blogs ... what are they good for?

I know I am revisiting this topic from the beginning of the class but I still have not found an answer I am fully happy with.

What place does bloging and social media have in education?

I still feel as though this is a social technology that is still being figured out. I have not come up with any creative use for bloging in education. I guess I am contributing to the lack of good ideas.



People tend to use a new technology the same way they did the old one regardless of new capabilities. For example I know teacher that use a five thousand dollar smart board the same way another would use a three hundred dollar LCD projector. People gravitate to things that are familiar using something new in the same old way.



Blogs and up to he minute media are something completely new for most people so an intuitive approach is lacking. Blogs represent nothing familiar so teachers don’t even know the wrong or old way to use it. Until I stumble upon a fitting use for blogs in education I will stay on the side lines.



All the best,

Mr. D

Is a school trip to DC worth it?

This week I have a simple question. Should the 8th grade go to Washington DC for three days on a trip? The history teachers in my school argue that the trip does not support the curriculum so it is a useless trip with little to know academic value. Also should a trip of this magnitude only support the history department? I guess what I am driving at is what does Washington DC have to offer beyond social studies. This is what kills me though. In this case the trip does not support a state test so they want to scrap it all together.

Room Use

Teaching technology comes with responsibilities that not many other teachers can relate to. I need to maintain an entire fabrication shop. This includes machinery, power tools, hand tools, and raw materials. I teach three different grades so i have different projects going on all the time. Unlike a math teacher i need to keep track of more than just text books and pencils. I need to know the condition of my classroom to ensure the safety of my students as well as myself. So hear is the problem. My district has an adult school that comes in and uses my classroom at night without telling me and i walk into a room that is not the way i left it when i left the day before. Its a lot like having someone ells clean your room as a kid. When you first walk in its like a feeling of something is just not right with this room. I am in the process of having them banned from my room. Does anyone ells have a story of other people taking liberties with a classroom that they have no business doing so? Please share.

Give me a credit/debit card already

I am a one man show in my school. I am a department of one. As the head of my department of one i need to order LOTS of crap all the time. wood, plastic, tools, kits, glue more tools and stuff for the three grades that I teach.
In order to make purchases i need to fill out a form have the boss sign it who then passes it on to the secretary of the business office (it collects dust for about a week on her desk) who has the business superintendent sign it and then she mails it out. (She stopped faxing them this year because she said it was to much work) This also limits the vendors i can purchase from because not all businesses will take a purchase order.
If i only had a debit card hooked up to the account for my department I could get materials faster and cheeper than i am now. The school does not want to stretch a buck with good ideas. The system is set up so that i pay more for items than i should. It would be nice if i could put down the hammer and chisel to make my orders and swipe a card.

Madeline Levine the author of the book “The Price of Privilege” came to my school and sis a talk for the faculty. She a great number of things and all of them made sense. It was the first meeting at my school that I really enjoyed. Below are some of the points that I remember from her talk.
A.P. classes are not a great idea because the put far to much attention on “Passing a test” rather then learning content. Kids are great performers and will do what they need to in order to pass a test. In the end they don’t really learn.
Let your kid fail. Unless you kid feels the sting of a failure they will not know how to deal with it. Parents are swooping in to save the day and make sure that all goes well with school. (Kids in my school call home for the parents to bring something they forgot like homework, projects, sports bags or anything ells they should have remembered) Learn to fail or fail to learn.
A kid’s world should look very different than an adult’s world. We are asking kids to live and function as adults but they are not adults physically or mentally.
Don’t project your image of what your kid should be… Get to know your kid instead. Parents are molding and prepping kids into an image of success they have planned out for them.

The great thing about her talk was that she essentially called the administrators and parents of the district a bunch of misguided idiots. The community I work in has been going down this path of over privilege for generations. It was nice to see a voice of reason be heard.

6th grade should not be in the middle school.

When I went through school the elementary school was k through 6th grade. The middle school was 7th and 8th. The high school was 9 through 12. The school I teach in now has the 6th grade in the middle school. I can’t shake my image of the 6th grade class as being elementary school kids. My school also has an advisory program to help support and coddle the kids along throughout the school year. I have the privilege of being a 6th grade advisor and I hate every minute of it. I am a technology teacher and I feel my role as an advisory teacher is a huge waste of my talent.

I have found the maturity level of my 6th grade students to be far below what is needed to perform and be productive in the middle school environment. They can’t handle the reasonability of getting to class on time, using a locker or even brining the proper materials to class. These kids are just not capable of functioning well in the middle school.

Is 5th and 6th grade a gray area? When does the elementary school stop and the middle school start. If I was going to use New York state education department as a guide than elementary school does in-fact go until 6th grade. Elementary teacher certification covers grades k through 6. What do you think? Should 6th grade stay in the elementary school?

Boring/pointless meetings

ON Wednesday of every week we have a one hour meeting. Some weeks its an hour and a half. My district is taking on what they are calling a global perspective, knowing and engaging students and information technology. I have interpreted this as the kids should be more worldly... the teachers are out of touch with technology... and teachers don't know the kids well enough. I am forced to sit through grand ideas of how the student body should be more involved on a global scale. In the end I am sitting through painfully boring meetings that do not have anything to do with my class. The thing that really pains me is that the district does not provide a clear idea of what they expect us to produce. Its like the super dumb leading the teachers. Seeing a superintendent ad-lib and just wing it is painful. Does anyone have any tricks for staying awake during very boring meetings? The one thing they don't tell you in college is that you will be forced to sit through this garbage.

Students warned to prove Texas residence or leave

I live and work in New York State. In order to attend public school a student must reside within the boundaries of the school district. If a student wants to attend a different public school the must pay tuition for that school. In my district the tuition for students grades k through 8 must pay 15 thousand dollars. For students grades 9 through 12 the price is around 22 thousand per school year. These rules are in place to protect the residents or school district from being taken advantage of. For lack of a better way to say it no district want a bunch of free loaders. I don't feel that this is the best way of doing things but this the way things work. Unfortunately the quality of a kids education is linked to how rich the town is they live in.

I came across an article about a border town school district with a problem. Every day van loads of kids would cross the U.S. Mexico border and drop them off at a U.S. public school. http://www.newstimes.com/national/ci_13387165

In resent days the school district in question has been putting a stop to this...

Untenured ... What to do?

I have found myself in a bit of a situation. I am starting my second year in my district as an untenured teacher. I will be up for tenure next year and even if I get tenure it will not be in effect until the following school year. My union is gearing up to make a showing at the next few board meetings due to budget issues. I don’t know if I should go.
Ever since I was in my under grad I remember people telling me to lay low until I get tenure. Or don’t piss anyone off until you get tenure. I feel like these opinions cause people to fear for their job. Not to sound cocky or anything but I really don’t fear for my job because I am confident that I am doing the best job possible.
Should untenured teachers lay low, play nice and not get involved in union happenings until tenure roles around?

I found some fun rantings on this blog
http://untenured.blogspot.com/

People that change your ways

The most recent assignment for grad school had me viewing a video on Randy Pausch … His last lecture to be specific. It got me thinking of all the people in my life that said or did something that resonated with me long after it happened.

For instance Professor John Belt told me “you want a new job … quit or get fired … one of them is on your time.”

Professor Dan Tryon told me that a group has three types of people the first one Makes things happen, The second Watch what is happening, and the third is Wondering “That the hell just happened?”

I worked summer labor with the city of Peekskill for two summers during the community college days and some guy I worked with said “they all worked that crap job because they Didn’t go to college and don’t you dare go full time on this job.” “Find something better to do.”

The one that I stumbled upon myself was that people value honesty… Honesty was how I gained respect from myself and the people around me.

I have a fragmented collection of quotes and events that helped shape who I am. One day I would like to write them down (before I forget the good stuff)

The really great thing about looking at a video like Randy’s last lecture is that it makes me think about my life and my contributions to the people around me in the most honest way possible. I just wonder if I have done the same for someone ells.

What’s your take?

http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/

Requisitions

As I plug along creating the Technology curriculum I am constantly on the lookout for the best vendor with the best price. As a one man department I am the guy that sends the requisitions on over to the business office. I have encountered suppliers that do not take purchase orders. I have had to pay more for products in these cases because I was unable to do business with the cheapest supplier. Does anyone know a way to get around this problem. I can't blame suppliers for doing this. I for one would not let any product leave the door without first being payed for. So does anyone think that the purchase order system as schools use it should be changed. If the day ever comes that I can have a debit card hooked up to my budget would be the greatest day ever. So this week I have two questions that I am fighting with. Does anyone know a way to get supplies from companies that do not use purchase orders? (without using my own money) Should the schools change the purchasing system or should the suppliers change?

Thoughts on teaching hours and dedication.

I have friends that arrive to school hours before they need no and stay much latter than they are required as well. This seems to be something that teachers have done for years and sounds like a real good trait of dedication. My teachers contract states that I need to be on school grounds from 7:45 am until 3:00 pm. anything i do beyond that I do free of charge. Am I any less of a dedicated teacher if i do not arrive early and or stay late? I have all materials prepared for class ahead of time and i feel as though I teach every class with a high level of enthusiasm. I love teaching and I would not want to do anything ells at this point in my life. So this is the dilemma... Do I stick to the contract and only work within the hours I am required like any other profession or do I stick around and make more work for myself? The hard thing is that I come from a wold of punching a clock and not working past 5 pm. you will never find a mechanic that wants to stay late and work on a car for free just because he really wants to please the customer. Or is staying late as a teacher the thing that really sets teaching apart and above other professions. Let me know what you think.

Greg

Technology in the classroom

I was going to blog about the first chapter but then I found this video of Bill Gates on TED.com. It’s a bit boring at first but when he starts talking about education he hit on some points that give some concern. He seems to be a personality that people tend to listen to. Gates feels as though technology is the solution to teaching quality. His proposal is to place cameras in classrooms of in an effort to spread good teaching practices. On the other hand it will weed out ineffective teachers. I feel that cameras in the classroom will produce a debate in education in the very near future. See the link below.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/bill_gates_unplugged.html

Skeptical about blogs

Let me just begin by saying that I am skeptical about bloging. Blogs have a yet to be defined role in society. Blogs are giving news media a run for its money … Literally. According to my many drive to work W.N.Y.C. listening sessions, blogs in conjunction with instant access to the news 24/7 have become the media outlet of choice. One popular thought is that blogs can link up like minded people so a great world of collaboration can happen. OK sure I can buy this idea just so long as those like minded people can find each other. I just took a second from writing this entry to do a search on bing.com. I typed in “Technology education blog” and I didn’t get one hit for technology education. I’m a 28 year old technology teacher and I don’t think I am that far out of touch with what is new and cool in the world. If I of all people am having problems finding what I want on the internet than what good is the information if I can’t find it? I do understand how a blog works and all the great information it can give. I look at treehugger.com several times per day in fact. In the world of education I feel that blogs need a clearly defined role. Is this something that teachers are expected to do during the work day? If so will the union negotiate a time for teachers to write blogs? Is this something done on teacher’s free time? For what ? and for who ? Is this something aimed at better communication with parents? Is it less personal than a phone call home? I feel this is going to be a topic that school unions will be taking on in the coming years.

Mr. Di Stefano's Forum

This weblog is intended for meaningful thoughts and dictions on design and education.