Show Me the Moodle … and More

More Technology Tidbits for Teachers

The Tech Team has been busy … to say the least. A new phone system with voice mail, a new network and the impending addition of some other wonderful tools has been a challenge. In between, we have been dealing with the work orders through School Dude and, as a credit to the Tech staff, they have gotten most of the bugs out of the new systems.

On Monday (Sept. 29) at 6:00 pm, RETA will be presenting another one-hour webinar, Show Me the Moodle. Moodle is an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. This presentation promises to show how teachers from other districts are using Moodle in their classrooms to enhance student engagement and learning. The Tech Team is currently undertaking steps to make Moodle available to all Socorro teachers and staff.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’d rather be curled up in couch-potato position by 6:00 on Monday night. However, the opportunity to learn how to improve my effectiveness as a teacher drives away the aches and pains of another Monday. My curiosity has been piqued by the RETA experience, and this promises to be another exciting session of professional development.

You can’t beat the price … it’s free! Join us in the conference room at C.O. or check it out online from the comforts of home.

Can an Hour of Your Time on Mondays Help Your Students?

View the Webinar: Intro to RETA Webinars and Whirlwind Tour of Web 2.0

Many teachers, students and occupants of the “real” world view Mondays as an excuse to not be alive. We reluctantly get out of bed, cursing the end of the weekend and dreading the start of five long days until the fredeom of the weekends arrive again. Lest I steal the words of The Bangles, we can forget about kissing Valentino and wishing that it was Sunday … it’s just another Manic Monday …. so we might as well make the most of it.

Sometimes, getting back to basics is a good way to start the week. This past Monday evening, Dr. Vannetta Perry, Cecilia Huang and yours truly participated in a webinar offerred by the Regional Educational Technology Assistance program at New Mexico State University. The webinar, conducted by Bethany Bovard, Intro to RETA Webinars and Whirlwind Tour of Web 2.0, was an engaging and thought-provoking hour of discussion about Web 2.0 and the use of blogs, wikis, screencasts, google sites and Moodle. My brief summary of Bethany’s presentation is meant to encourage you to click the link above and view the webinar.

Web 2.0 is the new buzzword that defines the transition of the Internet from a content-driven, corporate-dominated conglomeration for information consumption to a web where the individual is the creator and contributor to the knowledge and information on the web. In Web 2.0, we all have a voice and an opportunity to be heard.

As educators, Web 2.0 offers us the challenge to expand the possibilities that we extend to our students, meeting them in the world that they inhabit and leading them towards the world they will inherit. Web 2.0 gives students technology-rich learning processes that include reading, writing, dicussion, reflection, critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration. Equally exciting for students and teachers alike are the learning products and outcomes: presentations, demonstrations, portfolios, information and communication technology, media and information literacy skills development.

Students Need Work that is Engaging and Meaningful

Who Would You Ask?

Last week, a well-prepared team of educational professionals from the Schlechty Center gave an engaging, informative and well-organized presentation about the need for change in schools. You may say, “So … what else is new?” After all, for those of us who have dedicated our lives and spirits to this vocation, we have accepted that everyone from researchers to parents to bureaucrats to politicians has a better idea about the way schools should operate.

As teachers, we inherently want our school and our classroom to be the very best around or, as a minimum, to be among the best. There is something about the overachieving nature of teachers that drives the need for excellence in us. It is that same need that inspires teachers to help the children with whom we are entrusted to also achieve the very best they can. But what is the true the measure of our success? Is it our knowledge? Is it our planning? Is it our performance? Is it how well we set up our classrooms?

Ultimately, there is only one measure of our success … the performance of our students. A sales manager in the business world is judged by the achievement of sales objectives by each sales rep. The coach of a sports team is judged by the performance and contributions of each player. Leaders are judged by the work of the people that they lead. If we accept that teachers are leaders of students and designers of the work that students do, then we can gain some perspective and guidance from the theories of Phillip Schlechty. Schlechty believes that the major need for change in schools surrounds the quality and type of work that is assigned to students (see Working on the Work by Schlechty). Schlechty asserts that:

Performances That Demonstrate Understanding

View the Podcast: Engaging students through Performance-Oriented Demonstartions of Understanding

As educators, we spend an enormous amount of time sifting through pages and pages of articles about the latest research, practice and advice. Somewhere amidst our required reading, we engage in planning our lessons with an unwary eye looking to incorporate all the ideas that we uncover. Hopefully, every once in a while, an article comes along that has a long-term impact on our pedagogical skills.

On Friday, the opening day of the football season for our Socorro Warriors, I came across an article by Carl Engvall entitled “Stage Craft: Why can’t a classroom have the passion of drama or sports?” (Edutopia, Aug/Sep 2008, p. 10). I couldn’t help thinking about the article as I watched our Warriors trounce their adversaries with passion and precision, demonstrating their amazing skill, intensity and focus. One cannot help but wonder why such emotion and motivation cannot be translated into the classroom on a regular basis.