Are Textbooks Important?

Jay Mathews' article, "Most Textbooks Should Stay On the Shelf," is thought-provoking. Textbooks are updated every few years requiring the teacher to revamp lessons (is that a bad thing?), teachers become dependent upon textbooks, they are often dry and boring, and, shockingly, are not always accurate or up-to-date.

Web sites, podcasts, electronic books, software, courseware, online tutoring tips, educational games, and video products are just a few alternative sources. Teachers can use primary source documents, journal articles and other original materials as they create hands-on assignments. In fact, says Mathews, why not have them write chapters to their own text books...

Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make With Technology

Doug Johnson has a short article on The Blue Skunk Blog titled "Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make With Technology" that I think is worth reading. My favorite mistake is #5:

5. Believing that one's teaching style need not change to take full advantage of technology. Using technology to simply add sounds and pictures to lectures is stupid. Smart technology use is about changing the roles of teacher and student. The computer-using student can now be the content expert; the teacher becomes the process expert asking questions like - where did you get that information, how do you know it's accurate; why is it important, how can you let others know what you discovered, and how can you tell if you did a good job? The world has changed and it is rank stupidity not to recognize it and change as well.

Why is it so hard to really truly embrace and believe the fact that the world has changed? What does a teacher who has accepted the change and modified/changed/recreated their teaching look like? I'd like to know if teacher education programs are turning out graduates who are process experts. Are these programs articulating the change successfully?

Webinar: Collaborations 101

I participated in a free webinar today titled Collaborations 101 and offered through CILC. This is my third webinar through them and have really enjoyed them. Besides being free, they're one hour long, very interactive, and I always come away with a couple of new resources I know I'll use.

An incredible resource I found out about today can be found at:
http://www.protopage.com/web2point0forteachers#Web_2.0_For_Teachers/Welcome. It's Web 2.0 for Teachers by Kim Peacock, University of Alberta. It's a GREAT resource and well organized.

A couple other things I came away with:

The presenters began by talking about the "Age" we are in today. Not a new topic but it was said in a clearer way (at least for me) today. We were in an "Informational Age" -- focused on facts, who, what, where, why, etc. Our students have grown up in a "Conceptual Age" -- an age focused on design, story, empathy, play, meaning. It is very different from the previous age and it demands a difference in how and what we teach.

Recommended was Daniel Punk's A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future. I can't wait to read it.

Lots of things to think about!

Visions of Online Learning

Just read a short post on Visions of Online Learning by Troy W. Hicks on his blog, Digital Writing, Digital Teaching.

He begins:

Are we, as educators, approaching this in the right way?

To deal with the growth, the University of California is launching an extensive effort to make sure applicants’ online high school courses are on par with traditional classroom instruction.

More students across US logging on to online classrooms - The Boston Globe

Hicks questions whether we want online education to be "on par" with traditional instruction. Is much of traditional instruction/education outdated? The content may be fine but is the way we deliver it effective?

Shouldn't, instead, the purposes of online learning be to engage students in reading and writing tasks that require multimedia authoring, collaboration with others with whom we typically would not or could not work, and engagement with materials that are fresh, relevant, and contextually useful to one's own inquiry?...

Instead, we need to think about what it means to engage with content and collaborate with others in ways that will both catch the attention of and expand the abilities of our students.

As I create courses, I must remember that I am not writing for the high school student I was in the 1970s. I should not be "delivering" curriculum in the same way it was delivered to me. (I'm not sure it was effective even then.) I must see my role and my tools in a new way.

Modeling the Change We Want to See

1. Ten Ways to Boost Learning with Technology by Maris Stansbury

"There is a crisis in American education today, as evidenced in falling graduation rates, entrants unprepared to enter college and the workforce, fewer people seeking science and math degrees, costly teacher turnover, and poor retention rates," said Mary Ann Wolf, SETDA's executive director. "Our students deserve better. We know how the proper uses of technology in education can transform teaching and learning to improve student engagement and achievement."

The report cites several statistics to press home the need for swift action. For example, according to SETDA, the high school graduation rate is just barely over 70 percent, and fewer than 50 percent of graduates are prepared for the workforce or college. Among all U.S. industries, education ranks dead last in the use of technology.

Also, by 2010, more than 90 percent of all scientists will be living in Asia, and the United States ranks 20th in the world for graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

In many ways, this is nothing new. But it is still shocking. We think of ourselves as world leaders. For how much longer will this be true (if it even is true today)?

State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has issued new guidance for reforming the nation's schools with the help of technology. Do they have any teeth? Who will see that these changes take place?

I have to be the change I want to see. I have to do my part, no matter how small. Out of SEDTA's ten recommendations, I can do my part in one: Ensure that technology tools and resources are used continuously and seamlessly for instruction, collaboration, and assessment.

2. "Feedback," a podcast in The Learning Times Green Room

In the previous article, one of SEDTA's recommendations is: 5. Incorporate innovative, consistent, and timely assessments into daily instruction. This podcast addresses feedback teachers provide to learners.

Since I am an online high school Language Arts and Social Studies teacher, I correct/provide feedback for a lot of written assignments. I've tried all sorts of methods of showing feedback (primarily formative) on a document with varying degrees of success --

• email comments
• inserting comments (highlighted or using caps) within the text
• creating text boxes on the document
• returning only segments of the doc with summary feedback for each paragraph
• general suggestions
• specific suggestions
• examples for suggestions
• phone conversations
  
• rubrics

Listening to this podcast, reminded me of one fairly obvious method that I haven't been using: audio. How easy it would be to have audacity open on my desktop and record my comments and attach to return email. This would also help to make our relationship more "real" as students would hear my voice. For that matter, I have a small logitech camera on my computer. I could even do video/audio recordings. What a concept! I'm going to try it.

3. How to Motivate Students by Errol Craig Sull, eLearn Magazine

Sull has great suggestions on how to motivate online students. They include:

• Be honest
• Always address students by name
• Asking students to send you materials
• Send "fillers" or "lite bites"
• Offer a challenge
• Include related jokes, anecdotes, and cartoons

This one really resonated with me:

Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. If you are ho-hum and lackadaisical about your course, expect the same from your students. They internalize and project the emotions you put out, and the more "into" the course you are, the more excited the students will become. Unlike a brick-and-mortar school where students have the physical presence of the instructor to help lead the class, here all you have is the written word to enthuse, arouse, and motivate the students' involvement in your course. Don't neglect choosing your words carefully, remember exclamation marks indicate a great energy behind those words (But be forewarned, use an exclamation mark at the end of every sentence and it will quickly lose its vibrancy).

Yes, it is okay to use exclamation marks, casual language like "Bummer", ellipses (looks like this... ), emoticons, whatever you need to communicate your enthusiasm with your students. Just don't take it to excess.

Choices

So many students are just trying to get through school. I want to engage mine. Turn them on to learning. I also want to tailor my online courses to my students' needs. (Aka differentiation!)

Best Practices: The Miracle of Choices by Mary Tedrow focuses on the value of offering students choices. When students have a choice, they are more likely to "buy into" an assignment. It can be as simple as saying do A or B, choose ten out of fifteen problems to answer, or as open as having students propose their final project. Students discover the application of what they're being taught/learning to their lives and interests. And, as Tedrow suggests, you (the teacher) may find your reading much more interesting.

Getting Started

I've been teaching online now for around six years. I have also worked as a technology teacher grades K to 8. In the process of taking courses, workshops, and participating in various other professional development opportunities, I have come across readings and tools I appreciate and would like to go back to time and again. I have some of those places bookmarked. Others are on del.icio.us or other places. Its time I take the step and create a blog to pull all of these things together -- so that I can actually find them when I need them. So, this blog is for me. I hope you'll share your "finds" and maybe you'll find a few helpful tools here too.