Getting Things Done

"Getting Things Done", an assignment for my CEP-810 class, in an assignment made for me. I love generating lists of things and crossing them off my list. This assignment is just one example. Not only is it off my list, it is also something that can help me as I progress through the M.A. in Ed Tech program.

This is done so by first making a quick list on paper. If there are small items requiring two minutes or less I do them right away. Next, I sort by type, due date, and resources needed. A little extra effort reading directions makes a world of difference. Its also a great way to begin generating lists of assignments, projects, due dates, and resources needed. It is a good idea to communicate with people who depend on you to do tasks.

The GTD process I learned about in CEP 810 will help me long into the future. I have already applied what I learned to my classroom. I organize all my files (paper and digital) in a way that makes finding what I need easy. It also has the benefit of clearing out papers and files I no longer need. This is much better than the "I'll sort it out later" mentality that leads to "organized chaos." At first it was difficult, and time consuming, but as I progressed I felt stress lift off my shoulders, and wheels turning in motion.

As with anything this requires discipline. I need to set aside a time perhaps once a week to manage all my assignments and what I need to do. I also need to do daily checks to make sure I am completing the most pressing tasks first. I believe I can use what I learned in this lab as well as organization strategies (tabbed 3 ring binders, Google calendar, A daily "What to do" post it) will keep me on task. That and communication.

CEP 810 Google Calendar

Here is my Google Calendar:



Calendar URL: https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=r6appg394s8n5h1puh597dq4rc%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York 

The Tragedy of Urban Renewal

http://www.reason.tv/video/show/urban-renewal

Interesting piece on Urban Renewal

The Tragedy of Urban Renewal: The destruction and survival of a New York City neighborhood (byReasonTV)

My Learning style

At the school I teach at, BKB Academy, the first thing we do with our students is assess their learning styles and personality types using what we call the Discovery Process. Tests such as True Colors, VARK and others help us quickly learn about who are students are and how they learn best.

A good teacher is not only aware of their students learning styles, but also his or her own learning style. Personally, I am more of a visual learner. I enjoy collaborating with colleagues and learning through discussion. Whether I mean to or not, this affects how I teach. I tend to use a lot of visuals and encourage lots of group discussions.

In a staff meeting last week, my site leader said, "Other schools diversity instruction, we diversify to the third degree." Since we are an alternative school and many students are court appointed, we have a variety of learners who have failed in the traditional school setting. Add to that the fact that one teacher is teaching students from multiple grades all in one class. 

What I have found that works best is to expect the majority of students to have Orange as their dominant color. These students are more action oriented and tend to require more hands activities. One strategy I have found to work well is to provide students with a list of options for students to choose from based on their learning style and personal preferences. Some student choose to work individually on power points or websites, other do well working with their peers writing and acting out skits.

The material is still being covered, just in different forms according to their different learning styles. It makes it more fun than grading the same thing over and over.

The Electric car grows up

In the 1990s, under pressure from California legislators, car companies began to build zero emission vehicles. General Motors introduced the EV1, a 100% Electric car with a range of 80+ miles.

The story that followed was made famous by the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car"

Watch the trailer to "Who Killed the Electric Car" on Youtube.

Not many people know the EV1 was built in Lansing Michigan at the now demolished Lansing Craft Center. I know this, because it was the same factory my dad would later work at building the Chevy SSR.

Here is a picture of my dad on my Flickr website

I have taught a lesson about the Electric car of the 1990s and the new Chevy Volt, an electric/gas hybrid. I have previously used images from the Creative Commons. Now I can upload my own photos so that others may use my images if they choose. Here are some differences between the EV1 of the 1990s and the new Chevy Volt

1. The Volt is built at the Detroit/Hamtramck plant, while the EV1 was built at the now demolished Lansing Craft Centre. 
2. Few EV1s remain, most were crushed (The EV1 on display at the College for Creative Studies), while the Volt seems to be selling well. They are adding an additional shift at the factory.
3. The EV1 was a 100% Electric vehicle that got 80+ miles a charge, the Volt is an Electric/Gas hybrid that gets about 40 miles per charge then uses a small engine to generate electricity. The EV1 required a special charger while the Volt charges on the standard 110 volt outlet. You can also use a 220 volt outlet for a faster charge.

A volt charging station from my Flickr account

A man charging a an EV1 from the Creative Commons

Using memes from the Creative Commons

Recently I learned a bit more about copyright law and how it applies to educators. As it stands, most schools use the term "fair use" as a "carte blanche" to use copyrighted material any way they want. Although the law favors educators in many ways, it is important that teachers be aware that there is a line.

A majority of cases of "fair use" by teachers are clear cut. A teacher would be allowed to photocopy a chapter to send home with students. The law would favor the copywriter when that same teacher photocopied the entire book to save on having to buy copies from the publisher.

It gets difficult when we consider the nature of technology. Fortunately, there is an easy answer, its called Creative Commons. I'll walk you through how I used this website to locate a picture and be able to put it into my lesson while maintaing copyright law.

1st: I went to the website http://search.creativecommons.org/

2nd: I searched for an image. In this case, the EV1 electric car produced by General Motors in the 1990s and subject of the movie "Who killed the electric car?" I clicked the Search Using Google tab, but you have other options such as Flickr and Youtube

3rd: I eventually found a picture of a man Charging an EV1.

Now I can put this picture into a power point about the electric car.

I can also share my own images to complete the lesson. I'll do that in my next post. See you in a few minutes.

The writings of Lee Kraus: Great Animation on Motivation

The writings of Lee Kraus: Great Animation on Motivation

RSS Page Reflection

I am new to blogs and rss feeds and that whole part of Web 2.0. I was surprised recently when I added the Department of Education and edweek to my Google Reader.

A large part of the model of the school I teach at is permaculture and healthy eating habits. I was happy to find that the U.S. Department of Education has more than $35,000,000 in grants for health and nutrition education. I have never written a grant proposal in my life but I was moved to do so when I read this article. And to think, I never would have known about it if I did not add the U.S. Dept of Education to my list of RSS feeds I am following.

Although it is too late to apply for this specific grant, I will be sure to be better kept in the loop by using Google Reader. Thanks, technology.

_____________

I will admit that at first I was hesitant to adopt RSS feeds. I have grown into a comfortable routine of checking my regular websites daily. It didn’t seem like much could change my habits of waking up with a cup of coffee and freep.com, npr.org, and a half dozen other websites, every now and then adding recommendations from friends. I began to look at RSS feeds differently after going through the RSS lab for CEP 810. Instead of me aimlessly browsing for the latest news stories and interesting articles, they now come to me in my Google Reader.


It began slowly, first one feed, then another, and another. Pretty soon I felt like I had yet another e-mail with dozens of articles to check. I could feel a mounting sense of data overload, so I decided to get educated on how to properly use RSS feeds to make me a better teacher. After reading a few blogs and youtube how-to videos I began to change the way I used Google Reader. I can quickly scan over dozens of articles a minute and easily read and share those that interest me. On the left column I can click on my subscription and only get information from the sites I want that day.


RSS feeds will help me become a better teacher. If I’m planning a specific unit I can add feeds related to that and easily find valuable resources and expert opinions. I teach history, and although not much changes in the way of history, there are a lot of resources that I simply do not know about. Nothing says I have to read every word of every article. I can quickly scan these bits of information for what is relevant to me. RSS feeds are as smart as you make them. Google Reader picks up on my habits and offers recommendations. It also lets me share stories that interest me and see what other people are interested in. Another benefit is that my information is not tied to one machine but can be accessed on any Internet connected device.


I noticed that some feeds add dozens of new stories throughout the day while others update perhaps once a week or less. Not all feeds are created equal. I can quickly read through my news feeds from freep.com and npr.org just like people used to read through the morning paper. When I want to learn about a new technology or something related to my professional life I can take my time browsing relevant blogs and news sources. RSS feeds allow me to feel connected without making me feel overwhelmed. I no longer have to travel to dozens of individual websites, they now come to me in one handy, organized place


I enjoy the way Google Reader works like my MacBook Pro. I can type in a keyword and Google Reader will browse through all my news stories to help me find what I am looking for. It is amazing that with 100s of stories coming into my feeder daily I still do not feel like the important stories are getting buried. For example, I can type in GIS and find every news story that mentions GIS, even if its weeks old. I can also share these links with friends via my Reader page or e-mail with the single click of a button.


I can see myself immediately using RSS feeds in my classroom. I hope to have students do current events. By having students set up their own blog and RSS feed they can gather news stories, share them with friends and write their own reflections. This information is easily documented, no more being accused of “losing” someones paper. I also don’t have to lug a stack of papers home with me to grade and lug them back to school the next day. Yes, RSS feeds have certainly grown on me. I look forward to finding new and exciting ways to use RSS feeds both in my personal and professional life.

A comment I made on a blog I follow through my RSS feed

What my RSS feeds look like on Google Reader

Even Macs need to be maintained

If I told you owning a Cadillac meant you never had to get your oil changed or brakes checked out would you believe me? Even the nicer things in life require maintenance, that's why they invented dry cleaning.

Computers are no different. Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011) had a vision for a cleaner, more streamlined personal computer. There are noticeable differences between a Mac and a P.C. While an application on a windows computer generates many individual files, mac programs are like packets, or bundles, of information. Installing and uninstalling is as easy as moving an icon on a mac. 

Recently I logged into AtomicLearning and viewed some videos on P.C. maintenance. I chose to look at uninstalling unwanted applications, spyware blaster, and purchasing a wireless router I will be sharing this information with my p.c. using friends. As of right now:

"Operating Systems: 

SpywareBlaster supports Windows 98, ME, NT 4, 2000, XP, Vista and later.

SpywareBlaster only works on Windows PCs. There is no Mac-compatible version (yet).
Mac users shouldn't worry, though - spyware isn't nearly as big an issue on Macs as it is on Windows. "


(https://www.javacoolsoftware.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=44) 



I will use the information about wireless routers when looking to set up wireless at my new school, BKB Academy. Our school is small and so many options, including speed booster and how many ports. I was surprised at the many differences in routers, such as a pre-installed firewall. We deal with a lot of confidential information and legal documents and so security would be of a concern.

Social Networks

Social Networks are like any other tool, they can be helpful or they can be a waste of time. I've learned that half of any job is having the right tools and knowing how to use them properly. Here is my take on Social Networks and K-12 Education.

Social Networks are a great way to get students excited about education. Why would anybody dismiss a tool that excites adolescents apathetic by default? I teach middle school children who are 2 - 3 grades behind according to any standardized tests. Using social networks in my lessons is a way I can tap into my students love of technology to get students to learn.

I have used technology in my class in the past with varying degrees of success. Some examples include holding skype sessions and setting up pen-pals with students halfway around the world, having students create fake facebook pages for historical figures (Who would Kennedy be friends with? Who would be his inspirations?) and by using google maps to build a sense of community.

Social networks are also a great way for teachers to connect to other colleagues both old and new. Many people learn by bouncing ideas off of each other, why not use social networks to tap into a network of professionals that literally crosses all political, geographic or cultural barriers?

That all being said, social networks are not a panacea. They will not cure all your problems or instantly allow you to "reach these kids." Social networks are at best a tool, albeit a new and exciting one. I encourage all teachers to tap into the potential of social networks. It just needs to be authentic and meaningful, not simply because its possible. Students still need to be held to the standards and benchmarks, we just now have a new and more collaborative way to teach these concepts.

What's a blog?

There are a few key differences between blogs and traditional web pages. First of all, blogs are a way to chronicle postings and organize comments. They are like your own personal printing press, but instead of your news being a one-way street, its open for others to join in and "add their two cents." Blogs are a great way to share information with family and friends or even complete strangers who have similar interests. Instead of traditional web pages which can be less open and interactive, blogs allow anyone you grant permission to read and comment on your postings. I hope you enjoy my blog as I continue to detail my life as a teacher in Detroit.

A brief Introduction

This is my first attempt at a blog, so patience please. I've never been much of a writer but I do love the craft and consider myself an avid reader. Here is my story.

I recently turned 28. Young enough to have the energy for my job, old enough to have the wisdom and experience not to fail. Oh yeah, my job? I'm a teacher in Detroit, Michigan.

Now I know the word Detroit has all sorts of connotations, the majority of which are negative. I'm hoping to share my experiences from the "urban trenches" and perhaps give you a more positive story. Being a teacher has its share of challenges.  Add the fact that many urban schools are failing our children and by the sixth grade students are at least two or three grade levels behind.  Then there is the difficult home-life, unsafe neighborhoods and few prospects for escaping the cycle of poverty and you have my job.

Regardless of all the challenges urban-educators face, there are dedicated, hard working teachers and school administrators who put in the time and effort to make a difference.  Follow my blog and you can hear my story.  Who knows, you might just change your opinion of Detroit and its future.