Education Week Teacher: Teacher Effectiveness: More Than a Number

Education Week Teacher: Teacher Effectiveness: More Than a Number:

Cindi Rigsbee has written an excellent article about teacher effectiveness and how it should be more than just a test score.

I especially like her comment of:

"Let me begin by saying that although I understand this movement, I would like to share the joy and see it spread to other professions. I can’t say that recently I’ve heard anyone muse over the 'effective doctor' or 'effective lawyer' or 'effective plumber.' Yet again, teachers are swimming for their lives down in the petri dishes of society with all the world peering into microscopes at our work."

Wouldn't that be nice?! To see doctors and lawyers evaluated by a score based on how well their clients do on a test?

She writes about 4 things an effective teacher embodies: an effective teacher is committed, effective teachers make relationships a priority, effective teachers demonstrate their passion for learning and effective teachers are always reinventing themselves.

The article brings up a lot of good points and is a quick read. Maybe all those people who think teachers should be evaluated by a number on a test should read this article?

Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com:

As quoted by the author, "I’m often asked by educators why I use wikis, blogs, AND Google docs. “Why not just pick one?”. The answer is because I use each in different ways. Each of these platforms can be used for numerous purposes. Here is how I use them."

I too am often asked why do I use all three. This authors post does an excellent job of offering reasons to use each one and they have also included several links to examples.

If you want a "60 second" answer to the question why use all three, read the article! It will be a well invested 60 seconds.

5 Classroom Uses for Podcasts PLUS Real Life Examples – SimpleK12

5 Classroom Uses for Podcasts PLUS Real Life Examples – SimpleK12:

A quote from the site: "Not only is podcasting fun, it is an extremely valuable educational tool that has endless possibilities to share learning materials with a vast audience!"

Pod casting is very easy to do, once you do your first one. All you need is some type of recording device (your computer, an iPod, your cell phone) , something to record (your class, how to solve a math problem, directions for an assignment) and a place to host your files!

About.com has a tutorial that is pretty good. It can be found by clicking here.

The Battle for the Interactive White Board: The Kids Surrender

Daniel Reza from his blog from Tech Learning, opens with the statement of “Interactive White Boards are here, whether we like them or not.” He then goes on to say how “teachers aren't going to give these things up and let the kids use them. Ever.”

I fought to get IWBs (Interactive White Boards) in out school and was finally rewarded with an InterWrite board from eInstruction.  I was in heaven!  As a physics teacher I could draw vectors in different colors and move them around.  I could use interactive websites with my class.  But I am not one of the teachers that Mr. Reza refers to.  I handed the pen to a student the first day my board was installed.  I have students come to the board all the time to solve problems, draw diagrams, interact with flash activities and many other things.  The students enjoy it and it gets them involved.

Although I am a huge proponent of IWBs, I have had the fortunate experience of using a wireless tablet. I cannot stress how much I wish I had started with a wireless tablet before an IWB because if so, I would not want the IWB!  The wirless tablet lets me move about the room AND still do everything I could do with an IWB.  Both eInstruction and SMART tech have their own wireless tablets (Link to eInstructions tablets and SMART tech’s tablets). 

There are two other huge benefits to wireless tablets. The first is you don’t need to have any equipment permanently installed.  Boards need to be mounted to a wall with projectors mounted to the ceiling.  (Yes, I know, Prmothean boards are one unit with board and projector together, but you are still stuck with the size of board and calibration issues.) This allows the wireless tablet to be used with any projector in any situation.  The other benefit, and this is a big one, wireless tablets cost about 10% of an IWB!!  You still need a projector, but installation of an IWB will run around $4000, a wireless slate from SMART tech, $400.  Do the math.  You could have 10 teachers using a wireless slate for the cost of one IWB!!

Any way, back to Mr. Raza’s article.  He gives several links to demonstrate how to make IWBs more interactive with students, and if you have one, you should read his article.

Dealing with WIKIs

Wikis are a wonderful tool.  They allow for collaboration and the sharing of knowledge.  They can be used like websites to pass on information and share documents or they can be used like electronic portfolios or they can be used just like Wikipedia (which of course is a Wiki). The problem is when do you use them?  And how to use them?

From an article found in the August 2010 edition of “Tech Learning”, Ellen Ullman writes:

“Middle and high school teachers use them for group projects. A math teacher who solves problems with the screen capturing tool Jing (jingproject.com) embeds his work into his wiki for continuous review. Third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade teachers use wikis to create centers that include directions for assignments and student work.” (Link to article)

I personally can only answer the questions above by simply saying, try it.  If it works great!  If not, adjust!

The two Wikis out there that are used in the classroom the most are Wikispaces and PBWorks. They both have their strengths and weaknesses.  I personally find Wikispaces very easy to use and it is the one I prefer.

Give Wikis a try… you will find your students will get involved and possibly even find creating a wiki fun!

When you hear the word “technology”….

What does it mean to you? 

Below is an excerpt from the Teacher Magazine  website.  As you can see, technology does not have to be expensive and/or electronic!

Purchase a set of student whiteboards for your class. These boards are fantastic for many purposes. I like to use them when I am first introducing a concept to allow students the opportunity to write the steps or process as I am doing it, then practice on their own in a non-threatening environment. Even the most intimidated math-a-phobe seems less concerned about making mistakes when they are easily erased with a paper towel. I also use these boards when reviewing concepts before a quiz or test. Having students complete individual problems, then hold up their boards with answers circled simultaneously, quickly shows me where the misconceptions and allows me to quickly restructure our next step in the review. (From “Technology and Learning” http://tiny.cc/x5adk)