Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Thoughts, reactions and strategies for teaching ESOL students
Click here to go to the overview of my blog entries regarding the English Language Learners class I recently completed.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Kathy Schrock Interview Reposted
In honor of the NECC Conference, I'm reposting a link to our Kathy Schrock interview we had under the show's former name. She is incredible! She has so many great instructional tools for teachers! Check it out here.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Podcasting Just Got Easier
Adam Curry's much anticipated podcast recorder, CastBlaster, is out in public beta. I downloaded the trial version free, which is a full-blown version but limited to 10 minutes of recording. It's pretty slick as it automatically adjusts volume levels to keep them consistent and for lead-in voiceovers. I'll use it for my next podcast. It seems to work great! The full version will set you back 50 smackers.
Download Squad has a little blurb on it as well as a link to a very informal screencast about it (the user is experimenting with it as he screencasts)--that served as a pretty effective tutorial for me.
Download Squad has a little blurb on it as well as a link to a very informal screencast about it (the user is experimenting with it as he screencasts)--that served as a pretty effective tutorial for me.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
English Language Learners
Here's some thoughts, ideas, and strategies resulting from the Enriching Content Classes for Secondary ESOL Students class I recently completed in Colorado Springs. We covered everything from the differences between primary and secondary language development to specific instructional strategies to help ELL students in content classes. If you scroll down, you see them in the reverse order that I posted them because this is a blog. So I've added links to the bottom of each post to take you to the next post and make it a more natural read (hopefully).
For those of you, like me, that have a hard time keeping track of acronyms, ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages. I didn't even know that before the class started. I'll switch back and forth between acronyms but for the purposes of this discussion, they all mean about the same thing (even though they do have their own nuances and distinct definitions).
Below, I've added the links to all three posts and a brief description of each.
English Language Learners I
Thoughts about some of the obstacles that face ESOL students when attempting to learn the academic language of different curricula.
English Language Learners II
Strategies to help ESOL students to overcome those obstacles mentioned in ELL I.
English Language Learners III
Instructional strategies to help ESOL students decode and comprehend the text they encounter in our content classes.
I have left a lot out from the class as well as from the art of teaching ESOL students. If you have anything to add, please (please, please!) leave a comment or two. You certainly won't be stepping on my cyber-toes as I don't profess to be an expert at, well, anything really. Plus, everyone benefits when we share ideas.
So please feel free to add to this rather quick synopsis.
To start, click here to go to English Language Learners I.
For those of you, like me, that have a hard time keeping track of acronyms, ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages. I didn't even know that before the class started. I'll switch back and forth between acronyms but for the purposes of this discussion, they all mean about the same thing (even though they do have their own nuances and distinct definitions).
Below, I've added the links to all three posts and a brief description of each.
English Language Learners I
Thoughts about some of the obstacles that face ESOL students when attempting to learn the academic language of different curricula.
English Language Learners II
Strategies to help ESOL students to overcome those obstacles mentioned in ELL I.
English Language Learners III
Instructional strategies to help ESOL students decode and comprehend the text they encounter in our content classes.
I have left a lot out from the class as well as from the art of teaching ESOL students. If you have anything to add, please (please, please!) leave a comment or two. You certainly won't be stepping on my cyber-toes as I don't profess to be an expert at, well, anything really. Plus, everyone benefits when we share ideas.
So please feel free to add to this rather quick synopsis.
To start, click here to go to English Language Learners I.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
English Language Learners III
Alright, here's my final installment on what I learned in the Enriching Content Classes for Secondary ESOL Students class I took in Colorado Springs. The required text for this class was the study guide by the same name as the class, Enriching Content Classes for Secondary ESOL Students from the Center for Applied Linguistics and the Delta Publishing Company. The study guide really helped me structure the material being presented and concetpualize it's usefulness in the classroom. Specifically, it gave me a point of reference for some of the most important strategies that we learned in the class.
One of the strategies that we learned was a lesson modification called Teach the Text Backwards, which allows teachers to increase the comprehensibility of the text their students are reading. Basically, Teaching the Text Backwards gives students several previews of the text they're about to encounter. To demonstrate our learning, we had to produce a lesson plan that used this strategy. I worked with two very bright high school teachers--one taught automotives and the other taught foreign language. We decided to have students produce various car maintenance tutorials through iMovie based on the reading in their textbooks. For a copy of the lesson modification in Word, click here. It will help to make a little more sense of where I'm going with all this if you haven't taken the class.
For this strategy, we start by giving the students some relevance to the text through their lives or a tie-in to their prior knowledge. Demonstrations of labs are popular examples of this. Jim, our automotive teacher, started with a rundown of very common automotive fluids that could be checked, topped off, or changed very easily. Jim held each store-bought container up as he mentioned the fluid. This gives ELL students an opportunity to hear the content language with a visual representation.
With video guides in hand, the students (our classmates) watched an iMovie we produced which showed all the fluid fill and check locations in the car. Their task for this was to match the store-bought fluid containers that Jim held up with the fill and check containers from the iMovie. The iMovie contained audio sound effects that provided hints as to what went in each container, plus there were textual clues as many fill and check caps are labeled. This opportunity also allows students to preview the medium in which their projects would be produced.
That concluded the part of the lesson we were supposed to present to our classmates. From there, we simply explained the remainder of the lesson. Students would do a Think-Write-Pair-Share (a strategy that was modeled and discussed in the class) to review their video guides. Then in their same TWPS, students would identify the key concepts by previewing the Study Questions provided at the end of the chapter.
Each TWPS group would do a blind draw to determine the car maintenance tutorial they would have to produce (possibilities include changing a tire, changing an air filter, checking the fluid levels, checking and changing the spark plugs, etc.). We would make the reading more manageable for ELL students by having each group read the section that pertains to their tutorial, instead of the entire chapter. We would do a Numbered Heads Together exercise (modeled and discussed in the class) to check for comprehension and dissiminate the answers to the study questions. This provides students with a natural springboard to producing their own car maintenance tutorial through iLife.
We also worked with and created curriculum-specific models for using graphic organizers as a resource for ELL students. Graphic organizers are not just teacher to student instructional aides and Anticipation Guides, but they can also be used as student-back-to-teacher learning demonstrations or comprehension checks.
Here's a very quick review of some of the major instructional topics covered in the class:
ELL 1
ELL 2
ELL 3 (Top of this post)
One of the strategies that we learned was a lesson modification called Teach the Text Backwards, which allows teachers to increase the comprehensibility of the text their students are reading. Basically, Teaching the Text Backwards gives students several previews of the text they're about to encounter. To demonstrate our learning, we had to produce a lesson plan that used this strategy. I worked with two very bright high school teachers--one taught automotives and the other taught foreign language. We decided to have students produce various car maintenance tutorials through iMovie based on the reading in their textbooks. For a copy of the lesson modification in Word, click here. It will help to make a little more sense of where I'm going with all this if you haven't taken the class.
For this strategy, we start by giving the students some relevance to the text through their lives or a tie-in to their prior knowledge. Demonstrations of labs are popular examples of this. Jim, our automotive teacher, started with a rundown of very common automotive fluids that could be checked, topped off, or changed very easily. Jim held each store-bought container up as he mentioned the fluid. This gives ELL students an opportunity to hear the content language with a visual representation.
With video guides in hand, the students (our classmates) watched an iMovie we produced which showed all the fluid fill and check locations in the car. Their task for this was to match the store-bought fluid containers that Jim held up with the fill and check containers from the iMovie. The iMovie contained audio sound effects that provided hints as to what went in each container, plus there were textual clues as many fill and check caps are labeled. This opportunity also allows students to preview the medium in which their projects would be produced.
That concluded the part of the lesson we were supposed to present to our classmates. From there, we simply explained the remainder of the lesson. Students would do a Think-Write-Pair-Share (a strategy that was modeled and discussed in the class) to review their video guides. Then in their same TWPS, students would identify the key concepts by previewing the Study Questions provided at the end of the chapter.
Each TWPS group would do a blind draw to determine the car maintenance tutorial they would have to produce (possibilities include changing a tire, changing an air filter, checking the fluid levels, checking and changing the spark plugs, etc.). We would make the reading more manageable for ELL students by having each group read the section that pertains to their tutorial, instead of the entire chapter. We would do a Numbered Heads Together exercise (modeled and discussed in the class) to check for comprehension and dissiminate the answers to the study questions. This provides students with a natural springboard to producing their own car maintenance tutorial through iLife.
We also worked with and created curriculum-specific models for using graphic organizers as a resource for ELL students. Graphic organizers are not just teacher to student instructional aides and Anticipation Guides, but they can also be used as student-back-to-teacher learning demonstrations or comprehension checks.
Here's a very quick review of some of the major instructional topics covered in the class:
- Three Principles to Help ESL Students
- Increase Comprehensibility
- Increase Interaction
- Increase Critical Thinking Skills
- Specific Strategies
- Teach the Text Backwards
- Text-to Graphics-Back-to-Text Again
- Demonstrations and Modeling
- Think-Write-Pair-Share-Square
- Group/Pair Structures
- Numbered Heads Together
- Inside/Outside Circle
- Search and Find
- Investigations
- Jigsaw
- Mix-and-Match
ELL 1
ELL 2
ELL 3 (Top of this post)
Saturday, June 18, 2005
English Language Learners II
On my Thursday, June 16 post, I wrote about some thoughts I had regarding some of the difficulty ELL students can encounter when entering our classrooms. These thoughts were spurred by the Enriching Content Classes for Secondary ESOL Students class I attended recetly in Colorado Springs. If there's one thing I hate it's someone who will pose a problem without offering a solution, which is what I did the other day, because it was getting real late and I had meetings the next day. So, here are some strategies for increasing comprehension in our ELL students, despite the highly specialized vocabularies each content area requires.
Our instructor for the course, Sara, illustrated some of the frustration ELL students can incur in our classrooms. She played a video of a woman speaking Farsi who was, in large part, non-descript in her delivery. The video was 59 seconds long, but it seemed like it was at least three times that. As a class we were only able to pick out a couple of words and that's only because they were cognates. Then we watched the same woman speaking Farsi but more animated this time and with visuals to represent what she was explaining.
Since I can't do the lesson justice and I don't want to ruin it for those who will take the class in the near future, I will not go into any specifics other than to just note that we were able to decipher much more of what she was teaching us, including several details. The second video lasted about 30 seconds longer, but she spoke at about the same pace both times. The extra time came from her demonstrating what she was talking about and pausing occassionally to give us time to process the information. Now, the sceptic in you might raise the point that it took her 50 percent more time to teach it the second time. Ya, but we got it the second time.
Just for the record, I didn't pick out any words from the first video because I zoned out after about 10 seconds of not knowing the language being used. What a great lesson on the perspective of someone immersed in another language.
Later in the class, Sara delivered a short ecology lesson in Spanish. She read it from a book. Since it was Spanish, we were able to pick out a few more words than we were in the Farsi lesson. However, there was also a false cognate in there so that threw a few of us off. Sara questioned us in Spanish about the contents of the lesson and asked that we answer in Spanish as well. As you might imagine, her comprehension check revealed exactly what we learned about ecology. Not much.
Even a couple of the Spanish teachers struggled a little bit with the lesson. Why? They are non-native Spanish speakers--they learned Spanish as a second language. If I remember the structure of my high school and college Spanish classes correctly, we learned much more social vocabulary than academic vocabulary. Hence, Spanish teachers have far greater exposure to social vocabulary than content-specific vocabulary. Again, learning the academic language of different curricula can be like learning completely different languages.
After the check for comprehension, Sara delivered the brief lesson again. This time she provided important vocabulary (in Spanish), which served as labels for graphics and pictures of those words. She pointed to those graphics when she spoke them in the lesson. I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that we were able follow along with the lesson much better. Plus, we were able to demonstrate our learning by answering in Spanish (one or two word answers) or at least pointing to the answer.
So what strategies did I get from these parts of the class?
Next ELL Post>>>
<<
ELL 1
ELL 2 (Top of this post)
ELL 3
Our instructor for the course, Sara, illustrated some of the frustration ELL students can incur in our classrooms. She played a video of a woman speaking Farsi who was, in large part, non-descript in her delivery. The video was 59 seconds long, but it seemed like it was at least three times that. As a class we were only able to pick out a couple of words and that's only because they were cognates. Then we watched the same woman speaking Farsi but more animated this time and with visuals to represent what she was explaining.
Since I can't do the lesson justice and I don't want to ruin it for those who will take the class in the near future, I will not go into any specifics other than to just note that we were able to decipher much more of what she was teaching us, including several details. The second video lasted about 30 seconds longer, but she spoke at about the same pace both times. The extra time came from her demonstrating what she was talking about and pausing occassionally to give us time to process the information. Now, the sceptic in you might raise the point that it took her 50 percent more time to teach it the second time. Ya, but we got it the second time.
Just for the record, I didn't pick out any words from the first video because I zoned out after about 10 seconds of not knowing the language being used. What a great lesson on the perspective of someone immersed in another language.
Later in the class, Sara delivered a short ecology lesson in Spanish. She read it from a book. Since it was Spanish, we were able to pick out a few more words than we were in the Farsi lesson. However, there was also a false cognate in there so that threw a few of us off. Sara questioned us in Spanish about the contents of the lesson and asked that we answer in Spanish as well. As you might imagine, her comprehension check revealed exactly what we learned about ecology. Not much.
Even a couple of the Spanish teachers struggled a little bit with the lesson. Why? They are non-native Spanish speakers--they learned Spanish as a second language. If I remember the structure of my high school and college Spanish classes correctly, we learned much more social vocabulary than academic vocabulary. Hence, Spanish teachers have far greater exposure to social vocabulary than content-specific vocabulary. Again, learning the academic language of different curricula can be like learning completely different languages.
After the check for comprehension, Sara delivered the brief lesson again. This time she provided important vocabulary (in Spanish), which served as labels for graphics and pictures of those words. She pointed to those graphics when she spoke them in the lesson. I'm sure it comes as no surprise to you that we were able follow along with the lesson much better. Plus, we were able to demonstrate our learning by answering in Spanish (one or two word answers) or at least pointing to the answer.
So what strategies did I get from these parts of the class?
- Label everything in English so ELL students can see the word and have a visual to associate with it. For example, I will label several parts of the computers like the keyboard, mouse, power button, USB, Ethernet, Firewire ports, internal speaker, etc.
- Being animated in my teaching helps my ELL students as well as my native English speakers.
- Pointing to objects and acting things out increases their comprehension.
- Give them repetitive opportunities to see, hear, read, and write important vocabulary. Some of that came from some "getting to know you" activities we did at the beginning of the class. However, those can easily be changed into "getting to know the curriculum" activities, without the writing being too intense.
Next ELL Post>>>
<<
ELL 1
ELL 2 (Top of this post)
ELL 3
Thursday, June 16, 2005
English Language Learners I
Whew!! I just finished my Enriching Content Classes for Secondary ESOL Students class down in Colorado Springs at Cheyenne Mountain High School. We were in class all day for seven days. I learned a ton! My head has finally stopped spinning enough for me to start thinking more extensively about what I learned and how I can use it. I was very impressed with the course as it contained fresh information for me. It gave me some very "do-able" strategies that didn't "dumb-down" the curriculum.
I learned several great strategies which I will reflect on here as I get the time. One general theme that I kept hearing in my discussions with my classmates was how these weren't just great strategies to help our ELL students; they were also effective strategies for helping our resource students! Plus, they would be a tremendous benefit to many of our regular ed students.
It's getting late and I have curriculum meetings all day tomorrow, as I did today. So, I can't get too much out now. However, I did want to mention at least one thing I got from the class before I hit the hay.
We need to give our English Language Learners more opportunities to see, hear, read, and speak our academic language. Now, you might think, see our academic language? Yes, see our academic language. The more I think of it, the more I realize that that the acronyms we use for our English as a Second Language students are entirely insufficient and/or grossly inaccurate.
Think about it.
English may, in fact, be the second language, but each curriculum has a language that has a highly specialized vocabulary. Math is a good example of a curriculum that has an academic language all it's own. Plus, when speaking "mathematically" we often use a passive voice. For example, here's a common math sentence structure: "The product of five and n is twenty."
Forget the fact that an ELL student has to learn that product means the answer to a multiplication problem in math--not just a direct result as it is in our common use of the word or a substance resulting from a chemical reaction as it is in science. Forget the fact that an ELL student has to learn that of and is mean "multiply" and "equal" in math, which are entirely different than their "English" counterparts. Forget the fact that the highly specialized vocabulary we use in our curriculum can be a dicey subject in and of itself.
To me, one of the real barriers that make many English Language Learners reticent to verbalize in class is the mixed messages they get regarding sentence structure in the different classes they attend. Imagine what it must be like for an ELL student to go from a math class that inundates that student with of and is, to a Language Arts class, where of and is are treated like the color red in the movie The Village (dreaded and shunned by all--Those We Don't Speak Of).
Now, I'm not suggesting that we neglect to teach our students to properly verbalize math sentences. And I'm certainly not saying that Language Arts teachers shouldn't teach their students to write with an Active Voice. Our students need to be able to do both.
So what do we do about it? Well, I'll have to address that on the next post as it is getting late and I have even more meetings tomorrow. Woo-Hoo!
Next ELL Post>>
ELL 1 (Top of this post)
ELL 2
ELL 3
I learned several great strategies which I will reflect on here as I get the time. One general theme that I kept hearing in my discussions with my classmates was how these weren't just great strategies to help our ELL students; they were also effective strategies for helping our resource students! Plus, they would be a tremendous benefit to many of our regular ed students.
It's getting late and I have curriculum meetings all day tomorrow, as I did today. So, I can't get too much out now. However, I did want to mention at least one thing I got from the class before I hit the hay.
We need to give our English Language Learners more opportunities to see, hear, read, and speak our academic language. Now, you might think, see our academic language? Yes, see our academic language. The more I think of it, the more I realize that that the acronyms we use for our English as a Second Language students are entirely insufficient and/or grossly inaccurate.
Think about it.
English may, in fact, be the second language, but each curriculum has a language that has a highly specialized vocabulary. Math is a good example of a curriculum that has an academic language all it's own. Plus, when speaking "mathematically" we often use a passive voice. For example, here's a common math sentence structure: "The product of five and n is twenty."
Forget the fact that an ELL student has to learn that product means the answer to a multiplication problem in math--not just a direct result as it is in our common use of the word or a substance resulting from a chemical reaction as it is in science. Forget the fact that an ELL student has to learn that of and is mean "multiply" and "equal" in math, which are entirely different than their "English" counterparts. Forget the fact that the highly specialized vocabulary we use in our curriculum can be a dicey subject in and of itself.
To me, one of the real barriers that make many English Language Learners reticent to verbalize in class is the mixed messages they get regarding sentence structure in the different classes they attend. Imagine what it must be like for an ELL student to go from a math class that inundates that student with of and is, to a Language Arts class, where of and is are treated like the color red in the movie The Village (dreaded and shunned by all--Those We Don't Speak Of).
Now, I'm not suggesting that we neglect to teach our students to properly verbalize math sentences. And I'm certainly not saying that Language Arts teachers shouldn't teach their students to write with an Active Voice. Our students need to be able to do both.
So what do we do about it? Well, I'll have to address that on the next post as it is getting late and I have even more meetings tomorrow. Woo-Hoo!
Next ELL Post>>
ELL 1 (Top of this post)
ELL 2
ELL 3
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab
This week we're taking a look at Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab. The lab offers many features and is free to use. We're all about the free stuff here at The Paradigm Shift podcast. I found this site because Robert Diem has a link to it on his site, The Daily Idiom. Way to go, Robert!
I want to give you an overview of the site first. So let's take a quick look at its features. The site includes:
The Interface
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab is easy to navigate around and has a reasonably intuitive interface. The ESL students I have had working in the lab have been able to move around the site with relative ease and success. It's far too early to demonstrate significant growth (about two weeks), but they have found the lessons to be a fun way to improve their listening comprehension.
I want to give you an overview of the site first. So let's take a quick look at its features. The site includes:
- Streaming audio and video content through Real Player;
- Over 150 original activities and quizzes;
- Activities and quizzes are categorized according to difficulty level;
- Activities contain a variety of tasks and learning opportunities;
- Pre- and post-listening activities.
The Interface
Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab is easy to navigate around and has a reasonably intuitive interface. The ESL students I have had working in the lab have been able to move around the site with relative ease and success. It's far too early to demonstrate significant growth (about two weeks), but they have found the lessons to be a fun way to improve their listening comprehension.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
eBoard
The show has been posted. Your media aggregator will probably create a new playlist in your audio software called Paradigm Shift. I was recording until the wee hours of the morning after experiencing a number of audio troubles, which were not to be outdone by problems with the PHP file and the feed. I apologize if I sound half-asleep at times. I was determined to get it done, though! To check out the show, click here. To have each show automatically loaded onto your audio player software, simply follow the directions near the bottom of the sidebar on the right.
Check out eBoard!! It allows you to post assignments and attachments online as well as keeping a calendar and gathereing student reactions through iNotes.
We've also got The Daily Idiom by Robert Diem.
Next week, we're going to review Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab.
My brother, Marshall, has just become a published author. His book, Adventures As Dogboy, is available through Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. Congratulations, Marshall!! I can't wait to read it!
Check out eBoard!! It allows you to post assignments and attachments online as well as keeping a calendar and gathereing student reactions through iNotes.
We've also got The Daily Idiom by Robert Diem.
Next week, we're going to review Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab.
My brother, Marshall, has just become a published author. His book, Adventures As Dogboy, is available through Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. Congratulations, Marshall!! I can't wait to read it!
Friday, April 29, 2005
Flash Drive
A few weeks ago on the show, Kathy Schrock talked about how students could benefit from loading a flash drive with OpenOffice and Mozilla's web browser and email client, Firefox and Thunderbird, respectively. Now, she has even given teachers some text instuctions to follow in order to configure this for students.
Once again, she's done all the testing and hard work for us!
Thanks, Kathy!
Once again, she's done all the testing and hard work for us!
Thanks, Kathy!
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Podcasts as an Instructional Tool
Podcasting has exciting potential in education that is just now being explored. On this week's podcast, we're going to talk about some ideas for podcasting as an instructional tool.
Most references and links are contained in our collaborative blog, On The Cutting Edge-ucation. However, there are a couple of additional links I can leave you with.
Also on the show, I'm going to talk about EduCasters.net, the new site that Steve Dembo is cooking up to help educational podcasters!!
Finally, if you have an idea, brainstorm, thought, or activity that integrates podcasting into instruction, please email me and I'll send out an invitation for you to join the On The Cutting Edge-ucation blog so you can post your ideas. Of course your comments are always welcome either way.
--Eric
Most references and links are contained in our collaborative blog, On The Cutting Edge-ucation. However, there are a couple of additional links I can leave you with.
- •publish an
- •
Also on the show, I'm going to talk about EduCasters.net, the new site that Steve Dembo is cooking up to help educational podcasters!!
Finally, if you have an idea, brainstorm, thought, or activity that integrates podcasting into instruction, please email me and I'll send out an invitation for you to join the On The Cutting Edge-ucation blog so you can post your ideas. Of course your comments are always welcome either way.
--Eric
Thursday, April 21, 2005
This Week's Show
Well, I went ahead and did it. I purchased the domain name paradigmshiftpodcast.org to move this site to in the very near future. Paradigm Shift will be the new name of the show because I've become aware of a site that proclaims to own the name Teachnology. The one time I think I've got an original thought and ker-BLOOOEY! :-)
In fact, they even sent a cease and desist letter to Dan Mitchell of Dan Mitchell's Teachnology Blog. In response, he has neither ceased nor desisted. Good for him. He used the name first, I believe.
However, for me and where I'm at, I believe I need to change names for two reasons. Most important, I think it's crucial to set a good example for my students and fellow teachers in terms of copyright law. Secondly, I want to host a show that is original in content but also in how it's identified. Clearly, Dan Mitchell used the name long before I did, so in deference and respect to him as well as the copyrighted site, we'll switch it up.
To make the switch as seamless as possible for our listeners, we'll do a couple shows under both names as we get everything moved over to our server space at PodLot.com . It's important to note that you won't need to change the feed you've entered into your media aggregator to continue to listen to the podcast.
It's past time to get another show out! I plan on getting it out on Friday. We're going to talk about some of the great ideas, thoughts, and examples for using podcasting instructionally that educators have posted at the On The Cutting Edge-ucation site.
So, please join us as we begin our own Paradigm Shift...
In fact, they even sent a cease and desist letter to Dan Mitchell of Dan Mitchell's Teachnology Blog. In response, he has neither ceased nor desisted. Good for him. He used the name first, I believe.
However, for me and where I'm at, I believe I need to change names for two reasons. Most important, I think it's crucial to set a good example for my students and fellow teachers in terms of copyright law. Secondly, I want to host a show that is original in content but also in how it's identified. Clearly, Dan Mitchell used the name long before I did, so in deference and respect to him as well as the copyrighted site, we'll switch it up.
To make the switch as seamless as possible for our listeners, we'll do a couple shows under both names as we get everything moved over to our server space at PodLot.com . It's important to note that you won't need to change the feed you've entered into your media aggregator to continue to listen to the podcast.
It's past time to get another show out! I plan on getting it out on Friday. We're going to talk about some of the great ideas, thoughts, and examples for using podcasting instructionally that educators have posted at the On The Cutting Edge-ucation site.
So, please join us as we begin our own Paradigm Shift...
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Using Podcasting for Instruction
We're building a repository of instructional ideas and strategies for using podcasts in schools.
I'd like to generate a bank of ideas (anything from a quick brainstorm idea to refined activities and units) that teachers could contribute to, draw from, and even refine.
Click here to check it out. If you would like to contribute ideas or activities, just email me and I'll send out an invitation to you.
We'd love to hear from you!
--Eric
I'd like to generate a bank of ideas (anything from a quick brainstorm idea to refined activities and units) that teachers could contribute to, draw from, and even refine.
Click here to check it out. If you would like to contribute ideas or activities, just email me and I'll send out an invitation to you.
We'd love to hear from you!
--Eric
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Kathy Schrock Interview and the Schrock Guide for Educators
Kathy is the Administrator for Technology for the Nauset Public Schools on Cape Cod, Mssachussetts. Plus, she is the creator and proprietor of the Schrock Guide for Educators at Discovery School.
Join us for this intriguing question and answer session.
The show notes for this one are real simple. Click here to go to the Schrock Guide for Educators. The Schrock Guide is an incredible repository of educational web sites. It has links for curriculum areas, searching tools, and teacher helpers such as Fry's Readability Graph, Assessment & Rubrics, and one of my favorites--Digital Gadgets, just to name a few.
Some of the best features of the site are the Sites of the School Days, the New Sites This Month, the Theme of the Month, and the Content-Rich Sites.
Kathy Schrock puts sites through a very rigorous process before she links them to the Schrock Guide for Educators. Rest assured, these are worth your valuable time. There are great teaching tools throughout the Schrock Guide, so check it out!!
Join us for this intriguing question and answer session.
The show notes for this one are real simple. Click here to go to the Schrock Guide for Educators. The Schrock Guide is an incredible repository of educational web sites. It has links for curriculum areas, searching tools, and teacher helpers such as Fry's Readability Graph, Assessment & Rubrics, and one of my favorites--Digital Gadgets, just to name a few.
Some of the best features of the site are the Sites of the School Days, the New Sites This Month, the Theme of the Month, and the Content-Rich Sites.
Kathy Schrock puts sites through a very rigorous process before she links them to the Schrock Guide for Educators. Rest assured, these are worth your valuable time. There are great teaching tools throughout the Schrock Guide, so check it out!!
Thursday, March 31, 2005
iPodder 2.0 has been released
Click on the title above to get it. It's much better than the previous version!
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Single Feed
I just uploaded the Teachnology03-19-05 QuickCast, so if your media aggregator (iPodder, iPodderX, Doppler, etc) doesn't catch it the next time it checks for new podcasts, then you may want to check to make sure you have the following feed entered for Teachnology:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Teachnology
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Teachnology
QuickCast about Podcasts and Blogs on our Single Feed
Here's some interesting educational podcasts that I enjoy, and some general information about them. They are not listed in any particular order.
Teach42, hosted by Steve Dembo, blends practical tools with the right doses of philosophy and perspective. On his blog, he has listed several free, open-source software titles for educational uses here . Feed
Kelly Dumont has a weekly podcast, The Educational Mac, that discusses Mac software uses in the classroom. Feed
History According to Bob is a daily podcast that Professor Bob Packett, covering different historical topics. Professor Packett has an effective conversational style to get out his message that includes interesting anectdotes and unique perspectives. Feed
Some recent topics include:
Jeff Moore is an educational technology specialist that hosts One Big Head, which discusses educational philosophy, trends, technology-based solutions, research and ideas. Feed
The Daily Idiom, hosted by Robert Diem, examines everyday idioms about three times per week. Feed
Here's some educational blogs I enjoy reading:
Bud The Teacher is, amongst other things, investigating how use blogs and wikis for instruction.
The Education Wonks discusses education-related issues. It also hosts The Carnival of Education, which provides links to informative and interesting educator posts each week.
The Art of Getting By is a written by an educator, though it rarely, if ever, deals with education issues. It also offers an aesthetically marvelous design!
Teach42, hosted by Steve Dembo, blends practical tools with the right doses of philosophy and perspective. On his blog, he has listed several free, open-source software titles for educational uses here . Feed
Kelly Dumont has a weekly podcast, The Educational Mac, that discusses Mac software uses in the classroom. Feed
History According to Bob is a daily podcast that Professor Bob Packett, covering different historical topics. Professor Packett has an effective conversational style to get out his message that includes interesting anectdotes and unique perspectives. Feed
Some recent topics include:
- Otto Von Bismarck - Iron Chancellor or Iron Liver and Lungs?
- Chariot Racing - Ancient Rome's Nascar
- The History of the Finger - The International Gesture of Disdain
- Pirate Rules - Why is my left leg worth less than my right?
Jeff Moore is an educational technology specialist that hosts One Big Head, which discusses educational philosophy, trends, technology-based solutions, research and ideas. Feed
The Daily Idiom, hosted by Robert Diem, examines everyday idioms about three times per week. Feed
Here's some educational blogs I enjoy reading:
Bud The Teacher is, amongst other things, investigating how use blogs and wikis for instruction.
The Education Wonks discusses education-related issues. It also hosts The Carnival of Education, which provides links to informative and interesting educator posts each week.
The Art of Getting By is a written by an educator, though it rarely, if ever, deals with education issues. It also offers an aesthetically marvelous design!
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
One Feed on Saturday
On Saturday, March 19, Teachnology will delete the feedburner feed that has mobilepodcast in the URL. However, we will continue to provide our listeners with effective instructional tools through our permanent feedburner feed which can be found below:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Teachnology
On Saturday, I will send out a QuickCast on the permanent (and only) feed to verify to our listeners that they have the correct (and only) feed. If you have not received that QuickCast by Sunday morning then simply launch your favorite aggregator and enter the permanent feed address.
Saturday's QuickCast will be a brief talk about a few educational podcasts that I love listening to (besides Teachnology ;->), so you don't want to miss it!
I sincerely appologize for any inconvenience or confusion our multiple feeds have caused to our listeners.
Thanks for listening (and reading)!
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Teachnology
On Saturday, I will send out a QuickCast on the permanent (and only) feed to verify to our listeners that they have the correct (and only) feed. If you have not received that QuickCast by Sunday morning then simply launch your favorite aggregator and enter the permanent feed address.
Saturday's QuickCast will be a brief talk about a few educational podcasts that I love listening to (besides Teachnology ;->), so you don't want to miss it!
I sincerely appologize for any inconvenience or confusion our multiple feeds have caused to our listeners.
Thanks for listening (and reading)!
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Internet4Classrooms and Platonic Realms
What an exciting week! My 7th grade girls won their conference tournament over the weekend. Listen how I seamlessly integrate that into the show as to avoid sounding like I'm bragging (unlike here in the show notes!).
We have a ton of things in the hopper. We've got The Daily Idiom, A Word A Day, and the much anticipated, Microsoft Ad Slogan of the Week. Most importantly, our featured sites are going to give you some great instructional tools. First, we're going to talk about Internet4Classrooms. Then we'll investigate an intense math site, Platonic Realms.
Internet4Classrooms is a links site that has a rich library of helpful sites for teachers and students. The three areas that impressed me the most were Links for K-12 Teachers, Daily Dose of the Web, and On-Line Practice Modules.
On a recent visit to Internet4Classrooms, I found a great math site called Platonic Realms, which is geared toward secondary/post-secondary level math students and teachers. I've really enjoyed Today's Math Moment, which are short shockwave multimedia presentations. For example, today's topic (March 10), Why Isn't 1 a Prime Number, gives an interesting explanation that goes beyond the definition, albeit very quickly. I've also found their Daily Challenge to be just that--a challenge. There's other features that are well worth the time to check them out. This is definitely not a static site that looks the same from one month to the next. Several features change on a daily basis. It's a fantastic math site!
We have a ton of things in the hopper. We've got The Daily Idiom, A Word A Day, and the much anticipated, Microsoft Ad Slogan of the Week. Most importantly, our featured sites are going to give you some great instructional tools. First, we're going to talk about Internet4Classrooms. Then we'll investigate an intense math site, Platonic Realms.
Internet4Classrooms is a links site that has a rich library of helpful sites for teachers and students. The three areas that impressed me the most were Links for K-12 Teachers, Daily Dose of the Web, and On-Line Practice Modules.
On a recent visit to Internet4Classrooms, I found a great math site called Platonic Realms, which is geared toward secondary/post-secondary level math students and teachers. I've really enjoyed Today's Math Moment, which are short shockwave multimedia presentations. For example, today's topic (March 10), Why Isn't 1 a Prime Number, gives an interesting explanation that goes beyond the definition, albeit very quickly. I've also found their Daily Challenge to be just that--a challenge. There's other features that are well worth the time to check them out. This is definitely not a static site that looks the same from one month to the next. Several features change on a daily basis. It's a fantastic math site!
Sunday, February 27, 2005
4teachers.org
Just a QuickCast for you this week as grades are due, my girls basketball team is starting its final week of the season, and I'm sorting through our questions for Kathy Schrock and developing a few of my own.
So this QuickCast will not have our other popular features, the Daily Idiom, A Word A Day, and the Microsoft ad slogan of the week. We will resume with those pieces on our next full-featured Teachnology podcast.
We are going to take a look at the very comprehensive 4teachers site.
In an earlier podcast, we looked at one of it's great features, Rubistar. Fortunately, 4teachers didn't just stop there. They have several features that are incredible instructional resources for teachers and students! Plus, they're constantly improving those resources. So click in...
So this QuickCast will not have our other popular features, the Daily Idiom, A Word A Day, and the Microsoft ad slogan of the week. We will resume with those pieces on our next full-featured Teachnology podcast.
We are going to take a look at the very comprehensive 4teachers site.
In an earlier podcast, we looked at one of it's great features, Rubistar. Fortunately, 4teachers didn't just stop there. They have several features that are incredible instructional resources for teachers and students! Plus, they're constantly improving those resources. So click in...
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