I have spent a fair amount of time mastering technology skills that are not necessarily related to education, but I figured I'd share what I already know as much of it improves the general internet users quality of life.
This blog will focus on internet browser extensions, specifically for Google Chrome though many (or their equivalents) can be found for the other browsers.
HoverZoom
The best Chrome extension ever. All those pictures that constantly need to be opened? Now you can just hover over the link or thumbnail with your cursor and the image pops up to full size on your screen.
YouTube Options
For the internet user who uses YouTube for a variety of things, including showing videos to students, this extension offers a broad variety of options such as disabling comments, disabling autoplay, and in general disabling a bunch of other annoying aspects of YouTube as well as other customization options.
Readability
This extension lets you reformat online articles and other things in a much simpler format as well as letting you save them for reading at a further date. This one I have used for teaching, as it is a great first step to take when preparing an online article for students.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Visitors and Residents
The central idea in the video we watched was this dichotomy of people, residents who use the internet with a comfort level that allow them to approach current and new content at a higher level than visitors who are at a point where they value privacy and security in ways that limit their usage of online tools such as social media.
The video made some interesting points regarding both sides, some that I agreed with and some that I didn't. Some ideas that I agreed with are the communal aspect of residents and their ability to interact with others in an online format as well as the characterization of visitors as those who approach technology neither unable nor unwilling to use technology but instead with a different mindset about how and why to use it. One of my main issues with the video was that it seemed to treat the internet and all of its various areas and tools as a single level of difficulty for residents to incorporate at will into their available skill sets. I consider myself a resident in this divide and there are very many areas of the internet I am comfortable using to their full extent, capitalizing on educational tools and personal tools offered by various services and companies. However there are many others that due to a number of factors such as design flaws, layout differences, unusual user interfaces, quality of use issues, and more become difficult to incorporate into my online tool set.
Overall the video makes some excellent points and sets up a new way of looking at those who use the internet and other technology not as those with skills and those without, but instead differentiates them by their mindset and approach to using those tools. It's description of the two beyond this point falls short of a convincing argument however, and oversimplifies the qualities of these two groups.
The video made some interesting points regarding both sides, some that I agreed with and some that I didn't. Some ideas that I agreed with are the communal aspect of residents and their ability to interact with others in an online format as well as the characterization of visitors as those who approach technology neither unable nor unwilling to use technology but instead with a different mindset about how and why to use it. One of my main issues with the video was that it seemed to treat the internet and all of its various areas and tools as a single level of difficulty for residents to incorporate at will into their available skill sets. I consider myself a resident in this divide and there are very many areas of the internet I am comfortable using to their full extent, capitalizing on educational tools and personal tools offered by various services and companies. However there are many others that due to a number of factors such as design flaws, layout differences, unusual user interfaces, quality of use issues, and more become difficult to incorporate into my online tool set.
Overall the video makes some excellent points and sets up a new way of looking at those who use the internet and other technology not as those with skills and those without, but instead differentiates them by their mindset and approach to using those tools. It's description of the two beyond this point falls short of a convincing argument however, and oversimplifies the qualities of these two groups.
What am I passionate about?
Where to begin? Perhaps a simpler approach would be to ask "What am I not passionate about?" A much shorter list to be sure. In fact my students have dubbed my superhero identity as "Willipedia" which I hope is a fond acknowledgement of idiosyncrasies revolving around my thirst for knowledge rather than a mocking salute. The issue remains however, that even within the realm of education I am passionate about a great many things.
On to the task of narrowing it down. Technology? History? Innovative teaching methods? All of these are near and dear to my heart, as are many others. Perhaps they can be unified in some way, a central theme or greater goal that encompasses all of these methods and interests. Focusing on my first and foremost passion, history, I look to what I hope to do with the subject. Since coaching a love of history into each and every student is beyond even my ability, my central goal is instead to teach every student how to use history to make sense of the world in which they live and to help create their own personal success.
An expansive and perhaps impossible goal, yet that does not make it any less important to aim for as an educator. If I condense this goal into "I want my students to leave my classroom with new tools and new understandings of previous tools that will help them create their own success" it becomes somewhat more manageable, if still a bit nebulous. One further revision leads to the goal "My students will leave my classroom with new and improved tools to create their own success." Aha! I like it. Now does it encompass all of my educational passions and interests? Indeed I think it does, this is the central core of what I hope to do as a teacher.
Within this goal I can incorporate new material, new methods, and new technology with a focused point of helping my students develop physical and mental skills that will help them on whatever path they choose.
On to the task of narrowing it down. Technology? History? Innovative teaching methods? All of these are near and dear to my heart, as are many others. Perhaps they can be unified in some way, a central theme or greater goal that encompasses all of these methods and interests. Focusing on my first and foremost passion, history, I look to what I hope to do with the subject. Since coaching a love of history into each and every student is beyond even my ability, my central goal is instead to teach every student how to use history to make sense of the world in which they live and to help create their own personal success.
An expansive and perhaps impossible goal, yet that does not make it any less important to aim for as an educator. If I condense this goal into "I want my students to leave my classroom with new tools and new understandings of previous tools that will help them create their own success" it becomes somewhat more manageable, if still a bit nebulous. One further revision leads to the goal "My students will leave my classroom with new and improved tools to create their own success." Aha! I like it. Now does it encompass all of my educational passions and interests? Indeed I think it does, this is the central core of what I hope to do as a teacher.
Within this goal I can incorporate new material, new methods, and new technology with a focused point of helping my students develop physical and mental skills that will help them on whatever path they choose.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Communities of Practice
The theory behind Communities of Practice is that applying the apprentice learning style to a context in which the apprentice is not learning from only one master craftsman, but from a community of craftsmen who are at the same time learning from him and each other. Instead of a traditional tiered approach in which one entity who is assumed to have mastered a set of skills teaches them to a person who has not mastered them, a community of practice learning format puts mastery out of reach, constantly improving as those who are attempting to reach it continue to improve. Within this you get a network of support in which resources and learning flow freely between people on the same level, all working towards continual improvement with no final goal capping their potential.
The domain of this class and more broadly that of educators is that of the specific skill of teaching and the broader goal of global improvement through gradual change. A more educated populace has been a marker of advanced civilization throughout history, and there is no such thing as a population that is too educated. Therefore by committing ourselves to this domain we are committing ourselves to a group that has the goal of improvement, unlimited in area and potential.
The community becomes more specific, where indeed should and do educators interact communally to make progress towards the goals of the domain? The answer more and more seems to be online, where ideas are less limited by the physical restrictions required of a highly demanding and time intensive career. Twitter, blogs, video chat, online databases, and more are all tools that enable teachers to practice their skills within this community. This practice allows them to use the resources and support within the network to get closer to the communal goal of the domain.
The domain of this class and more broadly that of educators is that of the specific skill of teaching and the broader goal of global improvement through gradual change. A more educated populace has been a marker of advanced civilization throughout history, and there is no such thing as a population that is too educated. Therefore by committing ourselves to this domain we are committing ourselves to a group that has the goal of improvement, unlimited in area and potential.
The community becomes more specific, where indeed should and do educators interact communally to make progress towards the goals of the domain? The answer more and more seems to be online, where ideas are less limited by the physical restrictions required of a highly demanding and time intensive career. Twitter, blogs, video chat, online databases, and more are all tools that enable teachers to practice their skills within this community. This practice allows them to use the resources and support within the network to get closer to the communal goal of the domain.
A Whole New Mind Part 1
1. What is L-Directed and R-Directed Thinking? Does my subject require more of one than the other? How could I try and reach a balance?
R-Directed Thinking is “simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual, and synthetic.” L-Directed Thinking is “sequential, literal, functional, textual and analytic.” As a single subject Humanities teacher parts of both these areas are covered in my classroom, though not evenly. The areas I'll be covering in my classroom that require more L-Directed Thinking are reading in terms of the alphabetic principle, decoding and literal comprehension, and grammar. The ones that require more R-Directed Thinking are Creative Writing; History; Social Studies; and Reading in terms of inferential and evaluative comprehension. The balance is somewhat skewed in favor of R-directed thinking, but in the PBL curriculum I currently work in collaborative projects between subject areas are common, and I'm excited to explore joint projects with science and other subject area teachers to reinforce well-rounded thinking in my students.
2. How do Abundance, Asia, and Automation affect the dominance of L-Directed thinking in business and schools?
The three A's have a negative impact on L-Directed thinking by tilting the balance towards R-Directed thinking . Due to Abundance, Asia, and Automation, L-Directed thinking is now not enough to get by on. The abundance in society has created a higher standard for products that must face stiff competition from a variety of sources, which allows consumers to be pickier when choosing what to buy and forcing products to find new ways to outperform competition. Asia refers to the ability of other countries, particularly in Asia, to produce knowledge based employees at a significantly lower cost of resources. These workers will now perform similarly to American workers for less pay, driving down the wages and worth of Americans in competing jobs. Automation is the increasing mechanization and computerization of previously human-powered tasks, for which companies and industries no longer have to pay workers for, creating a lack of jobs in an skill area.
3. What is High Concept and High Touch. What is the impact of this on my teaching?
Abilities that require high levels of creativity are High Concept. Abilities that are centered in social adeptness and people skills are High Touch. The High Touch abilities that are so commonly praised throughout the education sphere are important, but without complimentary High Concept skills my students will struggle in a rapidly evolving world that will require those skills for success. Developing these skills is restricted in many ways by a traditional classroom which adheres to content standards and is chained to the results of standardized tests that do not test student understanding of these skills. One of the greatest challenges and opportunities of my career in education will be how to teach skills such as these based within a content framework that is also important to my students.
4. What are the flaws of an education system that only values IQ? Is there also a role for EQ in education?
A major flaw in an education system that only values IQ is that it is testing and preparing students for a limited kind of success that not all students can achieve. If we make the ultimate goal of our teaching to give students the tools to build a successful life of their own definition, we must first prepare them to be able to define their personal meaning of success. If the only definition of success students are exposed to is one based on IQ, then we are limiting their ability to achieve it. EQ is a start in broadening our definition of success, but it is only the beginning. We must acknowledge and embrace all the various ways our students might achieve their personal success to help students realize all of the directions in which they can choose to be successful.
R-Directed Thinking is “simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual, and synthetic.” L-Directed Thinking is “sequential, literal, functional, textual and analytic.” As a single subject Humanities teacher parts of both these areas are covered in my classroom, though not evenly. The areas I'll be covering in my classroom that require more L-Directed Thinking are reading in terms of the alphabetic principle, decoding and literal comprehension, and grammar. The ones that require more R-Directed Thinking are Creative Writing; History; Social Studies; and Reading in terms of inferential and evaluative comprehension. The balance is somewhat skewed in favor of R-directed thinking, but in the PBL curriculum I currently work in collaborative projects between subject areas are common, and I'm excited to explore joint projects with science and other subject area teachers to reinforce well-rounded thinking in my students.
2. How do Abundance, Asia, and Automation affect the dominance of L-Directed thinking in business and schools?
The three A's have a negative impact on L-Directed thinking by tilting the balance towards R-Directed thinking . Due to Abundance, Asia, and Automation, L-Directed thinking is now not enough to get by on. The abundance in society has created a higher standard for products that must face stiff competition from a variety of sources, which allows consumers to be pickier when choosing what to buy and forcing products to find new ways to outperform competition. Asia refers to the ability of other countries, particularly in Asia, to produce knowledge based employees at a significantly lower cost of resources. These workers will now perform similarly to American workers for less pay, driving down the wages and worth of Americans in competing jobs. Automation is the increasing mechanization and computerization of previously human-powered tasks, for which companies and industries no longer have to pay workers for, creating a lack of jobs in an skill area.
3. What is High Concept and High Touch. What is the impact of this on my teaching?
Abilities that require high levels of creativity are High Concept. Abilities that are centered in social adeptness and people skills are High Touch. The High Touch abilities that are so commonly praised throughout the education sphere are important, but without complimentary High Concept skills my students will struggle in a rapidly evolving world that will require those skills for success. Developing these skills is restricted in many ways by a traditional classroom which adheres to content standards and is chained to the results of standardized tests that do not test student understanding of these skills. One of the greatest challenges and opportunities of my career in education will be how to teach skills such as these based within a content framework that is also important to my students.
4. What are the flaws of an education system that only values IQ? Is there also a role for EQ in education?
A major flaw in an education system that only values IQ is that it is testing and preparing students for a limited kind of success that not all students can achieve. If we make the ultimate goal of our teaching to give students the tools to build a successful life of their own definition, we must first prepare them to be able to define their personal meaning of success. If the only definition of success students are exposed to is one based on IQ, then we are limiting their ability to achieve it. EQ is a start in broadening our definition of success, but it is only the beginning. We must acknowledge and embrace all the various ways our students might achieve their personal success to help students realize all of the directions in which they can choose to be successful.
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