Ch 15 & 16

"'Costume play' or cosplay- dressing up as favorite magna and anime characters- and live action roleplays based on a favorite popular culture text are also gaining popularity (see, for example, Cosplay.com)."

This chapter is giving me a warm fuzzy feeling for my students. I love the arts. I love Harry Potter, theatre- from high school shows to Broadway, sic-fi (sometimes), going to museums and art shows. I also love seeing the creativity in advertising, i.e. a well worded slogan, a powerful billboard, funny Super Bowl commercials.

I feel pretty comfortable saying I have the skill and passion for being creative in marketing and advertising. But many of my students (specifically Digital Imaging & Game Design students- not Accounting students!) have the skill and passion for machinima, fan art & fan fiction. Additionally, we have even done as assignments Photoshopping remixes as well as music and video remixes.

Although, fan fiction, fan art, anime and cosplay aren't part of my personality, I have grown to love my students' passion for this art, culture and expression.

Here are a few students getting warmed up for the gaming tournament my class held a few weeks ago. We decided while we were working on the brackets and students were arriving, to entertain them with "Just Dance". One of my students asked if she should dress up and I encouraged her to go for it because I believed it would make the event more exciting. 

Here's Adryana dressed up as a giraffe during the warm up to the tournament.

Ch 13 & 14

"Moreover, physical or meatspace literacy practices often mean different things within eBay. For example, one regular eBay user we interviewed said she loves coming across item descriptions that include misspelled words. To her it means she is more likely to "win" a bargain from this person than from someone who spells correctly. Non-standard spelling indicates to her someone who is less likely to be in a professional job or to won a shop and, hence in her eyes, to be less likely to know the real value of ceramics or other objects they are offering for sale."

Ouch! I look forward to sharing this with my students. I want them to see how people with lacking education are judged in the world. I feel like they think of us teachers as nit-pickers and don't realize the rest of the world will judge them in very similar ways.

I suppose I feel very strongly about my students interacting with the public because I often make arrangements for them to do so. (This year my accounting class has gone on two short field trips: Davis and Elkins College Accounting Dept & Elkins Fordland Accounting Dept, Game Design classes have held two coding workshops for elementary students & and one gaming tournament and Digital Imaging students have gone to WV Weslyan College twice and are on their way to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and PNC Park Pirates Stadium 'Education Day' next week.)

In addition to opportunities to interact with the public, my Digital Imaging class, very regularly does work for the public. Our Simulated Workplace company name is "Pixel Pop Media" (last semester it was "Digital Blis"- the misspelling was on purpose. Hope the public understood that!)

Pixel Pop Media has been asked just this year by the public and other teachers/advisors/committees to make signs for homecoming parade vehicles, banners for the Elkins High School commencement ceremony, EHS prom invitations, bookmarks for the Mountain State Forest Festival, dance recital programs, a banner for the EHS  'Top 10%" dinner, three banners for staff events at the Tygarts Valley Regional Jail  and a variety of logos for other Randolph Technical Center Simulated Workplaces.

Generally, I have every students create a design for these projects and then offer all of the designs to our 'client'. Our client meets with me and looks that them and decides their favorite or a combination of their two favorites (and we can combine components of each). This takes the assessment, at least partially, out of my hands and the students hear feedback from the public- not their nit-picky teacher. We have also sold greeting cards for charity. I didn't have to say which one I liked the best. The public said it with their dollar. One card sold exponentially better than the rest.

Digital Imaging Original Class Logo

Attention is it!

I really enjoyed reading the chapter about attention. It is interesting that anything we want to learn is at our fingertips but sometimes it does not get our attention. Attention is also a big part of sales, marketing and business. As a Business Education teacher, this is link of attention in education and in business is especially fascinating to me.

"...having the attention of other turns out to feel very good..."

I help coach a Kids on the Run club at my children's elementary school and we have been talking about the students who clearly need attention- but what student doesn't. We know students don't always get it at home and then demand more attention from teachers- positive or negative attention.

This quote also makes me think of Facebook. The book mentions everyone having their own "customized channel for each individual" to get attention- sounds like Facebook to me.

"...advertising faces ever-increasing competition for attention."

Anyone in business, from running a car dealership to selling candy bars for Girl Scouts, knows they need to get their client's attention yet in all my business classes, I never studied the literacy and economy of attention. I think Apple has done a great job in the attention economy. I think the Ted Talk below shows a great way some companies have gotten the attention of consumers.

Additionally, I was really excited to read how the text talked about the changing role of librarians. I have recently taken and passed the Library Media Specialist Praxis test. Some people have given me a concerned response the future of libraries/librarians when I tell about considering a career in this field. I still believe there is a future for libraries and librarians. I believe the future librarians will navigate all these literacies of our future learners. I know my library is working on an update. It will be interesting to see what the future holds.

Gaming Tournament Mid Term!

The impact of this case is for my Game Design II students to plan a WiiU Mario Kart Tournament as a fundraiser for a field trip to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and 'Education Day' at PNC Park Pirates baseball stadium. Due to some new Javascript curriculum added this year, some Game Design II students are doing a JavaScript game, some are doing a Flash game and some have started a 3-D Unity Game. Additionally, there is a Game Design I student I and a MultiApps student (similar to Game Design III) who have been given special permission to join the class. We have two students with IEPs, one student in the National Technical Honors Society and one student who was a National Game Design Finalist for Globaloria. Although we work together as a team, this class is on many levels. 

We have been planning a field trip to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and 'Education Day' at PNC Park Pirate Baseball Stadium. We needed to raise some money for the trip so we decided to hold a WiiU Mario Kart tournament. This would take some planning and preparation.

I decided to have a Simulated Workplace Class Meeting. We determined all the tasks that need to be completed to ensure we would be ready for the tournament. Then the tasks were delegated to the students. Some students volunteered to take on certain responsibilities and some I nominated them for. 

In the end, everyone was in agreement and it was very clear what each of them had to do. One student would make attractive flyers ensuring all pertinent information was included, one created the MC script with all important announcements for the players and spectators, one created the tickets with our company logo and ticket number, one communicated with the Woodworking teacher about the 'trophy' his students were creating for the winner, and so on.

I needed to be able to depend on the students to do all the many tasks needed correctly. I was not going to take it on myself and I was not going to let the tournament be a disaster. To ensure this, I decided to make this their mid term grade. 

The challenge was to make each student have a task comparable to their peers when, most likely, it would be very different from their peers. I believed this wasn't really the case. There was no way they could be equally challenging.

Most of the students did a good job on their 'mid term'. Some had to make changes promptly to improve their work in order for it to go out into the public and I did not mind increasing their grade. 

I was initially apprehensive that a variety of different 'mid terms' for different students could put me at risk of treating students unfairly. Although, in the end I felt like it ended up being a great way to put their specific talents to best use. I still wonder what a parent might think about what their specific child's 'mid term' was without knowing the context of the project and the assignment of duties but I have yet to hear a complaint. I do think this was a good group of students for this type of assessment and a teacher may need to make that judgement call based on the demeanor of the students and the classroom culture. 

The tournament is this Friday, April 15 right after school! We will be serving bacon maple cookies and Mountain Dew Dorito cupcakes- best gamer food ever!

Not a Pencil Man & New Literacy Study

"Rather, it is important to emphasize that standards tests and benchmarks could only ever be the baseline for a teacher. That is, effective teachers will always go beyond the standards and benchmarks to enact meaningful and richly conceived literacies in their classrooms."

This reminds me of trying to explain to students the way the world will judge them based on misspelling a word or using incorrect grammar. I feel like I am warning them because I know how smart they are and I want the world to see it, too. I know if they say, "I seen that online." or if they misspell a word on their resume they could be judged as not very intelligent.

Although, there is a new technique called 'blind hiring' that has been noticed by the Wall Street Journal, NPR and the Washington Post (to name a few). Instead of submitting a resume to apply for a job (NO RESUME!), this technique has job applicants work on a project, complete an assignment or write a short story about data. This technique takes out preconceived notions about people based on their alma mater or name and just looks at their skills. I think a lot of my students could shine in this type of interviews... and some would not.

Jacques case would be a perfect example of how blind hiring can be very beneficial for a company. Clearly Jacques has skills and abilities that is academic record is not reflecting.

"Some 'new' literacies may come and go very quickly. Others will rise and rise. And under the fast paced conditions of contemporary life, what appears new may be superseded and become 'old' very quickly. There are, then, risks involved in trying to identify exemplars of new literacies."

This section of Chapter 10 reminds me of Myspace (remember everyone?:). It was a huge form of communication and literacy at one point. Now it is not relevant, other than maybe in social media/online bullying history. But on the other hand, Facebook has dominated the topic of digital literacy for business, social life for those of all ages, non-profit organizations, etc.

This statement also reminds me of the "Everybody's on WooWoo" commercial... until Mom ends up on WooWoo. 

Chapter 7 & 8

"New electronic technologies directly and indirectly comprise key products of new capitalist economies. ... Educational reform agendas serve crucially here as means to creating and maintaining enlarged markets for products of the information economy- extending beyond curricular exhortations to advocate also the extensive use of new technologies within administrative tasks of restructured schools." p. 135

"Technology and progress have become indissolubly linked in the minds of many parents, students, educators and policy makers. Schools are investing heavily in hardware, software, internet connections, local area networks and so on. Increasingly we of parents choosing schools for their children on the basis of internet access. Such practices and mindsets evince a "widely held discourse which associates computers in classrooms with technological progress, future employment opportunities of students as well as enhanced learning in the classroom." p.141

"A National Science Board publication, Educating Americans for the 21st Century, claimed that 'alarming numbers of young Americans are ill-equipped to work in, contribute to, profit from, and enjoy our increasingly technological society'". p. 135-136

There were a lot of quotes from the book I wanted to share because I had a strong reaction to them. The reason I had a strong reaction was because due to the failure of our school levy (I'm sorry, I am sure I have griped about this before). The last time I was at my local Board of Education office, I heard the lawyer for the board state that there would be no more investments in technology. Four Technology Integration Specialists have been terminated (RIF) and technology education program at the middle school is being eliminated or reduced.

The Randolph County Board of Education and Board Office staff are not responsible for this. The voters and tax payers of my county do not want to invest in education. This disappoints me most as a parent of three public school children. How can I read these chapters and not be concerned for them and all the children of our community trying to compete nationally and globally?

I think part of the problem lies within the public not understanding 'the relationship between 'proficiency' and 'playing around'."(p.140) They think, "These kids are computer geniuses when they are two!" Yes, they can play with technology but they are not proficient.

I believe "education is integral to improvement" (p. 142) and when we do not prioritize it, we do not have improvement needed in our community in a variety of ways, i.e. good doctors will not want to live in an area with poor public schools, teachers will lose morale and not stay in the profession, etc.

Critical Literacy, Active Citizenship & Empowerment

"...those working from a new literacy studies perspective have come to appreciate the radically plural and discursive character of literacy. Literacies are many, not singular"

This whole Masters program has focused on the various types of literacy and I am happy that I feel like I cover a variety of literacy with my students!

"... develop knowledge, skills, attitudes and values which will enable students to participate as active and informed citizens in our democratic Australian society within an international context."

Citizenship does need to move to the forefront. It is important for society and young people do not seem to understand the benefit (at least to them) of being a good citizen. Australia also believes it is important and has made it a priority in schools.

"The need in New Times to rethink citizenship radically- that is, from the roots- is nowhere more apparent that with regard to the themes of diversity, the new complexity of personal and group identities, and the need to constitute citizenry accepting of and comfortable with difference."

Last semester, I had two transgender students in my class! They were not really friends as one of them was a freshman and the other a senior but they did clearly share a common goal of requesting accommodations. They asked all their teachers to refer to them as opposite their physical gender and to use a gender neutral bathroom.
At times it was difficult for me. For example, should I expect classmates to call them the opposite gender when they grew up with the student as the other gender? I accidentally said the wrong gender a few times.
In the end, I really liked both the students. They were respectful, talented and the even their flaws made them lovable kids- it is hard (and always temporary) for me to dislike a student :)

"Since the mid 1980s "empowerment" has become an educational buzz word par excellence. Unfortunately, it runs the risk at present of becoming trivialized and losing it's semantic integrity and persuasive force as a result of unreflective overuse."

I just talked about this in my last post! Telling the students how their work 'empowers' them is old news so I've been working on rephrasing it (see previous blog post).

Proper and Improper Literacy

My case seems like a counter point to the way the working class people have responded to attempts at making them "improperly literate". The student seems to not be concerned with being "properly literate" or "improperly literate".
Although I am disappointed and distressed about my student's standing and participation in my class, I don't fault him for it for a few reasons.
For example, some reasons for his lack of motivation could be that he may have an undiagnosed learning disability or be dealing with a personal struggle. But I believe the main reason is that he does not push himself is that he does not understand the power having an education holds for him like the way the writers of the "Register". This is what all teachers essentially try to do everyday: show the student the power they will have once they master a skill. This is difficult for the student to see the long term benefits as a child- even a senior in high school has likely not witnessed how their education can empowered them or hindered them.
I often tell my students something along the lines of, "If you do this..bla la bla.. it will help you get a job/scholarship" or "...it will help you in a job interview." Do they want a job? Do they want to go to college? Maybe. Maybe not. Someday but not really now. Yes, if I have to.
So it dawned on me to rephrase this. I said something like, "When I say being a part of FBLA could help you get a job, I mean it could help you get an awesome job... doing something you love, making the money you want or working the hours you want... not just any job."
The first thought that came to my head when I read "ways in which teachers are complicit in creating 'improperly literate' students" was when teachers teach to the test. Although the teachers are subject to governmental policies so often times they are puppets on a string. I try to put myself in the role of the 'decision makers' in education, and they are tasked with a tough job (creating fair rules for all students, easily documentable and uniform state and national assessment assessment) but then they essentially delegate that tough job to teachers.
And as the text describes, our students read the teacher more than the text. They are conditioned to only focus on what will be on the test.
A friend of mine told me about a statistic she read once. It communicated something along the lines of the vast majority of students used to go to college because they wanted to change or improve the world. Now when a student is asked why they are in college they often say to earn more money.
Education has become more about grades than learning for students and educators alike. Grades=College. College=Money (or so people think).
I hope that was enough of 'whatever I damn well please' :)

Practice Case #1

The significance for domesticating people of the difference between being able to read and being able to write is crucial. Levine argues that on the whole it is

"...writing competencies that are capable of initiating change. Writing conveys and records innovation, dissent and criticism; above all it can give access to political mechanisms and the political process generally, where many of the possibilities for personal and social transformation lie." (Levine, 1982: 262)

____________________________________

The class I generally enjoy teaching the most is Digital Imaging. The general public does not seem to know what that means most of the time. I usually explain it as graphic design and, if I want to get into more detail, the creation and manipulation of various digital images, videos and animation. After a quick Google search about Digital Imaging, I found a slogan by a company that calls themselves Digital Imaging, Inc. that explains my class well, "Bringing the Art of Technology to the Technology of Art". Students who complete the class will meet their graduation requirement for an art and technology credit. The use of a variety of different programs and technology to make unique and beautiful art is so exciting to be a part of. 

Like in any class, some students easily excel while others need more support and time to complete assignments. Although, even the typically strong students who are unfamiliar with Apple and/or Adobe products or lack creativity can struggle in this class. Meanwhile, the rebellious C student who loves to play with computers and draw 'gets it'. 

Another aspect of the class that we created a Simulated Workplace. We created a company called "Pixel Pop Media". The 'company' is divided up into departments based on student interest and abilities, including but not limed to, Management, Inventory, Information Technology and the Creative Consulting departments.  Our class is 'hired' at times to create digital art for the public, charity (usually chosen by the students), other schools or other classes. Sometimes "employees" have a variety of tasks  including finding new ways to organize our workspace, communicating with the public and helping in the development of projects. 

Not only is this class incorporate art, technology and workplace skills it is also part of an English embedded credit program. Students who take the remaining three classes in this career cluster or Career and Technical Education (CTE) completer area (Game Design I, II & Web Page Publishing) earn a transitional English credit through the English related assignments over the course of all four classes and with the support of the CTE English teacher.

These tasks can even take the artistic computer nerd (and I say nerd with utmost respect & admiration) out of their comfort zone. But, with so many opportunities for a variety of skills, most students find their niche within the class and can easily succeed. Nevertheless, most students succeeding sometimes doesn't feel like enough to an educator. I want all my students to be successful in my classes and it troubles me when that doesn't happen. 

I have a student now who I cannot figure out how to help. 'Dwayne' is a kind and respectful student who says he enjoys the class and likes me as a teacher but it is a struggle for me to get assignments from him. He is skilled enough in technology- probably more so than many of his classmates from taking and passing Game Design I. He has a few close friends at school but lacks friends in my class. He is extremely quiet and seems to get discouraged easily. I can say with almost absolute confidence that he has never initiated a conversation with me to ask me a question. He speaks very little and only when spoken to. I have made a habit of stopping to talk with him to check on his progress and see if he needs any help. He does not have a documented learning disability and doesn't appear to have one. He has a very supportive family who is concerned about his ability to graduate high school because of his grade in my class and others. Although, he may have always lacked a strong drive to succeed, it is my understanding he may be having more problems in school than he normally has had. He is involved in at least one extra circular activity but has had to limit participation due to him not meeting the minimum grade requirements.

Although there are no prerequisites, students who have taken Game Design are more familiar with the computers and many of the programs used. Again, students who have little technology background in school or at home need some extra assistance. He has had extra exposure to technology through my Game Design I class. He struggled at times but had a very helpful student and friend sitting next to him.

This is a class of 21 students varying in grades 9-12. When I stop and sit next to him and ask him how his assignment is coming along and if he needs any help, he will eventually tell me what he needed help with or why he stalled on his progress. It is usually something minor that should not become a roadblock but does for him. When he does get his work done, most of it meets the criteria and sometimes he can do great work.

I do know English is not a strong subject for him and he and his teachers are probably content with 'functional literacy' but lacking higher caliber English skills have hindered him in my classes (as Game Design also has the embedded English credit component). Authentic literacy comes to play in at least two particular assignments I can give as an example, the greeting card and the game storyline. The students created an original greeting card. It needed to have images and text. A major struggle for him with the greeting card was the he could not think of what to write. That was it. It could have been a sympathy, Easter, love, cope card or any other idea he had for a card (Will you go to prom with me? card). I did ask for it to be creative. This takes more than functional literacy. This is creative writing. In Game Design, students are required to create an original educational video game. It must have a story. Who is the character? What is their goal? Who is the enemy? What is the setting? How does the character reach the goal? Why does the character avoid the enemy? What happens if they lose? Again, this assignment also requires authentic literacy.

Today I asked the counselor to meet with the student to find out if she could why he did not turn in a major assignment that he had a lot of time to complete. He essentially had no answer for her.

"Did you understand the assignment?"

"Yes."

"Did Mrs. Jackson help you?"

"Yes."

"Is there a problem with the class or Mrs. Jackson?"

"No."

His mother, the counselor and myself are all at a loss on what to do. However, I will not give up.

One thing I should be able to relate to is struggling in school. Often times, I did not care very much about my grades in high school and I have let life get in the way of my formal education. My goal is to make this become a success story.

Functional vs Authentic Literacy

"They learn, on weekdays, such course works as may fit them for servants. I allow no writing for the poor. My object is to not make them fanatics, but to train up the lower classes in habits of industry and piety."

"...some minimal reading skill is necessary if you are to be a 'good citizen', but 'good citizen' here means one who can follow the instructions of those who govern him."

Although these are two different quotes, the first chapter is filled with this sentiment. Limited literacy can be used to oppress. I bought "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" at least a year ago but, unfortunately, have not read much of it (please assign some reading from it!). I think reading this text will stark my interest. I have some friends who teach at the college level and I think they all have read it but I do not think the teachers I know who teach at the K-12 level have read it.

Regarding functional literacy and its limitations, one thing I don't think the book addresses is the joy of reading for pleasure or hobby. It's hard for me not to believe (maybe since I haven't read Friere) that any literacy still has to be better than none!

I also wonder if the Sunday school teacher (author of the first quote) was somewhat untruthful about her intentions with her pupils. She too was being oppressed and had to say whatever it took for her to continue teaching.

"The process of transmitting literacy has at the same time been an invitation to a given view of the work and of the world and of human values. It is an invitation to scrutinize the world in a certain way and to consider how that world might be changed: changed in the direction of breaking down privilege, gross exploitation and oppression, and replacing these realities with the pursuit of social justice in a society where the voice of each person would be heard, and the equal right of each person to live with dignity and to fulfill their human potential honored."

Yes! How powerful and positive! This quote says, "Education is power! Education is justice for all!".

Too bad there is this:

"... just 5% completed elementary school..."

Out of all the horribly statistics (even infant mortality of 333/1000- ugh!) this caused a strong reaction for me. I suppose it shouldn't after all the statistics given about dirt floors, no sanitation, etc. but it did... and I can't say why.

One question that keeps coming to mind is, "Don't all governments want innovation, the best talent and the most efficiency? And can't they only get that by having educated citizens?" Apparently the book is saying the opposite. Limited education/literacy keeps people oppressed.

Sandra's Case

What would you have done if you were in Sandra's shoes?

If I was in Sandra's situation, I think I would have done something similar but different. 

I don't think I run a super 'tight ship'. I try to make my class like a workplace. If I am talking or we are having a 'class meeting', I want their full attention but if they are working they can occasionally check their phone, get some water (I do have a water machine in my classroom) and talk to their peers quietly.

And I must say, I have little experience with fourth grade aside from subbing (and I didn't like it very much as a sub).

I think I might have let the lesson go a little longer. If they kids ended up having recess instead of science for a day, so be it. I also wondered as a read the case about the word 'terminated'. Did the supervising teacher really say, 'you should terminate your lesson'? I think that word has a very negative connotation. I know, even if I did want to terminate the lesson, I would be more tactful with the new teacher by saying something like, "I think the kids are getting a little wild and this lesson may take more time that we thought. Let's wrap it up for today and finish it tomorrow." It could be a way to work out a compromise. The student teacher would not feel as rejected and might say, "I see what you mean. Can I finish up this section before we finish for today?" and I think I would open up a conversation. I could then say, "I'm sorry with lunch coming up, we can't risk them being late." or "Sure, lets give it a try." If that section doesn't end up getting finished, is that really a problem? I don't think so, it could be made up. And the student teacher would learn about how & what makes lessons go off course. 

In the end though, the supervising teacher is in charge. Michelle learned that. She may understand Sandra when she is someone else's supervising teacher someday.

Who do you think was at fault?

No one was at fault. Again, I do think the supervising teacher could have been slightly more sensitive. Although, when someone is new they do not have a full view of what is going on. Michelle was required to work under the supervision of Sandra and Sandra made a judgement call based on experience.

I was reprimanded once for something I said to a client when I was a new loan officer. I was offended at the time and was told that they knew my intentions were good but I was in the wrong. I realized later that I was wrong. I have seen others who were new to a job think they know more than they do- it happens to the best of us. It can be hard for us to swallow our pride or not get offended.

What do you think teachers can learn from Sandra's case?

I know I do not like confrontation and I have offended a newer employee unintentionally while trying to show them the ropes and I have been offended as the new employee.

I think new teachers can learn they may not agree with their supervising teachers but they are in charge. Hopefully a new teacher will learn from this case that lessons do go wrong for all new teachers and for more experienced teachers teaching new lessons.

That being said, I hope teachers don't feel defeated by it. The students will survive on occasional less than ideal lesson!

Week 4: Cases

This was a neat case that illustrated the butterflies felt by new teachers any time they try something new. A teacher-in-training, or a university teacher, did a science activity with young children and realized how easy it is to lose their focus. Luckily the seasoned teacher, who, in fairness, knows the students best, swooped in and got the students under control for a meaningful discussion.

Wow, that case sounded like it was going to have a happy ending then turned into teachers pitting against each other. 

A science teacher desperate for supplies figures out alternate funding methods. She shares these methods with another teacher and the science program is starting to blossom! Then, other teachers ask to borrow the new equipment to because they also want to do fun science activities with their students. Unfortunately, they do not return them in their original condition. The teacher is so concerned with preserving her equipment, she no longer lends it out to her colleagues. Now there is tension among teachers. What can be done? 

A kindergarten teacher decides to 'go rogue' by teaching about spiders while her fellow teachers stick to the plan. The students enjoy this activity in a variety of different ways and she feels very rewarded. She is a little off track but still wants to try to keep it going by incorporating it into already planned activities. (I thought this was a funny image to incorporate spiders, teaching and teachers who are not quite on track.)

Chapter 1

Structural issues have come up for me the past two years because both years I have been new to the teaching position. I have rules and plans I think will work but then sometimes I realize they do not work very well or they work mostly well but could be improved. So then I have to have a class meeting and tell them from this date on we will be doing x differently. This can throw them off temporarily but I tell them the reasoning and, whether they like the change or not, they understand why I felt it was necessary.

I can relate to the text saying new teachers are too concerned with creating interesting lessons and meeting demands to notice individual student needs. There are students I wish I could give more time and attention to but I get busy trying my best/not to fail. 

I have had a major issue in the political perspective- I just lost my job due to a failed levy and lower enrollment (not in my classes, but in the county)! I fought for the levy as a parent. I did not think my job was in jeopardy. Now I don't know what to say to students interested in taking 'my' classes next year. Also, I don't know how much of my personal resources, time and money, I should invest in making my classes the best they can be, i.e. paying for & participating in extra training & grading after hours, for the remainder of the year when I should be exploring my options. (This constant RIF'ing of teachers and school personnel and what it does them and the upheaval it causes in schools year in and year out should be considered by legislators- or somebody!)
My dad always told me stories or narratives (or analogies) to help me understand an idea. The one that stands out most to me is about homelessness. He said it very lightheartedly (he thinks he is an amateur comedian:) so to this day I do not know the extent of truth to it. It may just be primarily a story he created from his experiences.
He and my mom sometimes worked to serve meals to the homeless. He used to say how if he would mention to the people who came for the meals about how fed up he was with he job he was they would say, "You have a job?!" or if he complained about our leaky roof they would say, "You have a roof?!" and so on.
My fourth grade teacher used to read to us after lunch. The book I remember her reading to us most was "James and the Giant Peach". I read that out loud to my three young children every night as well as 5 other Roald Dahl books when they were approx. 8, 6 & 2.
I would be very apprehensive about teaching science although I teach computer science- go figure!

The Fourth Way

'Stopping to think, gather others' opinions and making midcourse adjustments are viewed as reprehensible failures...'

I have to admit, I do this a lot. I will have a plan for a lesson and wonder if there is a better way to do it, talk to a collegue and change courses. I am new at teaching the subjects I am teaching so I am learning what works best as I go. When teachers are implementing new technology there are going to be times when you have to stop, think and talk to others about the best way to implement it. I do believe some teacher and administrators could view this as a failure so people become afraid of change.

'Got cancer? Had a baby? Lost your dad? Took on a difficult student? Risked making a big change to learn how to teach a new cirriculum? Congrats-- We'll pay you less! And no complaining, because we've got a new data driven decision making system backing us up!' 

Clearly the author is trying to give his reader a strong reaction and if you are trying to implement new technology, you are going to be very apprehensive if you are up against this.

After working in a variety of different fields related to sales (what isn't, really?), I often felt that teachers should be paid, hired and fired based on performance and merit and not based primarity on seniority. People are constantly complaining about 'bad' teachers who never are let go because of their seniority. I also know, life isn't a track meet- it's a marathon. After working just a short time longer in the teaching profession, I know high people have high expectations of teachers. And I know I have high expectations of myself as a teacher. Putting forth extraordinary effort over long periods of time with no pay-out can make you (me!) feel like you're about to crash and burn. But if teachers were paid for their extra ordinary teaching skills (like salespeople make commissions or other professionals are given bonuses for their output), they could likely sustain a much greater effort.

'The distraction of the Path of Effervescence are appealing and entertaining.'

This section kind of makes me laugh because it reminds me of something a WV Career and Technical Education (CTE) leader said about CTE classes. I did not realize initially that if you teach CTE classes (i.e. Welding, Carpentry, Game Design, ProStart Culinary, Accounting, etc.) your program depends on how many students take your classes. If students don't like you or your classes, you have a good chance of losing your job. This can be tricky if you really want to prepare high school students for a career in that field- it may not be a 'fluff class'. If may be challenging for them. It may not be an easy A. You are not like a math teacher- every student has to take math. So, this state leader said they were working on revamping program names to make them sound 'sexy' so students would take them. I don't know how I feel about that.

'Too often, schools and school systems use data and research evidence much less intellegently and flexibly than this. For instance, they... prioritize increased state test scores above everything else. This is true even when the resulting test preparation leads to declines in the more sophisticated performances and achievements required by college entrance exams."

This quote is just sad!

This is a screenshot of me I took while being interviewed by WBOY news station for an Hour of Code workshop I arranged for Computer Science Education week. I invited Midland Elementary School 5th grade students to learn about coding from my Game Design I students. It was a success!

Schools in the Cloud

Sugata Mitra raised some very interesting theories in this TED Talk. Mitra believes we are structuring our education system like the British Empire from 300 years ago. This way of educating helped make the bureaucratic administration machine, meaning everyone could had the ability to perform some basic tasks: good handwriting, the ability to read and perform mathematical operations in their heads.
He believes that system in no longer beneficial in today's society. After many successful experiments  leaving students, many in poverty and with no prior educational background, to learn for themselves with nothing more than a computer and someone encouraging them, he developed the Self Organized Learning Environments (SOLEs) method. This method is to provide students with a question and essentially ask them to find the answer on their own with the only 'teacher' being someone who merely asks them about their findings and gives them encouragement.

What I like about Mitra's proposition is it gives students more responsibility for their learning. The answers are not 'served on a platter' for the students to memorize. The students find the paths to the answers themselves making the topic much more memorable. Additionally, the students will feel the empowerment and the confidence of being able to solve problems on their own and ultimately enjoy and appreciate learning more.

My concern about this proposition is for special education students, discipline problems and students lacking drive. We live in a educational system that attempts to give every student every possible opportunity to succeed (or pass). Parents look to teachers of these struggling students to give them thorough explanations, detailed study guides and a lot of hand holding/discipline in order to motivate them to succeed. This proposition does not address that. Additionally, I feel there is a segment of the public (voters of our Boards of Education) that do not believe teachers do enough as it is and will not understand this method (it is not how they were taught as a child) and may believe it is a strategy for teachers to do less work. I also hope this does not devalue the role of teachers as professionals (especially those working on Masters degrees!) by essentially saying, "Any granny with one hour could do your job!"

What I like is the encouraging role it gives teachers. I know teachers will still be ultimately responsible for determining grades and disciplining, but my favorite part of teaching is 'being the granny' and complimenting and encouraging students. My Game Design class has an online textbook and curriculum, online activities and assignments and I encourage my students to work ahead if they are able so, so this type of teaching is often times in action in my class, especially with me as a new teacher in this subject. I often play the granny role when they figure out something new that I did not teach them or know myself, I praise them and encourage them and encourage them to share their newfound information with the class (while I take notes!). This creates a great classroom (or as we say in Career and Technical Education, workplace) culture of encouraging the best quality work, even if it is above the requirements (or their 'pay grade').

We are almost to the point where the cost of technology is more inexpensive and efficient for students to work on digital devices more and more often. More students will be expected to find their assignments, and turn them in and communicate with their teacher online. I have done this since 2010 through wikispaces.com and Engrade is now creating that type of environment, if the teacher chooses to use it. I hope there will be more collaborations through video chatting. In my kindergarten class, a parent talked to our class via Skype from a beach in Greece and in my Game Design class my students talked to three different Globaloria game design executives via Google Hangouts. These were easy and extraordinary experiences for my students. I think as people get more comfortable with video chatting, it will happen more often. Although, I think 'the future', especially in more rural areas, can be slow coming. I hope students will work together more often and it will become easier to assess every student's involvement (I struggle with this). An old friend of mine posted on his Facebook feed recently, "When I die, I want the people who did group projects with me to lower me into my grave so they can let me down one last time." My students get a kick out of this when I mention it.

Introduction & First Assignment (EDUC 6818)

My dad grew up in the DC area and I was born in Arlington, Virginia but, at age four I moved to Florida and grew up in the Daytona Beach area. I met my West Virginia husband and now have lived in West Virginia for the past 14 years. I love both areas for different reasons and am glad to be a part of both 'worlds'.
I am a Business & Marketing Education Teacher and I teach Accounting I & II, Game Design I & II and Digital Imaging at the Randolph Technical Center. Last year, I taught Career and Work Skills Training (CWST, which is part of the Marketing cluster) at the Randolph Technical Center. Prior to that I substitute taught for 5 years in a variety of different schools, grades and subjects including two months as a kindergarten teacher. Unfortunately, today I got word that I am being RIF'ed due primarily to our school levy not passing in our county. I do not know the likelihood of me being able to keep my position or if keeping my job will mean another great teacher with a little less seniority will lose her job in order for me to keep mine. So today I am feeling discouraged.
I have been active in a few non credit seeking online courses/professional development trainings through udemy.com and through globaloria.org to improve my skills and performance in my current position but I decided it is most beneficial to finish this Master of Education program for my future in education.

I chose this cartoon because as Game Design teacher I have had to learn and teach a lot coding in my Game Design classes. I tell students and the public that these are languages. I even invited the 5th grade students from a nearby elementary school to participate in the Hour of Code global movement with my Game Design students for Computer Science Education week. This cartoon gave me the biggest reaction because I think coding is so exciting and important for our high tech world and for students to learn about as they prepare to work in this new world.