http://www.quicklitquestion.com

For my masters thesis project at New York University this semester, I aim to create a technology-based learning environment to help high school students become familiar with the historical periods of the novels they read in class.

It is my experience that students have trouble connecting with the setting, politics, environment, landscape, architecture and context of most eras of classic literature.

Before I begin, I would like to hear from high school English / literature teachers.  I have created a short, two-question survey to help understand which time periods students struggle with and what techniques teachers use to help students become familiar with the context of a novel.

If you are a high school English teacher, please take a moment and fill out the survey below.  If you know a high school English teacher, please pass this along.

http://www.quicklitquestion.com

I spent some of my time this summer break perusing ed tech magazines, reading about the modern classroom.  Clean flat tables scattered about, ready for students to pull out their netbooks and digitally turn the page 331 and click on the link to the accompanying online simulation.

I also spent time these last eight weeks sending tweets, reading an array of online material, collaborating, editing, posting and producing.  But when I walked into my school today for the first time since June, it really hit me how different things are going to be for our students when they come back in a few days.  We just don’t have the hardware, the software, the training or the willingness to look beyond the “fluff” that technology brings to the classroom.  Despite our yearly computer budget allocation, we will not meet the digital learning style of our students.

Preparing one of the classrooms for clunky desktop computers to run our new reading program, I spent much of the afternoon moving stacks of textbooks out of the way so I could reach the electrical outlets and clear a space for the computer tables. Some of the books were new and others outdated. What a waste of time, energy and resources it was for me to have to move these books – not to mention the administrator that ordered them and unpacked them the over the last two decades. The text of all these books would fit on a flash drive. They could be readily downloaded from a web space.  Yet closets and classrooms all over the city are dedicated to keeping them around.

I understand there are budget cuts, but if we really want to invest in education, put a digital tablet in every student and teacher’s hand and let’s move on already. We are done with the laptop carts, four computers in a classroom, one or two labs in a school.

Maybe Apple’s tablet will be the answer.  I wonder what the group discount would be on a purchase of two million of them? I will gladly take a salary cut to help the DOE make the down payment.

Now that my 8th grade class has almost finished creating their websites and are getting ready to host, we need a good domain name to represent the class.  This main page will contain image links to their individual sites. Each student will get their own subdomain.

So what makes a good domain name?

What should my 8th graders choose?

Please read their responses below and come back later to find out which one they voted on.

As 21st century educators teach students to become media producers, the journey through the learning process can be hilarious.  When we teach students to use iMovie and Movie Maker, the first projects they come up with as they are practicing using the software and honing their skills often bring out their personalities and make you smile when they produce a really wacky video.  Of course we want students to produce moving pieces about the importance of voting or giving students a voice, but it is just as powerful to see students demonstrate their production skills when they are just goofing around.

Many of my students have YouTube pages are filled with comical stuff they do after hours.

The SNL skit that aired November 1st about a group of Staten Island Tech students who created a crazy giraffe video for the Staten Island Zoo is a great example of this playful production. The use of stiffly animated giraffes, slideshow photos and psychedelic transitions are typical ingredients students use when they play around with video production tools. I was also amused that the representative from the zoo said he “hasn’t seen the movie yet,” but was sure it would be OK.  He was wrong!

While I am still investigating the back story of the skit and will ask my former IS49 students who currently go to SITech for the full scoop, it wouldn’t surprise me if this video was made by students.  I don’t think it was, but as my students are capable of movies of this production level as 8th graders, it should be an easy task for the bright students at SI Tech.

For your enjoyment… Giraffes.

After a year at NYU to complete 12 credits of “non-printed media” coursework and the technology content specialty test, NY state has granted me a supplemental Educational Technology Specialist license.

I originally sought out this endorsement to ensure I would always have a place at my school teaching technology.  However, after discussing with my principal, if I switch the paper work at human resources and actually teacher under this license I would have to go through a year of probation and lose the six years of seniority I have under my current license. I will investigate further and update after a few phone calls to the UFT and DOE human resources.

Using simple clip art pictures, the video above highlights the important moments of my education and career. Choosing simple pictures to represent the events in educational career was fairly straight-forward. However, I noticed the use of an arrow to direct the audience’s attention was critical. I also developed a narrative as I characterized myself as a chicken that hatched at birth. The roster theme progresses throughout the tale as he grows older and goes through different phases of his life.

To begin this process, I sketched out a quick flowchart on paper and decided which images I would search for. Keeping true to the assignment, I tried not to use any words and the only ones that show up are in the NYCDOE logo. But I figured text in a logo is almost just an icon itself.

As audience members in the class have some pretext of the assignment, they will understand the slideshow. Newcomers may be a little thrown off by the surfer rooster, but should figure it out as the narrative completes itself.

A Little Pollen Left, originally uploaded by mvalia.

As part of my personal professional development this summer, I have begun exploring digital photography. This should be another interesting topic to bring into the classroom.

I took this photo at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden on July 15th. It is probably my most favorite photo I have ever snapped.

During the cold, dark days of February, its tough sometimes as a teacher to see the impact you have on your students. At the end of the year, during yearbook signings and “you were my favorite teacher” gifts, its interesting to hear from students you thought you may not have reached or the ones that sat quietly and did their work.

Below are some pictures of cards and words students wrote as an end of the year assignment from their language arts teacher. They are not the only reason why I teach and there are many other positive affirmations along the way. But, they will make for some great motivation during the long run of standardized tests during the cold days of winter.

Click on each image to open it open larger in a new window.

For ten Saturdays in this past spring, 15 students attended the Dell TechKnow computer program at IS49. Students were given their own computer, took it apart, put it together and learned the inner workings of a PC. This five-minute documentary is a snapshot of the experience.

Check out the article written about our MOUSE Squad on the MOUSE Squad Wire newsletter. The article was written by field support representative Juan Garzon.

http://mousesquad.org/node/5328