jmalpass

                                                                           

Students today expect to use technology everywhere. They have cell phones with lots of bells and whistles. They are more familiar with computers than many adults. They want instant access to information. The other day in my classroom, we were discussing a problem that referred to chicken pox. Someone wondered why the virus was called chicken pox. I didn't know so I asked him to google it later that evening and let us know the next day. About five minutes later, the student said, "I have the answer to that question now." I inquired as to how he was able to get such a quick response. With a smile, he said, "it just came to me via a wireless connection to my brain." This student is the owner of an apple iphone. Students have much higher expectations in receiving information than my generation did. Today there are all kinds of media in which to glean information. The student made video embedded below illustrates the difference between a traditional and modern way of gathering information. I found the video on Bill Ferriter's site, The Tempered Radical. It made me laugh, but also made me think that we really do need to catch up with our use of technology within our classrooms.

Malcom Gladwell, author of Blink, The Tipping Point, and my personal favorite Outliers, talks about choice in the video embedded below. The video reminded me of providing choices for students to learn information when differentiating instruction. In the video, Gladwell discusses how Ragu and Prego were missing 1/3 of consumers by not offering chunky spaghetti sauce. In the same way we miss a large group of our students if the only method we use is lecture. Also in the video, Gladwell discusses Pepsi's pursuit of finding the best Diet Pepsi. Pepsi employed Dr. Howard Moscowitz to discover the public's perception of the best tasting formula for diet Pepsi. Dr. Moscowitz collected a great deal of data, but came to the conclusion that it is not the best Pepsi that we should seek but the best Pepsis (plural). Similarly, there is not just one great way to teach and learn, but a variety of ways to do so. Education is not a one size fits all for either teachers or students. Ideally, we need a collection of best practices to use for every unit we teach. Both students and teachers will enjoy class more if they are provided choices in how they receive new information as well as choices in how they demonstrate mastery.
</>

Our WOW carts and integrating technology into the classroom can become part of our collection 0f best practices. These tools provide another mode of instruction for students to both learn and demonstrate acquired knowledge. We now have so much more available to us as teachers than ever before. We have online flash cards, interactive posters, slide shows, streaming video, and online notebooks to name a few of the tools available. With all these choices students are sure to find rich experiences in the 21st century classroom.

Beautiful video of performing horses.

Slideshare is an easy way for teachers to post their PowerPoint, OpenOffice, and Pdf presentations online for students to access. Simply upload presentations at http://www.slideshare.net/ Presentations may be made public for everyone to view or private for just a few viewers. Share presentations with others either by copying a link or embedding the presentation in a blog or website. Assign tags for organizing and to facilitating a search for content. Slideshare also keeps statistics on how often the presentation is viewed. This gives the teacher information on whether or not the presentations are actually viewed. Above right is a snapshot of a slide show with information on the number of views and the tags that apply to the content of the presentation. View the presentation below for more information on using slideshare. SlideShare Quick Tour - Summary of features & capabilities View more OpenOffice presentations from Amit Ranjan.