Why do I have to post daily objectives?

Why do I have to post daily objectives on a board in my classroom? In another brilliant article by Mr. Grant Wiggins he addresses the, well, absurdity of such practice being made a policy!  In his article, "Mandating the daily posting of objectives, and other dumb ideas" he does a fantastic job of pointing out how this policy really does not help the students.  I have heard other teachers discuss how during a post conference of an observation that the teacher needs to post the daily objectives on the board and refer to them constantly during the lesson.  Not just remind the students but to physically go to the board and tap on it!!!  Really?!?!  I entered into a discussion with this supervisor to ask him why such a practice is nescessary.  His reply, (I am paraphrasing here) "When I taught, the tapping on the board would draw the attention of the auditory learner and my movement to the board would help the kinesthetic learners.  Having the objectives posted would keep us on track....."   Really?!?

So, how does this apply to Educational Technology?  Mr. Wiggins offers the answer:  Use Google Docs to share the objectives with the students!!!  By doing so, the students will always have them, they could actually take notes write on the document so they can keep the information they are learning connected to the objective they are to learn!!!

I post a brief version of my lesson plans on my website.... I am considering sharing them with all my students that way they will have a readily available document with the learning objectives.  Better yet, I could use gClass folders, put a copy of the objectives in their folders.......  (More on how to do this in another post one day!!)

Any way, what do you think?  Should the objectives be posted in the classroom?

Google Apps info

"Widescreen Format & Master Slides Come to Google Presentations" http://feedly.com/k/16YBjJ0

This is great news!

Ed Tech Centric Classroom

Ran across this article: "How To Build a Student and Tech-Centric Classroom"...
We need all ed tech teachers, teachers and administrators to read it.  It is very short but it is what I have been saying needs to be done for the last 10 years, technology just was not ready.  With the state of technology now, we are finally in position to turn this into the "norm" rather than the exception!  Let's make it happen!!

What is "flipped learning"?

I was recently reading some articles that I had "saved to pocket" awhile ago and ran across one about "flipped learning".  In a very brief explanation, "flipped learning" (or "flipped classroom") has the students experiencing the "lecture" part of the subject on their own outside of school.  They then come to school and spend time with the teacher working on enrichment activities.  In other words, the student does what used to be "homework" in class where they can get assistance from the teacher and "watch" the lecture at home for homework.

I know, a little confusing but on the surface this sounds like a wonderful idea.  I would love to be able to work with my physics students and help them tackle sophisticated kinematic problems, help guide them to improve their problem solving skills and no longer do any "whole group direct instruction" (read lecture).


But reality does play a part, and I do not think that I could have 100% of my students watching a video lecture the night before we tackle the problems in class.  Now I know that I don't even get 100% of my students completeing their "normal" homework right now, but for a flipped classroom to work the student must prepare for class by watching the video.

At any rate, here is a link to an article that summarizes a report.  The title of the article is "Report: The 4 Pillars of the Flipped Classroom".  The full report in PDF format can be found here "A Review of Flipped Learning".

So, what do you think?  Is your classroom "flipped"?  If so, how are you dealing with the students who do not come to class prepared?

Get ed tech into classrooms

Oh, will all administrators and principals who are reluctant to accept the fact that technology is here please read this article:

Education Technology: 7 Ways to Bring Apps, Gadgets, Online Services Into School Classrooms

I have heard of principals and administrators stating how teachers "should NOT text or email students.  And if we do email a student to copy the email to a parent."  They then go on to say something like when we were in school teachers communicated with our parents with out cell phones and  facebook......

Ok, they are correct, but my contention is they couldn't communicate that way because the technology  was not even thought of yet! 

Let's get into the 21st century, please.

Google Voice and Video

I am a big fan of almost all things Google!  I use Google Drive everyday, I have several Google Sites that I use with my students, and if it weren't for Gmail I do not know what I would do!

Which brings me to this thing called Google Voice and Video.  Now I have used Windows Messenger before with my web cam back in the day, but it just never seemed to work right.  Windows Live messenger was better but.... still lacking.  Now, using the video and chat features integrated with Gmail, well, it just works.  Period.  No huge setup, no drivers to download, no extra "nothing"! (NOTE: you do have to "install Google Voice and Video" but it takes seconds to download and seconds to install).

Once the installation is complete, go to your Gmail settings then click the "Chat" link.  In the middle you will see something like the picture below:

Make your selections and then click "Verify your settings" and make sure things are working.  Once done you are all set!!  You can make video calls to your contacts, then move that into a Google Hangout and invite others!! (A really good article about using Google Hangouts in education can be found be found at this link Using Google Hangouts for Teacher Development)

If that is not enough, you can now make phone calls using Google Voice..... more on that in a future post!

So, do any of you use Google Voice and Video and if so how are you using it?

Education Week Teacher: The Time-Tested Dos and Don'ts of Using Classroom Technology

The Time-Tested Dos and Don'ts of Using Classroom Technology

This is a very quick read about the "Do's" and "Don'ts" of using technology in the classroom.  If you are "testing the waters" or have been apprehensive of using technology this article will give you a very good perspective on what to do and try.

So, how many of you are doing the "Do's" mentioned in this article?

Five Ways to Use Online Portfolios in the Classroom | Edutopia

Five Ways to Use Online Portfolios in the Classroom | Edutopia:


I have been contemplating the use of online portfolios for awhile now... but I just can't seem to get started!  Mostly because the task seems rather daunting!

In an article by Heather Hiles from edutopia titled "Five ways to Use Online Portfolios in the Classroom", she discusses 5 key points to consider when implementing the use of online portfolios.

Armed with this information, I feel a little more brave about using portfolios and will definitely explore their use more.

How about you?  Any of you have any success stories or pointers as to how to implement online portfolios?

Just ASK Publications and Professional Development - Just for the ASKing!

Just ASK Publications and Professional Development - Just for the ASKing!:

I have been a follower of Bruce Oliver and "Just ASK" for a few years now.  The information offered covers everything from the classroom to educational leadership.  Recently he presented an article about "Technology as an Instructional Tool".  As I read through the article it was nice to see that I am using some of the technologies that are discussed.  There are 7 individuals who responded to the question: "What technological tools and applications have you used or seen used that have made the greatest impact on student learning in rigorous and relevant ways?"  A nice part of the article is a list of the technologies mentioned along with links.

So, what are some of the technologies you are using and how are they improving the education of your students?