distance Learning Projects with Interactive Podcasting and VoIP.  They shared information about VoIP  services from YackPack, Springdoo and Gabcast(which is blocked in my district).  So far I have only had a chance to really play around with YackPack.  I have shown it to a few of my teachers and we have created a pack to brainstorm potential uses with students.  It is amazingly easy to use and has some great potential uses for the classroom.

Another interesting presentation I attended was Mapping Strategies for Integrating GIS into the Classroom by Eric Bowman.  In this session we looked at several on-line mapping programs such as Google Earth and NASA World Wind as well as lessons via GIS Mapping on the Web.  My school is planning to attempt the implementation of  GIS data and GPS units into the curriculum next year, so this is an area I definitely need to become more knowledgeable about.  I also learned that Eric Bowman will be presenting in Dallas at Bishop Dunne’s Geotech 2007 Conference in March and I plan on attending to learn more.

Overall, I came away from TCEA with some great resources and some good ideas.  If you were unable to attend the TCEA convention but would like to read up on what others learned, then visit David Warlick’s Hitchhikr site and you can see what everyone else is saying.

Leadership Meme

Chris Lehmann over at  Practical Theory tagged me for Miguel’s leadership meme.

So, here goes…

What are seven things we don’t know about you that help you be a leader?

1. I am honest and to the point (sometimes to a fault).
2. When I believe in something, I am very passionate and quite tenacious.
3. I continually search for knowledge and love to learn.
4. I am able to see things from others’ perspectives and often try to do so.
5. I love to debate but am okay with agreeing to disagree.
6. I am a hard worker and am very organized.
7. Although I like to be in charge most times, I am able to work well within a team environment.

My answers are short and concise… just like I like them. 🙂

I have decided not to tag anyone specifically.  Instead I am inviting you all to answer the question if you like.

The Machine is Us/ing Us

The last couple of days I have seen this video posted on several blogs but I didn’t take the time to watch it until now.It is a fun and concise look at web 2.0… pretty cool. 

TCEA – What I Have Learned So Far…

After missing the first shuttle bus and arriving a little late at the Austin Convention Center, I got to stand in line for about 20 minutes to get my badge and packet information because it seemed to have gotten lost in the mail.  Needless to say, I missed the first session I wanted to attend.

Once I began I saw some decent presentations.  I got a few ideas from the On-line Credit Recovery session I attended and a few ideas from the session on Successful Solutions for Professional Development… nothing ground-breaking, but ideas I may be able to do something with. 

I then attended Will Richardson’s session on Connective Writing, and I enjoyed it.  I have read Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools, and I read Will Richardson’s site pretty often so I had heard some of what he had to say.  I had not, however, ever heard him speak, so I enjoyed the session and picked up some new information.

Attending TCEA this year has not made me agree with Left Lane 100%, but I see his point.  So much of the information presented at these large conferences is available on-line through the presenter’s webpage, blog, wiki, book, etc., and I would personally rather learn on my own via an on-line conference but I am not sure everybody would. In order to learn on-line, you have to be an active learner.  You have to seek out the material and then set aside the time to learn it which seems to be a problem for many people.  The material is on-line and always accessible so many people put it on the back-burner and think they will make time to learn the information at a later date… and then they never get to it. 

Face-to-face conferences at least allow a block of time for teachers to leave the classroom, their homes and all the distractions that come with them to learn in an educational setting.  Face-to-face conferences make teachers make time to learn.  I am not sure this is a compelling argument to continue face-to-face conferences because in my opinion educators need to make continual learning a priority for their continued growth.  I agree with Will Richardson and Left Lane that building a learning network is imperative, and it is the most powerful way I think I have ever learned.  I interact with others around the world via their blogs and wikis and the information I gather is priceless.

I will probably attend TCEA again next year because although it is crowded and not all of the sessions are applicable to me, I always come away with a new idea and am reinvigorated by seeing what others are doing in their classrooms… but I would LOVE to see TCEA develop into an on-line conference.