Last day of Poli. Sci

I have included a Youtube video of Jimmy V's acceptance speech from the 1993 ESPY Awards ceremony. Take what you can from his inspired words.




Another wonderfully inspirational speech from the late Dr. Randy Pausch


Students are asked to reflect onthe following questions:


"Please reflect on your blog regarding the following 2 questions about Honors Political Science:

1- What are some "take-aways" from the class? What did you learn about political science?

2-What are some "portable skills" you have learned this semester and how might they be helpful in the future?"

Blogging in Poli. Sci.

I am going to attempt to attach the RSS feed folder I am using in my senior Poli Sci classes. The first blog prompt was to have students read 2 articles regarding their generation, recently termed, the dumbest generation.
Here are the articles:
Dumbest Generation
Counter Argument

Here is the Google Reader folders:
Shared Blogs

Web 2.0 lesson

The learning goals for this lesson dealing with the Great Depression are as follows:
• Develop an understanding of the causes of the Great Depression
• Analyze the actions taken by Herbert Hoover to address the economic crisis
• Analyze the actions taken by FDR
• Develop and defend a position regarding the question: “Was the Great
Depression avoidable?”

Resources include:
• Hippocampus.org video and document presentations for background content
• PBWiki site for essential questions to consider and collaboration on possible
answers to the essential questions
• Class Moodle site for submission of well defended argument
• Animoto video presentation

Introduction and Motivation:
• Animoto video introduction with discussion of how significant the impact of the Great Depression was on American history.


Procedure
• Go to the PBwiki
• Follow the directions found in the wiki

Assessment
• Students will submit their written response in the appropriate Moodle forum

In the News

As we conclude our first year of the pilot 1:1 classroom, I find myself looking back on the school year and participating in the single and double loop reflection that is part of effective constructivist learning. Both my students and I constructed our own understandings of the 21st century classroom. I have asked they look back on the year and reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and the strengths and weaknesses of the course. We will discuss these thoughts as a class and I will share my own reflections.


My single loop reflection involves considering the effectiveness of daily instruction, the structure of assignments, and authenticity of assessments. While there are many things to comment on in this regard, this posting is about the double loop reflection: questioning the underlying assumptions about instruction and the educational system as a whole.


The infusion of technology into our high school has created battle lines between those who truly embrace constructivist education and those who embrace a more behaviorist approach to learning. Many of the behaviorists believe they embrace open discovery, project-based, student-centered learning, but their true colors emerge when you discuss giving students access to technology.


I believe part of people’s reluctance is the new technology requires completely restructuring of the classroom environment and the traditional power structures. Teachers are also concerned that the new technologies and teaching strategies are merely causing further distraction and are more flash than substance. They are not the only people concerned with the path education is taking. Mark Bauerlein published a book, The Dumbest Generation that describes students today as, “drowning in a tidal wave of teen, youth, stuff, delivered through digital tools, and the adult realities of history, civics, foreign affairs, politics, and fine arts can’t break through.” (Warlick, D., 2008) He goes on to discuss how access to technology and web 2.0 tools has not led to intellectual gains. “In an average young person’s online experience, the senses may be stimulated and the ego touched, but vocabulary doesn’t expand, memory doesn’t improve, analytic talents don’t develop, and erudition doesn’t ensue.” (Richardson, W., 2008) This argument reflects the opinion of many who oppose the move to 21st century classrooms. The general feeling is that the laptops add more flash but very little additional substance to learning. While I believe this critique is valid when technology is the sole focus, it does not hold water when technology and web 2.0 tools are used in properly constructed learning environments.


Will Richardson discusses Bauerlein's argument in his blog, vehemently arguing that this generation of the so called technological natives are not dumb. "[O]ur kids are not “dumb” nor is this generation 'dumb' simply because they spend a lot of time in front of television screens and computers or because they haven’t worked out for themselves how to get smarter using the Read/Write Web. And to label them so is demeaning and smacks more of marketing than reality."(Richardson, W., 2008) Not only is this stance demeaning to children, but in the educational environment, it implies a lack of responsibility and accountability of parents and teachers to interact with students in meaningful ways within the life experiences of students. This is a philosophical dividing line in education: should students be expected to learn what adults have learned, the way adults learned it, or should students be instructed within their understanding of the world and guided on how to become good global citizens? We must help students understand how and why to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information in meaningful ways. Bauerlein might be correct in emphasizing that web 2.0 alone does not improve the intellectual abilities of Generation Next, however few children often go out of their way to use their surroundings to improve their reading and writing skills without prompting or guidance. We must guide them as they construct their understanding of the world, not tell them how it is and expect them to have buy-in.


Many traditionalists in education believe students learn best in behaviorist environments, however our students have grown up learning and interacting in a predominantly constructivist environment. The Internet can be a powerful tool for constructivist learning and I believe it can be a powerful tool for educating traditional teachers on the benefits of web 2.0 and constructivist learning environments. If the read/write web is to be utilized for converting the naysayers, the learning environment must be non-threatening, constructivist in nature, and utilize techniques of mentoring, reflection, and collaboration. Teachers will be exposed to the benefits of the Internet in the classroom in the four following ways. In-service time and proper training should be used in order to provide the necessary time and guidance:


Internet Miner: Teachers will be exposed to the social bookmarking site Diigo and will be invited into a group dedicated to collecting resources for effective use of the internet in the classroom. They will also be provided some useful search techniques utilizing Google. Time will be provided for them to surf the web, bookmark sites, highlight important text, and examine other's bookmarks. Teachers seasoned in 21st century teaching techniques will help act as guides.

Producer: Teachers will be trained on the use of free website generators such as Free Webs or Weebly and encouraged to create a website for their classroom. This website would provide a course overview, valuable resources for students and a forum or blog section where they could experiment with posing questions for student reflection and discussion. After creating the site, they would visit sites created by other teachers and post suggestions/reflections/links in their forum or blog. This would help provide a non-threatening way to experience the read/write web.

Policy Adviser: Following their experience with web 2.0 tools, teachers would be encouraged to discuss the implication these tools would have on their courses. They would be encouraged to discuss modifications that would have to be made and what changes could be made at the institutional level to support the implementation of 21st century learning environments (namely access to laptops, an appropriate AUP...). A wiki will be created as a place for participants to post their ideas.

Integrator: Teachers will work in small groups to modify a couple of their existing lessons in order to harness the interactive nature of the read/write web. The longterm plan would have them implement the lesson and reflect on the benefits offered by the web 2.0 tools.

There certainly are a lot of logistical aspects that need to be sorted out, but with proper support and commitment to change, I believe many naysayers can be enlightened to the educational benefits of the Internet (does that sound fascist?). It is our responsibility as parents and teachers to educate ourselves on these 21st century tools, so that we can help guide students on effective ways to use technology. In the end, if we do assign kids the label, "The Dumbest Generation", they are not to blame; it will have been our own lack of support, guidance, and understanding.


References:
Lynch, M. and Johan, C. Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticizing (2004). Reflection types: Chapter 9. Reflection in self-organized systems. Retrieved 6/4/08 from http://epress.anu.edu.au/info_systems/mobile_devices/ch09s03.html

Richardson, W. (June 2008). Not the "Dumbest Generation". Retrieved 6/7/08 from http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/not-the-dumbest-generation/

Warlick, D. (May 2008). Another Naysayer Stirs the Pot. Retrieved 6/7/08 from http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/archives/1459

Reflection #3

The Educational Technology course has heightened my awareness to the discrepancy between the Acceptable Use Policy in my high school and the district’s initiative to incorporate technology into the curriculum. We are encouraged to restructure our classrooms to allow for more authentic learning environments, while the school continues to operate as it has for the past several decades.

Several faculty members discussed this quirk in the system when we first began integrating laptops into our classes. Our unprecedented access to technology makes many of the current rules antiquated. Students quickly took advantage of the loophole presented by the new initiations with technology and our administration’s lack of action. Students who would have quickly squirrel their cell phones or iPods away when they saw a teacher last year now walk through the hall with one ear bud in while texting their friends. This change in character happened almost overnight when the bulk of the Classrooms for the Future carts rolled out at the turn of the semesters.

It has led to a frustrated student body, faculty, and administration. Students perceive there is a double standard: that it is okay to have an iPod in one class but not in another; that it is okay to use their laptop on one class and not in the next. Some faculty members interpret the student handbook as the letter of the law which is to be enforced at all times and others see it as an outdated document in which they are forced to pick-and-choose the rules to be enforced. The administration does not want to rewrite the handbook during the year, wants rules to be enforced, but would prefer if teachers could handle the majority of the issues. We are a building limping along at the end of the year with many unresolved issues that must be fixed before next fall.

An email from a fellow colleague perhaps best describes the frustration of the more traditional teacher toward this change. The email was entitled “Cell phones, ipods”:

“We do have policies in place and administration has backed us up when students are referred (perhaps not EVERY time - but I have had a majority of good results). There is a lot of room for improvement on all sides - but as teachers we REALLY need to start holding the line. When we let kids do what they want all year and then get angry when things falls apart at the end of the year, we really are not doing anyone any favors. We need to prepare our students to be productive and respectful citizens - to do that, we have to expect them to be mature and follow the rules…. You [teachers not enforcing iPod/cell phone rules] are making the school unsafe and making it tougher for the rest of us to keep things orderly and safe.”

Many teachers are of the opinion that there is no place for cell phones and iPods in school. Their major complaint is that students will use these devices to cheat. I would suggest it is not the access to these devices that needs to be addressed, but our entire philosophy of education. We must build a culture where not only our rules of conduct match realistic expectations, but where the entire learning environment is more realistic. The Innovative Educator, a blog by Lisa Nielson (PD manager for the Office of Instructional Technology for the NYC DOE) discusses that the classroom must change from a “know what” environment based on producing the correct answer to a “know where” environment that emphasizes how to find, evaluate, and analyze information.

I have also included a link to an article that discussed how some schools are harnessing the power of iPods to engage students:
“In Some Schools, iPod are Required Listening”

Just came across this blog post by Will Richardson that I thought was appropriate to my reflection. The blog post is entitled: Adapting to Change

Student Supply/Demand Videos

My junior/senior economics class was tasked throughout this quarter with creating a business, deciding what product to sell, finding out the market demand for the product, and examining how market factors shift supply and demand. The most recent project was to create a video that displayed their product, the equilibrium point, and shifts in supply/demand. I have posted links to their videos below. Please take some time to watch the videos and post your comments in Youtube for the students.

Thanks

Jim

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4


Also, if you have a moment, take a look at the following Wiki created by a group of Honors juniors for a Modern American History class. Please leave any feedback I can pass on to the group: Art as Propaganda