Geocaching: A High Tech Treasure Hunt with Educational Benefits!

Muck boots? Check.
Jacket? Check.
GPS Receiver? Check.

It is spring, I think, so that means it is time to do some GEOCACHING! During the fourth quarter I get the opportunity to go geocaching with various groups of students. If you haven't heard of geocaching before, check out the basics on geocaching.com.

Depending on the grade level, discussions beforehand include but are not limited to:

• What are latitude and longitude and how do they help with directionality?
• What is GPS technology?
• What is a GPS receiver?
• What is geocaching?
• Why would anyone want to geocache?
• What types of "treasures" can be found?
• How can one place a geocache?
• Where might geocaches be found?
• What is geocaching etiquette and lingo?
• How do we use geocaching.com?
• Can we go outside now?

One of the beautiful things about geocaching is that it can be tied to just about anything in the curriculum. Because of this, the caches contain different things. With my 8th graders the purpose is simply to learn how to navigate with the GPS receiver. Because of that I place different stamps in each cache and send them out with GPS receivers and index cards. To prove that they found a cache, they stamp their card.  Because we don't have any official geocaches on school property, I create my own.

Here is my process:

• I take one GPS receiver (GPSr) outside, locate, and mark various waypoints (spots for geocaches).
• I hook the GPSr to my PC, open EasyGPS, and send all waypoints to the computer. I create a folder for the waypoints.
• Next, I hook each GPSr, one at a time, to the PC and send all waypoints to them. 
• I gather the caches. Some are plastic containers, others metal with magnets inside, some are old 35mm film containers.... I try to have a variety of different types of containers, similar to some that the students might encounter when geocaching out in "the wild."
• I prepare the caches. In traditional geocaching, each cache contains a log sheet. I don't always do this in the interest of time. I tend to place stamps, decorative hole punches, or stickers in the caches and give the students index cards for them to mark the caches they have visited.

Sometimes the caches contain QR codes! More on that another time.

What an awesome way to get outside and get moving while incorporating various skills! The best part.... some students share geocaching with their families who then participate in it together! 

BYOD Resources

We are currently running a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) pilot in some classrooms in our high school. I am always keeping my eyes open for tools that the teachers and students can use in these settings. Not every student brings his/her own device, but all students have the ability to sign out a laptop from the library. Because of this, I look for tools that are web based so that all can participate. Many of these tools do offers apps as well. Here are just a few of the tools that we use...

Socrative

• Socrative is a student response system that works on any web enabled device. 
• Teachers have the ability to create multiple choice, true/false, and short answer responses. Our teachers have used these as exit tickets and bell ringer exercises, as well as ways to gauge prior knowledge and to check comprehension. 
• Activities can be created in advance or on the fly and can be student or teacher paced. 
• Students visit m.socrative.com or open the Socrative Student app and enter the room number provided by the teacher. 
• After starting the activity, the teacher can watch the results live to get immediate feedback to inform instruction.
• Results can be downloaded in an Excel spreadsheet.
• Socrative 2.0 is in beta and has some added features.

Poll Everywhere

• Poll Everywhere is a polling tool where a question is posed and answers can be sent via text or the web and answers appear live. The free account currently allows up to 40 responses per poll and does not allow for moderation prior to posting. 
• If using the web, students go to pollev.com and enter responses there.
• If texting, students text their responses to a certain number the teacher provides them.
• Our teachers use this in much the same way they use Socrative.

TodaysMeet

• TodaysMeet is one of many backchanneling tools, but this one is super simple to set up and implement on any device that has access to the web. 
• Our students use this to communicate during debates, videos.... at times when they want to discuss something and not interrupt the flow of what is happening in the classroom. For example, many English and History teachers use video as part of their curriculum. TodaysMeet allows for discussions to happen during the videos, for clarification purposes and for the teacher to interject important points and for both students and teachers to ask and answer questions.
• The teacher creates a room and decides how long the room will remain open. 
• Students join the room by going to todaysmeet.com/(the name the teacher assigned the room) and clicking Join.
• Chat can't be moderated in TodaysMeet like they can with some other backchanneling tools, but our teachers opt for it because of its ease of use and the fact that transcripts can be downloaded and saved.

Evernote

• This web based and app based tool allows users to create notebooks, add notes, and organize them via tags. Notes can be typed, spoken, or snapped with a camera, depending on the device capabilities.  Notes and notebooks can be synced across many devices. 
• Many students are using this in place of traditional notebooks in the BYOD classes. In some cases students snap pictures of classroom posters, vocab lists, PowerPoint slides... and can even annotate them with Skitch. Notes can also be printed, exported, and shared.

Dropbox

• In many classes students and teachers use Dropbox as a cloud-based storage space. Dropbox is web based and app based, allowing users to upload files to the cloud. 
• Our BYOD students don't have network access on their personal devices. This tool allows them to save work if they are working on multiple devices and it allows them to get their work to a networked machine for printing purposes. Previously, students would email the work to themselves.

dropitto.me

• dropitto.me is a web based service that connects with Dropbox and serves as a virtual hand-in folder for students. 
• Teachers create an account at dropitto.me and link it to Dropbox.
• Students go to the teacher's dropitto.me site, enter the upload password that the teacher has created and upload their files. These files sync to the teacher's dropitto.me folder within the Dropbox. 

These next two are new to us and I credit Brandon Lutz, Scott Synder, and Mark Perlman for them! I attended their 60 in 60 web tools presentation at PETE and C this year. We can't wait to give them a try!

Mentimeter

• Mentimeter is another web based polling site. Unlike polleverywhere, texting responses is not an option.
• The teacher creates a poll question, students go to www.govote.at and enter the code provided by the teacher and then complete the poll question.
• Results do appear live.
• The free version does NOT have any restriction on number of votes per poll, unlike the free version of Poll Everywhere.
• Results can't be exported to Excel unless you buy a membership.

Infuse Learning

• Infuse Learning is much like Socrative. We like the added "drawing" question feature. Students can draw responses and submit them. (draw shapes, draw chemical compounds, show how a math problem is solved.....)
• Teachers can create classes and even upload rosters. They provide the template. 
• Additional question types include true/false, multiple choice, sort in order, open ended text answer, numeric, and Likert Scale.

A note about our BYOD pilot....

When we started this pilot, we didn't want these devices to be used solely for googling something or typing papers. Our teachers use them to engage students in new ways! We are still trying things and looking for new resources. The technology itself is not the focus, the learning is the focus. The technology is used where it fits, where it is the right tool for the job, and where it enhances the learning. 

A Day

About five years ago I had a detour in my career path which I thought was going to be temporary. A technology integration coach was needed in the high school to help fulfill a grant obligation. With much fear I left my familiar third grade world and ventured into the high school. To make a very long story short, my district decided that this was a viable position and hired me full time as a K-12 technology integration coach. I miss the classroom terribly, although I love my current role. This week I have had to make a decision.... there is an opportunity to return to the elementary classroom should I choose to do so. I have lost sleep, made the pros and cons lists, asked for advice, prayed... and I have finally come to a decision. I was made to be a technology integration coach.

No two days are the same. My duties range from teacher professional development, co-planning and implementing lessons and projects, to basic troubleshooting. Teachers contact me via text, gchat, skype, email, and phone. I eat lunch at my desk while catching up on a TED talk or spending quality time with my Google Reader and Twitter feeds and their rich resources. Each day I attempt to gain proficiency with the various Mac and Windows operating systems, accompanying software applications, while trying to keep current with some of our newer initiatives.... iPad and Mimio implementations, a Bring Your Own Device pilot program...

The best part of this job, is that I get to connect with students, teachers, staff, and administrators in all of our 6 buildings. I get to continue to learn! Gone are the days when I would walk into a building and a teacher would ask me, "What do you do?" Phew! I am very thankful that my district values this role, and I feel that it is one that I am meant to hold for a little while longer.

Using Pen and Paper at a Technology Conference?!

So, I headed to PETE&C, Pennsylvania's annual educational technology expo and conference, with devices charged and ready to experience all that the conference had to offer! I was armed, ready to take notes, tweet about them, and backchannel while keeping tabs on my school email and gmail chat. As I left the hotel room on Monday morning I decided to experiment a bit. Rather than lug my laptop for the day, I grabbed my phone, Livescribe pen, and notebook. Could I accomplish what I needed to.... without the appendage that is my laptop?

I took ALL notes in my Livescribe Notebook by writing with an actual pen, checking in on email and twitter occasionally with my phone. I will be using this approach from now on because:

• Things tend to stick better with me and make more sense when I physically write them. It just suits my learning style.
• I did a sync with Evernote and all of my notes are now digital and available on all of my devices. I can still share them out, now they are pdfs. I can still post them to my wiki, share with colleagues...
• I was able to give full attention to the presenters and presentations. Yes, I know this sounds silly, but without the continual tweetdeck updates, chat messages, and email, I could FULLY attend to the sessions.

I still checked twitter and followed #PETEC12, favorited tweets to explore later, shared out resources that I was discovering, but in between sessions or during lunch. So, I feel I got as much information during this conference as I would normally get, but it was a much more rich experience without some of the distractions of "multi-tasking." Yes, I know multi-tasking is a myth. ;)

As a technology integration coach I am continually on the look out for ways to integrate technology WHERE IT FITS, WHERE IT ENHANCES, and WHERE IT MAKES SENSE... basically, when it is the right tool for the job. I think, for me, this is the best of all worlds. I physically worked with the information by writing it, I have it in a notebook, and I have access to it digitally as well.

Using Wordle

I recently facilitated a district course on Web 2.0 tools, and Wordle was a huge hit! Wordle is an amazing creation that allows the user to create word clouds from text. The premise is that words that are used more frequently appear larger than the words used less frequently. Below you will find some tips, potential classroom uses, and a visual of the various fonts in Wordle.

What is Wordle?

Take text, type or paste it into wordle.net, and it generates a word cloud. In a word cloud, words that appear more frequently appear larger.

You can use the ADVANCED tab to enter words and assign them values instead of typing or pasting.

To keep phrases together, use a ~. For example, if you type New York, wordle treats them as two separate words. If you type New~York the two words are treated as a phrase and stay together

Potential Classroom Uses:

These come from a variety of sources....

• create synonym or antonym posters (make the root word larger than its synonyms or antonyms)
• paste student work into wordle to check for over used words (make sure there isn't a check mark under remove commonly used words)
• character analysis, biography, autobiography (make the person's name larger than the adjectives/phrases used to describe)
• paste in famous speeches, provides a nice visual of "important" words
• compare and contrast inaugural presidential speeches, leave out the names and see if students can accurately identify the president
• create class t-shirts with names, activities....
• great "All About Me" project/ice breaker
• holiday/theme "word walls" (i.e. type SUMMER and make it large, type summer related words that students might use in writing and make them smaller
• summary of a book, keywords
• Just about ANYTHING!

Tips!

• I highly suggest creating your wordle text in a word processor first... then save it. It is just about impossible to go back and edit a wordle since they are not saved.... and I do not suggest saving to the gallery. What is placed there can't be taken down. This way you still have your text and a simple copy and paste can save you time over having to recall and type everything all over again.
• TO SAVE and PRINT: You need to save the wordle as an image. In some cases you can right click (control click on a Mac) and save the image that way. If it doesn't work, take a screen shot! On a PC that's a print screen. On a Mac, use SHIFT-COMMAND-4 and your cursor turns into a camera. Drag over the wordle then let go. The screenshot is saved to your computer, most likely your desktop.
• Something to consider... if you are printing a large amount of wordles, consider the background color. Black consumes a great deal of ink.

ISTE Thoughts and Takeaways, Part 2 (Organizing Digital Photos)

One of the presenters I like to see is Leslie Fisher, and I got to two of her sessions. YAY! Here is a plan of attack I developed after attending her session about organizing digital photos. Right now, I have years worth of photos just sitting in iPhoto, some organized into albums, most just hanging out in their event folders.

My Plan:
1. Get Adobe Photoshop Elements for Mac and learn how to use it!
2. Attach keywords or tags to photos on import.
3. Make use of the stars for favorites.
4. Hit the delete key more often to get rid of photos. (I keep everything.)
5. Replace my camera card with a better one - one that has rescue software that I can put on my computer.
6. Encourage everyone I care about to stop backing up photos to DVD or CD.
7. Attach my Time Machine backup more frequently ;) and look for a second backup solution.
8. Scan the hundreds of photos I have sitting here from my grandmother (using 300 or 600 dpi).
9. Spend the rest of my summer organizing all of my current pictures.
10. Since every list needs a number 10, learn to use my DSLR as a DSLR, instead of a point and shoot camera. ;)

Some of these things might be obvious to most people, but they were not to me. And, besides, Leslie's humor coupled with great information... awesome experience.

ISTE Thoughts and Takeaways, Part 1

, 

 Three and a half days with brain food and inspiration around every corner... student and teacher showcases, lectures, sessions, bring your own laptop sessions, vendors, playground areas, discussion areas, friends, networking, and very little sleep... that would be my take on the ISTE 2011 Conference this year. To call this a technology conference would actually be only partially correct. I am pleased to see that student/teacher learning is at the heart of this conference.

Keynote speakers were not all self-proclaimed technology experts, instead we heard from Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and the author of Brain Rules.  My biggest takeaways from his talk:  We know that "every brain is wired differently from every other brain and learns differently... according to its wiring." He admits that there is much we know about the human brain, but much we do not know. When asked if he could design a classroom based on what he knows of the human brain, he was quite clear. Exercise increases brain power (Brain Rule #1). Medina suggests that aerobic activity we at the center of what we do. He went so far as to say that schools should have uniforms and those uniforms should be gym clothes.

As I reflect on my own classroom, which I dearly miss, I remember taking power walks with the students once or twice a day, taking frequent stretch breaks, dancing to learn the times tables, and, yes, the Cha Cha Slide became part of our daily ritual. According to Medina, this helps, but isn't enough. The day would be one huge aerobic class with pockets of learning, instead the inverse is true. Is this practical?  Probably not. But the point that exercise increases brain power is one point that cannot be overlooked. For more about his insightful Brain Rules, check out his website, linked above. It is research combined with anecdotes, making it a very interesting read. He has this is in audiobook form and he reads it to you... it's almost worth getting just to hear him read it. ;)


Time to do more mental digesting before I continue writing. I need to take my own advice, the advice that I give folks taking courses or working through trainings with me, don't expect to "get" everything all at once. This was an incredible buffet from which to sample. I need to sift through my learning, decide what to keep, what to try, what to put on a shelf for later, and so on.

One last bit that I want to share for now... I took all conference notes on various devices, my iPhone, iPad, and laptop, depending on what was charged up and the time, using EVERNOTE.  This is an application that can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, and iOS operating systems and, here's the awesome part, it syncs across devices! That means when I took and saved notes on my iPhone and went to my laptop, the notes were there! All ISTE notes were arranged into one notebook (or folder) and each session got it's own page. AMAZING! I did learn that I could take notes with my LiveScribe pen and sync those to Evernote as well! (More on that later.)

Geocaching, A "Rewarding" Experience

A few years ago our schools adopted SWEBS (School Wide Effective Behavior Support). Unfortunately my understanding of SWEBS is limited as I was just leaving the classroom as it was being adopted. Every teacher has the same set of expectations for students... that they be ready, respectful, and responsible. As part of this approach, students can earn school money that can be spent in a variety of ways. Routinely a school store on wheels makes its rounds to classrooms where students can purchase school supplies and novelties with their school money. Teachers offer other ways to spend the loot, such as having lunch with the teacher, getting extra computer time, or earning an extra recess.

One school, Lakeside Elementary, offers students another opportunity to spend their "Lakeside Loot." Each month the SWEBS team comes up with larger rewards. This month it is GEOCACHING!  Thanks to a mini grant from PAECT, I have ten GPS receivers that we can utilize!  So, in a nutshell, we have a few hundred students paying their hard earned money to use GPS receivers to find hidden treasures on the school grounds.

Here is how I set it up:

1. Purchased 10 Lock N Lock containers and created labels for them. "Lakeside Geocache A, B, C..."
2. Purchased 10 different kids of stickers, placing one kind in each container
3. Found 10 hiding spots and noted the latitude/longitude coordinates of each one
4. Loaded these 10 spots (waypoints) into EasyGPS and sent them to GPS receivers
5. Created a map, complete with pictures, for those helping guide students

Here is how it will work:

1. Students will get a 15 minute orientation on the sport and how to read the receivers.
2. In small groups, students will be assigned an order to follow. This way every group isn't searching for Geocache A at the same time.
3. Groups venture outside and search for their caches. When they find a cache, they take a sticker from the cache to put on an index card. This is their proof that they found the caches.
4. Follow up with be a brief refection piece.... what did you learn, did you enjoy the activity, and what could be changed to make the experience better?

I will check back in after and let you know how it went!


Reflections:  Things went according to plan for 4th and 5th grade. If I had it to do over again I would send an adult with each 3rd grade group. They handled the activity well, but could've used a little more assistance. I was very thankful for the help of two teachers... they stayed with their classes. :)

Our experience was captured in the newspaper!

First Week

Year 2, Week 1 as a K-12 Tech Integration Coach... reflections

This year has gotten off to an insane start! After only one week in, I have a good part of next week all booked. It is soooo nice that teachers know what I do and how I can be of help to them this year. Next week I will be helping people set up email groups, create wikispaces, spruce up and revise current wikispaces, start Moodle sites, use Moodle within their classrooms, create effective powerpoints.... and I know there will be more as time passes. I am thrilled to be busy!

Constitution Day

I was asked to share my Constitution Day resources... still building...

http://sheldonworkshops.wikispaces.com/Constitution+Day

Testing Posterous!

Testing 1-2-3, blogging just got easier! Thanks to my pal, Kristin Hokanson, for introducing me to Posterous!

The Summit

At this time last week I was in my element, surrounded by like-minded folks, immersed in topics of learning and technology, two of my passions, and loving every minute of it! If you have not yet seen Sir Ken Robinson talk about the "element," you can check out this TED talk or see his book here.

The 2010 Keystone Technology Integrator's (KTI) Summit was an amazing experience! Having attended the summit in 2007, I decided to leave the classroom and attempt a new role, of technology integration coach. This time, attending as a mentor, I was looking to soak up as many good and new ideas as humanly possible. While I could go on and on forever about the experience, I have boiled down my week into my own "top 5" list!

The Top 5 Take Aways from the 2010 KTI Summit

5. The Livescribe pen has so many practical classroom applications. (post more on that later)

4. My friends are inspiring!

3. It is time to turn up the H.E.A.T. in our lessons!

2. Connections, connections, connections lead to further learning. PLNs are crucial!

1. It's not about the technology.... it's about learning! FOCUS ON THE LEARNING!

I will expand on these in more depth, each one will take a post of their own! Spending an entire week in my element, exploring ways to better engage students... it doesn't get much better than that!

Keystone Technology Integrator Summit 2010

During the week of July 26th, I am attending the Keystone Technology Integrator Summit at Bucknell University. I attended the summit for the first time in 2007, and that became a life changing experience for me. (I will save that for another post.) This year my role is "Keystone Mentor." Today I will find out what that means exactly, but I know one thing for sure.... I am in for a fabulous week. I will post my reflections and learnings here.... looking forward to an exciting week with many new adventures!

STEM Resources

Patti Duncan, Science and DEN Guru shared some amazing STEM resources. Here is a overview of STEM and the list of resources. Thanks, Patti!

From PETE&C Den Preconference:

Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathematics

~ Changing the way we teach to integrate more of them together.
~Prepping our kids for futures in these industries. "workforce ready"
~Making kids aware of the careers available in these areas.

Students will be problem solvers, innovators, inventors, self starters, logical thinkers, technologically literate...

STEM Resources:

http://stem.discoveryeducation.com/
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/stem/
http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/stem/index.jsp
http://www.stemschool.com/
http://www.mn-stem.com/ (Includes future careers!)
http://www.pasteminitiative.org/
http://k12s.phast.umass.edu/stem/
http://www.girlscouts.org/program/program_opportunities/science/
http://www.mos.org/eie/ Great for elementary grades!
Log in to DE Streaming....STEM Connect
http://www.eweek.org/Home.aspx
http://fuelourfuturenow.com/

A most amazing presentation!!!

If It Isn't Broken....

If you haven't yet read Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, MD, it is well worth the hour or so it will take. Change is inevitable and healthy. However, when you have something that works, why change it?

Perhaps one of the most eye opening experiences for me in my new role as K-12 Technology Integrator, is the dedication teachers have to certain applications. As a third grade teacher I could not wait to try something new, which is probably why the Technology Director asked me to test out Palm Pilots with my students. Having said that, with the ever increasing demands of standardized tests, new reading programs, additional benchmark testing, etc... sometimes teachers simply do not have time to check out newer applications.

Many of our teachers have loved the legacy application, ClarisWorks for Kids. When this school year ends, the program will be pulled from our images, along with its older sibling, Appleworks. Teachers have argued that there just aren't replacements that do what these programs do. I beg to differ. It might take a little time, but with the Web 2.0 world at our fingertips, and a Technology Integrator ready to assist, replacements can certainly be found.

I held off on publishing this post, and have made many edits before publishing because my intent is not to upset people, but to educate them. I finally decided to post when the Technology Director was going through some old software licensing documents and uncovered a letter dated 2002, stating that ClarisWorks for Kids had been abandoned by Apple three years earlier. It "might" work on OS9, although that was not the original intent. We are in the year 2009, running OS X and beyond. It is time to seek alternatives and move forward.

Oh, if you haven't seen Kidspiration.... it is worth a close look.....

ENO Pointers

Our district recently purchased several ENO interactive boards, these boards are everything the teacher could possibly want.... durable, wireless, and magnetic! The computer connects via bluetooth to the stylus. The board itself is so durable that it can withstand dry erase and even permanent marker. Sounds great, right! Well, after installing 6 boards, we were having issues with everything just freezing up on us.

After getting in touch with Polyvision, I was given a number of troubleshooting steps to try, including changing batteries on the pen, trying a new driver, using the Polyvision bluetooth dongle instead of relying on the computer's build in bluetooth... PC, Mac, it did not matter. Problems persisted.

Polyvision sent a technician to assist us in our troubleshooting efforts. We discovered some minor tips that make a tremendous difference in the functionality of the boards. My only wish if that these tips were posted in BOLD on the ENO website. Our problems could really have been handled over the phone.

In an attempt to assist our teachers, I posted the tips here, on my wiki. I am pleased to report that we are up and running nicely! We run Smartboards, Promethean boards, and Polyvision Walk and Talks in addition to the ENO. It is crucial that boards "just work." Teachers do not have time to troubleshoot beyond the basics. For the sake of our teachers and students, I am hopeful that these basic steps have eliminated our problems.

Games

As this school year kicks off there is something missing on the computers in our district. Traditionally we have a series of application known to our students as, free choice games. These games include the likes of Super Tux, Marble Blast, Wingnuts, and other cherished favorites.

It has been interesting sitting on the fence between educational technology and the technology analysts and network administrators for the last year and a half. Last year I watched as login slowed to a crawl, computer functionality falter, and the analysts and computer lab teacher investigate. This time the culprit.... these free choice games. These particular games are awesome, but resource intensive. These games also caused storage problems because of the students copied the apps to their personal desktops/accounts.Even the very best teacher monitoring can't totally prevent determined students from playing. Once these games were removed from the computers and server, the problem disappeared.

As a teacher, I always felt it was important to have rewards for students... sitting in the teacher's chair, extra recess time, no homework coupon, and free choice computer or Palm Pilot time. However, I found it difficult to justify letting the students play games. To me, the games had to have an educational component. Our time with students is so limited, we want to make the best of every possible moment. My workaround was to compile a list of sites that had educational games and give students choices within the list.

So, for the benefit of our teachers, I thought I would share some of my favorites for elementary students:

Please be aware that I am compiling this list from home. Some of these sites may be blocked at school, due to ads or additional links on the pages. Our ultimate goal is to keep students safe, so if they are able to click out of the site and head elsewhere, we just need to move on to another site.

Lemonade Stand
Finding Educational Games
4KIDS
Kidz Page
Fun Brain
Primary Games
Kaboose
Nobel Prize (middle/high level)
Eduplace
Sheppard's Software
Play Kids Games
Ed Heads
Academic Skill Builders
Game Goo
i Know That

This is only a small sampling of sites available. If you have some favorites, please feel free to share.

Broaden Your Circle

Nearly a year ago I followed a tweet, taking me to a blog that I had never read. The author was commenting on why he would not attend NECC. To put it mildly, his post was quite controversial in the educational tech. community. When I read his post I became intrigued as I had never heard of anyone NOT wanting to go to NECC, the mecca for ed. tech folks. Questions started to pop into my mind as I continued to read other posts by this blogger, but, I was hesitant to comment on his blog and ask my questions, so I emailed him. His response came within a day! His response was very insightful and made me really think about education.

Did I agree with everything he wrote? No. However, he really made me reflect on the use of technology in education. Our exchanges continued and, through his tweets I was introduced to other bloggers. One blogger was comparing Everyday Math to other math programs, showing the inferiority of some of the problem in Everyday Math as compared to these other programs, (like Singapore Math). As a teacher trained in Everyday Math, having taught it for ten years, I became very defensive and actually commented on the blog! The results of which were a conversation about rigor in Math curricula. The author of the blog and commentors showed me another point of view!

Why am I sharing this??? Because, by exposing ourselves to other points of view, we can reflect, learn, and grow. If we only communicate with like minded individuals, I think we can become very complacant. So, taking Matthew K. Tabor's advice, I try to subscribe to blogs that differ from my point of view, and so far, I have learned something valuable. There is something to be learned from everyone, and we do not grow if we do not step our or our comfort zones.

Another Year Older and Wiser?

This morning, while enjoying my morning oj and bagel, I perused my email and twitter. THE Jim Gates sent a hysterical ecard, my mom wrote a birthday message on my Facebook wall, and my incredibly sweet Personal Learning Network wished me birthday wishes on Twitter. Isn't technology grand?!?

After much mental debate, weighing pros and cons, I decided to leave the classroom and become our district's Technology Integrator. This new role involves working with teachers, administrators, support staff, and..... KIDS! So, I spent my birthday moving out of Lakeside Elementary.

Throughout my decision making process there were many people listening to/reading my ramblings about indecision. As I reflect on this decision, I have created a TOP TEN list of things I will miss and things I won't miss.... here it goes...

TOP TEN Things I Will Miss

10.Reading and responding to writing journal entries.
9. Routine.
8. Using Palm Pilots with kids.
7. Pumpkin seed math.
6. Read alouds.
5. Blogging with kids, watching them light up as they write for an authentic audience.
4. Unsolicited hugs.
3. Watching those "lightbulb" moments when something makes sense.
2. Observing maturity shifts.
1. "Adopting" 25 kids for 180 days and becoming part of their lives.

TOP TEN Things I Will NOT Miss

10. Lunch count, we handled money.
9. Lunch duty (always afraid someone would choke, as I lost a student to choking in classroom.)
8. Restricted times to scoot out to the Necessities room.
7. Report cards.
6. Watching children take PSSAs, as I sit on my hands and bite my tongue.
5. Tracking down that "missing" precious possession.
4. Snow boots, hats, gloves, scarves, snowpants, etc...
3. Worrying constantly about what was or wasn't going on in the homes of the kids.
2. Field trips (not a fan of bus trips)
1. IST meetings.

Thanks to all who were influential in my decision. Here goes nothing! :)

Reward Systems

As a teacher, I have used extrinsic reward systems within my classroom, weening as the year progress, to help foster intrinsic motivation. This year, in my son's school, a school-wide reward/consequence system was put in place. As a parent/observer here is what I have noticed:

~The entire building has a set of expectations that are reinforced and expected everywhere.

~There are opportunities for children to earn individual "dollars" for displays of good behavior and choices.

~The dollars can be spent on school supplies and also on intangibles, such as extra recess and lunch with the teacher. Dollars can be "banked" and used for larger events called "Monthly Blowouts."

~Children earn bracelets/bands each month for displaying good behavior.

After three marking periods with this system, here is what I noticed, again, as a parent:

~My child strives to earn the "dollars."
~He has a very clear understanding of "saving" as he only spends a small amount of dollars, while saving up for the monthly blow-outs.
~The kid can make change (in dollars) like a pro.
~Obviously, money talks to my child.
~The bracelets are a great sense of pride. They are worn for a day then stashed together in his backpack.

This last month, my child did not earn his bracelet and he was quite upset. It offered his teacher and I an opportunity to talk with him about good behavior choices that he obviously not taking. In other words, it was a teachable moment.

In the many discussions that followed, my son commented on one particular child... she has never earned a bracelet. He empathized with her and thought that was not fair. As a parent/teacher I really gave this some thought. What about the child dealing with behavioral issues that are not always in his/her control? What about the child that shows improvement, but not enough to earn a bracelet? Are we showing some sort of discrimination against that child. Let's face it, that child already knows that he/she is different from the others. Are the bands just an "in your face" way of highlighting that? I am not sure. Thoughts?