The Road to Integration - Part 1

This was going to be a post about backwards planning using the concepts in Understanding By Design (UbD). Here is a great link to an explanation of UbD concepts with lots of links to resources.

But...as I started thinking about using UbD to plan units based on deep understanding and essential questions I have to be honest with myself. I don't have the time to do deep planning. I have a time problem. I wear way too many hats at work. I think I should win some kind of multi-tasking award. Is there such an award?

I am first and foremost a teacher. That is what interests me and what motivates me the most.I teach six scheduled classes each week in the computer lab. I am also a technology trainer, working with teachers to help them get the most from their computers. Then I am the network administrator. Which is a sort of a joke because me, a network admin (I don't think so), but a very serious joke because it takes an awful lot of time, and I must say I do it pretty well! Luckily, I do have the BEST assistant. But she is only contracted for 8 hours a week (and works way more). Then there are all the totally random tech-related tasks that fill up my day. Today, for example, someone came in and handed me a CD of pictures she wanted posted on edline. Stuff like that. It takes time. 

I am supposed to be the technology integration specialist. This is the job that I feel should take the most of my time. But in actuality, it is what I try to fit in, in between doing all the other stuff.

My vision for technology integration is for me to work with the classroom teachers on projects that integrate technology into what they are doing in the classroom. Right? Wrong. I spend a lot of time planning my lessons for the computer lab. I have K-1 for 30 minutes a week. There is just not that much you can do in 30 minute weekly increments. Ditto for 2nd-5th grades who I see for 45 minutes a week. 

From my limited research, schools that are leading the way in terms of technology integration have a policy where the teacher is required to plan with the tech. person AND is required to be in the computer lab with their students. This is the only way that the technology can truly be integrated with the curriculum. Plus you have the added benefit of the opportunity for the classroom teacher to learn the technology apps. along with the students in the lab.  This policy must come from the administration. I proposed this to my administration and was met with a "no way". There are a lot of walls to break down at my school, walls made out of "this is the way we have always done things here" bricks

Don't worry. I am not giving up.

Stay tuned for "The Road to Integration" - part 2.

Character Blogs

This is one of my favorite projects. First of all, this project represents for me a model of true technology integration. I love the way the classroom teacher and I worked together. Secondly, I think it is a great project which has real depth and strong academic content and integrates technology for all the right reasons in all the best ways. 

Project Development:

It started with a conversation with Deb Kuhr, the middle school English teacher. She told me that the 7th graders were reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and would be using the book to focus on the element of character. Did I have any ideas for technology integration? I thought of the idea of having the students blog "in character."

From there we really worked together as we developed and taught the project. One challenge that arose early on was the school's content filter which blocks most of the popular blogging sites. In searching for an online home for our blogs I revisited a site I had learned about years ago, Think.com. There are pros and cons to using this site. Think.com is a very safe site; in order to get an account you must have an educational affiliation. No one can enter the site unless they have an account. Teachers must approve image content. There is a lengthy list of banned words. Although Think.com boasts members from around the world, and you can invite other schools to join you in your project, the interaction I have seen is pretty superficial. 

Since a large part of blogging is reading the blogs of others and leaving comments, we added the requirement that the characters must read and interact with others' character blogs in character. Because of the nature of Think.com you can't leave "stickies" or comments on project pages. However, you can add an interactive element to your page, such as a message board. So, we had the students use these elements for interaction.

All in all, I judge this project a huge success. I think the students really learned from putting themselves into the mind of the character and extending their thoughts about the novel. We even had a blog for Bob, a character that died early in the novel, called "Bob's Blog from Beyond." I know that they were motivated by the activity; they found blogging fun and enjoyed having a think.com account. They all created Think.com home pages as well, a page they could create as themselves (as opposed to their character from The Outsiders). I was impressed by the quality of the work. We are now in the second year of this project, and it is again going well. As with any unit, it is easier the second time around -- all of the planning is finished, we know what to expect, and it is just a matter of doing it. 

What I think could make this project better in the future would be interaction with other students who are also reading The Outsiders or at least a chance for a more public audience to read their blogs. I think that I would like to try a different blogging site next year, maybe class blogmeister or edublogs. Any suggestions? It would have to be a "safe" site. If you would like a copy of the rubric we used, leave a comment here or email me at andreals@comcast.net.

Here are some pictures of Mrs. Kuhr's bulletin board from last year's blogs. She had each student print out one or two favorite entries and create an artistic representation of their character.