My "+ 1" Post
Though this experience has been at times difficult (e.g. frustration over new technology not working like I'd want, an extra meeting a month I had to make time for), it has ultimately been worth it without any question. Not only have I gotten some rad new equipment, but I also feel fairly strong in an area I was admittedly weak in before. Last year, I barely touched on research. This wasn't because I didn't want to teach it, nor because I felt uncomfortable about research itself, but I wasn't sure how to teach the skills that came pretty naturally to me to a bunch of students who couldn't fathom spending dozens of hours with microfiche trying to find an old news article. I was also concerned that my participation in MILI would find me with a regimented, rigid series of lesson plans with which to teach students research. Not at all. Instead, I found dozens, maybe hundreds, of tools to use and tailor to my own particular style. This has worked marvelously in my classroom so far and allowed me to create an extremely ambitious project for my students. These tools also aided in differentiation - though they have different assignments, both my intermediate and pre-AP students are getting sufficiently challenged, I think. I am extremely glad Ms. Mauritz duped me into joining the initiative :) as I surely would never have heard of it otherwise.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Thing Two
Thing Two - Create a Blog and Post About It
I'm pretty sure my other thirty-one blogs confirmed this one being completed, but jsut in case... Here it is! My personal experience with blogs isn't terribly extensive, but I do keep a personal one and have on and off for a few years now at least. It's a nice way to give periodic updates to friends. We all have each other's blogs set up on an RSS feed, so anytime anyone posts, we get it imeediately. A nice, undemanding way of staying in touch with each other.
I'm pretty sure my other thirty-one blogs confirmed this one being completed, but jsut in case... Here it is! My personal experience with blogs isn't terribly extensive, but I do keep a personal one and have on and off for a few years now at least. It's a nice way to give periodic updates to friends. We all have each other's blogs set up on an RSS feed, so anytime anyone posts, we get it imeediately. A nice, undemanding way of staying in touch with each other.
Thing Twenty-Nine
Thing Twenty-Nine – Online Learning
I actually have quite a bit of experience with online learning. I took a correspondence course through the University of Wisconsin that was primarily online (well, to be fair, it was primarily me reading about 70 books for adolescents and younger, but it had some online components). However, for my last part-time job, Best Buy, I was eligible for a rewards program through several of our vendors. The most memorable one was Microsoft.
Microsoft paid employees in points to complete online learning modules. These points could then be spent on anything Microsoft (including portable devices, Xbox, and many other products). What I found was that I was actually learning quite a bit from these modules that I would, at best, skim. Microsoft no doubt knew that people would generally do as little work as possible, so they made sure the questions at the end of each of these online training things were geared directly to what they wanted the test taker to take away from the test (say that ten times fast!). I found that, even though I spent very little time with these modules comparatively, I absorbed much of the knowledge they were trying to instill. I don’t really have any conclusions to draw past that, but it is interesting. I think there is definitely a place for online learning. I don’t know that that place is high school, but who knows? If it could be refined and made as thoroughly “skip-proof” as the Microsoft stuff was, perhaps it could be a very useful tool.
I actually have quite a bit of experience with online learning. I took a correspondence course through the University of Wisconsin that was primarily online (well, to be fair, it was primarily me reading about 70 books for adolescents and younger, but it had some online components). However, for my last part-time job, Best Buy, I was eligible for a rewards program through several of our vendors. The most memorable one was Microsoft.
Microsoft paid employees in points to complete online learning modules. These points could then be spent on anything Microsoft (including portable devices, Xbox, and many other products). What I found was that I was actually learning quite a bit from these modules that I would, at best, skim. Microsoft no doubt knew that people would generally do as little work as possible, so they made sure the questions at the end of each of these online training things were geared directly to what they wanted the test taker to take away from the test (say that ten times fast!). I found that, even though I spent very little time with these modules comparatively, I absorbed much of the knowledge they were trying to instill. I don’t really have any conclusions to draw past that, but it is interesting. I think there is definitely a place for online learning. I don’t know that that place is high school, but who knows? If it could be refined and made as thoroughly “skip-proof” as the Microsoft stuff was, perhaps it could be a very useful tool.
Thing Twenty-Six
Thing Twenty-Six – Digital Image Collections
After checking out some online art sites, specifically WebMuseum, I have thought about using artistic inspiration in the classroom. Perhaps spend a day where the students are able to browse these online art exhibits and select one or two paintings (or sculptures, drawings, etc.), and create a story or poem or something else inspired by the image. I can’t think of how I could fit it in this year, since we only have novels and research left, but perhaps for next year…
After checking out some online art sites, specifically WebMuseum, I have thought about using artistic inspiration in the classroom. Perhaps spend a day where the students are able to browse these online art exhibits and select one or two paintings (or sculptures, drawings, etc.), and create a story or poem or something else inspired by the image. I can’t think of how I could fit it in this year, since we only have novels and research left, but perhaps for next year…
Thing Twenty-Four
Thing Twenty-Four – Online Gaming
I was hoping to not have to admit this in a public forum, but I suppose it does let me check another “Thing” off of my list, but I have played online games for over a decade. I actually started casually back in college playing MUDs (Multiple User Domains) which were basically text-based role-playing games. I graduated to EverQuest in the late 90’s, which was like a dream come true at the time growing up a fantasy nerd like myself. It was still a very casual (play once a week, maybe, for an hour or two) until I turned my brother on to it as well. Since he and I weren’t particularly close at the time, this love of nerdy gaming was a great excuse for us to talk more often. This is actually a trend that continues today. We can’t play as often as we used to (at our height, I suppose we played ten to fifteen hours per week), but we still try to log on occasionally and game out a bit. It’s still a great excuse to keep in touch with him, and every time you log on, it’s a different experience, which never gets old either.
I was hoping to not have to admit this in a public forum, but I suppose it does let me check another “Thing” off of my list, but I have played online games for over a decade. I actually started casually back in college playing MUDs (Multiple User Domains) which were basically text-based role-playing games. I graduated to EverQuest in the late 90’s, which was like a dream come true at the time growing up a fantasy nerd like myself. It was still a very casual (play once a week, maybe, for an hour or two) until I turned my brother on to it as well. Since he and I weren’t particularly close at the time, this love of nerdy gaming was a great excuse for us to talk more often. This is actually a trend that continues today. We can’t play as often as we used to (at our height, I suppose we played ten to fifteen hours per week), but we still try to log on occasionally and game out a bit. It’s still a great excuse to keep in touch with him, and every time you log on, it’s a different experience, which never gets old either.
Thing Twenty-Two
Thing Twenty-Two – Ebooks and NetLibrary
I have actually been using EBooks for years now. I think the first time was, I hate to say it, downloading the Cliff Notes to Much Ado About Nothing, which I was in, back in 1995 or 96. I, of course, knew the play well, but needed help getting some of the finer points of comedy. Since then, I have downloaded dozens of EBooks. There are a few that, when I was doing a major research paper on Constantine the Great, were so rare that they were only available via scans. I spent quite a bit of time in front of computer screens translating old Latin. It would have been great to actually hold the books or manuscripts and work off of those, but I felt lucky to have any kind of access to some of the oldest texts in the world, all through download. Granted, those weren’t from some NetLibrary, they were essentially e-mailed directly to one of my professors, but I see it as nearly the same thing. I see both as a great tool, especially for hard to find or out of print books.
I have actually been using EBooks for years now. I think the first time was, I hate to say it, downloading the Cliff Notes to Much Ado About Nothing, which I was in, back in 1995 or 96. I, of course, knew the play well, but needed help getting some of the finer points of comedy. Since then, I have downloaded dozens of EBooks. There are a few that, when I was doing a major research paper on Constantine the Great, were so rare that they were only available via scans. I spent quite a bit of time in front of computer screens translating old Latin. It would have been great to actually hold the books or manuscripts and work off of those, but I felt lucky to have any kind of access to some of the oldest texts in the world, all through download. Granted, those weren’t from some NetLibrary, they were essentially e-mailed directly to one of my professors, but I see it as nearly the same thing. I see both as a great tool, especially for hard to find or out of print books.
Thing Seventeen
Thing Seventeen – One New Thing
I thought I was being revolutionary with my research paper meets memoir idea, but I came to find out that it’s been done many times before under the name “I-Search.” So, I had to come up with another new thing. I think my use of the sixteen plagiarism proofing ideas from Doug Johnson has been novel and new. I had the students rank their top five most important things from this list and ended up tailoring their assignment around the five that, after tallying, ended up being the highest rated. I think that this, my lofty expectations of self-discipline and self-motivation, and the students’ ability to select their own topics have made them more invested in this assignment than any other we have done this year. They are also considerably out of their comfort zone, but I personally see that as a good thing.
I thought I was being revolutionary with my research paper meets memoir idea, but I came to find out that it’s been done many times before under the name “I-Search.” So, I had to come up with another new thing. I think my use of the sixteen plagiarism proofing ideas from Doug Johnson has been novel and new. I had the students rank their top five most important things from this list and ended up tailoring their assignment around the five that, after tallying, ended up being the highest rated. I think that this, my lofty expectations of self-discipline and self-motivation, and the students’ ability to select their own topics have made them more invested in this assignment than any other we have done this year. They are also considerably out of their comfort zone, but I personally see that as a good thing.
Thing Fourteen
Thing Fourteen – Other Online Resources
I found the blog prompt questions interesting for this one. First, I introduced these (particularly CompletePlanet) just like I did any of the other subscription databases and explained the distinction between those databases, Google and these types of resources. It was also asked how students adjusted to not having quick, pre-packaged answers and I have two separate answers. First, oftentimes the students were able to find some remarkably straight-forward answers from these sites. But those that have had problems, I have tried to explain regularly that if they aren’t struggling at least somewhat to find their desired answers to their questions, then they aren’t doing real research. That frustrating feeling is a good sign that good work is being done. I also remind them on a regular basis that they are tackling difficult, possibly unanswerable, questions and that it will take a lot of work and ingenuity to be able to thoroughly answer them. If they try their hardest and there are still parts of their question that remain unanswered, that’s okay too. The students, particularly the higher-achieving students, aren’t entirely comfortable with this, but they are trying anyway, which is great to see.
I found the blog prompt questions interesting for this one. First, I introduced these (particularly CompletePlanet) just like I did any of the other subscription databases and explained the distinction between those databases, Google and these types of resources. It was also asked how students adjusted to not having quick, pre-packaged answers and I have two separate answers. First, oftentimes the students were able to find some remarkably straight-forward answers from these sites. But those that have had problems, I have tried to explain regularly that if they aren’t struggling at least somewhat to find their desired answers to their questions, then they aren’t doing real research. That frustrating feeling is a good sign that good work is being done. I also remind them on a regular basis that they are tackling difficult, possibly unanswerable, questions and that it will take a lot of work and ingenuity to be able to thoroughly answer them. If they try their hardest and there are still parts of their question that remain unanswered, that’s okay too. The students, particularly the higher-achieving students, aren’t entirely comfortable with this, but they are trying anyway, which is great to see.
Thing Twelve
Thing Twelve – Other Search Engines
Quite frankly, I am not sure how I would use a lot of these engines, but they are awfully cool. MusicPlasma and Kartoo in particular are very cool and I would like to explore them more. I spent about fifteen minutes on MusicPlasma just trying to get from Slayer to Simon and Garfunkel (success, by the way). I feel like there should be a use for these graphic organizers, but I can’t quite figure out what it would be yet.
Quite frankly, I am not sure how I would use a lot of these engines, but they are awfully cool. MusicPlasma and Kartoo in particular are very cool and I would like to explore them more. I spent about fifteen minutes on MusicPlasma just trying to get from Slayer to Simon and Garfunkel (success, by the way). I feel like there should be a use for these graphic organizers, but I can’t quite figure out what it would be yet.
Thing Eleven
Thing Eleven – All about Google
I realize that I am of the generation that grew up while computers were becoming a household item and that I am supposed to love all things technology, but I don’t “love” Google. I like it. It is useful in many cases and frustrating in others. I do not like the ability for web sites to buy their way up the search results ladder. I do like that Google keeps a cached version of each page as it was when it was first submitted. I do not like that Google has seemingly no filter about sites it will accommodate. I do like that I can do a quick search for nearly any restaurant I can think of, and in about five seconds, I am on their site.
In my personally life, I use Google frequently. It is nice to have all of that information at your fingertips. However, I almost never use it when I am doing any kind of academic research, as I cannot trust the results I get from Google. I also caution my students about using Google and only just allowed them to start using it (I had only allowed subscription databases to this point). To use it though, the have to fill out a sheet that asks them questions attempting to authenticate the found site for each site they use. Already, in two days, I have had four students find sites they thought were objective scientifically based only to find that they were actually run by a biased group with some kind of persuasive agenda. I am glad that this happened though, as they and their classmates realize that there are many sites that aren’t to be trusted.
I realize that I am of the generation that grew up while computers were becoming a household item and that I am supposed to love all things technology, but I don’t “love” Google. I like it. It is useful in many cases and frustrating in others. I do not like the ability for web sites to buy their way up the search results ladder. I do like that Google keeps a cached version of each page as it was when it was first submitted. I do not like that Google has seemingly no filter about sites it will accommodate. I do like that I can do a quick search for nearly any restaurant I can think of, and in about five seconds, I am on their site.
In my personally life, I use Google frequently. It is nice to have all of that information at your fingertips. However, I almost never use it when I am doing any kind of academic research, as I cannot trust the results I get from Google. I also caution my students about using Google and only just allowed them to start using it (I had only allowed subscription databases to this point). To use it though, the have to fill out a sheet that asks them questions attempting to authenticate the found site for each site they use. Already, in two days, I have had four students find sites they thought were objective scientifically based only to find that they were actually run by a biased group with some kind of persuasive agenda. I am glad that this happened though, as they and their classmates realize that there are many sites that aren’t to be trusted.
Thing Nine
Thing Nine – United Streaming
United Streaming has been frustrating for me. First, it has been more trouble than helpful. What I mean by this is that I have spent an exorbitant amount of time trying to find things that would be useful and helpful to a lesson. When I finally did find one (a pretty lame one on grammar, but I figured I’d give it a shot), I couldn’t actually get it to work in front of the class. Frustrating, to say the least. I’ll give it another go, I think, but I don’t’ know how useful it’s going to be to me. Navigating to find things that are useful seems like it should be much easier than it actually is.
United Streaming has been frustrating for me. First, it has been more trouble than helpful. What I mean by this is that I have spent an exorbitant amount of time trying to find things that would be useful and helpful to a lesson. When I finally did find one (a pretty lame one on grammar, but I figured I’d give it a shot), I couldn’t actually get it to work in front of the class. Frustrating, to say the least. I’ll give it another go, I think, but I don’t’ know how useful it’s going to be to me. Navigating to find things that are useful seems like it should be much easier than it actually is.
Thing Eight
Thing Eight – Dribbling Lessons for Information Literacy
Yesterday, we began our research unit and I used a number of “dribbling” lessons together to create a packet of material from which to jump off of. I ended up using the teacher guide to plagiarism proof assignments in a slightly different way. Since they were nearly all good ideas anyway, I read over all sixteen of them with my students and had them rank the top five most important to them if they were creating their own assignment. Overwhelmingly, number two was the top vote getter, telling me that students want choice and some control over what they are doing. One that surprised me by making the top five, at number four, was that they want to stress higher level thinking skills and creativity. They know that means more work for them, but they want that anyway. To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised by the results.
The rest of the dribbling exercises will be used throughout the week in an attempt to slowly come up with what Doug Johnson calls level three or four questions. For me and for the students, I explain them as being questions that make the subject personal (level three) or a matter of policy change (level four). Also, I decided to make this an I-search paper instead of traditional research. This is for multiple reasons. First, it will give the students the ownership and choice they asked for (They are also able to pick any topic they like as long as they can make a level three or four questions for it). Second, it will make it virtually impossible for them to effectively plagiarize. Third, it focuses more on the process than the product, which is the point, by my estimation. Personally, I am ready for this assignment to fail as I have never done anything like it before, though I think the level of investment I’ve seen in the students so far is promising that it may succeed. Perhaps, I just mean that I am not setting expectations as to how the final product will turn out.
Yesterday, we began our research unit and I used a number of “dribbling” lessons together to create a packet of material from which to jump off of. I ended up using the teacher guide to plagiarism proof assignments in a slightly different way. Since they were nearly all good ideas anyway, I read over all sixteen of them with my students and had them rank the top five most important to them if they were creating their own assignment. Overwhelmingly, number two was the top vote getter, telling me that students want choice and some control over what they are doing. One that surprised me by making the top five, at number four, was that they want to stress higher level thinking skills and creativity. They know that means more work for them, but they want that anyway. To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised by the results.
The rest of the dribbling exercises will be used throughout the week in an attempt to slowly come up with what Doug Johnson calls level three or four questions. For me and for the students, I explain them as being questions that make the subject personal (level three) or a matter of policy change (level four). Also, I decided to make this an I-search paper instead of traditional research. This is for multiple reasons. First, it will give the students the ownership and choice they asked for (They are also able to pick any topic they like as long as they can make a level three or four questions for it). Second, it will make it virtually impossible for them to effectively plagiarize. Third, it focuses more on the process than the product, which is the point, by my estimation. Personally, I am ready for this assignment to fail as I have never done anything like it before, though I think the level of investment I’ve seen in the students so far is promising that it may succeed. Perhaps, I just mean that I am not setting expectations as to how the final product will turn out.
Thing Seven
Thing Seven – Get to Know the Research Project Calculator (RPC)
About a month ago, I started a research project with the students. Yesterday, the day after Spring Break, I finally introduced the RPC to them. I gave them an extra three weeks to gather information. This was a judgment call based primarily on few of my students having done any sort of authentic research based assignment. I wanted to give them room to try, fail and try again as needed without rushing them with deadlines. To this end, I allowed them to select their own due date for their project (essay) within larger parameters that I set. There is some (minor) extra-credit incentive for turning the project in sooner rather than later, but I wanted the students to have time to do their authentic research.
Generally speaking, the RPC was a huge hit. The students love having the steps laid out for them, assistance at each step if I am unavailable for some reason and the e-mail reminders. As a whole, they felt as if any tool that can assist them in their organization is a good one. We were unable to get all e-mail accounts to work though, which was odd. Still, it was a small hitch in what was otherwise a very successful day.
About a month ago, I started a research project with the students. Yesterday, the day after Spring Break, I finally introduced the RPC to them. I gave them an extra three weeks to gather information. This was a judgment call based primarily on few of my students having done any sort of authentic research based assignment. I wanted to give them room to try, fail and try again as needed without rushing them with deadlines. To this end, I allowed them to select their own due date for their project (essay) within larger parameters that I set. There is some (minor) extra-credit incentive for turning the project in sooner rather than later, but I wanted the students to have time to do their authentic research.
Generally speaking, the RPC was a huge hit. The students love having the steps laid out for them, assistance at each step if I am unavailable for some reason and the e-mail reminders. As a whole, they felt as if any tool that can assist them in their organization is a good one. We were unable to get all e-mail accounts to work though, which was odd. Still, it was a small hitch in what was otherwise a very successful day.
Thing Two
Thing Four – Get to Know Your Public Library
I felt like something of a hypocrite asking the students to become acquainted with the public library when I didn’t even have a card myself. So, I went to both the Minneapolis and St. Paul libraries and signed up at each. Incidentally, the Central Library in downtown Minneapolis is absolutely breathtaking. You should all go if you haven’t yet.
I ended up checking out several books from the library. They were mostly plays I am considering directing at school in the future. It was great to have all of these plays at my fingertips compared to Barnes and Noble (what has basically become my library since there is coffee as well as comfortable chairs there – though, to be fair, the Central Library has both of these amenities as well).
I have found that my students fall into one of two categories: One. The have no idea what a library could be used for, are scared of it and feel like getting a library card must be the equivalent of climbing Everest using toothpicks. Two. Use it all the time and are savvy at all of the options that libraries give one. I ended up offering extra-credit to any student who could show me a library card, and I would say about 15 of my 120 students brought them in.
I felt like something of a hypocrite asking the students to become acquainted with the public library when I didn’t even have a card myself. So, I went to both the Minneapolis and St. Paul libraries and signed up at each. Incidentally, the Central Library in downtown Minneapolis is absolutely breathtaking. You should all go if you haven’t yet.
I ended up checking out several books from the library. They were mostly plays I am considering directing at school in the future. It was great to have all of these plays at my fingertips compared to Barnes and Noble (what has basically become my library since there is coffee as well as comfortable chairs there – though, to be fair, the Central Library has both of these amenities as well).
I have found that my students fall into one of two categories: One. The have no idea what a library could be used for, are scared of it and feel like getting a library card must be the equivalent of climbing Everest using toothpicks. Two. Use it all the time and are savvy at all of the options that libraries give one. I ended up offering extra-credit to any student who could show me a library card, and I would say about 15 of my 120 students brought them in.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Thing Twenty-One
Thing Twenty-One - YouTube and More
I have used YouTube for years (I'd guess four, maybe more), but it was usually just to view a funny home video I had heard about or a music video or the like. I never thought to use YouTube in the classroom, which is good because apparently it was only recently allowed as a viewable site from school computers. Now, however, I see something on T.V. I like and think could be useful in the classroom and instead of having to TiVo or record on VHS (I don't have a DVD burner hooked up to a television), I can simply bring up the streaming video in my classroom and pipe it over my LCD projector. I've only done this once so far, but it worked out well.
Oops, now that I think about it, that wasn't from over YouTube, but rather the site that owns the rights to the show. I am certain, however, that I could have gotten the same thing from YouTube.
I checked out some of the videos on TeacherTube and Yahoo! for Teachers and, while they are interesting, I am not sure how I would bring them into my classroom. That said, there are, I'm sure thousands more videos to view and something would be bound to work.
I have used YouTube for years (I'd guess four, maybe more), but it was usually just to view a funny home video I had heard about or a music video or the like. I never thought to use YouTube in the classroom, which is good because apparently it was only recently allowed as a viewable site from school computers. Now, however, I see something on T.V. I like and think could be useful in the classroom and instead of having to TiVo or record on VHS (I don't have a DVD burner hooked up to a television), I can simply bring up the streaming video in my classroom and pipe it over my LCD projector. I've only done this once so far, but it worked out well.
Oops, now that I think about it, that wasn't from over YouTube, but rather the site that owns the rights to the show. I am certain, however, that I could have gotten the same thing from YouTube.
I checked out some of the videos on TeacherTube and Yahoo! for Teachers and, while they are interesting, I am not sure how I would bring them into my classroom. That said, there are, I'm sure thousands more videos to view and something would be bound to work.
Thing Eighteen
Thing Eighteen - One Student Thing
My students ove Smart Boards. Once they got over the initial shock of how much they cost, students are enamored with the idea of an interactive screen and willingly admit that proper use of a Smart Board helps them learn a great deal. I, unfortunately, do not have one in my room, but I know several teachers who do and do marvelous things with them. Some of our math and science teachers, in particular, have done great things. For instance, Lee Barnett, a math teacher of ours, was actually able to flip a fraction upside down to show what a reciprocal is. Students that we share actually offered that information, unsolicited, saying that they had never understood what a reciprocal was despite the fact that they had learned about them every year since 5th or 6th grade (10th graders now). Plus, many of them expressed that they enjoy being able to use the Smart Board themselves (i.e. it's not just for teachers).
My students ove Smart Boards. Once they got over the initial shock of how much they cost, students are enamored with the idea of an interactive screen and willingly admit that proper use of a Smart Board helps them learn a great deal. I, unfortunately, do not have one in my room, but I know several teachers who do and do marvelous things with them. Some of our math and science teachers, in particular, have done great things. For instance, Lee Barnett, a math teacher of ours, was actually able to flip a fraction upside down to show what a reciprocal is. Students that we share actually offered that information, unsolicited, saying that they had never understood what a reciprocal was despite the fact that they had learned about them every year since 5th or 6th grade (10th graders now). Plus, many of them expressed that they enjoy being able to use the Smart Board themselves (i.e. it's not just for teachers).
Thing Sixteen
Thing Sixteen - Using MnLINK
I have used ILL in the past on many occassions, though I have never used MnLINK. While I was in college, I used ILL for research often and occassionally for fun as well. For instance, I went through a big 60's acid rock phase, but didn't want to actually go buy all of the albums. Instead, I borrowed them from the library and by the time they were due back, I was kind of over that phase anyway.
On a more academic note, I have found so many books I thought impossible to get to be available through ILL and have taken advantage of the service many times. I think that MnLINK could be helpful to my students, particularly once they start their research projects (starting March 10th, by the way). We have a good number of books at our school and we all know how much information is available on the internet, but to do actual in-depth research on something will require specialty texts which I doubt that we have or are available on the 'net. Given that it oftentimes does take a while for ILL to come through (at least, in my experience it did), if I get the students on the idea fast enough, many of them should get their books in time to use them on their papers.
I have used ILL in the past on many occassions, though I have never used MnLINK. While I was in college, I used ILL for research often and occassionally for fun as well. For instance, I went through a big 60's acid rock phase, but didn't want to actually go buy all of the albums. Instead, I borrowed them from the library and by the time they were due back, I was kind of over that phase anyway.
On a more academic note, I have found so many books I thought impossible to get to be available through ILL and have taken advantage of the service many times. I think that MnLINK could be helpful to my students, particularly once they start their research projects (starting March 10th, by the way). We have a good number of books at our school and we all know how much information is available on the internet, but to do actual in-depth research on something will require specialty texts which I doubt that we have or are available on the 'net. Given that it oftentimes does take a while for ILL to come through (at least, in my experience it did), if I get the students on the idea fast enough, many of them should get their books in time to use them on their papers.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thing Fifteen
Thing Fifteen - Collaboration
I already detailed this Thing in an earlier blog entry, but to be official here it is again. Earlier this year when my students were doing their poetry unit, as their final assessment, they researched a poet, one to two of their poems and did a presentation on them. To assist in this matter, Marilyn Mauritz set the library up in a way to allow the students to view all of the poetry books we had available. Both Marilyn and I were impressed that the students did not even try to use the internet to find their poet, but rather took to the books entirely.
This collaborative effort also allowed us to tag team with the students. I, as mentioned earlier, established with the students which databases they may use for research. This made it easy for me to supervise their research. There were, however, poets that were too obscure to be found on some of them. Ms. Mauritz was able to, in these cases, work one-on-one with the students to dig deeper and find information on their selected poets. This was invaluable assistance, as I clearly would not have had enough time to get to everyone's specific needs.
I already detailed this Thing in an earlier blog entry, but to be official here it is again. Earlier this year when my students were doing their poetry unit, as their final assessment, they researched a poet, one to two of their poems and did a presentation on them. To assist in this matter, Marilyn Mauritz set the library up in a way to allow the students to view all of the poetry books we had available. Both Marilyn and I were impressed that the students did not even try to use the internet to find their poet, but rather took to the books entirely.
This collaborative effort also allowed us to tag team with the students. I, as mentioned earlier, established with the students which databases they may use for research. This made it easy for me to supervise their research. There were, however, poets that were too obscure to be found on some of them. Ms. Mauritz was able to, in these cases, work one-on-one with the students to dig deeper and find information on their selected poets. This was invaluable assistance, as I clearly would not have had enough time to get to everyone's specific needs.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Thing Thirteen
Thing Thirteen - Subscription Databases
When I did a poetry unit with my studetns, which I detailed in earlier posts, I itilized some of the subscription databases. I made a handout with instructions for the students regarding how to access the four specific sites (Grolier, EBSCOhost, ProQuest and Gale Group) from on- or off-campus. Unfortunately, none of the passwords I had were current, so I have a hundred and twenty students walking around with useless usernames and passwords. I'm still waiting to hear back from the help desk regarding this issue. Enough complaining though. The sites, especially ProQuest and Grolier, were invaluable for my students. They also loved using the sites for a number of reasons.
First, they loved that the citations were already done for them. Second, many of them actually used the bibliography from Grolier to find more detailed information about their topics. This was completely unexpected by me. Third, I think many of them were surprised that they liked the fact that they could rely on the information found on the sites. Grolier, in particular, breaks its information up into small, workable chunks, which I think was also beneficial to the students.
Fortunately for me, I was already familiar with these sites and a few others (New York Times, for instance), from doing research projects of my own in college. I remember that I didn't know about these sites for the first few years I was in college. When I found out that my school subscribed to them and they would have been available all along, I was quite angry. So, I think I come across as more excited than I should be to the students when telling them about these resources. Plus, I know how to use many of them well (Gale Group still gives me trouble, but most of the rest are fine), which may have contributed to nearly all of my students using these resources for their first research project of the year, and it turned out quite well for them.
When I did a poetry unit with my studetns, which I detailed in earlier posts, I itilized some of the subscription databases. I made a handout with instructions for the students regarding how to access the four specific sites (Grolier, EBSCOhost, ProQuest and Gale Group) from on- or off-campus. Unfortunately, none of the passwords I had were current, so I have a hundred and twenty students walking around with useless usernames and passwords. I'm still waiting to hear back from the help desk regarding this issue. Enough complaining though. The sites, especially ProQuest and Grolier, were invaluable for my students. They also loved using the sites for a number of reasons.
First, they loved that the citations were already done for them. Second, many of them actually used the bibliography from Grolier to find more detailed information about their topics. This was completely unexpected by me. Third, I think many of them were surprised that they liked the fact that they could rely on the information found on the sites. Grolier, in particular, breaks its information up into small, workable chunks, which I think was also beneficial to the students.
Fortunately for me, I was already familiar with these sites and a few others (New York Times, for instance), from doing research projects of my own in college. I remember that I didn't know about these sites for the first few years I was in college. When I found out that my school subscribed to them and they would have been available all along, I was quite angry. So, I think I come across as more excited than I should be to the students when telling them about these resources. Plus, I know how to use many of them well (Gale Group still gives me trouble, but most of the rest are fine), which may have contributed to nearly all of my students using these resources for their first research project of the year, and it turned out quite well for them.
Thing Ten
Thing Ten - Copyright and Plagairism
When I was a student and a student teacher/long-term sub, I used to see plagairism as a sort of game. I would almost be able to smell when a paper was being copied, and actually enjoyed figuring out where it came from. This was when I had time to do that sort of thing. I still make time if something seems plagairized (and, in my experience, if it seems plagairized, it usually is), but no longer enjoy the hunt as I should be doing so many other things. My students know that I take plagairism extremely seriously - nearly personally - and have failed a small number of students because of it. If our school has a plagairism policy, I don't know about it. Mine, which has been backed by the administration, has been that if I catch plagairism once, the student gets a zero on the assignment. If it happens again, they fail the class and I will turn them in for academic misconduct, if there is such a thing in this district. Forunately, I have yet to have it happen twice.
When explaining copyright and plagairism, I spend about twenty or twenty-five minutes detailing it to my students as if they had never heard of either before. By the end, my goal is that they could have no possible excuse for not understanding that plagairism is wrong. I also have a handout regarding the subject, which seems to help some of the students. However, one thing I noticed from taking the quizzes is that I haven't been clear that using pictures without permission is plagairism as well. I fixed that for my current classes, and will need to incorporate that into my plagairism talks in the future.
When I was a student and a student teacher/long-term sub, I used to see plagairism as a sort of game. I would almost be able to smell when a paper was being copied, and actually enjoyed figuring out where it came from. This was when I had time to do that sort of thing. I still make time if something seems plagairized (and, in my experience, if it seems plagairized, it usually is), but no longer enjoy the hunt as I should be doing so many other things. My students know that I take plagairism extremely seriously - nearly personally - and have failed a small number of students because of it. If our school has a plagairism policy, I don't know about it. Mine, which has been backed by the administration, has been that if I catch plagairism once, the student gets a zero on the assignment. If it happens again, they fail the class and I will turn them in for academic misconduct, if there is such a thing in this district. Forunately, I have yet to have it happen twice.
When explaining copyright and plagairism, I spend about twenty or twenty-five minutes detailing it to my students as if they had never heard of either before. By the end, my goal is that they could have no possible excuse for not understanding that plagairism is wrong. I also have a handout regarding the subject, which seems to help some of the students. However, one thing I noticed from taking the quizzes is that I haven't been clear that using pictures without permission is plagairism as well. I fixed that for my current classes, and will need to incorporate that into my plagairism talks in the future.
Thing Six
Thing Six - Teacher Guide to the Research Project Calculator
I have always enjoyed teaching research, though I feel as if I have not done a very good job of it in the past. I didn't know how to encourage reliable resources and only had myself to rely on when checking for plagairism. I also expected either too much or too little from my students. A tool like the RPC is going to help me immensely.
First, I feel as if I can throw more rigorous material and demands at the students as the timeline portion of the assignment will not be their responsibility anymore. They will know when things are due and get actual warnings sent to them to that end. I have found that there are several students that would gladly do the work, but are so disorganized that they literally forget about it. For this reason, I am willing to bet that this tool alone will increase the completion rate from my students by 10 - 20%.
Second, It makes my job much easier. Rather than having to remember to remind students daily of what their progress should be and when things are due, I can instead do that only rarely and be able to focus more on the daily lessons.
Third, having this structure in place gives students something concrete to consult if I am not available for soem reason (i.e. them working from home over a weekend).
A challenge, though a surmountable one, is going to be to figure out all the ways to customize the RPC to get it to do exactly what I want. I am also going to have to restructure my units a bit since it looks like the research portion is going to be spread out to give students enough time to hit signposts along their way toward finishing their projects. While I don't have a problem at all working two units at the same time, in fact I like to be able to change things up on occassion, it will take some effort to do so.
I have always enjoyed teaching research, though I feel as if I have not done a very good job of it in the past. I didn't know how to encourage reliable resources and only had myself to rely on when checking for plagairism. I also expected either too much or too little from my students. A tool like the RPC is going to help me immensely.
First, I feel as if I can throw more rigorous material and demands at the students as the timeline portion of the assignment will not be their responsibility anymore. They will know when things are due and get actual warnings sent to them to that end. I have found that there are several students that would gladly do the work, but are so disorganized that they literally forget about it. For this reason, I am willing to bet that this tool alone will increase the completion rate from my students by 10 - 20%.
Second, It makes my job much easier. Rather than having to remember to remind students daily of what their progress should be and when things are due, I can instead do that only rarely and be able to focus more on the daily lessons.
Third, having this structure in place gives students something concrete to consult if I am not available for soem reason (i.e. them working from home over a weekend).
A challenge, though a surmountable one, is going to be to figure out all the ways to customize the RPC to get it to do exactly what I want. I am also going to have to restructure my units a bit since it looks like the research portion is going to be spread out to give students enough time to hit signposts along their way toward finishing their projects. While I don't have a problem at all working two units at the same time, in fact I like to be able to change things up on occassion, it will take some effort to do so.
Thing Five
Thing Five - Create and Maintain a Teacher Web Page
When Leslie came to Humboldt for this tutorial, I was able to set up my page at http://humboldtsr.spps.org/McCloud.html. This was something that was not only useful, but fun as well. I look forward to finding all of the ways to utilize my website. At the very least, it would be nice to have a stable of lesson plans and syllabi listed there. I am currently working on this; primarily working on getting as many of my materials as possible into digital form. I am concerned about the students that do not have access to a computer outside of school, but I can't think of a way to level that playing field. I have been offering extra-credit, casually, to students who show me a library card. As a part of one of the other Things, I think I am going to make a charge to getting all of my students cards. Then, at least, they will have access to some computers if necessary even though it will take effort.
By the way, a couple of students saw my web page nearly immediately after I set it up and were joking with me about my sushi phase. They also loved the photograph.
When Leslie came to Humboldt for this tutorial, I was able to set up my page at http://humboldtsr.spps.org/McCloud.html. This was something that was not only useful, but fun as well. I look forward to finding all of the ways to utilize my website. At the very least, it would be nice to have a stable of lesson plans and syllabi listed there. I am currently working on this; primarily working on getting as many of my materials as possible into digital form. I am concerned about the students that do not have access to a computer outside of school, but I can't think of a way to level that playing field. I have been offering extra-credit, casually, to students who show me a library card. As a part of one of the other Things, I think I am going to make a charge to getting all of my students cards. Then, at least, they will have access to some computers if necessary even though it will take effort.
By the way, a couple of students saw my web page nearly immediately after I set it up and were joking with me about my sushi phase. They also loved the photograph.
Thing Three
Thing Three - RSS/Feed Aggregator
This was interesting to do. And this blog is going to be a bit of a digression, but here goes. For several years, I worked part-time for Best Buy. The in-house system Best Buy uses is called RSS, which is essentially a huge database. It is used for all inventory, personnel, merchandizing, pricing and a number of other things. I was thinking that this can't be the same RSS, and it isn't, but I come to find out from a friend of mine who does coding for Best Buy corporate that it is similar and based on the same idea, which is to consolidate massive amounts of information into lists and chunks that are manageable. I thought that was interesting at least.
I don't know how I could use this in my classroom. I think that I could establish a blog or web page or what-not and have an RSS feed for each of my students set up ahead of time so anytime I am doing a computer-based lesson, they can go to their RSS page and click on the latest lesson I will have set up. In theory, that sounds nice, like I would only have to have them sign up for the RSS feed once and it could dramatically streamline computer-based lessons.
This was interesting to do. And this blog is going to be a bit of a digression, but here goes. For several years, I worked part-time for Best Buy. The in-house system Best Buy uses is called RSS, which is essentially a huge database. It is used for all inventory, personnel, merchandizing, pricing and a number of other things. I was thinking that this can't be the same RSS, and it isn't, but I come to find out from a friend of mine who does coding for Best Buy corporate that it is similar and based on the same idea, which is to consolidate massive amounts of information into lists and chunks that are manageable. I thought that was interesting at least.
I don't know how I could use this in my classroom. I think that I could establish a blog or web page or what-not and have an RSS feed for each of my students set up ahead of time so anytime I am doing a computer-based lesson, they can go to their RSS page and click on the latest lesson I will have set up. In theory, that sounds nice, like I would only have to have them sign up for the RSS feed once and it could dramatically streamline computer-based lessons.
Thing One
Okay, so apparently I missed out on what this whole blogging thing was for. Thank you to the other teachers at my site (and especially Marilyn Mauritz) for showing me what I'm supposed to be doing with my blog, namely recording my 23 things. So, while I am only blogging about them now, I have already done several of the 23 Things.
So, Thing One - Understanding Information Literacy
Oddly enough, the thing that struck me most about these articles is how focused research needs to be to be effective. Reflecting on my own experience with research, that certainly was the case, but it's not something I've emphasized in my teaching in the past. Now that I think about it, it makes sense that by having my students go forward with somewhat vague goals, they are basically being asked to cast a wide net and sift through their "catch" to find the one or two things they were looking for to begin with. Certainly not the most efficient use of time.
I am also starting to see different ways I could rely on colleagues, particularly the on-site LMS, to assist and make assignments not only more rigorous, but more interesting and focused as well.
The majority of the information was not new, but certainly bears repeating. I stress to my students the three R's and have since I started teaching. Now, however, I am using different terminology.
By the way, those are some great quotes at the end of the third article. Love the one from Bill Gates.
So, Thing One - Understanding Information Literacy
Oddly enough, the thing that struck me most about these articles is how focused research needs to be to be effective. Reflecting on my own experience with research, that certainly was the case, but it's not something I've emphasized in my teaching in the past. Now that I think about it, it makes sense that by having my students go forward with somewhat vague goals, they are basically being asked to cast a wide net and sift through their "catch" to find the one or two things they were looking for to begin with. Certainly not the most efficient use of time.
I am also starting to see different ways I could rely on colleagues, particularly the on-site LMS, to assist and make assignments not only more rigorous, but more interesting and focused as well.
The majority of the information was not new, but certainly bears repeating. I stress to my students the three R's and have since I started teaching. Now, however, I am using different terminology.
By the way, those are some great quotes at the end of the third article. Love the one from Bill Gates.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)