Blogging Challenge

Once again, we have reached the point where I introduce my students to the wonderful world of blogging.  Of course that usually means that I have to explain what a blog even is.

Naturally, that also reminds me of the need to get back into the habit myself.  Inspired by student enthusiasm and the efforts of some of my colleagues, I have come across this 30-Day Blogging Challenge.  As I've recently encountered with some of my personal fitness, I HAVE to have something to work towards that is specific.  I couldn't just say I will no longer be fat... although that would be nice.  Instead, I had to be more direct: I will get into the gym every school day and do cardio.  I'm getting the sense that blogging will need to be one of those areas that require something more concerted.

So. For Day One I will write a little bit about my goals for the year.  Here are a few key things that stand out:

1.  Technology.  This, for me, is a big one.  I love spending time online and with colleagues and friends looking at things that are cool.  The challenge is finding to way to use technology effectively.  Our district has focused a lot on using Google's architecture to facilitate greater collaboration and increase the ease with which we can accomplish our goals.  This year introduces Google Classroom, which I really like and am excited to play with.

I want to ensure that I'm not just using technology just for technology's sake.  There needs to be a purpose and a measurable way to observe and note student progress toward digital outcomes.  My goal is to make sure that when I use an app, be it Socrative, Remind, or Google's suite of tools, there needs to be a reason beyond the simple wow factor.

2.  Kagan.  Our district has also spent a great deal of time and effort looking into the Kagan philosophy of cooperative learning.  I will admit that a good amount of my teaching and instruction is quite teacher centered... I've often fallen into the trap of assuming that I have a more direct role in helping my students to understand what is needed, especially in a subject as content-driven as Social Studies.  Kagan embraces the idea that students benefit more by working together and relying a lot less on the 'sage on the stage' approach that many of us have grown so accustomed to.  My goal is to play with some of the strategies in my big ol' book, to refine them, and make them part of my normal teaching practice.  This may mean that I fall on my face more often than I would like, but if it means that my students are a bit more engaged in what they are doing, it will be well worth the price of admission.

There you have it.  A bit of insight into what I'll be working on this year, and a roadmap to what I hope to showcase through this blog.  Should be a good year...  now for the next 29 days of blogging.

~MrT

The Miracle of the Internet

Once in a while I start geeking out over some new thing that I have come across on the internet.  Most of my time online is spent keeping up on current affairs or working, with distractions usually involving a bit of gaming along with some clever and/or weird internet humor (Oh, imgur... ).  However, every now and then I can see something that just never would have been possible when I was in high school and it blows my mind.

Take Google Earth. At it's core, this is a map... albeit one that is extremely cool.  I can literally see almost anywhere on the planet.  Street View takes it even further, giving me a first hand look at almost anywhere I would like to see.  It's amazing and I enjoy the sense of wonder when I can get lost in something like this and discover.

Here is another tool I've left on a couple times while doing work at home.  It is an interactive, live-feed of the world's weather conditions.  Impressive, when you consider just how much information is being calculated.  All the more humbling when you can see some of the big storms that have been making news as of late.  Just not possible in the early days of the internet, when every attempt to connect was greeted with this monstrosity.

Three more weeks...

~Mr.T

Hey look!... Another Post About NOT Posting...

As summer winds down, my mind unfortunately turns to preparation for the upcoming school year.  Unlike most of my previous years of teaching, this will not have me dealing with a new assignment or school.  Rather, I will be able to refine my approach to working with Grade 8s, but will also have Grades 9 and 10 over the course of the year.  This will make for an interesting challenge to juggle very different groups and their very different approaches to learning.

My goals for the year will include:

1.  Effective utilization of technology in the classroom
2.  Further implementation of Kagan principles of student engagment

And... as has been shared many times on these pages, I will do a better job sharing my experiences on these pages.

More to come.

~Mr.T

Well...

Time in my schedule has opened up enough that I can start sharing a bit more about what the classes are up to these days.  It's been far too long.  Again.

Yesterday, the class was inspired by a story making the rounds about a teacher who asked his students to write a letter to their future selves.  This isn't something entirely new in and of itself, but what makes the story so neat is that he has been able to track down most of his students and actually return the letters 20 years later.

We spent a good portion of the class establishing criteria for what will be a pioneering effort for me: I will collect similar letters and return them to the students in 15 years.  This means that if all goes according to plan, they will receive these notes in 2029.  Geronimo!

One reason for the post is to make this public to help me keep my word.  The other, as implied above, is that I need to get back into this habit.

More to come.

~Mr. T

First Step into a Larger World...

One of the things I was able to fit into an already chaotic schedule at the beginning of this school year was a brief introduction to Kagan cooperative learning.  While I'm certainly no expert, I can say that I am very intrigued by the concept and how it could affect the management of my classroom.  Today marked the first foray into something new.

My humanities classes and homeroom have been organized into groups or 'pods' of four.  Before organizing the seating, I gave students a chance to indicate to me who they would like to work with.  I tried to ensure that they have one 'friend' in their groups.  The rest are theoretically new faces, or at the very least, someone that they might not visit with all that much.

I really like the idea of being able to have built-in groups.  This leads itself nicely into greater interaction among students, relieves some of the pressure of having to work by yourself, and will make for a more enjoyable year in my opinion.  While we still have a few kinks to work out (mainly keeping conversations at a workable level which is understandable), I'm actually quite excited about what this will mean for my teaching style and how I can help to get ALL students engaged in their learning.

And... I got an opportunity to refer to Star Wars!  Win win!!

Cheers,

~Mr. T