Week Four

When I saw that this week’s lesson was on the use of Power Point, my initial reaction was, ‘That’s great!  I use Power Point and know the ins and outs.’  However, after reading both articles, my entire perspective about the use of PowerPoint has changed.  It was refreshing to read that PowerPoint can be overused and that if you DON’T use it, that may actually be a good thing.  I had never read or heard anything really negative about the software; I just knew it was used in almost every lecture setting (seminars, church, meetings) that I attend.  And yes, after reading the articles, I would agree that there is some great use of PowerPoint and there are others, including my own, that probably have been designed around the program itself so that it appears that we are technologically savvy.

In thinking about the best use of PowerPoint that I’ve witnessed, I have to go with the Dave Ramsey courses.  He knows his material so well, that little time is spend on the PowerPoint other than to introduce a point.  His visuals (and he uses many other things other than the PowerPoint) are quite effective.  What made me realize how ‘good’ his use of PowerPoint was is the fact that I don’t associate a PowerPoint presentation with his lectures.  He gives us a plethora of information, but when I truly reflect, he does this by lecture only using PowerPoint slides intermittently to start a discussion, show a pertinent video, or support his stance.

I use a SmartBoard in my class, which, when set up ahead of time for a presentation, is effectively using PowerPoint.  I have used several ‘pre-formed’ lessons and the students do enjoy them.  However, if I used them every day, instead of just using it dynamically (ie giving examples as they arise instead of having examples set up ahead of time), I believe the students would lose interest.

The last presentation I did was on polynomials and I gave it to my Algebra II class.  There were a couple of areas that I was really proud of how effective they worked with the class.  One was the matching component.  Students could interactively match the correct information by dragging and dropping answers into the correct box.  If the answer was correct, a big checkmark would appear.  The other area that I was proud of was when a student completed a problem, they could ‘erase’ an area and the correct answer would ‘appear’.  They loved the mystery of that.

If I were to do the same presentation, I would probably eliminate some of the slides.  They weren’t necessarily needed and it would have been more effective if I had left an empty space there for me to do some examples that the class was struggling with instead of assuming where they may need help.

The students love these presentations because they are interactive, colorful, and different than what we do on a day to day basis.  However, because they enjoy them because they break up the monotony of a typical math day, they would lose their effect if we did this daily.  I also don’t think that they are as effective as a ‘teaching’ tool as working problems on an ‘as needed’ basis.  They do, however, make a day of math more fun!

I also enjoyed getting on TED and chose to watch a segment by Angela Duckworth on GRIT.  I loved the video Angela Duckworth presented on GRIT.  As a teacher and a USA Swimming coach, it was so refreshing to hear what I have known and witnessed throughout my entire life – both as a swimmer and a teacher.

As a high school math teacher, I have both ‘gifted’ students and students who struggle in grasping the material.  However, much like Ms. Duckworth, what I observe over and over is that a student’s final grade in my class does not depend so much on their natural ability as much as it depends on their work ethic and their willingness to persevere.  This same idea is supported in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers in the chapter titled ‘Rice Patties and Math Tests.’  Similar to Ms. Duckworth’s assessment, Gladwell points out that those who score the highest on common standards testing are those who have been brought up in environments where perseverance and work ethic is expected.  This perseverance and work ethic would be what I also consider ‘grit.’

As a swim coach and former national level swimmer, this same trait is exhibited in athletics.  We have had swimmers on our team who are talented beyond measure, but never go beyond a regional level because they are complacent to be ‘above average’ and they do not put in any extra work to be great.  Some of our best athletes have been those who are not as naturally talented, but believe in hard work, and have gone on to be nationally ranked athletes.  Some call it tenacity, others call it hard work, but it all boils down to the same word, ‘grit.’

The struggle with this is exactly what Duckworth states at the end of the video.  How do we make kids ‘grittier?’  If we could bottle and sell grit, we’d all be millionaires.  As a coach and teacher, my biggest challenge is trying to instill that determination and willingness to go the extra mile to achieve more.  Unfortunately, our society has become one of mediocrity, so instilling these values, when they may not be preached at home, is going to be tough.  I hope that through Ms. Duckworth’s continued research, teachers are given some strategies outside of what we’re using now, that may help us develop grittier students which ultimately will give us more productive members of society.

With all of this stated, as a teacher, I am finding the more I learn, the more I realize what I DON’T know.  That’s scary!   I am learning there are so many resources out there but trying to discern the good from the bad can be formidable.  Like I preach to my students, you must perservere….and that I will do!

Tech Ed 11a - ComicLife

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This website changes photos into comic-like pictures.  You can create your own comic strip with their software.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This appears to be an awesome tool.  I didn’t download it because I am using an old laptop that doesn’t have much memory left – but when I get my other laptop fixed, I plan to download the free trial.  Students who may avoid writing, might be more motivated to write and be more creative in their writing.  It could be used for documents, flyers, in newsletters, etc..
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	If it works like it’s stated, I would definitely recommend.  It’s cost is only $19.95 and I think you could really get some creativity going with this.  It looks fun and I think students wouldn’t realize how much they were working because of the animated effects.

 

Tech Ed 11b - http://www.ispeech.org/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This website offers the availability of adding TTS to existing apps as well as downloadable apps that convert text to speech.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	The apps that are available look interesting.  There is an app that will convert web and word documents into speech which would be very useful for visually impaired students as well as those with any type of reading disability.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I might.  I don’t know the cost or how effective these apps work – but it would be worth looking into.

Tech Ed 12a - voicethread

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This website offers a service that teachers can use that will give students in their classroom a way to upload and share productions that include their own voiceover.  They can collaborate with other schools/students by voice recording as well.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	The website looks very interesting.  I could not find a ‘sample’ within their website, but by viewing their tutorial for educators, it looks like this would be interesting for students.  It also looks like it can develop creativity and higher levels of thinking.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I might.  The cost looks reasonable.  I don’t know how easy it is to use, but it would be well worth looking into if I had a class that collaboration would be helpful.

Tech Ed 12b - http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/Classroom+Partners

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This wiki is a place where educators can share their voicethread pages.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	I liked this site.  It finally gave me a way to watch some of the voice threads.  The one I watched had a teacher from Canada explaining life on the farm.  It was for kindergartners.  I know young children from around the globe would enjoy this.  The voiceover made it more personable.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I would.  It’s a great resource to maybe find some topic for your students as well as a resource if your classroom should decide to use voicethread.

 

Tech Ed 13a - storybird

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This app allows a teacher to give students access to storybird where they can use the beautiful illustrations available to create their own books.  Teachers can use them privately or publish.  The teacher can comment on them privately and has a gradebook attached.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	You could easily set up a means for students to write and create their own books with the illustrations already available.  They could use the illustrations to inspire them or find illustrations to go with their own thoughts.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I would.  I think this looks like a great idea for a reading/writing classroom.

Tech Ed 13b - scribblar

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This program allows you to do online tutoring in real-time with voice and chat functions.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	You could use it to tutor a student when you are not with them.  You could use it to set up a lesson and have it played while you’re gone (substitute).
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I love this.  I am going to look into it because teaching math is difficult to explain over the phone.  If my students had this available to them, they could get my help when they’re at home if we both have access to the computer.

 

Tech Ed 14 - buncee

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Be thorough in your response.
	This website allows you to create visual presentations.  It looks like it is similar to PowerPoint but with a more fun look and possibly more options.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  It does not matter if it is in your field or level, you need to understand how the resource might be used in educational settings.
	This could be used by teacher and students alike.  Teachers could use it to make interactive lessons, lessons that could be assessed at home prior to learning the material at school, etc.  Students could use it to create their own presentations.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? Like/Dislike; Ease of use, fee or not, and so forth.  Why or Why not?
	I think so.  I am interested in it enough to do a free trial of it.  I think it looks a little more ‘animated’ and fun – and might add a new pop to presentations.