Blog Education

I have been following David Warlick and his blog called 2cents Worth.  I have really enjoyed a few of his postings.  A few of them are little to technical and about politics and teaching theories that I don't quiet follow yet because I still have a ways in my schooling.  But even though I don't fully follow the postings it is fun to read his point of view on many of the items and I do enjoy many of his other postings that aren't quiet as political.  


One posting that I really enjoyed reading a few weeks ago was call "Next Textbooks Are..." the author sent out a a request for people to share defining characteristics of "old paper printed textbooks" and a statement of where new textbooks are going.  He was able to collaborate a interesting amount of data that he displayed in a table to compare the "old" and "new" versions of textbooks.  Some of what people said included...


- Old textbooks are "stable" while new textbooks will "be fluid and dynamic and ever adapting to learning experiences"
- Old textbooks are "errorless, error ignoring" while new textbooks will "admit errors and will socially self-correct"
- Old textbooks are "heavy" while new textbooks will "weightlessly make themselves available to any learner, anywhere, anytime"


This post really got me thinking about how education is changing so much with the development of technology.  No longer are schools having to buy books for every student each year, many now use tablets and each student has the books that they need loaded on to them at the beginning of the year.  This makes not only the environmental impact smaller but it makes it easier for students to keep track of their books and take them to and from school without stuffing their backpack.  I think that it is interesting with electronic books it is also easier to make edits to a book by just downloading an update.  I remember from when I was in Elementary school having a Social Studies text that the teacher had to edit as she taught because of misprints and the school couldn't afford new books until the following school year.   


Another post from his blog that I enjoyed reading and feel benefited me as a teacher was one called "Note-Taking at ISTE".  In this post he discussed note taking methods from when he was at the 2011 ISTE conference in Philadelphia.  For him the easiest way to take notes is through a concept map.  This does not include "complete sentences, but do carry a visual syntax of relationship, which is easily editable during less pertinent moments of a presentation or workshop."  He uses an app call Mindo that allows him to type quickly and easily place his notes on his screen.  This app also allows the notes to be saved in different formats so they can easily be transferred to a cellphone, laptop, and other technology tools.  


This post really got me thinking on how students are learning to take notes today in school.  I learned how to take notes the old fashioned bullets and indents way.  But with technology becoming so integrated into everyday classrooms I wonder how students doing it now? Are they still writing them all out or are there other options available with tablets and other technology.  


The last post that I am going to write about today is one titled "What Does Your Wall Do Outside of Your Lessons?"  In this post he discusses what do teachers do with their whiteboards, projectors, and computers when they are not teaching lessons.  Often times these spaces on the walls where the lessons are taught are blank between lessons and while students are in transition.  The post discusses the idea of having a video playing when students walk in the classroom in the morning with limited audio illustrating the "Known Universe".  How compelling can one be with technology when not using it in a lesson plan?  At the end of the post he makes a great statement in my opinion saying, "I wonder how your projector and wall might be utilized to facilitate learning between and beneath the bell schedule?"


This really got me thinking because I have been in quite a few classrooms over the years, sometimes as students and sometimes as a volunteer or observer.  I often notice how whiteboards and projectors remain off and blank until the moment of a lesson that may utilize them such as learning new math skills.  I think that it would be great if teachers found ways to use technology in between the lessons with slideshows, powerpoints, blank boards for the students to work on, or even just a review of something they've been learning.  For example if a class is studying the geography of the world pictures in a slideshow that demonstrate different altitudes, weather, and vegetation would be great to show between lessons.