Education Technology

Filming Lessons for Certification

May 17, 2012 | posted by bchilds

The standards for teachers are being raised again! The federal education acts No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, privately funded education initiatives like the Bill and Melinda Gates’ College Ready Promise, and countless other education reforms have impacted the way which teacher quality is assessed and valued in this country.

What used to be a process of one or two classroom visits by a school administrator has now turned into something exceptionally more rigorous — and this evaluation process is beginning earlier than ever! No longer are teacher evaluations reserved for in-service teachers (i.e. those already employed as educators), but the pressures to plan and execute great lessons have now trickled into pre-service education programs for those who haven’t even set foot in a classroom yet!

The requirements to become credentialed as a teacher have become more rigorous over the years. Now, states around the country are requiring that aspiring teachers videotape themselves teaching a lesson and submit it for evaluation.

California, the state with the second largest school district in the nation (the Los Angeles Unified School District), has been an early adopter of this new video recording requirement. The California Teacher Performance Assessment (CalTPA) is “a set of standards that clearly outline what beginning teachers should know and be able to do before receiving a preliminary credential.”

There are four parts to the CalTPA: 1. Subject Specific Pedagogy Task; 2. Designing Instruction Task; 3. Assessing Learning Task; and 4. Culminating Teaching Activity Task. The fourth task is the one that requires aspiring teachers to design a lesson and video tape themselves implementing that lesson. With this new CalTPA requirement, no person in the state of California can be credentialed as a teacher without first videotaping themselves teaching a lesson and receiving a passing score of a 3 or 4 (grading scale is out of 4).

California isn’t alone in their quest to improve teacher quality as a way to increase student performance. It was just announced that New York, the state with the largest school district in the nation (New York City), will also be implementing a new teacher credentialing process that requires aspiring teachers to submit a lesson plan and video recording of them teaching that lesson, along with the other teaching requirements.

When commenting about the importance of adding this new video recording element to the teacher credentialing process, Jon Snyder, dean of Bank Street College of Education in Manhattan, says, “You have to be able to drive a car to get a driver’s license. You can’t just pass the paper-and-pencil test — so it’s a pretty obvious need in the field.”

Given all the changes to the teacher credentialing process, it will only be a matter of time before the bar is raised for all aspiring and current teachers to videorecord their lessons and demonstrate their talents in a classroom setting.

Video Lessons for Teacher Certification

Mandela Schumacher-Hodge is a former middle school teacher and doctoral student at UCLA. She is currently the co-founder & chief operation officer of DemoLesson, an innovative online hiring platform for teachers. In her spare time, Mandela loves to exercise, spend quality time with family and friends, and search for new adventures and experiences.

Teacher Appreciation Week News Round-Up

May 11, 2012 | posted by smaldonado

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. From May 7 to 11, Americans across the nation will be celebrating amazing teachers by honoring their contributions, selfless dedication and tireless work. While teachers should be thanked for their efforts every day of the year, Teacher Appreciation Week is a special time dedicated just for them. To celebrate, we have rounded up five news stories from this week that show how people are appreciating their teachers.

New Jersey Launches Online Teacher Appreciation Initiatives
Governor Christie of New Jersey began National Teacher Appreciation Week by announcing the launch of new online initiatives to recognize the contributions of New Jersey’s 130,000 teachers. The state’s Department of Education website now features three new pages dedicated to honoring New Jersey teachers. The first is a video address to teachers by Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf. The second page is called Teacher Memories and allows New Jersey residents to submit memories of their favorite teachers as a special way to thank them. Lastly, the Teacher Spotlight intends to feature a new teacher each month to recognize their outstanding achievements in the classroom.

RESPECT Project Suggests Education Reform for Teacher Appreciation Week
The RESPECT Project is an Obama Administration initiative to honor and elevate America’s educators through professional development and recognition for achievements. RESPECT stands for Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence and Collaborative Teaching, and the project involves collaboration between the Department of Education and active teachers to determine the best methods of education reform. As part of National Teacher Appreciation Week, the Department of Education has released “The RESPECT Project: Envisioning a Teaching Profession for the 21st Century,” to inform the public of the project’s efforts and emphasize the importance of teacher appreciation.

High School Students Thank Teachers by Writing Letters
At Deptford High School in New Jersey, students are participating in Teacher Appreciation Week by writing heartfelt letters to the teachers who have had the most impact on their lives. Lou Randazzo, an English teacher at the school, started the project, which serves as an exemplary demonstration of teacher recognition. Not only are the letters personal ways of saying thank you, but they verbalize the importance of teachers and the impact they have on these students’ lives. “Kids come to you with so many different things, just looking for help and guidance,” Lou said. “You don’t always really realize the impact you have on your students’ lives. … the letters were more insightful and emotional than I thought they would be.”

National American Pioneer of Teaching Awarded to Ohio Teacher
The National Coalition of Public School Options — an activist group of parents, students and educators who support public school choice — initiated the American Pioneer of Teaching Award to honor teachers who work in pioneering public schools, such as online and charter schools. This year’s winner is Paul Wuff, an Ohio Virtual Academy High School Intervention Specialist. Paul was awarded this distinction for his extensive work in reaching students across various education platforms, including online learning. “Helping students reach their goals by connecting with their individual skills and needs makes every day a fulfilling one,” Paul said, “It is an honor to be recognized by NCPSO, which champions alternative learning options, as teachers across the country are celebrated this week.”

LYSOL Helps Teachers Purchase Classroom Supplies
To honor teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, LYSOL has announced a national promotional sweepstakes that provides up to $50,000 in school supplies and LYSOL disinfecting wipes. The Healthy Classroom sweepstakes will run through September 14 and will give 100 teachers from around the country a chance to win a $500 gift card towards the purchase of classroom supplies. As per the company’s recent press release: “As part of the LYSOL® Mission for Health initiative, the sweepstakes is geared exclusively toward teachers in an effort to support good health and hygiene in schools. LYSOL® is further elevating the reach of this initiative through the promotional channels of the National Education Association. By helping provide teachers with the means to purchase much-needed school supplies, it is our hope they will encourage students to adopt healthy habits that can help to reduce the spread of germs in school and at home.”

The Story of Movies

May 4, 2012 | posted by jroe

In today’s world, being able to interpret, analyze and discuss moving images may be as important as knowing how to read. And having an opportunity to practice these skills in a classroom environment is one way that students could gain access to one of the most American art forms: movies. But many students are never explicitly taught these skills. As a part of popular culture, kids are assumed to “get” movies just by seeing them. That is why The Film Foundation has created The Story of Movies, a free middle school curriculum that teaches literacy in moving images.

What Do Kids Learn from Movies?
The goal of The Story of Movies project is to teach literacy in moving images. This type of literacy is widely applicable in today’s world, and helps students to understand, analyze and discuss many forms of media. The Story of Movies teaches five key aspects of movie literacy: 1. film language, 2. historical and cultural contexts, 3. production and creative expression, 4. viewers’ response and aesthetic valuing, and 5. cross-curricular connections. Created by The Film Foundation, the curriculum also cultivates an appreciation for the American heritage of cinema by connecting classic films to contemporary circumstances. The films used are The Day The Earth Stood Still, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and To Kill a Mockingbird.

How Kids Learn from Movies
In the class, it isn’t just what students learn that matter, but also how they learn it. The interdisciplinary lesson-plans of The Story of Movies will have a high impact on students with a visual learning style, whose needs aren’t often addressed by conventional lesson plans. Successful classroom teachers strive to plan lessons and teach in a manner that simultaneously addresses the needs of students with multiple learning styles. While movie lesson plans will obviously reach visual learners, The Story of Movies is designed to take into account the needs of students with other learning styles as well. By teaching visual literacy in an interdisciplinary manner, these lesson plans will increase students’ ability to learn about more than just movies.

Who Made The Story of Movies?
The Film Foundation created The Story of Movies in partnership with IBM and Turner Classic Movies. The Film Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1990 by the legendary filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Woody Allan, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford and Steven Spielberg to protect and preserve America’s cinematic heritage. The curriculum is available for free to middle school teachers throughout the United States.

Who Can Teach The Story of Movies?
Any middle school classroom teacher can teach The Story of Movies. The curriculum includes complete movie lesson plans intended to be used in a specific sequence to maximize student understanding. It includes basic contextual information for educators and does not require particular expertise in the areas of film production or film studies. The only requirement is that a teacher be able to clear four to six weeks of class time for the lessons. A genuine love of movies will also be a valuable instructional tool and may prove contagious.

Reasons for Becoming a Teacher

May 1, 2012 | posted by smaldonado

Every teacher devotes his or her life to education for reasons as individual to them as any other part of their identity. Still, it usually isn’t the money, and it isn’t the three-month summer vacation. Reasons for becoming a teacher are deeper than that, and while they are personal, they are almost all united by the desire to impact peoples’ lives. There is a demand for great teachers in this country, and a person is called to become a teacher in response to that need. So, what’s calling you? Why do you want to teach?

To Improve the Quality of Education
The demand for great teachers is a tangible pressing need. While our country has come a long way in education reform, we still have a long way to go. There are schools across America that are still in high need because of budgetary concerns and low teacher retention, and students still continue to drop out at alarming rates. One reason to become a teacher is to impact the education system. If you recognize the need to improve the quality of education in this country, then you may become a teacher to affect change. There is a lot of work to be done, but it is the collective effort of thousands of dedicated teachers that will make the most difference.

School administrators and government officials have an impact at the legislative level, but it is teachers who have a direct effect on students in the classroom — that is, after all, where learning takes place. You won’t be able to improve the quality of education for every student in America, but you will be able to for your students. Helping just one student is worth it, but over a long and productive career, you have the chance to help thousands of students.

Essentially, becoming a teacher lets you take part in shaping the next generation.

To Give Back to Your Community
One of the reasons for becoming a teacher is to contribute to your community in a meaningful way. Teaching is one of the most direct ways to make an impact, and if you are driven by the desire to help those around you, being a teacher is an invaluable contribution.

Perhaps you grew up in a high-needs area and are personally connected to the struggle of students who come from low-income families and go to schools with little funding; this sort of perspective allows you to recognize how much of a difference a devoted teacher can make. Maybe an amazing teacher changed your life when you were younger, and you want to share that with a new generation of students. Many people cite a favorite teacher as a source of inspiration in their decision to pursue a career in education.

To Change the Lives of Students
Teachers do more than teach, and their impact extends far beyond the classroom. As a teacher, you are more than just an educator: you are a mentor, a confidant and a friend. One of the most common reasons to become a teacher is to make a difference in the lives of as many students as you can. Taylor Mali, a renowned poet, education advocate and former teacher, describes this impact in his spoken word poem, “What Teachers Make.” He says, “I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could, I make a C+ feel like a congressional medal of honor, I make an A- feel like a slap in the face … I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be … I make a difference.”

Teachers have the potential to interact with students at all stages of development and from all walks of life. A great teacher wants to help students along this path and to play a part in shaping the person they will ultimately become. If you want to help a child struggling with low self-esteem and problems at home, then become a teacher to encourage them and help them realize their potential. Becoming a teacher lets you impart life lessons that they will never forget and puts you in a position to influence their decisions, behaviors, strengths, weaknesses and imaginations. Essentially, becoming a teacher lets you take part in shaping the next generation.

STEM Initiatives in Illinois

April 27, 2012 | posted by smaldonado

Illinois Science Olympiad

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — STEM subjects, as they are commonly called — are the cornerstones of an evolving culture. As medical, technological and scientific breakthroughs continue to advance our society, the economy relies more heavily on industries that specialize in these fields. This has led to an increased demand for STEM-literate working professionals in the job market, and the education system has responded by placing greater emphasis on STEM subjects in schools.

In an attempt to increase the quality of education and raise awareness of STEM issues, many states have enacted programs that foster interest in students and encourage them to pursue careers in these fields. The following are five such initiatives that have been implemented to help teachers in Illinois:

I-STEM
I-STEM, the Illinois STEM Education Initiative, began in 2009 at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with the mission of “improving access, quality and efficiency of STEM education activities.” The initiative is an outreach effort to create and sustain partnerships between the university and various community organizations that work towards the betterment of STEM education. I-STEM focuses on professional development of science and mathematics teachers, working with other institutes of higher learning to provide research opportunities for students in STEM subjects and hosting community activities to raise interest. For example, I-STEM works with Illinois public schools and the Science Olympiad to organize friendly educational science competitions.

Illinois Science Olympiad (ISO)
The ISO is the Illinois faction of the national Science Olympiad, an engaging initiative focused on getting students excited about science through competitions at the local, regional and national levels. Teachers and students in Illinois schools are divided into teams within one of eight regional competition sites. Approximately 20 schools compete in each region, and competitions focus on hands-on learning in subjects, like biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. The top students in each region go on to the State Tournament, and those winners compete on the national stage.

Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) is an internationally renowned college preparatory school that enrolls academically talented students in grades 10 through 12 and is making tremendous contributions to STEM education in Illinois. IMSA teaches students through a rigorous, challenging curriculum that is heavily focused on mathematics and science. It is a residential program, though tuition and boarding expenses are provided by the state, and of the 650 students enrolled, 99.5 percent go on to college. IMSA students learn from some of the most accomplished faculty in the country and are even given opportunities to conduct research that further develops their interest in STEM fields. In addition to dedication of its own students, IMSA works to revitalize STEM education across the state by working in school districts to train science and math teachers and help develop innovative STEM programs.

Illinois Science Teachers Association (ISTA)
The ISTA is the Illinois chapter of the National Science Teachers Association and currently has over 2,200 members, including science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and government officials. The ISTA is dedicated to improving the quality of STEM education through professional development and the sharing of resources that can be applied to the classroom. Over 2,000 people each year attend ISTA conferences, which are held to discuss important advances is STEM education and implement effective teaching strategies in Illinois classrooms.

Science Academy of Chicago
The Science Academy of Chicago is a college preparatory school that emphasizes STEM education, but does so from a highly individualized approach that takes the needs of each student into consideration. The academy aims to create a safe environment where students are comfortable to take risks and go the extra mile in exploring STEM subjects. The faculty set individual goals for students and helps them meet those goals through cooperative learning, individual projects and immersive after-school programs. This special attention that each student receives ensures that their aptitudes in particular STEM fields are recognized early on and nurtured to develop into full-blown skills and career interests.

Education News Round-Up

April 25, 2012 | posted by smaldonado

This week’s Education News Round-Up discusses important changes in the New York City Public school system, the current state of STEM education and a very special opportunity given to Chicago public school students.

A Special Lecture for Chicago High School Students
This Monday, the students of Chicago’s Frederick Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center attended a guest lecture by Mikhail S. Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union. With the help of an interpreter, he recounted the climate of the Cold War and spoke about the current state of international relations. “Today we often see a failure of responsibility — moral responsibility, political responsibly. We need to learn to live in this global world, to manage the events of the global world.”

Mr. Gorbachev spoke as part of a series of panel discussions that opened the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which was held for the first time in the United States from April 23 to 25. “We’re not starting with some large opening ceremony at some large hall,” said last year’s interim head of Chicago Public Schools, Terry Mazany, “we’re starting at the public schools with serious dialogue between the peace laureates and students. We’re bringing a student voice to the conversation.” Former South African President F.W. de Klerk (who shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela) spoke in another Chicago school.

Brooklyn High School Faces Closing
Bushwick Community High School in Brooklyn is a safe haven for at-risk teenagers in one of the most high-needs areas in New York City. The school accepts students who have dropped out, been in trouble with the law, are homeless or have fewer than 10 of the 44 required credits to graduate. For many, it is a last resort, and it becomes their home. “Where would I be without this school family? I would be in jail. I would be dead,” one of the school’s current teachers and former students, Iran Rosario said. “Friends tell you what you want to hear; family tells you what you need to hear. They did that for me, and saved my life.”

But this Thursday, Bushwick Community High School faces a vote by the Panel for Education Policy that could potentially see its principal and half its staff laid off. This school has come under scrutiny by the Bloomberg administration for its failure to meet the standards of achievement determined by standardized tests. Supporters of the school argue that the faculty looks at the whole student, as opposed to their grades, and that voting to close will remove a powerfully positive force from the Bushwick community.

Automated Essay Grading as Efficient as Human Graders
A recent study determined certain computer programs are as effective at grading essays on standardized tests as humans. While many of these programs are still a long time away from becoming the norm, educators are realizing the potential. A human essay grader can grade 30 essays in one hour; a computerized essay grader can grade 16,000 in two seconds. They check essays for word count, sentence length, sentence fragments and the sophistication of the vocabulary.

Nonetheless, the director of writing at MIT, Les Perlman, says there is a lot these programs do not consider. After writing two essays, a nonsensical one that totaled 716 words and received a score of 6, and a well-argued 567-word essay that received a 5, Mr. Perlman concluded two things: 1. The program cannot score the quality of an argument, simply its mechanics; and 2. it cannot tell the truth. “[The programs] don’t care if you say the War of 1812 started in 1945,” he said.

This Year’s Report on the Condition of STEM Education
Interactive Educational Systems Design, Inc. and STEM Market Impact, LLC released their third annual report on the current state of the STEM market. STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is an area of education receiving special attention as educators try preparing students to enter a workforce dominated by companies in these industries. The report details more than 700 unmet needs identified by a thousand administrators, educators and STEM leaders. It discusses how these unmet needs present opportunities for companies that wish to work with educators to strengthen their programs. The survey also follows the progress of classrooms across the country that have integrated technology into their learning, as well as the status of the Bring your Own Device (BOYD) efforts that encourage students to bring their own computers to class.

Mayor Bloomberg Opening 54 New Schools in NYC

Despite criticism of his administration’s aggressive closing of underperforming schools, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has just announced that 54 new schools will be opening across New York City in the fall of 2012. Twenty-four of these will be charter schools, and 30 of them will be regular public schools. New schools often occupy the spaces of old schools, and since he took office in 2002, Mayor Bloomberg has closed 140 schools while opening 589 new ones. Nevertheless, opponents of this policy say that 140 is too many, and point to the fact that almost 40 percent of closed schools were created by the mayor. They say that closing schools endangers special-needs students, English Language Learners and students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch.

Common Misunderstandings of Educators who Fear Technology

April 20, 2012 | posted by bchilds

Education is currently at a crossroads as traditional methods and tools are changing as a result of advances in technology and learning theory. We are beginning to see some schools across the country take the lead in merging sound pedagogy with the effective integration of technology. These schools and educators, whether they realize it or not, are not only enhancing the teaching and learning process, but they are also providing their learners with essential skill sets pivotal for success in today’s society. These skill sets include critical thinking/problem solving, media literacy, collaboration, creativity, technological proficiency and global awareness. The ultimate result with this shift has been increases in engagement as well as a sense of relevancy and meaning amongst learners, all of which are foundations for improving achievement.

Even as we are seeing more schools and educators transform the way they teach and learn with technology, many more are not. Technology is often viewed either as a frill or a tool unworthy of an educator’s time. Opinions vary on the merits of educational technology, but common themes seem to have emerged, and some of the reasons for not embracing technology have to do with several misconceptions revolving around fear.

Time
The time excuse seems to rear its ugly head more than any other reasoning to not move forward with technology integration. The fear of not being able to meet national and state standards as well as mandates leaves no time in the minds of many educators to either work technology into lessons, the will to do so nor the desire to learn how to. Current reform efforts placing an obscene emphasis on standardized tests are expounding the situation.

This is extremely unfortunate as integrating technology effectively does not take as much time as people think. Educators would be well served to spend a little time investigating how technology can be leveraged to engage learners. Once they do, their fears will subside as it will become apparent that standards and mandates can still be met while making learning more relevant, meaningful and engaging for students.

Cost
With budget cuts across the country putting a strain on the financial resources of districts and schools, decision-makers have become fearful of allocating funds to purchase and maintain current infrastructure. This is unfortunate as there are many creative ways to cut costs as well as free resources that can be used with existing infrastructures. Schools can utilize cost-effective lease purchase programs for computers, investigate the implementation of a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) program, or promote the use of a plethora of free Web 2.0 tools. After all, where there is a will, there is a way. Cost can be prohibitive at times, but there are ways to overcome this and move forward.

Assessment
Many teachers and administrators alike often fear how students can be appropriately assessed in technology-rich learning environments. This fear has been established as a result of a reliance on transitional methods of assessment as the only valid means to measure learning. Projects involving the use of technology that unleash creativity, promote critical thought, have students solve problems and enhance communication/collaboration can easy be assessed with teacher-developed rubrics. There are also many software and web-based computer programs aligned to standards that have assessments embedded into them while offering real-time results and feedback.

Control
For technology to be not only integrated effectively but also embraced, a culture needs to be established where teachers and administrators are no longer fearful of giving up a certain amount of control to students. The issue of giving up control seems to always raise fear even amongst many of the best teachers as schools have been rooted in structures to maintain it at all costs. Schools and classrooms do not and will not spiral out of control when we allow teachers the flexibility to take calculated risks to innovate with technology or permit students to learn using social media or their own devices. To truly create an innovative culture of learning, we must not fear failure either. When we give up control a certain level of failure will follow — however, it is from failure that we learn best and become better.

Lack of Training
With the integration of technology comes change. With change comes the inevitable need to provide quality professional development. Many educators fear technology as they feel there is not or will not be the appropriate level of training to support implementation. Rest assured, training can be provided and, in most cases, turns out to be cost effective. Schools can leverage tech-savvy teachers to facilitate professional development. There are also numerous free webinars available throughout the year. One of the most powerful means of professional development is through the use of social media, through which educators can create their own Personal Learning Network (PLN) based entirely on their unique needs and passions.
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All of the above misconceptions that promote a sense of fear when it comes to educational technology in schools are a reality for me a mere three years ago. It wasn’t until I took the time to educate myself to better lead my school into the 21st century that I soon realized my fears were solely built on misconceptions. The end result has been the transformation of New Milford High School — a transformation which is still continuing today. Don’t let fear based on misconception prevent you from creating a more student-centered, innovative learning culture. Rest assured, everything else will fall into place.

Eric Sheninger is the Principal at New Milford High School located in Bergen County, NJ. He is passionate about establishing and fostering learning environments that are student centered, collaborative, flexible and prepare all learners to succeed in the 21st century.

As an educational administrator he firmly believes that effective communication, listening, support, shared decision-making and the integration of technology are essential elements necessary for the transformation of school cultures. Eric has emerged as an innovative leader in the use of social media and Web 2.0 technology as tools to engage students, improve communications with stakeholders and help educators grow professionally. Eric is a NASSP Digital Principal Award winner (2012), Google-Certified Teacher, ASCD 2011 Conference Scholar, co-author of Communicating and Connecting with Social Media: Essentials for Principals, writer on education for the Huffington Post, co-creator of the Edscape Conference and was named to the NSBA “20 to Watch” list in 2010 for technology leadership. He now presents and speaks nationally to assist other school leaders embrace and effectively utilize technology. His blog, A Principal’s Reflections, was selected as “Best School Administrator Blog” in 2011 by Edublogs.

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