Undercover DeTECHtive.

So...intentionally I left this blog for the end.  I have definitely posted "enough" blogs for EDUC 504 for the semester...well...at least in time for next weeks due date (November 13th!) but I am feeling paranoid that I don't have the topics that match the requirements.

ANYWAYS

So in the beginning of the Fall semester we were given a Tech Survey.  The survey had a large array of choices to think of....NONE which match what Ypsilanti High School contained/used.  I mean, why didn't they just ask the simple questions of "Does your school have a board?  Does your school have a computer?"  I felt like the questions asked I had no choice to say "No."  I felt a bit concerned for my school because I couldn't answer the questions.  But Ypsilanti High is not THAT bad.  There are ELMOS and MAC labs and large MAC desktops for teachers and overhead projectors and portable projectors....thats a lot of tech!

My mentor teacher is a big fan of using the ELMO or Projector to make students copy guided notes or the answers to worksheets.  I really think she likes this because the lights get turned off,the students are too busy and focused copying what she is writing and everything is quiet.  My mentor teacher likes it quiet, as opposed to heavy chatter...but who doesn't?

HOWEVER,  although this is nice...I grow concerned for its effectiveness.  I mean, yes, students mostly do what they're told, and when they copy down notes they copy down the notes.  But does the information stick?  Their quizzes and tests show that they stick only an average of 70% of the time (the approximate grade average in chemistry).

I think in the next year I'll try to get STUDENTS using the tech.  I really hope I can push for students to use their cellphones for Polls.  I love love love the polls that you can text, and I think students would love it too.  Like students walk into the classroom on their phones anyways...maybe we can use them for Bell work!

We shall see!

Ms. Bethea and her Wise Words

http://blog.msbethea.com/

I had the opportunity to venture out to another Edublogger.  I came across a fellow chemistry teacher, Ms. Bethea.  In the blog posted above, she is discussing about going to another AP Chemistry PD.  She offered amazing tips on textbooks to consider, some I hope to be purchasing or acquiring.  Ms. Bethea makes a valid point that she doesn't even realize.  Sometimes teachers need books FOR THEMSELVES so they can learn, grow and strengthen their knowledge.  You know it's not ALWAYS about the students.  I mean...it is....but #selfcare,   My response to Ms. Bethea was the following:

Anthony on October 26, 2014 at 4:13 pm.

Posted to Ellena Bethea’s “Teaching/Chemistry” blog

Thanks for the advice on books for chemistry teachers! It may be obvious to think about “considerate texts” for the students, but once in a while it’s important that there’s reading material for the teacher. Teachers will be forever learning. Well, an effective teacher that is. I hope I can learn how to get 500 lbs of free textbooks! Please share the details on that.

I thanked her for her advice and tried to make her realize that her blogging advice had been very meaningful.  The book that she recommended, "Principles of Chemistry" (shown below) is a text that I am seriously considering purchasing.  Ms. Bethea claims that this text might not be appropriate for high school classes, but it is definitely helpful in helping the chemistry teacher think about chemistry in different ways in order to help students understand.  I am trying to think of the content, so I can teach effectively.

(Principles of Chemistry text)

So Some Dude Came to Our EDUC 504 Class the other night and all I took away was TweetDeck...

https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/ 

             So the other night, in our EDUC 504 class we had a guest speaker, Tom Ward, who had a lot to say about technology in the classroom.  He showed us some awesome ways Vine can be used in the classroom.  Students would only have 6 seconds to make a video to support a prompt.  I really like that idea because it helps students become concise.  I also recalled on an idea that I stole from an English teacher about using twitter to post summaries to text because twitter only allows a certain numbers of characters.  This word limit is great discipline to help students learn to be concise.  

             However, the moment Tom Ward mentioned this thing called TweetDeck...I was lost.  I bet Naomi, who was sitting next to me, thought I was being extremely rude- but I was fascinated at this twitter organization idea that Tom Ward shared.  My BIGGESt issue with Twitter was that all these tweets were ALL OVER the place....and I literally had to SURF through tweets to find something "cool" or "interesting" related to education; that's because I just started following the NSTA, Edutopia, NGSS and the Common Core Michigan.   As Tom went on with his presentation, I immediately went to TweetDeck and organized my tweets, shown in the picture above.  It REALLY makes the twitter experience a lot more bearable!  As you can see in the picture, I can look through, say the NGSS tweets simultaneously as NSTA tweets are posted.  THIS IS AMAZING.  Thanks so much Tom for introducing this to us/me!  I also think my energy drink might have given me extra enthusiasm for the TweetDeck, but I still find it awesome!

Any questions? Good- Response to a Blog by the NSTA

Any questions? Good.

              I had the opportunity to read a blog posted by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).  It was so simple, yet effective.  It's nice that a source as prestigious as the NSTA does not overwhelm the user with complex professional vocabulary and syntax.  

           This article addressed the concern for how to properly assess students after instruction.  In simpler terms, this question was addressed:

I need suggestions on encouraging students to tell me when they don’t understand something. I ask my classes if they need any help, but no one seems to have any questions. The next day, it’s as if they never heard of the topic before! —A. from Nevada

This is a very simple concern, but speaks volumes to most of us soon to be in the teaching world.  What is going to happen if we go through a whole lesson and we ask- "Do you get it? Any questions?"  Will we actually get questions?  Will we believe when all students say they understand it?  Here's how the blog presented some solutions:

You could rephrase your questions to provide a context or focus, such as, “Any questions about the difference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells?” Give the class a few seconds of wait time to think about their learning and formulate their questions. Model the type of questions the students could ask or how they could check their understanding: “When I was first learning this, I didn’t understand that…” “Tell me one thing you learned and one thing you’re still confused about.”

Is your classroom a “safe” place for them to ask questions? Do students know how to ask for assistance? Is asking considered a sign of weakness? Are students embarrassed to ask questions? No matter how trivial the question or comment, never belittle it, reply with sarcasm, or allow other students to laugh at it. I had a student who thought she would hurtmy feelings if she didn’t understand something right away! (I told her that I liked questions —they helped me become a better teacher.) Having a way to submit questions anonymously may help (a slip of paper, a tweet, or an e-mail note).

Don’t wait until the end of the lesson or test time to discover what students are struggling with. Frequent formative assessments—bellringers, tickets out the door, brief quizzes, responses via clickers or white boards, and thumbs up—may also help students reflect on what they know or don’t know and give you some concrete feedback on their understanding during each lesson.

These are very accessible answers for all of us as teachers to think about and use.  Soon in our EDUC 422 class we will delve into assessment strategies.  This is a nice prequel to that content.

Focusing on the implementation of voice recording? The Audacity!

     Last week in EDUC 504, some of our classmates presented to us how to use Audacity.  I've never really been good with using audio technologies, but the way my classmates presented it were very efficient.  It's a shame it comes on a Thursday afternoon, after a long day of student-teaching, where little attention is readily available from me.  I did participate in making an audio file- which was interesting, and still somewhat difficult, but I couldn't see how I would use this in the future.
           
   I know in our EDUC 511- Records of Practices class we will have to take videos and make audio recordings, but I think I would take the simple approach and use a voice recording app on my phone.  I just feel like the buttons and operations are too complicated for what is required of us in EDUC 511.  I also do not think I'll need to use audio recordings in my future as a teacher.
           
  I claimed that Audacity is complicated, but I am really comparing it to the simplicity of Padlet.  I am waiting until another group wows me with another technology to use that is better than Padlet.

Nothing Wrong With Fine Theune'ing Your Education

Last week our EDUC 504 class had the opportunity to talk with David Theune; who is an effective educator.  Although this part of our class was rough to "Theune" in because I had had a long day of student teaching, there was a major point that I did pay attention to; parent involvement.  Mr. Theune and I had engaged in a conversation at the end of his presentation about live streaming a classroom session for parents to be able to view on their laptops or desktops.  For Mr. Theune, bringing parents into the classroom has proven to be rewarding and helpful.  Linking my new obsession with Padlet, I'm seeing a technological world where I have an array of opportunities for parents to be able to be a part of the classroom.  We did read an article in EDUC 695 about Parental Involvement and how it increases student efficacy.  This opportunity for parents will not only help parents feel informed, but it also may bridge conversations for the home between parents and students.  In working in a high school setting, it might not be obvious that parent involvement may aid in student motivation.  I'm hoping in my future endeavors as a teacher that I learn to bridge the classroom with parents using technology.

Padlet 4 Lyfe

Mr.Tedaldi's Chemistry Laboratory

              This week Jeremy, Kelsey, Jessica and Katie showed us how to create and use a Padlet and I'm so glad they did!  I have never heard of Padlet, let alone used it before, and now I think I will use it as the framework for my curriculum.  This website is very easy to use and it's quick to upload pictures, files and videos.  A screenshot of the work in progress is seen above, and the link to my Padlet is below.  There were several templates to choose from, but I preferred the free-form.  All the boxes I created can be moved and placed anywhere.  I think what I might do is first use this a reference for students and parents so they have access to everything we do all the time.  I also posted the Michigan Curriculum Standards for Chemistry and the Next Generation Science Standards that are relevant for beginning teachers today.  For the future, I might make a Padlet for my coursework in the School of Education as a Secondary MAC, and post very useful materials for me, and my fellow educators, to use as a reference.  Thanks guys for showing us this awesome website!  You also did an amazing job at showing the class how to use it too!