Through the readings, I am a little unnerved at all of the aspects that are presented for consideration. However, after taking a bit of time to digest them all, I return to my original conclusion that for the purpose of educational presentations and student involvement, we need only start with a few simple principles. While Ohler discusses tone and tempo etc, It seems to me that many of these things will take care of themselves once a topic has been chosen. For example, one of the DSTs I viewed discussed the horrible treatment of a reporter and a woman who was burned - the nature of this topic sets the tone for the author.
In our classrooms, if we are to make good use of DST for students (and by students) I think we need to consider that for many of them, it will be the first foray into this genre and we need not be so concerned with too many details but rather let the students be guided by there topic to set the tone as well as other aspect of their story. Ohler's book can be overwhelming, and rightfully so if we are setting out to present an award winning piece. However, we need to remind ourselves that we are not here for that, bit only to open doors to students that move them in a direction where they can have have as many experiences as they can to give themselves as many opportunities as they can.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Groupp Project - Digital Story Telling
Laura, Denis and myself are embarking on a tale about the history of story telling from ancient times through the present. We will be attempting to show how storytelling has changed through the centuries but also how it has remained the same. Our effort will show the advancements in the story telling genre including print media, mass production of books, and electronic advancements like the computer and Power Point and Prezi. We sill also point out that through all of this, live presentation still is a wonderful way to captivate an audience and how narration still remains a mainstay even in today''s world of digital advancement
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Digital Storytelling
The digital stories that I viewed were nothing short of powerful. In large part because of the content itself, but in no small part because the medium allows for the fluid shifting of images behind the audio story as told by the authors. From this small sample, it is evident that digital storytelling can be a very good tool for history and sociology classes and a good way for students to relate stories without having to actually stand in front of a class themselves.
It was very much like watching a news item that was prerecorded and clearly one that with current software like imovie is readily available to anyone who is remotely adventurous.
It was very much like watching a news item that was prerecorded and clearly one that with current software like imovie is readily available to anyone who is remotely adventurous.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
TAMU 3
Another good meeting - started an hour late due to a conflict, but everyone was able to make it and stay for at least 20 minutes - most for the entire time. We mostly discussed first year teacher stuff. Pencils, pens, erasers, organizing, discipline, and finding a mentor, and working with administration. We weren't exactly on topic as far as ELL, but I think it was agreed, that this was a very useful and productive meeting for them. e spent another hour together when I called it a night as it was 11 pm EST.
From a learning perspective, I guess the most I can personally say is that I can see how I have grown since my first year, and how much there really is that is left undone in the teacher education process. On the other hand, it is not really possible to make someone organize for a classroom full of students until they have one. I think, looking back on it, the thing I relied on most was my mentor teacher, and it was the one thing I tried to really impress upo th group was to find one even if you don't have to.
From a learning perspective, I guess the most I can personally say is that I can see how I have grown since my first year, and how much there really is that is left undone in the teacher education process. On the other hand, it is not really possible to make someone organize for a classroom full of students until they have one. I think, looking back on it, the thing I relied on most was my mentor teacher, and it was the one thing I tried to really impress upo th group was to find one even if you don't have to.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
TAMU Meeting 2
Second meeting with TAMU went very well. About 75 minutes and we basically adjourned although we were still going strong. Topics included how to determine the usefulness of technology as compared to the time spent introducing it to students, how to police student activity and keep them on task, differentiating and having other assignments available for the quicker students.
The meeting went very well though it offered less to me as the direction it took was more about how to run your classroom and manage student behavior. This is not to say that I believe that I am perfect at it, indeed, each year offers new challenges as I change curriculum in what I like to think of as a very fluid and differentiated environment. What was most instructional to me was the commentary from the other participants about how I organize and run my classroom. I realized more than anything that I need to further differentiate and consistently differentiate through each unit - something I have thought of but have been somewhat slow to do in midstream. I have been looking forward to spring and summer breaks to even out the units within my class.
We were also in a different environment for this meeting - sitting on grass as opposed to in the circles. There didn't seem to be much difference in the group dynamic. I think this was because we were still surrounded by grassy area and not in a very classroom type of setting. I also have been fortunate in that my group is very prepared and willing to share their ideas and even to reconsider their position.
Perhaps the most enlightening moment to the TAMU collective was after they adamantly argued against allowing head phones and multi-tab searches (where students might be looking up unrelated topics). SAfter they almost unanimously said no, I asked them if they and anything else going on and they all admitted having TV, radio, or e-mail open.
We ended by just deciding to, though we were still very much into our discussion. We concluded , once again, that nothing is as clear cut as we might wish and that differentiating doesn't necessarily only apply to how students learn, but how perhaps even how they are allowed to multitask.
The meeting went very well though it offered less to me as the direction it took was more about how to run your classroom and manage student behavior. This is not to say that I believe that I am perfect at it, indeed, each year offers new challenges as I change curriculum in what I like to think of as a very fluid and differentiated environment. What was most instructional to me was the commentary from the other participants about how I organize and run my classroom. I realized more than anything that I need to further differentiate and consistently differentiate through each unit - something I have thought of but have been somewhat slow to do in midstream. I have been looking forward to spring and summer breaks to even out the units within my class.
We were also in a different environment for this meeting - sitting on grass as opposed to in the circles. There didn't seem to be much difference in the group dynamic. I think this was because we were still surrounded by grassy area and not in a very classroom type of setting. I also have been fortunate in that my group is very prepared and willing to share their ideas and even to reconsider their position.
Perhaps the most enlightening moment to the TAMU collective was after they adamantly argued against allowing head phones and multi-tab searches (where students might be looking up unrelated topics). SAfter they almost unanimously said no, I asked them if they and anything else going on and they all admitted having TV, radio, or e-mail open.
We ended by just deciding to, though we were still very much into our discussion. We concluded , once again, that nothing is as clear cut as we might wish and that differentiating doesn't necessarily only apply to how students learn, but how perhaps even how they are allowed to multitask.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
TAMU Meeting 1
Had a really good- one-hour long - meeting with students from Texas A&M. We discussed everything from identifying ESL students to teaching them in an inclusion setting. The students were very engaging and offered good ideas as well as concerns about their role in the larger picture of teaching while splitting time between regular planning and "special case" planning. We also discussed differentiation within the class room and the advantages and pitfalls.
In the role of facilitator, I did find myself steering the conversation a little as I could. The Participants were very willing to offer comments and I mostly just had to move us on to other topics. We agreed that SL was a good forum for conversation, but we also agreed that to use it with students in a high school setting does present inherent dangers to teachers and we were not sure how to get around them. In particular, SL has areas that are of questionable content, and once on the site, there is no way to stop students from finding these areas and it seems likely that the teacher who directed them to SL would be mentioned as being to blame.
A a group, we weren't sure about some aspects of ESL. In particular what, if any, status they shared with other Special Ed students legally. We found ourselves becoming overwhelmed with all of the possibilities that a teacher of these types of students would face, and we found no relief in the fact that we would likely only have a couple in any one class. In fact, this almost seemed more difficult from a planning perspective.
There was a moment for me when I realized that I don;t actually have a simple question on my First Day Questionnaire that asks students if English is the primary language spoken by them or in their home. I offered no excuse for this last night, and do not do so now.
In the end, I complimented them on their dedication to education as demonstrated by their agreement to meet at a late hour on a Monday night three times in a month. I thanked them for their time and came away, with a little opening in the window of my mind about taking a fresh look at myself and my teaching practices; especially as it pertains to addressing culture and language in my classroom.
In the role of facilitator, I did find myself steering the conversation a little as I could. The Participants were very willing to offer comments and I mostly just had to move us on to other topics. We agreed that SL was a good forum for conversation, but we also agreed that to use it with students in a high school setting does present inherent dangers to teachers and we were not sure how to get around them. In particular, SL has areas that are of questionable content, and once on the site, there is no way to stop students from finding these areas and it seems likely that the teacher who directed them to SL would be mentioned as being to blame.
A a group, we weren't sure about some aspects of ESL. In particular what, if any, status they shared with other Special Ed students legally. We found ourselves becoming overwhelmed with all of the possibilities that a teacher of these types of students would face, and we found no relief in the fact that we would likely only have a couple in any one class. In fact, this almost seemed more difficult from a planning perspective.
There was a moment for me when I realized that I don;t actually have a simple question on my First Day Questionnaire that asks students if English is the primary language spoken by them or in their home. I offered no excuse for this last night, and do not do so now.
In the end, I complimented them on their dedication to education as demonstrated by their agreement to meet at a late hour on a Monday night three times in a month. I thanked them for their time and came away, with a little opening in the window of my mind about taking a fresh look at myself and my teaching practices; especially as it pertains to addressing culture and language in my classroom.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
GCC Thoughts
Met with an undergraduate student from a Texas college about gender roles in education. She had some interesting questions that, in some cases, made me think about my role as a teacher and how my gender effects it. We were accompanied by a female teacher which also added interest and perspective for me. At the end, she claimed to have gotten more than enough information from us, and I hope she did.
For me, the experience was interesting. First, I had to stop and think about things that after fifteen years I probably just take for granted. For example, do I think my gender makes a difference to the students, and does their gender matter in how I treat them. I think I am comfortable with how I treat gender in my class. I have always been more comfortable chatting with females mainly I think because they will, where guys tend to be more direct and less interested in details. (Oddly my wife is just the opposite). I think I am even keeled with time spent with each sex but do notice that the girls tend to ask more questions which makes me approach the guys to see how they are doing. Looking at that, I think it's a good thing , and something I also just do and don't think about. I also know that I spend more time with students that struggle with the material, not so much to help with class as maybe to just try to make them more comfortable and less threatened by the subject.
I hope in the end, my class is a very nonthreatening place to be and having a brother who lives in the district, I have gotten feed back about how much students enjoyed my class and liked me. I guess that's a large part of it (no, they don't know he's my brother - different last name)
Having a second person answering questions also gave me time to reflect on my answers immediately. Some I wanted to add explanation to, but time slipped away from us. It was interesting to hear her perspective about certain issues - being looked at differently by parents, maybe not taken as seriously, being flirted with etc. Some things, I never considered because they don't effect me and some I only considered when I was younger and less experienced.
As a result, I think I gained a lot from this experience and, if I'm smart, will take away with me and use.
For me, the experience was interesting. First, I had to stop and think about things that after fifteen years I probably just take for granted. For example, do I think my gender makes a difference to the students, and does their gender matter in how I treat them. I think I am comfortable with how I treat gender in my class. I have always been more comfortable chatting with females mainly I think because they will, where guys tend to be more direct and less interested in details. (Oddly my wife is just the opposite). I think I am even keeled with time spent with each sex but do notice that the girls tend to ask more questions which makes me approach the guys to see how they are doing. Looking at that, I think it's a good thing , and something I also just do and don't think about. I also know that I spend more time with students that struggle with the material, not so much to help with class as maybe to just try to make them more comfortable and less threatened by the subject.
I hope in the end, my class is a very nonthreatening place to be and having a brother who lives in the district, I have gotten feed back about how much students enjoyed my class and liked me. I guess that's a large part of it (no, they don't know he's my brother - different last name)
Having a second person answering questions also gave me time to reflect on my answers immediately. Some I wanted to add explanation to, but time slipped away from us. It was interesting to hear her perspective about certain issues - being looked at differently by parents, maybe not taken as seriously, being flirted with etc. Some things, I never considered because they don't effect me and some I only considered when I was younger and less experienced.
As a result, I think I gained a lot from this experience and, if I'm smart, will take away with me and use.
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