Education vs. Poverty

This week I came across several articles that talked about the impact poverty has on our students. These articles caught my attention because I taught at a school where many of our English Language Learners enrolled at our high school only having a third grade education. I loved teaching this population because I was able to see major gains at the end of the school year. Easier said than done though. Many of our students not only had to worry about how to survive in a new country and how to learn a new language to fit in, but how to catch up with the rest of their peers, especially in math class.

The fourth article in the links below delineates differences between middle-class and low income students and gives suggestions on what we as educators can do. Some of the differences that stood out for me were: Effort, Health and Nutrition, and Relationships. In my experience, these three factors were the most important because many times teachers think students are just being lazy or rude, not knowing that a child may not have had breakfast that day, may be worried about being evicted, or scared to go back home because dad is an alcoholic. This is why I strongly believe in building positive rapport with our students. Once students realize you want them to succeed in life and at school, they will put forth maximum effort... at least in your class.

At first, I was a bit worried about how our students from low-income families would react to technology in the classroom, since they have little to no access at home. Surprisingly, they seem to perform better than expected. Why? From what I have seen, many students feel they can go at their own pace and not feel judged. In a report written by Linda Darling-Hammond, Molly B. Zielezinski, and Shelley Goldman, they stated that, "One of the benefits of well-designed interactive programs is that they can allow students to see and explore concepts from different angles using a variety of representations", which allows for the achievement gap to narrow and increases our graduation rate.

Please take a moment to look over the articles below and share your feedback. How do you use technology at your school to engage students from low-income families?

"The Consequences of Poverty for Children and the Nation"
"An Inside Look At The Mental Health Epidemic Plaguing Homeless Youth"
"Kentucky Education Report | A Kentucky Teacher Talks Poverty and Testing"
"How Poverty Affects Classroom Engagement"
"Using Technology to Support At-Risk Students’ Learning"

If you have a couple minutes, watch this video. It gives us tips on how to deal with at-risk students.

Podcast on Useful Tools and Apps

Hello World!

I uploaded a podcast on useful tools and apps for both teachers and students. Enjoy!

Podcasts are awesome!!!!

I just finished listening to Episode #17- "Going paperless in the classroom and tools that help stakeholders open the lines of communication with each other. They also talked about adapting to new technology"by Jeff Herb. This was a great podcast because Jeff gave great suggestions that can be implemented in our classrooms. Although I like the fact that podcasts can be listened to while driving, I prefer listening to them on my computer because I can take notes.Below you will see notes I took while listening to this podcast:

Why go paperless? It counter budgets and helps streamline the classroom.
Although Jeff believes that it is a great idea to Cut the number of reams of paper we use daily, he doesn't believe we will soon be 100% paperless. However, this does not mean we can’t start digitizing.

Suggestions and tools for going paperless:
• Create PDF versions of self-created documents for distributing assignments with students and colleagues.
• He suggested using Genius scan because it scans documents to PDF.
• Organize digital files on Evernote because it has optical recognition which allows you to search for words.
• Create video-based notes using Camtasia, Jing, or Screener.com which gives you the option to record lessons (This can be shared with students who were absent)

Communication tools to open channels of communication:
• Remind101 allows for privacy once the teachers create a class. It also lets the teachers set reminders and send it out to students and parents.
• WDWDT (What Did We Do Today) allows teachers to create surveys and forms as well as create appointments. It’s a great option for creating interaction.
• Celly sets up a mini-network. People join by using the app or linking their phone number. It has been used to create study groups and as a response system.

Being ready for new technology as it becomes available is not easy but one can plan for them by:
• Designing lessons that are adaptable
• Staying current with instructional technology
• Joining twitter and follow forward thinking educators
• Attending educational technology conferences to build PLN
• Understanding that not every tool will be of benefit to you

I truly enjoyed this podcast and look forward to listening to more of Instructional Ted Talk. If you get a chance, listen to Jeff on iTunes and comment below.

Click here to Check out Jeff Herb's Website!

Do your students know how to build Apps?

Today I participated in a live professional development session titled "Let Students Build Their Own Apps- It's Easier than you Think". This session was led by Michael Braun on February 19th at 2PM. I found this PD session on this website. At first I was a little confused because Mr. Braun was going a bit too fast for my level of expertise. When I caught up I was able to understand the platform better. TouchDevelop is a collaborative tool that provides a rich experience regardless of device or platform. It allows its users to store, share, and showcase apps. It is user-friendly and integrates easily with social media. This is a great tool to use in CTE classes for upper grades; however since it requires every user to have an email address, it may be a bit difficult for elementary-aged students to use. I guess this is why Mr. Braun suggested this tool for grades 4-12. Once I got to really play with TouchDevelop I was able to complete an entire coding session! I felt accomplished because I am not familiar with coding. This is a tool that would definitely keep students engaged and allow them to create apps on their smartphone, tablet, or computer for FREE. The best part is that it does not require any type of downloads which can be a problem given the amount of sites that are blocked by the county.

A plus is that CTE teachers can easily track student progress because it shows how many tutorials a student has done and classes can be organized into groups.

I would definitely love to take a coding course...if I only had the time :) Check it out and let me know your thoughts!



Video Tutorial

The World of Excel

Wow! I had never had an assignment as short yet rigorous as an Excel spreadsheet assigned in one of my courses. I can honestly say that I had never been so frustrated doing a homework assignment...yet in the end felt so accomplished for having not only completed it but learned so much! What I liked most about this assignment is that although it took me a couple weeks to complete, I felt I gained skills which would save me hours worth of work in my current position. I am a Graduation Coach and use data every single day.

Once I completed this assignment I was able to import, sort, use IF statements, use the mean function, use COUNT IF, use conditional formatting, and create a PIVOT table!!!

If anyone has videos or tutorials they would like to share, please feel free to add links in the "Comments" section.



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Technology as a Tool or Distraction?

Do you happen to have students who are constantly on the phone during class? Do they assure you that they are still paying attention because they can multitask?

Well... in one of my technology classes we were asked to read three articles related to technology as a distraction and I was torn when it came to phones. I believe that students should be allowed to have their phones; however without a school-wide policy of its usage phones will become a daily distraction. I consider myself a multi-tasker; but when I put my skills to the test I failed. If you have a couple minutes, please watch it and comment on how you did.

Test yourself

Some schools have made laminated signs for each classroom that say, "Go Technology" on one side and "No Technology" on the other and this seems to work for them in regards to minimizing distractions and maximizing instruction. This also gives teachers the liberty to say when devices are allowed to be out or not. How does your school handle this issue?

I also read another article where a school that was big on technology would ban its usage for a couple days as to bring balance and encourage students to write to each other and meet up instead of text. Do you think this would work at your school?

We have to realize that whether we like it or not, technology is here to stay, so how are we going to educate our students on the appropriate uses of it?





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