My Beauty Best Teacher

Last summer I decided to earn an extra few bucks by teaching a summer school class called Global Studies. Global Studies class is supposed to be a survey of the countries of the world, and touch on their geography, history, economic systems, and current political issues. It's a good class, and gives kids a nice introduction to world history, US history, comparative government, and geography. In my mind, I saw this class as an opportunity to teach kids about the history and issues facing every country in the world- oh, I know it would just be an overview, but it would still give me a real chance to teach kids. I was very excited to teach it at first. Then I met with the teacher who taught in full time during the year who showed me the way the class was supposed to be taught.

The first unit that was to be taught in the class was Africa. I'd already done some background research for this class and put together a binder of stuff that I wanted to talk about with Africa- the geography of the area, an overview of the history of the continent, talk about the types of governments found on the continent, and finally expose students to some of the modern issues facing Africa. I told the other teacher all about my ideas, the projects I'd planned, the lectures I was going to give, the articles students could read, and all the fun stuff we'd learn.

The other teacher listened to me talk about my plans for the class with a bored look on her face. At the end of my excited talk about my lessons, she looked at me and said "that’s nice work, but this is how we teach this unit.” She was around 40, and had been teaching this particular class full-time for almost 20 years- about 200 kids a year went through her class, which means that she'd had time to touch over 4000 kids so far. The way that she taught this unit was to give the students a textbook that they were to use and a worksheet packet to work on. That's how she wanted me to teach the unit.

"Okay, we'll use the book and the worksheets, but I'd also like to talk about other things too," I said, disgusted, but needing the paycheck from this job.

"Good," she said, "I also spice things up in the class. Our department has approved the following additional materials to be used in addition to the textbook." She handed me packets about racial issues, articles about the bad effects of colonialism, biographies of 'great' African leaders like Mandala and Mogube, a lecture on shamanism, a project on apartheid, and pictures of rain forests. "This is it," she said, "at the end of this unit, make sure that students understand that Africa is poor, starving, illiterate, black, and hopeless due to the oppression of white colonial powers."

Stunned by the one-sided nature of this unit, I sat in silence. Mistaking my silence for approval, she continued "If you want to do something really fun, in years past we've set up a charity in school to divert money from rich spoiled white kids to the poor people of Africa."

I found my breath again, and somehow managed to keep my anger in check as I hissed "Isn't this all just rather empty jargon? Where is the educating about the real history of Africa? Why is no time set aside to study the true nature of political and economic systems in Africa? Isn't this class just one that perpetuates stereotypes and promotes a shallow understanding of the issues that Africa faces?"

The other teacher looked at me in surprise, and then she frowned, and said "Just stick to the curriculum and don’t change it.” With that, I was dismissed.

I took whatever this teacher gave me, threw it in the garbage, and taught the class the way I wanted it taught. My 20 kids learned the history, geography, economic and political systems, and current issues facing Africa, and then Asia, and then Europe, South America, and every part of the world.

The next year, I wasn't asked back.

If you've been following my Twitter in the Classroom series, you know it's time for {Part 3}! (Catch up {Part 1} and {Part 2} here, if you need to!)

Here are our {Part 3} discussion topics, if you're ready:

• Tweet Suggestions (For Teachers)
• Twitter Projects/Activities (For Students)

Tweet Suggestions (For Teachers)

Here are some suggestions for things you can tweet to your student/parent audience:

1. Reminders about assignments that are due or upcoming quizzes/exams/projects. 
2. Reminders about snow days, picture days, sporting events, field trips, spirit days, etc. 
3. School events and/or their outcomes (plays, musicals, art shows, academic meets, etc.) -- especially ones where your school won/did well or is playing a rival!
4. Hints about how to complete an assignment or project.
5. Bonus points that can only be aquired through Twitter. (I've tweeted, "Go to the class website and scroll to the bottom of the page. The first student to describe to me the newest object at the bottom of that page gets 5 bonus points." The purpose of this, of course, was to get students to view the class website and the newest important tool on it!)
6. Helpful websites that could assist them academically (StarFall, CliffNotes, Online Calculator, etc.)
7. Apple/Blackberry, Android apps they might find helpful. (I recently tweeted about Flashcards+ and Sundry Notes!)
8. Books you recommend (I always have some students who have a hard time finding something interesting to read. I read books from my classroom library and tweet short blurbs to interest students in the book!)
9. Vocabulary words/definitions in a Word of the Day (#WOTD) format.
10. A poll to help your classroom/planned lessons (I recommend using Twtpoll!)
11. Exit ticket answers. (If students ask a question on an exit ticket, you could answer it on Twitter. This allows everyone to benefit from the answers without taking up any class time. Afterwards, you could copy/paste the updates and post the dialogue on your classroom website so those that couldn't access Twitter at the time can still get the knowledge. (For instance, I did exit tickets after an introductory lesson about courtroom trials, since my students would be conducting a trial about the characters in a book we'd just read. Some students were still confused on the process of the courtroom, and I gave them a chance to anonymously ask any question they still had. I answered these questions on Twitter, and it was a hit!
12. Motivational/inspirational quotes

Twitter Projects/Activities (For Students)

For all of these activities, there are a couple of ways you, the teacher, can keep track of students' answers and assess, if need be.

1. The main way is to create a hashtag just for your class. For instance, I might specify #MrsKEng1 for my 1st hour English class. From that point forward, if I wanted to find my students' tweets, I just type #MrsKEng1 in the search bar and read away! (Certain Twitter apps allow you to save search terms for quick retrieval. Just something to check into!)
2. Another option is to create student lists. You can create a list for all of your students, and then divide them by class and/or subject. When you want to read their tweets, just click on the name of the list on your right sidebar. 
3. Ask students to "mention" you in every single classroom-related tweet. 

With that in mind, here are some projects/activities I've thought of that use Twitter in the Classroom:

1. Schedule a chat. For instance, I might specify the #MrsKEng1 hashtag and assign a start time of  7 pm. Ideally, at 7 pm, students would log on and use the search box to find our class's hashtag. We can then have an online discussion of classroom topics outside the walls of our classroom. Whether you make this an actual assignment or an extra credit activity is, of course, up to you. You could discuss anything from an in-class topic to a President's speech on television to a movie you all went to see!
2. Peer-to-peer tutoring. Encourage parents/students to tweet questions. Other students/parents could check the hashtag and answer peer's questions. We learn best when we teach! I'd definitely suggest monitoring this activity to ensure that all questions are answered accurately.
3. Exit ticket. At the end of class, ask students to whip out their cell phones and tweet a quick exit comment/question to the cyber-world. Hopefully, these tweets generate a discussion or other students answering their peers' questions. (Of course, you would want to make sure all students had access to texting before you proceeded with this experiment. I've heard that you can use Google functions to text, but I haven't tested it yet.) You also get a quick evaluation of who understands the material.
4. Summary of the day. Whether you've just taught a math lesson or you've just finished another chapter in the class novel, students can tweet a 140-character summary of the day's lesson. In order to make assessment easier, you might consider having students either tweet this as a "reply" or include the class hashtag. (Just so you know, both options lessen the number of allowed characters/tweet.) Students could "re-teach" the jist of today's lesson. 
5. Short answer quiz questions. Of course, <140-characters/tweet is a short short answer! But if you're able to explain/answers something in such a short and concise manner, you're probably more likely to understand it.
6. Twitter as bellwork. This feeds off the last suggestion, but immediately upon entering the room, there will be questions or a discussion prompt on the board (or tweeted by you). Students must respond to the question(s)/discussion prompt while you take care of those mundane "house-keeping" duties (attendance, lunch count, etc).
7. Summary of text. After reading a chapter in a novel or expository textbook, ask students to tweet  summary of what they just read. 
8. Timeline report. Follow a celebrity or company and track their tweets over time. Then write a report over their day-to-day life. This could work as a biography project or even for a business class. 
9. Find students in another school/state/country with whom your students can tweet back and forth. It would be challenging to convey all information in 140-character segments, but that might create more concise writers. 
10. Create a class story. One student can start by tweeting the beginning line to a story. Students then take turns to tweet a class story, one line at a time. This collaborative project works on writing skills, creativity, and sharing.
11. Getting to know you. As a back to school activity, ask students to describe themselves in 160-characters or less. If students' Twitter usernames weren't easily recognizable, you could even play a game where students must guess which student belongs with which tweet!
12. Character tweet. After reading a novel, students can pick a character from the story and tweet, say, 5 status updates throughout the day. Each status update should be written in the 1st person format, as if the student were actually the character. 
13. Historical tweet. Feeding off the previous suggestion, you could ask students to pick a person from history and impersonate them on Twitter throughout the day. What would Abe Lincoln have to say if Twitter was available during his time? A website called Historical Tweets might help with this!
14. Hashtag timeline. Monitor the hashtags over a period of time to see the trends of our society. This would be great for a history or current events class. 
15. Hashtag quick write. On a random day, write the current trending topics on the board. Ask students to write about a curtain hashtag either individually or as a group. They could write their thoughts, create a story, etc.
16. Personal story. Using the 3 parts of a story, ask students to write an entire story in 420-characters or less (140 for the beginning, 140 for the middle, and 140 for the end). 
17. Micro-research paper. Ask students to create a micro-research paper using the Twitter guidelines. The intro paragraph must be 140-characters, the thesis must be 140-characters, the first paragraph.... you get the idea. Each part of the micro-paper must comply with Twitter character count rules. 
18. Spelling race. Tell students a word in class and see who can tweet the correct spelling the most quickly. (You could also do this for math problems, science/history trivia questions, etc.)
19. Vocab race. Tweet a word and see who can reply with the correct definition the most quickly...or vice versa.
20. Vocab sentences. Tweet a word and ask students to reply with a tweet that uses that vocab word correctly in a sentence. 
21. Synonym game. Call out a word and ask students to tweet synonyms.
22. Book club. Students tweet book blurbs in an effort to get other kids to read great books.
23. Attendance. Some days, give yourself a break from taking attendance and do it on Twitter. My suggestions: use the bellwork response tweets as a way to take attendance. You may still need to double-check this one because of two main reasons: 1) present students could text the bellwork question to an absent classmate, who would then tweet the bellwork in a timely manner. 2) Present students who don't participate would be counted absent. :-/

 I'm all tapped out of ideas for now. What suggestions do you guys have? 


Continue: Twitter for the Classroom {Part 4}

A lot of teachers struggle with classroom management. If you teach, you know that managing your student's behaviors can be like walking a tightrope! There are lots of management ideas out there (some of which I listed in this post and this post), and it's wonderful to be aware of all of them, just so you know what your options are.
Anyway, I was blog-hopping, and I happened to come across this post from Miss B, Busy Bee about ClassDojo. The behavior-managing website looked so amazing that I decided to try it for myself. After I signed up, I realized it was really something that needed to be shared with other educators, so... here's my blog post about it! 
It is completely free because it's in its beta stage, but I read that there is limited sign-up available during the beta stage, so you might want to jump over there now and sign up!

The website is called ClassDojo. Like I said, it's a behavior management tool. I think this could be used for elementary or secondary students, which I know is pretty rare.
Besides it being free, here are some other perks to ClassDojo:

1. ability to add multiple classes (with individual students in each one)
2. ability to add a list of positive behaviors and negative behaviors to track
3. ability to project the running tallys of behaviors on a whiteboard/smartboard so that students can see results in real time
4. ability to record data from any computer in the room (including smartphones or tablets!)
5. ability to create a color-coded graph of the overall day for the class in one click
6. ability to create a color-coded graph of the overall day for one student in one click
7. ability to print/e-mail said graph to anyone who needs it (parents? principal?)
8. ability to view each behavior throughout the day for each individual student. Can also comment on the day to clarify each behavior further, if needed. 
9. ability to change the avatar picture next to student names (would be especially great for subs, if you allowed them to use ClassDojo while in your room -- no need for a manual seating chart or worrying about whether or not kids will try to switch seats!). This is a free feature if you recommend ClassDojo to someone else (I e-mailed a suggestion to a beloved colleague of mine), or you can pay $3 for this feature. You could upload students' actual pictures OR you could sort them into groups based on your school's yearly theme. For instance, I know a school that separates students into 2 major groups. Their theme for this year is "Under the Sea," and they have named their students Starfish and Stingrays. You could upload a starfish graph for each student in that group and so on. The possibilities are really endless...
10. ability to vote for new features! (From what I can tell, ClassDojo really pays attention to the voting and puts a lot of suggestions into action! I can get on board with that customer service!)

This behavior management system seems fairly simplistic to me, and I love that you can print/e-mail the class graph or an individual student's daily behavior, if needed! I cannot wait to try out this website.

Here are a few screenshots, in case you're curious. ClassDojo sets up a demo class for you so you can get used to the set up. I used the demo class to take my screenshots so I could keep student information private. :)

A class view of my pre-loaded Demo class, complete with instructions.

Overall performance of the class in a graph. Red = negative behavior. Green = positive behavior. I just clicked randomly on my Demo class.

Megan had a hard day in Mrs. K's class today! lol. But this is her personal graph. Notice at the bottom that I have the ability to make it visible to a parent or other teachers, and that I can comment on her behavior to clarify, if needed!

What do you think about ClassDojo? Will you use it, or do you already have a stellar management system in place? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

In college, one of the classes that I didn't like was a class called "Political Economy." The class was an attempt to indoctrinate students with the ideas that the market economy could be controlled, and teach us political science students the phony tools for 'controlling' the market and taming it to the whims of politicians. Class after class I got into an argument with my professor, claiming that the class was a sham, that you can't 'tame' or 'control' the market, only distort it for gain by favored classes. I argued over and over that a political economy was an un-American economy, and was a nice way of saying 'a socialist economy.'

The last day of class, my professor's true colors did come out- our final exam question was "Describe the one form of government that can solve all the worlds economic, environmental, and social class problems." Since I wanted to pass the class (my professor disagreed with me all year so gave me a failing grade on every paper), I wrote a brilliant glowing essay on the joys of communism- good old fashioned Lenin communism- and got an "A" (4.0). I hated that class, and everything it represented.

Today from Charles Krauthammer, who writes for the Washington Post, comes this article called "Come to grips with politicized economy." Here is what he wrote:

In the old days -- from the Venetian Republic to, oh, the Bear Stearns rescue -- if you wanted to get rich, you did it the Warren Buffett way: You learned to read balance sheets. Today you learn to read political tea leaves. You don't anticipate Intel's third-quarter earnings; instead, you guess what side of the bed Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will wake up on tomorrow.

Today's extreme stock market volatility is not just a symptom of fear -- fear cannot account for days of wild market swings upward -- but a reaction to meta-economic events: political decisions that have vast economic effects.

As economist Irwin Stelzer argues, we have gone from a market economy to a political economy.

In the rest of his article, he talks about how the words of politicians now change the market, more so than supply or demand, profits or losses, or a healthy bottom line. Here is his conclusion:

We may one day go back to a market economy. Meanwhile, we need to face the two most important implications of our newly politicized economy: the vastly increased importance of lobbying and the massive market inefficiencies that political directives will introduce.

Lobbying used to be about advantages at the margin -- a regulatory break here, a subsidy there. Now lobbying is about life and death. Your lending institution or industry gets a bailout -- or it dies.

You used to go to New York for capital. Now Wall Street, broke, is coming to Washington. With unimaginably large sums of money being given out by Washington,
the Obama administration, through no fault of its own, will be subject to the most intense, most frenzied lobbying in American history. That will introduce one kind of economic distortion. The other kind will come from the political directives issued by newly empowered politicians.

First, bank presidents are gravely warned by one senator after another about "hoarding" their bailout money. But hoarding is another word for recapitalizing to shore up your balance sheet to ensure solvency. Is that not the fiduciary responsibility of bank directors? And isn't pushing money out the window with too little capital precisely the lending laxity that produced this crisis in the first place? Never mind. The banks will knuckle under to the commissars of Capitol Hill. They control the purse. Prudence will yield to politics.

Even more egregious will be the directives to a nationalized Detroit. Sen. Charles Schumer, the noted automotive engineer, declared "unacceptable" last week "a business model based on gas." Instead, "We need a business model based on cars of the future, and we already know what that future is: the plug-in hybrid electric car."

The Chevy Volt, for example? It has huge remaining technological hurdles, gets 40 miles on a charge and will sell for about $40,000, necessitating a $7,500 outright government subsidy. Who but the rich and politically correct will choose that over a $12,000 gas-powered Hyundai? The new Detroit churning out Schumer-mobiles will make the steel mills of the Soviet Union look the model of efficiency.

The ruling Democrats have a choice: Rescue this economy to return it to market control. Or use this crisis to seize the commanding heights of the economy for the greater social good. Note: The latter has already been tried. The results are filed under "History, ash heap of."

My prediction- the ruling Democrats, who control us slaves of the state, will distort the market in the name of the 'social good' and create a country that is inefficient, where houses are more expensive and yet worse less, where companies do poorly and their stocks suffer, where banks go under with political pressure, where services suffer, and goods are more expensive and lower quality. In the name of the greater social good, Democrats will take away our liberty and make our nation a poorer place in which to live- in every meaningful way.

If you haven't already read Twitter for the Classroom {Part 1}, it might be worth looking at! :)

But if you've read it and are ready for more info about this amazing little classroom tool, read on!

Our {Part 2} discussion topics:

• Why I Advocate for Twitter in the Classroom
• 5 Personal Success Stories from Using Twitter in the Classroom

Why I Advocate for Twitter in the Classroom

• Twitter is free to use. It doesn't cost anything to register or use on a computer. The only way it would cost money if you're using the texting feature is if you don't have a text messaging plan. The only way it would cost money if you're using it on an application (on a mobile device) is if you opt to purchase the app that costs money. There are plenty of free Twitter apps available!
• Twitter is easy to use. Everything is pretty self-explanatory, so even the students who aren't proficient in technology can muddle their way through Twitter. If a user is having a particularly hard time figuring Twitter out, he/she can explore the Twitter FAQ section. 
• Because the limits are set extravagantly high (250 direct messages/day, 1,000 updates/day, and 2,000 followers before error messages occur), there's no way a teacher would ever "go over" the allotted limited, like what might happen if you're using a paid subscriber service through another company. 
• Because the limits are so high, parents, grandparents, and other family members can follow the class Twitter with no repercussions. This helps entire families stay connected, even though they may be states away!
• Students who don't have the Internet at home can use a computer to set up his/her Twitter one time, and then he/she can access it via cell phone and text message or mobile device and app.
• Students or parents who are worried about getting tweets during school or sleep hours can manually set which times to allow Twitter to send updates. 
• There are features to ensure that students who do not want to be contacted by people beyond the "approved followers list" will get the privacy they need. 
• Because it's a social networking site, students can find each other on Twitter and collaborate online -- both for assignments in my class and for other classes!
• Because it's a social networking site, students can follow other educational Twitters or students from across the world to gain cultural, educational, or career insight.
• Students can easily reply to you. If you tweet something that doesn't make sense, a student can reply immediately and ask a question. When you tweet something that requires an answer, students can answer via reply tweet. (This has come in handy for me on several occasions!)
• Shy kids get a voice. A kid who might be too shy to ask/tell you something in class may have no problem voicing it online. (There is something about a keyboard and a screen that makes humans automatically become a little more courageous.)
• Today's society does not have a long attention span. Twitter's quick, 140-character messages are perfect for sending out small but important doses of information!
• There are several Twitter-based projects for classroom use that I think would work well to teach and engage students. {Learn more about those in Part 3!}
• Teachers can relay a wealth of information via text, picture, or video link. {Learn more about these in Part 3!}

 5 Personal Success Stories from Using Twitter in the Classroom

1. When I taught 8th grade, I had a young lady who was involved in pretty much every club, sport, and organization the school had to offer. Every Thursday night, I had a habit of tweeting a reminder to study for the vocab quiz that would take place the following day. At the end of the year, this student revealed to me that my Thursday night updates were very helpful to her. She would inevitably be on the bus, coming home from yet another after school, extra-curricular event, and her phone would buzz. It would be Twitter, sending her a message from with the reminder about the quiz. She would immediately study the words the rest of the way home...and she nearly always made an A or a B on the quizzes! I like that she was able to use our classroom updates as a reminder/calendar service of sorts. 
2. Also when I was teaching 8th grade, I had a boy who would sit in the back corner of the room and refuse to participate in anything. Most days, I had to wonder if he was even conscious. I'd learned a long time ago that asking him to sit up or participate would just lead to a verbal escapade...which would then lead to me sending him tot he office to calm down...he would get In-School Detention (which did nothing for him), and come back to class the same as ever. This was one of my "pick your battles" moments. My class was reading a novel, and although the novel was on his desk, I was pretty sure he wasn't listening or following along. One night I sent a tweet to the effect of, "if you're bored with the novel, hang on! Tomorrow's chapter gets exciting!" Class the next day came and went, and he never said a word. But that night, I tweeted to my students to ask them what they thought of that "exciting" chapter. He actually replied, "I don't like reading, but you were right. That chapter was good!" ...And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I teach. :) I would have never even know he was paying attention had he not sent me that message. It renewed my spirits and I was able to use Twitter to draw him into the classroom novel discussions. 
3. Also while teaching 8th grade, I had a parent who was very concerned about the well-being and success of her son. Her son rarely opened up to her, but she was desperate for a glimpse into his personal and school life. I helped her connect to the class Twitter, and she was able to see all of our state updates. Doing this helped ease the tension between her and her son because she no longer had to pry information out of him (about my class, anyway)! 
4. I was  having trouble with my classes saying rude things. I genuinely believed those students meant no harm in saying what they did; they simply didn't know or didn't think about how bad the words sounded before letting it escape their lips. So I was on this kick about tweeting "life lessons" and "character motivations." One Tuesday night, I randomly tweeted that our first "Wednesday Challenge" would begin the next day. Their first challenge was to say something nice to every person they talked to that day. No students reply or mentioned it in class that morning. I spoke to a fellow teacher at the end of school, and she said one of her students (we'll call him "R") said something strange in class. He's normally a very quiet kid, but today, he was complimenting all the girls. The coworker asked, "what's gotten into you today, R?" He smiled and said, "It's part of Mrs. K's Wednesday Challenge!" ....Are you getting those "warm 'n fuzzies" yet???
5. One evening, I tweeted something about challenging my students to do something nice for a stranger over the weekend., and included a #PayItForward hashtag. One of my kids replied, asking what "pay it forward" means. I got the opportunity to explain the concept. That term would probably have never come up in my day-to-day teaching, because, let's face it, I'm too swamped trying to cover the massive English objectives to be concerned with teaching my students the "pay it forward" concept in class. But social skills are an issue, and they need to be taught! So I was able to squeeze in that little "mini lesson" to all that followed the class Twitter. And even though I replied to that one student about the meaning of "pay it forward," all the other students could read the reply, so I felt like I was explaining it to them, too.  

Continue: Twitter in the Classroom {Part 3}

Software should be viewed holistically, in my opinion. I know that in 4 years most of my students will not be using the same version of any software I teach. I do want them to have deep knowledge of many different programs, however, I want them to know that no matter what software or "apps" come their way that they are able to take the app, understand the app's purpose, an utilize it in a functional way in a very short period of time.

Instead of the standard 4 software application program 2 semester program that I ran 10 years a go when I started this job, we start off with a bootcamp using software that I know they do not know. After learning a method of how to intuitively learn new software and viewing a video that introduces them to the concept of building a PLN, we embark on our "software exploration" project. I thought I'd share that with you today.


Software Exploration in a Nutshell

After introducing the ClickSmart method of learning new software  I have them set off to learn about new software and explore the software on the computers in our lab. (ClickSmart(tm) is a way I invented to look at software holistically- and yes, I need to publish that in detail - several publishers want to publish it but they want me to do things to the book I'm not willing to do so I WILL be self publishing hopefully sooner rather than later.)

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Before we began, I showed them the video about Dantae Thrash, the Evansville Indiana student who linked himself into the Lego Brick Filming online groups. We talked about help files built into software programs but the importance of building a Personal Learning Network when you have something you are passionate about. We pulled up a few message boards for on of our programs to show how to determine which message boards and forums have things going on, which do not, and how to join in.

It has been quite a fascinating journey and today will be their last presentations. Just wanted to give you an overview of the software that we've plowed through the three days in the first class (they had 2 days of prep time to explore and document the software in our class One Note notebook which doubles as our textbook.)

One Note Notebook
Below you can see the Online view of the One Note notebook. It has a little less functionality than the offline version but still means that students can access the information anywhere.

View on One Note notebook in Skydrive from a computer that does not have One Note Installed

We had a challenge signing up for Windows Live ID's -- Windows Live ID service only allows 2 people from one IP address to sign up for their service in a 24 hour period! It took us 2 weeks to get my 90+ students into our one note notebook!  You can, however, use Microsoft's Live@edu setup which is their alternative to Google Apps for Education. We've been on Google apps, though with no plans to switch at this point and so live@edu setup by importing a csv file was not for us. To work around this problem, the only solution they could offer was for me to bring in my mi-fi hotspot. I had students register on my iPad on the hotspot and reset the hotspot every 2 sign ups. YES, it was cumbersome. It is worth it for me, but I don't recommend it for you. Needless to say, we had a great discussion about IP addresses, spammers, and how the Internet routes data.

AFTER Windows works through this problem, I highly recommend that every class have their own class notebook. As much as I love Evernote for keeping my files, nothing compares to One Note for taking notes in class. If you want to link One Note on the ipad, the One Note app is decent but right now Mobile Noter is a better app for this.

You can see the project page for this assignment.

the software exploration assignment and on the left you can see some of the programs my students shared.

Blender - A student showed the basics of Blender, the 3D object creation software and also showed a famous movie filmed entirely in Blender. We discussed machinima. I noted that there is a lot of interest in this but mentioned how the mesh objects here could be exported and imported into our Open Sim Island and also the Jibe worlds that we'll be working with this year. (I'd like them to have their own 3D virtual world embeddable on a  web page in their personal portfolio using Jibe. Great tool.) The students agreed that this is definitely a higher end program. We also discussed Geometry and how the x,y,z axis are important in 3D work. They seemed surprised to see that Geometry had real-world uses.

Google Sketchup - Another 3D object creation tool, the students shared with their friends. The students LOVED how you can import 3D objects stored in the special google search engine for 3D objects. They were excited to pull in these objects and realized that they can export them into virtual worlds just like on Blender.

After this student presentation, I took the boat that they pulled in and figured out how to export as 2D (I wanted them to see how I figured this out as I haven't used Google Sketchup before) - I adjusted the camera a tiny bit and took about 10 pictures that I exported into a folder entitled "boat zoom" and pulled them into Pinnacle Studio to make a small 1 second clip zooming in on a boat. This was a demonstration of how easy it is to film machinima - just moving objects a small bit at a time and exporting the image. I think this is something they now see and feel is doable.

Audacity - This group demonstrated how to hook in our M-Audio Podcast Factory microphone into the computers and imported some audio and showed how to record over, edit the voice, remove things, and apply filters. They also demonstrated how to run an instrument app on an ipad or ipod Touch and record into audacity.

(I had to take a side trail and talk about what a male to male, male to female, etc. cables are and how to tell and ask for them -- it is a 'fact of life' that they need to understand the different kinds of cables (pardon the pun)).

I have to get a splitter so they can hear what they are recording as they are recording it because for some reason our MAudio box isn't letting us record the ipod/ ipad through the mixer box although you can hear it through the headphones. The presenters shared a song that they had remixed and I talked about how the award winning cheerleading squad from last year had mixed their own music in the computer lab using audacity.

We also spent time talking about DRM protection and a student with an ipad shared some about mixing in Garage Band on the ipad and Mac and how it is different from Audacity. We also talked about how to understand file extensions and look up what various types of files are. (This takes CONSTANT reinforcement.)

TuxGuitar - This group went all out. This program is for writing sheet music off of guitars and was a new one for me. You play the guitar shown on the screen and the program writes sheet music. This team also showed how to find midi music and import into Tux Guitar and to turn off and on tracks. We then hooked the computer with Tux Guitar into another computer running audacity and they realized how they could write, edit, use midi files on one computer and then record the track into another.

Synthesia - This game was brought in by the Tux Guitar students. They had learned everything about Tux Guitar and wanted to bring in this program. This teach-yourself piano game uses the computer keyboard but could use a real keyboard. They talked about how you can learn how to play almost any instrument.

So, I took them to one of my favorite Kevin Honeycutt videos about using the ipod/ iphone as an instrument. We discussed the evolution of music.

Whew! Just two days. Note that all of them have screenshots and instructions for the "computer user manual" we have built in one note.

Then, we went into photography with Picasa, learning how to take pictures on our webcam and a discussion about resolution (or rez), Picnik (the online photo editor integrated with Picasa) and also about the sort of scary "Face finder" service now integrated into Picasa. We discussed how our Face is now a fingerprint of a sort.

 We then moved into Skype. It was fun on the Skype session as I have the whole class get up on Skype. This is important to me because if I am ever out of town or home sick (or home taking care of a sick child which is more often the case,) I am able to skype into class to help students with issues. I'm really always "there." We learn how to group skype, but then I take my iPad and three boys into the library and have them skype back to the class. Then, I give them permission to take the class on a 4 minute tour and they take my ipad around and say hello to the librarian, the teacher coming from the copier. We discuss the mobility of VIDEO connection. This is a fun conversation.

Oovoo - The students asked that I install Oovoo on several computers because they wanted to compare and contrast Skype with oovoo which lets you do 12 way video chat. The kids say they really like Oovoo and are using it heavily.

Google Plus - Seeing some similarities between Oovoo and Google plus, it was then that I took them into Google Plus and ended up with a whole side conversation about tagging people. (See My Google+ Lesson Turned into a Whole Lot More than I had planned.)

We are just getting into the other class but I'm excited that three of our young ladies have jumped into Scratch and are loving it. They will teach the class today.

What is the purpose?
Before this, I have already laid the groundwork of my paperless classroom, how to print to PDF from word or any application, how to open into Google docs and save down from Google docs. How to move files around and organize them.

With this project, I am:

1. What is this class of students interested in? How do I reach them
2. Do they already have any prior knowledge of a program that I can build upon
3. Can they learn to use forums and help resources when they have no prior knowledge? If not, I guide them in the learning process about how to FIND resources and people when they don't have prior knowledge.
4. I set the stage for students-as-teacher and discuss presentation skills.
5. I let them start and share with each other and then I build upon that with certain things I want them to know.
6. We set the stage for super fast student-empowered learning where the tool is less important than finding a tool that will do what you want. The artifact we are trying to create becomes more important than the program we are using.

Surely, such planning seems like chaos to many, however, since I've started the year with this, I've found that I'm spending less time at the front of the room droning on and more time actually getting into the meat of the projects that make this such a fun class to teach.

I want them to be master of technology NOT the other way around.

Where this will lead.

The Freshman Project
I've gotten approval for a "Freshman project" of the student's own deciding due next May that will take 30-50 hours of time (I will give 30 hours of class time) that will be self-directed independent projects of the student's own choosing. This is modeled after the "senior project" idea in Evansville, Indiana that inspired DanTae in the video at the top of this blog post.

We must find student interests and help relate technology to turbo charge their careers and lives before they even graduate.


Flawed and imperfect as it is, the 6 class days required to do this activity start my year well and with a powerful message that we are in this together. Learning together.

Pushing forward into a future that is not yet written we will lead and no longer complain when our software is upgraded on us because we have powerful decoding skills that will let us master any app in our digital destiny.

When I was in middle school, chatrooms were all the rage for the kids. For the parents and teachers, however, they evoked feelings of dread and doom. These feelings were mostly brought on because of fear of cyber-bullying and/or other illegal, adult activities. Because of this, I have to admit that I was a little bit wary about recommending a chatroom to teachers and students. But I've found two really great (and free!) ways to to have a chatroom discussion, and I think they're worth sharing!

Souce

 Today's Meet
Today's Meet is a virtual chatroom that is free to open and operate. You're automatically directed to start a chatroom when you log in, and it's SUPER SIMPLE to get one up and running. You don't even have to register with the website before you open and operate your chatroom. On this one, everyone can dictate how long their chat room stays open, up to one year's time. (This could be useful if you wanted to keep the same chatroom open all year long!) The layout is very, very simple. You can check it out for yourself by visiting the test chatroom I created. Feel free to join in on the chat! :)

I don't even see an option for a "paid" subscription. This has pros and cons, of course, but that means that what you see is what you get with Today's Meet. It's so simple to use, even a caveman can do it! (OK, forgive the corny Geico joke. lol.) In order to share your Today's Meet chatroom with your students (or parents!), you can copy/paste the URL at the top of your browser, OR you can go to the bottom left-hand corner and tweet/post the short link that's displayed. Please note that you must have the ability to see/play Java-related programs through your internet browser in order to participate in Today's Meet.

Seriously. Look how simple this is!

Chatzy
Chatzy is another virtual chatroom that is free to open and operate. Like most other free websites, there are options to pay a little bit per month in exchange for fancier customization, but I'll get to that in a second.

Chatzy allows you to create a chat room without even registering your e-mail address. You can limit who comes into the room by only giving the chatroom link to certain people (i.e. your students). For free users, you're allowed a limited number of people in your room at a time, which stinks, but you could always open up several free rooms if you're trying to avoid that fee! Here's the link to the test Chatzy chatroom I created.

You can see that my name appears in orange; I chose that. You can have users appear in different colors to try to keep some organization in the room (which I love). The free room is limited to 10 users at a time, so I wanted to use the free rooms with my students, I would just create three rooms per class of students and make my input always appear orange so that there is some type of consistency and I am easy to find. Besides changing the color of each user in the room, there are several other customization options that I find nice! One thing I don't like is that users who want to contribute to the chatroom must be taken to a different screen every time they want to add their comments. In a chatroom with quick typists, the conversation will probably lag quite a bit, as people aren't able to see the comments AS they're writing their own. It would be annoying, but I think for this low price (FREE) I could deal with it! Please note that you must have the ability to see/play Java-related programs through your internet browser in order to participate in Chatzy.

Of course, you're always encouraged to register your e-mail address with the website. Once you register, you have some other options....namely premium options. You can read more about the Chatzy premium features and prices on this page. 

How to Use Chatrooms in the Classroom

If your students have laptops with them at all times during school, they could have the chatroom open on their computers while they're doing independent work. Although it would probably feel a little silly to me to have students communicate via computer rather than just voicing it when you're in the same room, this would definitely keep the noise level down!

The best way, I think, to use a chatroom in conjunction with your classroom is to ask that the students log on at home.

I would probably use this as a before-the-test Q&A session. The day before the test (or maybe even starting a week before...who knows!), I would create the chatroom and start posting the link in class and on our class Twitter. Anyone who thought of a question once they left my classroom would be welcome to log on and ask it.

You might also be able to use this as a component to "open house" night. In my hometown, my school has an "open house" night during the first week of school for all the parents to come to. The parents aren't necessarily coming to look at all the work their kid has done in the past week; they're coming to hear about expectations and upcoming projects their kid will be asked to do in each class. This is more popular at the elementary level, but could work at the secondary level, as well. In any case, if a parent was unable to come to the open house night, you might open the chatroom so he/she could chat from home or work and not miss any of the materials. You could even designate a parent to transcribe everything you're saying during open house onto the chat room, so that there's a live feed of the contents of open house night on the internet!

Similarly, if you had a parent that kept volunteering, but you couldn't think of anything for him/her to do, you could have her/him transcribe what's happening in class in a chatroom. That way, stay-at-home parents or grandparents could have a look into your classroom via live feed.

One more way to incorporate this would be to transcribe a guest speaker's presentation or the speech at an assembly. Parents/grandparents could see what is being said and would know what kind of questions to ask their student when the kid gets home! You could later log into the chatroom and discuss what you transcribed earlier that day!

Advantages of Using a Class Chatroom
1) Everyone sees everyone else's answers.
2) You won't have to answer the same question over and over again because everyone [who cares] will be watching when you type the answer the first time.
3) Kids who are shy in class may not be so shy once they have a keyboard and a screen to "protect" them.
4) You have written proof as to your conversation, and it's fairly easy to save it. You could put it into a Word doc and post it on your classroom website. You could even print it and post it in your classroom! This might save you from saying the same things over and over.
5) It's another communication option. (I don't think you can ever build enough bridges between the class and home!)

I had a professor in grad school who liked to use chat rooms before exams, and I think her class is what inspired me to say that I would primarily use it as a Q&A session before an exam. She had a chatroom that was open all the time, but she would send out messages saying when she, personally, would be there to answer questions. We were welcome to enter the chatroom and discuss group projects and/or study guides at any time, but she was only there a set number of hours (kind-of like office hours).  This was an online class and our only opportunity to speak with her in somewhat of a class scenario, but it worked well for her and us.

Try it and tell me how it works for you!

As an avid reader, someone who tries to read most of the well-known classics, I should love to visit English classes. Imagine a class where students read and discuss the great literature of the ages- Plato, Cicero, Mark Twain. Imagine students reading the great books and classic novels of the past, discussing the wisdom of our ancestors, analyzing timeless dilemmas and conflicts, being inspired by beautifully written literature, and passing on stories from age to age. What a great class that would be!

Sadly my recent visits to neighboring school districts showed me a different type of English class. In these English classes, students do not read and discuss the great literature of the ages- teachers feel that these books are racist or out-dated or un-PC or are simply too hard to read. In these modern English classes, the literature that is read and discussed is more modern day literature dominated by stories of discrimination, racism, and diversity. Students read the latest story of a black who experiences racism or something, and then discuss racism. Or they read the latest book about a woman who faces discrimination, and talk about that. Or they read about a poor person, or someone who loves trees, or some other leftist or liberal book.

The goal of English class is no longer to transmit the knowledge of the past, but now the goal of English class is to absorb the narrative of the liberal left. Students don't need to know who Tom Sawyer is or who Romeo is, but do need to know the cast of characters of the oppressed of the world and absorb the language and dialogue of the left. English class should now be called diversity training class.

A classic novel, deep in importance and history and forming the basis for many generations of America, is now thrown aside in favor of highly descriptive tales of the down-trodden of society. These choices are not meaningless. Think about the kinds of words that are read, the images that are formed in students mind, the discussions that are inspired. Are they motivated and inspired by Socrates, or by some depressing leftist jumbles of poorly written words dominated by messages prized by the liberal left?

English classes have indeed become a sad place.

Looking for a way for everyone in the class to give ideas or opinions on a certain topic? Looking for a way to do this that's a little more fun than just an in-class discussion? Also looking for some technology to spice up the "cool" factor? Look no further. Wiffiti might be the answer for you.

Wiffiti users can project a "message screen" onto the wall via projectors, and students can use their cell phones to text information to the message screen. All answers are displayed on the screen so everyone has a chance to contribute. Kids who normally are too shy to allow their voice to be heard can contribute ideas without speaking up and/or being overpowered by the louder students. All it takes is a cell phone with text-messaging capabilities. (Standard text messaging rates do apply, but since most students have unlimited text messaging packages, this shouldn't present too big of a problem.)


A teacher can register and make his/her own "message screens." You can customize the backgrounds and make one for each section of your classes if you like. Once your message screen is posted, the you'll receive a text code (a 6 digit code that works like a phone number) connected to that screen.

Once in class, the teacher can pull up the Wiffiti "message screen" and pose an open-ended question. This may be as simple as "what would be a good discussion question over ___ material?" or something more specific to your subject/topic. Students will use the text code and the text messaging feature in their cell phones to send their answers to the message screen!

After texting to the message screen once, students are assigned a random screen name (usually an animal/color/number combo). Users have the option to change his/her username (so you, the teacher, can identify them), or they can give the teacher the random screen name that was selected by Wiffiti (for grading/accountability purposes).

Let's rewind for a second. As soon as the teacher poses the question, all the students will text an answer to the text code connected to the message screen. As soon as the text is received by Wiffiti, the message appears on the message screen being projected on the wall. These messages appear to "float" around on the screen, and are continually replaced by newer messages. The messages that appear on the screen are limited to the people who have access to your text code. The username is also connected to the "floating message," so there is some level of accountability in what students text to the Wiffiti screen. This accountability could be great (peer pressure could work to encourage a non-participating student to participate, or for the class clown to write something serious and of value). On the flip side, this could also be negative (the class clown could benefit by texting his clever jokes to the message screen because he knows that everyone in the room will see it).

Of course, there is a risk of students texting for the wrong reasons or misusing the screen and making vulgar language appear in huge letters... *sigh* But again, we're back to the paper-and-pen example I gave a few posts ago: students can do "bad deeds" with pens and paper, but teachers don't take those away! We simply teach the students the proper etiquette for using it, and then move on. Technology may be the same way at first. (Of course, if students start using technology in the classroom at a young age, then less "netiquette" needs to be taught in the higher grades, which saves time...)

Anywho, I'm very intrigued by Wiffiti. It has been used at concerts, bars, and conferences in the past. Only recently has Wiffiti been an option for the classroom, but I'm liking what I see so far.

Perhaps if we allow students to use their cell phones for a set amount of time in class (for educational purposes only, of course) for certain activities, maybe the students wouldn't be so anxious to access their phones for non-educational things during class. I mean, as a teenager, if someone told you not to do something, what did you automatically want to do? Right. And if your teacher or parent suddenly encouraged you to do something, that thing magically lost almost all it's "cool appeal." Maybe if we band together and encourage texting in the classroom for educational purposes, maybe the appeal of social texting during class wouldn't be as high...

Hmm. Just food for thought. Tell me what you think!

Teaching is a noble calling. That is why when a teacher doesn't behave nobly it breaks trust and we get upset. I have to admit that I've had days as a "TT" (Terrible Teacher.) If we're honest with ourselves, we all have. It is usually when we're tired, grumpy or were woken up by a parent calling to complain about something we don't really agree with. But there are no excuses. As I've been teaching 10 years, I believe I have few days as a TT if any but there are certainly things I can improve upon

So, today, I'll share a few of the things I think make a teacher terrible.


Stop and Be Excellent
Some of you will be shocked that I've taken my positive tone out of this post. And I do have a positive message. The positive message is that when we go down the path to be a Terrible Teacher that we check ourselves and stop. That we remember our noble calling and be more. That we move ahead and focus on our students. We can't afford to be a terrible teacher to even one student.

Sometimes knowing what to do means we also know what NOT to do.


10- The teacher is always on their cell phone.
I have a new iPhone - today I'm locking it in my desk during class. Sure, I'm usually checking off my list or responding to a question for IT support at my school but my students don't know that. A cell phone in my hand, whatever I'm doing, says that someone out of the room is more important than the people who are in my room. That is a lie. When I'm teaching, they are the most important thing in the room. Nothing should be between me and them.

9 - The teacher is always on the computer or not paying attention.
Multitasking is a lie. You shouldn't be Facebooking, Tweeting, emailing, surfing, reading your PLN or anything during class - even during a test. You should be up and around in your classroom helping and TEACHING. They are paying you to teach, not hang out in a virtual teacher's lounge. Teaching is work. You need to be part of  your class. When you sit down at your desk and disengage with your students, you suck the energy out of your classroom.

I knew a student who used to sew on her sewing machine during class. As soon as she started sewing, the class knew they were "free." You are shocked at sewing but I see teachers doing this now with electronic devices. You are paid to be WITH and engaged with your students not doing something else.

8- The teacher is always losing his/her temper or is predictably dramatic.
I lose my temper 2-3 times a year - last year it was twice. Everyone knows it because it is rare. If you're losing your temper a lot you need to figure out why and get help. You might be tired or under a  lot of stress, but you are the adult. There is no reason for you to have to raise your voice or constantly lose your temper. It isn't good for you and it isn't good for the students. Teachers who are bullies should be ashamed of themselves.

The predictably dramatic could be when you get soooooooo mad you jump on your desk. The kids are shocked the first time and get quiet. But then, they start plotting. You have sealed your doom.

7- The Teacher shares private student information publicly
NEVER call grades out loud - even for the top students. It is embarrassing. Don't do it. It is a horrible thing when teachers do this. It is also horrible when you berate them in front of the class for ANYTHING. If you want to lose the respect of your class let them see you treat a classmate - even one they don't like- with disrespect. This isn't a contest and it isn't a reality show. Handle private things privately. Period.

6 - The teacher talks without stopping for more than 10 minutes (especially if monotone.)
Do you realize that after 20 minutes they are asleep? Imagine the principal from Ferris Bueller's day off. This sort of thing will kill the love of learning. Learn to listen for cues and watch for them. When quite a few kids start going to sleep DO SOMETHING. Vary your voice. Have them read. Ask a question. Extended lecture should be viewed as going through the motions of teaching for most students. Sleeping is not an option. I have made an exception when a child is getting over a loss or has something going on in their family but typically this is a no no for me.

5 - The Teacher only teaches with one method
Worksheets are so hard for many children. I have one child who really doesn't learn a thing from them. When a teacher sticks to only one modality he/she will teach the children who learn through that modality and everyone else will be "bad students." We can differentiate and we can use multiple modalities. Wanda the One Note Worksheet Wonder will kill the love of learning in a class of students who are auditory learners. Likewise if you only assess learning with tests, you're missing the point and you're probably also missing the learning that could happen.

4 - The teacher who only teaches "good" students and lets the "bad" students do their own thing.
Let me tell you something. A "good" student can learn alone in a room with a book and doesn't need a teacher. A good teacher can make a good student into a great one. But a good teacher also works to reach every child.

I know of a child with a significant LD who is now one of the most successful thoracic surgeons I know. I now an incredibly gifted graphic designers who has some of the leading Fortune 100 companies knocking on her door but was made to feel like an idiot because she couldn't diagram sentences in middle school. Good teachers work to reach and teach all children. If you only want to work with "good" students then I'm happy that you have such a great teaching environment but the reality of most of our classrooms is that we have some kids who could go either way. I teach only good students because I believe all of my students are great. I get what I believe and expect.

3 - The teacher who teaches the same every year without changing.
I know a math teacher who fought getting a new book because it would mean making out new tests and this person had been using the same tests for over 15 years. Some students don't get a subject and need some extra help and assessment and others don't. When I teach binary numbers, some years I can cover it in 2 days and others it takes 7. It depends on the students.

2- The Teacher whose words mean nothing.
Imagine the traffic policeman who just stood by the road, wagging his finger, and yelling at cars for speeding.

"Slow down .... now... now.."
"I said slow down."

This officer would become a joke because there is no teeth in his actions. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Be consistent. But don't lie to them. Don't threaten with no follow through but if you're threatening a lot, then why? Why should you count? Your word should be enough.

1- Hate your students
Why are you teaching if this is you? When you talk poorly about a student it does get back to your student eventually. I don't respect teachers who I think have a vendetta against a particular student. I admit I've had 3 in my teaching career who were especially hard for me to love. But I had to adjust my own attitude and know that even if that child's goal was to get me, that I was above it. I am an adult doing an important job and I will behave nobly. No one can take away my nobility but me.

****

When you mess up, fess up.

I had a student earlier in the year that I felt I embarrassed. I was very upset about it. I didn't mean to, I saw her blush and realized it after the fact. I found her later and apologized. She tried to let me out of it but I said,

"You are important to me and I think I embarrassed you. You need to know you can trust me and I will do everything in my power to never do it again. I am so sorry, it wasn't intentional. Will you forgive me?"

I already had a good relationship with that student but now it is a great one. I treasure her and she knows she can trust me. I think that because I admitted this to her and was human about it, she was willing to forgive me. I'm so glad I did. Do you have a student you need to apologize to? Do it.


****
Photo purchased from IStock Photo - all rights reserved.

 Tomorrow, Monday, December 7 at 7pm Eastern Standard Virginia Tech professor and his World Regions class will be interviewing Burmese resistance leader,Aung Sun Sun Kyi, via Skype. Boyer managed to turn a YouTube video  request into the interview.

I received a letter from a former student of his that tells the story very well and have decided to print this letter in entirety. I like the letter because it not only shows how his students value this but his students are using their social media knowledge to help their former professor and I want to help them and help him. We look forward to viewing the video and learning.

And thus, is great teaching in action. Great teachers are now syndicators (sp?) of content. Great teachers share. Great teachers teach us all.

A Letter About My Favorite Professor
from former student Jessy Irwin

I'm writing because I want to publicize the incredible work that one of my favorite college professors is doing with social media in his World Regions class at Virginia Tech. He is John Boyer, an instructor in the Department of Geography in the College of Natural Resources and he's an exceptionally passionate educator who thrives on engaging and communicating with his students through social media. For the third time in a row, he has successfully managed to turn a YouTube video from his super-sized class of 3,000 into a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity for his students.

In the past, Professor Boyer has used viral YouTube tactics to lure the likes of Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez to Virginia Tech to discuss their film "The Way", and he even convinced wine aficionado, social media guru and businessman Gary Vaynerchuk to stop through Blacksburg while on a book tour during the Spring 2011 semester. Much of that happened with little fanfare or attention from the university or the Blacksburg, VA community of which he is a member. This time, though, Boyer has turned a World Regions professor's dream into reality-- he managed to turn a YouTube video request to Aung Sun Suu Kyi, leader of the resistance movement in Burma, into an hour long Skype interview with her and his class. 

Having been recently been liberated from 30 years of house arrest imposed on her by dictator Than Shwe,  Suu Kyi recently met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and is regularly courted by foreign media for interviews. That she could be convinced by the sheer enthusiasm of 3,000 students half a world away from her is to take the time for an interview is a poignant example of how social media and technology can enhance and enrich student experience in ways never before possible. Professor Boyer is working to open a live-feed of the Skype interview for educators and interested parties, though the event may also be live-streamed by various Asian media outlets

Professor Boyer isn't just active on YouTube-- he maintains a course website and a UStream channel through which he conducts weekly online office hours, he uses a Facebook page to announce course events to his class, and he uses his own Twitter account in addition to a backchannel Twitter hashtag to communicate with his 3,000 students. His course material even includes regular uploads of his podcasts as the Plaid Avenger, a Jon Stewart-inspired, schwingy superhero who travels the world in pursuit of international justice. Though this is a higher education example of technology integration in the classroom, more teachers need to hear about the work that he and other professors are doing with technology. At one point in his career, students were barely showing up to his class, which could be used to fulfill a university curriculum requirement for graduation-- now, he begins each semester with huge wait lists of students every semester who want to take his class as an elective but for whom there isn't enough room.

I could go on and on and on about the work that Boyer and his assistant Katie Pritchard do. His educational use of technology to leave Virginia and pursue a career in social media + educational technology in the Silicon Valley. While this story takes place within the context of higher education, much can still be gleaned from how social media and technology integration can enhance the efforts of an effective, engaging educator and enrich a student's learning experience. At a time when so many question the effectiveness of technology adoption and whether it is making a difference in education, Professor Boyer's provides a concrete example of technology's potential and ability to positively change the classroom for the better. Alternately, while higher education is usually outside of the realm of standardized curriculum and assessments, this particular educational technology success story serves also as an example of technology-facilitated learning that may well be immeasurable within the confines of today's standardized testing.

Throughout the year, students often ask me which candidates I support, where I stand on issues, and what political party I support. My response to students is "I'm not telling you." Not only do I not tell students where I stand on issues and what political party I support, I consciously work throughout the year to keep them guessing on this by being a critical thinker and modeling critical thought, ripping into all parties and voicing arguments from all sides. Oh, I'm not perfect- my smart and astute students notice that my liberal and Democrat arguments are a tad sarcastic and that my ripping on Obama is harsher than my ripping on Bush was, but at the end of the year I always ask students what they thought I was, who they think I support, and what political party I am active in, and the results are encouraging to me- the students don't really know, even to the end.

There are a couple of reasons I refuse to tell my students where I stand on issues and what party I support. One is time- I have a very well-defined curriculum that must be taught, and there isn't any free time in my teaching for anything personal. Another important reason is that I want the students receptive to my methods and teaching, and if they pigeonhole me into a political position, they might become less receptive. I want them listening to me and learning, not dismissing me just because I'm a conservative. Too many students tune out of social studies classes and ignore everything teachers say because they reject the teacher's personal views on things, and that's not good either because they are rejecting real knowledge too.

But most importantly is that my students look up to me and respect me, and I value that, and if I told them my values and beliefs, they would be encouraged to adopt them, and that's not my job or role in the classroom. My job or role is to teach my students about economics, government, history, psychology, and geography, not push my views on them. If I said "man made global warming is a load of poop", half of my students would reject my views, and the other half would nod and agree with whatever I said- but no one would be the smarter for it. But if I point to facts and bring up research and ideas, all without saying my view, then everyone is thinking, evaluating, and learning- and that is what education is supposed to be.

Via Protein Wisdom, I came across a blog entry by a professor named Douglas Campbell. The blog entry was called "The Classroom Without Reason", and has a lot of good stories in it. He documents what he sees is the liberal bias in education, the liberal slant to university teaching, and this fits very well with what I also have personally observed. I'm now going to relate to you one of the stories on this post:

I offer yet another true story. Just before the last presidential election, at the beginning of a course on business planning, a student asked me in front of the entire class why I had not told the students which candidate I supported. I responded, “Politics is not the subject of this class. We have enough material to cover to fill our class time. Besides, on principle, I will not use class time to impose my political opinions on you. If outside of class any of you seek my opinion of the candidates, then I will be happy to share my thoughts.”

The reaction of the class surprised me. A few students were nodding their head, others were smiling humorously at me, and a few were laughing and gossiping about my response. Somewhat peeved, I asked, “What is so funny?”

One student said, “You might as well tell us who you think we should vote for, because all the other professors already have.” Other students chimed in to support that student’s claim and mentioned specific faculty members who had turned their classes into campaigns for their presidential candidate. Undaunted, I proceeded with the subject of the class.

Let me also point out that Douglas may very well have just told his students who he was voting for, because it was quite obvious to me. Our education system is dividing, along with the rest of our country, into two different and separate camps- those who use education to push their liberal-communist-leftist-Democratic-anti-Christian views, and those who refuse to push any views on students. Douglas, by refusing to use his classroom to indoctrinate youth and brainwash them into believing in the church of global warming or the worship of Obama, was displaying his views none-the-less.

By Douglas pushing thinking, by encouraging thought and reflection, by pushing the liberty of ones mind and the freedom to choose ones own beliefs, by suggesting responsibility for ones own education and learning, by not violating students trust and faith- he was telling any student that he rejects the views of those who mean to do our nation harm. And the astute students in my classes, no matter how hard I try to not push my own views, also recognize this, and that is why at the end of the year, many indeed guess my views, but when they do, they just smile and accept and respect them, because of the way I went about my teaching.

And that's how you change the world, one student at a time.