Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 4/10/15

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Journey to the Center of the Earth – “How far would you have to travel to reach the Earth's core? And what would you see along the way? Discover what lies beneath...” (L:M,H; SA:S)

MapFAST – mapFAST is a Google Maps mashup prototype designed to provide map based access to bibliographic records using FAST geographic and event authorities.” Find texts about places around the world. (L:G; SA:A)

Office Lens – free iPhone/iPad app; Office Lens trims, enhances, and makes pictures of whiteboards and documents readable. Office Lens can convert images to editable Word, PowerPoint, and PDF files. (L:T; SA:A)

GraphFree – “GraphFree is an incredibly flexible online graphing tool, boasting capabilities not found even in the most popular graphing calculators. Whether you’re a teacher who wants to make better graphs for tests, or a student looking for homework help, GraphFree is made for you.” (L:H; SA:M)

3DGallery Generator - Use this template to design your own "virtual exhibition" on a topic of your choice. Choose your images and videos carefully: you have space for TEN exhibits. You can give each exhibit a title and a description for maximum educational effect. (L:T; SA:A)

Original Image: Tools by Pat Hensley

Over and Over Again

In Things We Return To from Sioux's Page, Sioux asks,

“Do you reread books? Are there movies that--whenever you're flipping though channels and see them--you cannot resist seeing again? Are there spots that reel you back, year after year?”

I don’t reread a lot of books. Mostly because there are so many books out there on my list that I want to read that I can’t get to all of them fast enough. I use Shelfari to keep note of all the books I plan to read and the number is overwhelming! When someone recommends a book, I add it to the list. Right now I’m reading three books at the same time. One is for a virtual book club and we read a different book every month. I also read some books to review for my blog and then I am trying to read a nonfiction book every month.

Now there are lots of movies that I watch more than once and I love seeing them every time I do.

I love musicals, especially the old Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. I love the Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and Oklahoma. I also love To Kill a Mockingbird and made my classes watch that every year. I also love the original Miracle on 34^th Street with Natalie Wood. I love watching movies with Harrison Ford or Kevin Costner or Ben Affleck or Sean Connery.

Do you reread books or watch movies? Please share so I can add them to my list!

Teaching in Today’s World

As I have mentioned before, I attended a workshop featuring Rick Lavoie (Motivating Breakthrough). One of the things he mentioned was that Rick Stephens (with Boeing) said, “You are using a closed book format in an open book world.” I really liked this quote and it said exactly what I believe.

My husband and I debate a lot about what students learn in school. I think we both agree that basics are important and that they are a foundation for future learning. But we tend to disagree on the “how” these things should be taught.

We can’t go back to the slate and chalk days! It is a different world now than it was then. That is like trying to travel in a horse and buggy on today’s interstates. Not only would it take forever to get to our destination but could make the trip so miserable that we quit!

We have technology today that makes learning different. I don’t think it is necessarily easier or better but it is definitely different.

Since students have access to many forms of technology, which they will probably use in their futures, why not incorporate it into their learning?  We use electric lighting instead of candles to light our house (which is also safer!). Many people use heat sources other than just wood fire to heat their homes. When electric tools came out, no one blamed a construction worker for using electric tools instead of the old tools. When electric appliances and kitchen tools came out, the finished product didn’t taste any different than those made without them and sometimes they come out better. How many people still use typewriters (besides my 95 year old father!)? How many people still use a rotary phone?

When I see people debating about education, I think they are getting the “what” and the “how” mixed up and calling it all “education.” I think the “what” is easy to agree on but “how” we will get there seems to be a major hurdle. We all seem to agree that reading and math is important. Then we start breaking down the skills to become proficient in these concepts and everything gets murky then.Not only do we need to teach students basic skills, which are a foundation for learning, but also we need to teach students how to learn. Their learning doesn’t stop when they leave our classrooms or their school careers. Their interests may change so they need to learn how to find out more information about their new interests. The economy may change and they may have to find new careers, which will involve new learning.

We need to teach students to be ready for the world they live in and for the future, not for the past.

Image: 'Looking Back...' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57038667@N00/227582138
Found on flickrcc.net

Does Punishment Work as Motivation?

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I attended a workshop with Rick Lavoie on Motivating Students. One of the things he mentioned was that punishment does not motivate students. I have to disagree with this philosophy.

I think punishment can be highly motivating. For some, they may not be motivated the way we want them to be but I still believe that it can be motivating.

I remember growing up and getting spankings (not cruel ones but enough to know that I did something wrong). I was highly motivated not to repeat certain behaviors because I did not want to get punished which might result in spankings.

Getting traffic tickets is a form of punishment and I know many people who are motivated to obey the law to avoid getting traffic tickets. If this was not effective, people would not obey any traffic laws.

Going to jail is a punishment and I believe many people are highly motivated to obey the law in order not to go to prison.  This punishment has been highly effective in society or we would not have a penal system.

In school, administrators give detentions as a punishment to students who disobey the rules.  This has been a common punishment for many years and if it was ineffective, I do not believe this practice would continue.

In my classroom I tried to deal with my students in a positive way and promote success. This usually worked and most of my students complied with my rules. If they didn’t, one of my punishments was to have them call their parents, which they hated with a passion! This was an extremely effective punishment and I did not have to use it too much in one year.

Do you use punishment in your class? If so, what do you do? Do you feel punishment works to motivate students? Why or why not? Please share.

Image: 'Punishment, 1938' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24256351@N04/3192740362
Found on flickrcc.net

Rick Lavoie on Motivating Children

Recently, the first annual Charles Chadwell Special Education Institute was held at Presbyterian College. The goal of the institute is to “promote understanding of individuals with disabilities and to help educators meet the needs of students with disabilities in the classroom.”

Rick Lavoie was the morning speaker and I was so excited because I remember watching his videos in the 80s for classes that I took. Now I show those videos to teachers in classes that I teach. Rick has written a book called The Motivation Breakthrough: Reaching and Teaching the Struggling Child. I haven’t read it yet, but I plan on it. Several people at the workshop had read it and said it was a great book.

Here are some quotes that I took away from the workshop. In future posts, I hope to discuss some of them in detail.

1. “The day that a struggling suffering kid doesn’t affect you is the day you need to leave the field.
2. It’s not about us. It’s about the kids.
3. Need to make fundamental changes in ways we deal with kids. Agents of change may be the undergraduates.
4. People don’t care about the history of special education. If you don’t remember your history, you are bound to repeat it.
5. EMTs have more training with people in crisis than special educators do!
6. People in crisis say and do inappropriate things. Take their behavior seriously but don’t take it personally.
7. If anyone moves on the family’s “waterbed,” everyone is affected!
8. We need more understanding on the families of children with special needs.
9. Why do we nurture our faith? So when we get in trouble, we have something to fall back on. The same things work with our philosophy. Develop a strong philosophy on dealing with special needs so when things go wrong, you will have something to go to.
10. At any point of time, any kid would rather be seen as bad rather than dumb.
11. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Special educators see it as “the squeaky wheel needs the grease.” Why are we ignoring children if that is what the child needs?
12. Need to make huge changes with how we are teaching kids. We aren’t paying attention.
13. We keep doing the same things over and over again even though we know it doesn’t work!
14. We are so reluctant to change.
15. American Public schools are more reluctant to change than any other institution.
16. Rick Stephens (with Boeing) said, “You are using a closed book format in an open book world.”
17. Our job as teachers is not to teach them stuff but how to learn stuff, how to be lifelong learners.
18. Brontosaurus – never existed.  = Apatosaurus
19. Unlearn the old information – have skills to learn the new information – have skills to relearn the new information that comes down the pipe.  (example – telephone)
20.  Motivate kids to be lifelong learners.
21. This kids isn’t learning because he isn’t motivated. That’s your job to motivate him!
22. There are a lot of myths and misconceptions on motivation.
23. You will motivate a kid if you meet his needs.
24. Everyone can have different motivational profiles. Yet, we teach a class and think we will motivate all of the students with one strategy. Sometimes we try to motivate the class by the things that motivate us, not the individual student.
25. Adolescence is a 365-day a year 24 hour a day struggle to not be embarrassed. If I put the spotlight on him, then it keeps the spotlight on me. Now they have tools to wreck someone’s life.
26. Things that motivate you now as an adult were the same things that motivated you as a 6 year old. 
27. Mercy is the true nature of power.
28. The more you need to remind someone that you have the power diminishes your actual power.”

Do any of these statements resonate with you? Which one(s) and why? Please share.