Like Krazy

Things started to settle down on the third day as if it was almost routine in my classroom to take a quiz on a smartphone or netbook computer. But I did not want the same issues I had with the computers not connecting to the wireless (turns out it was a faulty wifi switch but I didn't know it at the time) so I brought out the big guns - the iPads.  We purchased a cart with 26 iPads over the summer and I put it to use for the first time. The students were extremely excited and most put down their phones to have a go. The quiz program worked perfectly (Socrative.com) but I immediately realized how easy it must be to see such a big screen from a nearby desk. Does the fact that that is one of the first things I thought of mean that I am getting cynical? I hope not. Maybe just more "wise." I realize that there must be some special advantage in using the iPads (or any other tablet) over a smartphone for this particular exercise but that wasn't happening just yet, but I did...

The honeymoon is over. Well, sort of. The second day did not go quite as smooth as the first because of technology issues. Shocker! In each of the two classes, one student had extra difficulty getting his computer to connect to the wireless. I helped and tried several solutions and a couple different computers before finally getting it going. The other students were very patient but it was because they were using their computers for many things beyond getting ready to take the quiz. At least they were distracting themselves and I decided to accept that early on in this process. I'll work on something more "productive" to keep them occupied if (when) this happens in the future. There have been several positives already. I found that I can create questions with a little more detail and make them multiple choice. In the past I did not think it fair to expect them to recall details but they should be able to identify or recognize them in a list. It works very well to se...

"Take out a piece of paper and fold it in half length-wise." Almost every one of my English classes for the last twenty years has begun with that statement. What follows is a short, five-question quiz on the previous night's reading. Recently, one or two of those questions comes with notebooks open, which gives students a chance to see how well they are taking notes and keeping track of what is important from the day's discussion. In any case, both students and I get a quick look at how well (or if!) they are reading and understanding. "Take out your smartphone or get a netbook from the cart." That's how today's class began for two of my classes. Those students took the quiz (created in a spreadsheet and imported into a quiz program)  using the netbooks, their smartphones, and on an iPad.  They loved it, but that's not surprising. It was something different and not only used technology but used something (cell phone) that is banned in school....

Unfortunately, I have been hearing a lot of negative conversation about Khan Academy recently. It does not seem right to put down someone who has done so much to help others in an extremely proficient way. There are so many great uses for what he (and others) have created. If not at the center of a flipped classroom model, the videos can be used as reference by students who may not have completely understood a topic initially. In this example, Khan becomes the classic textbook example on steroids. My daughter occasionally watched a Khan video this past year to help her with a calculus topic. It must have been useful because she recommended the site to friends. One of the tasks of students (and teachers) in the near future will be to keep track of the virtual teachers who may provide them the best outside help. It would be great to have a site similar to Netflix for learning, with suggestions and recommendations based on your "favorite" virtual teachers. Along with teachers,...

"So, what's the answer?" Cringe. The question came from a student the other day after a long discussion about the reason a character was so enraged. I was tempted to say that the character had been discussing an important topic with others and one of them had not been paying attention and so he was enraged.  But I have been told that sarcasm does not work with boys. Dang. It's a fair question, sometimes. It's not easy to follow a discussion with many students providing input and insight. After a while they figure out who has something to say that has a high percentage of being insightful.             For others, the class dialogue may drag on and after several minutes they zone out. Once they "come back" they are ready to move on. They want the Spark Notes version (or Reader's Digest or Cliff Notes, depending on your generation). photo © 2007 Kenneth Lu | more info (via: Wylio ) It’s not like it is the first time anyone h...

During a recent class discussion about a Sherlock Holmes story ("Adventure of the Speckled Band") my students and I had read, it occurred to me that maybe Holmes would be out of work in the 21st century. After all, anything that he could possibly think of (in this case it was a "swamp adder" from India) could be googled. So I asked my class what they thought. The immediate response was that Holmes was obsolete. Google could take his place. All of his knowledge was available right there for quick and easy access. Why memorize when you can google it? Then there was a pause. They caught themselves and actually began to think about it. I could have stopped right then and called the entire class session a success. Heck, that might even be considered a successful week. But we did continue. It was time to press my luck and see where this thought was going. First one voice (you gotta love that one - the one you sometimes wait to call on until many others have had a turn), ...