Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Could I? Should I?
As I continue to peruse Classroom 2.0, and go through different topics and discussion threads, I am left wondering how much of this stuff can I really use? How much should I use? Will it really help my students learn or is it just some cool stuff that will clutter up their learning environment. For instance, Moodle and Virtual Learning Environments look really cool and I can see how they might be used. But is it really worthwhile to add another site, another set of passwords and usernames to what the students already have to remember? The video conferencing, Skype and screencasting also look like they have tremendous potential for collaboration across the globe but do my projects really lend themselves to such things? Or is it just more clutter? Interesting questions to ponder.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
A Bit Overwhelmed again
I have been perusing Classroom 2.0 and I am completely overwhelmed at the amount of information out there. Not only all the different sites and platforms but the application advice. It is truly amazing. I have just scratched the surface. So much to learn, so little time. The list seems endless: collaboration, presentation, screencasts, podcasts, RSS feeds, weblogs, wikis, social bookmarking, social networking and so on. Where to begin? How much of this stuff can I actually use in the classroom? How do I fit it all together and still have time for the content? Good questions that require answers. I am sure they are out there waiting to be found. Stay tuned.
Monday, November 30, 2009
You May Ask
You may wonder what else has changed since the last post. Well, I had my students set up their own wikis and had some 95% of them with wikis up and running, being used and posted within a week. Then the hammer dropped and all of it was for naught. Tucson Unified School District decided that Personal and Social Networking sites took too much bandwidth and server space and blocked them. When I explained that I now had at least 100 students with term projects on wikis now unavailable all I got was a shrug and a "Sorry."
So I am left with several questions. First, how am I supposed to implement and have my students do 21st century stuff without the tools? I also wonder how I am supposed to be evaluated on my implementation of same when the District forbids it. How is the District as a whole going to compete with Charter schools that have state of the art equipment? How are we supposed to prepare students to work and produce in the world to come without the practice in school? Questions I raised and for which no one had a satisfactory answer. What I find truly depressing and even frightening is that the school I work for, Tucson Magnet High School, has the most up to date technology in the district. What does that say about the rest of the District?
Why does my school have medieval software and a neolithic network? Money - simple as that. Money that was supposed to have come from the feds is now tied up because of a bid-rigging scandal. 3 separate bond issues and budget overrides have failed since the last upgrade in 1999 - 10 years ago. Why, credibility is shot. TUSD has such a horrible reputation for mismanagement and incompetence when it comes to money that no one will trust them with a plug nickel. So it means everyone suffers - the teachers, kids, administrators. Money problems come from the fact that Arizona ranks at or near the bottom in per-pupil spending and has been for the last 10-15 years. Added to this is a $2 billion deficit and some $350 million in cuts in the last year to K-12 education, is it any wonder then?
It may seem silly to complain or talk about things that happen in Phoenix or at the District HQ but you will notice I have kept to matters that effect my classroom and others like it. I shall attempt to confine myself to that when I get on my soapbox. 'Nuff said.
So I am left with several questions. First, how am I supposed to implement and have my students do 21st century stuff without the tools? I also wonder how I am supposed to be evaluated on my implementation of same when the District forbids it. How is the District as a whole going to compete with Charter schools that have state of the art equipment? How are we supposed to prepare students to work and produce in the world to come without the practice in school? Questions I raised and for which no one had a satisfactory answer. What I find truly depressing and even frightening is that the school I work for, Tucson Magnet High School, has the most up to date technology in the district. What does that say about the rest of the District?
Why does my school have medieval software and a neolithic network? Money - simple as that. Money that was supposed to have come from the feds is now tied up because of a bid-rigging scandal. 3 separate bond issues and budget overrides have failed since the last upgrade in 1999 - 10 years ago. Why, credibility is shot. TUSD has such a horrible reputation for mismanagement and incompetence when it comes to money that no one will trust them with a plug nickel. So it means everyone suffers - the teachers, kids, administrators. Money problems come from the fact that Arizona ranks at or near the bottom in per-pupil spending and has been for the last 10-15 years. Added to this is a $2 billion deficit and some $350 million in cuts in the last year to K-12 education, is it any wonder then?
It may seem silly to complain or talk about things that happen in Phoenix or at the District HQ but you will notice I have kept to matters that effect my classroom and others like it. I shall attempt to confine myself to that when I get on my soapbox. 'Nuff said.
Well, to all my faithful readers up to this point, it may seem that much has changed since my last post. This particular blog is in its 3rd incarnation since its inception in late September, 2009. Originally meant to be a blog for all my classes, passing on information to my students, it then was set aside as two new blogs, one each for American and World History, were created. Now, I have decided that given recent events, it behooves me to resuscitate this blog with and new name and a new purpose.
As of today, as the title description says, this blog will now be a chronicle of the process this writer goes through in implementing 21st century teaching in his classroom. Needless to say being born in the early 60's, going through K-12 in the late 60's and through the 70's, I came from a dissimilar form of education. There were no PC's, no Internet, no DVD's, cellphones, iPods or podcasting. Much has changed since I was a sophomore in High School, let me tell you. The way I learned, the teacher talked and you listened, period. That sort of thing will not fly now, as I learned the hard way a few years ago. Thus, I am a newcomer to the new way of teaching and learning. I completely believe in it because I have seen it work in the small ways I have implemented it.
Suffice it to say then that 21st century learning is as much of a Learning experience for me as it is for my students.
As of today, as the title description says, this blog will now be a chronicle of the process this writer goes through in implementing 21st century teaching in his classroom. Needless to say being born in the early 60's, going through K-12 in the late 60's and through the 70's, I came from a dissimilar form of education. There were no PC's, no Internet, no DVD's, cellphones, iPods or podcasting. Much has changed since I was a sophomore in High School, let me tell you. The way I learned, the teacher talked and you listened, period. That sort of thing will not fly now, as I learned the hard way a few years ago. Thus, I am a newcomer to the new way of teaching and learning. I completely believe in it because I have seen it work in the small ways I have implemented it.
Suffice it to say then that 21st century learning is as much of a Learning experience for me as it is for my students.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A change of plan
A change of plan folks. This blog will henceforward be the general blog for all of Mr. Wilson's classes at Tucson High Magnet School. As of tonight, the American History and World History classes will each have their own separate blog.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Welcome! This blog is your door to a world far, far away, to worlds long since gone. Here you can go back to Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, Rome, Medieval Europe, Mesoamerica, the list goes on and on. There is no price of admission, only your willingness to seek and learn. So, sit back and enjoy the ride.
This site is designed to act as a starting point for those taking American History and/or World History at Tucson High Magnet School. But those who are not students at this school are welcome to come in, take a look around and see what we are doing, where we are going. To this end, you will find updates or comments on:
- lectures,
- assignments
-projects, both current and upcoming
- topics being discussed in class
I hope you enjoy your journey.
This site is designed to act as a starting point for those taking American History and/or World History at Tucson High Magnet School. But those who are not students at this school are welcome to come in, take a look around and see what we are doing, where we are going. To this end, you will find updates or comments on:
- lectures,
- assignments
-projects, both current and upcoming
- topics being discussed in class
I hope you enjoy your journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
