OK, 10th grader, what's your major? and more about this week.
I'm a little nervous, this is my first post on the new blogger. Let me know if there are any glitches!
My tenth graders select a "major"
You may wonder what I'm talking about, but as I planned this 8 weeks with my amazing computer science class, I've been pondering the section of Thomas Friedman's book where he talks about the "strands" at Georgia Tech. This essentially allows students to select a dual area of interest-- computing and aestheics or computing and art. Then, students are qualified to work in a variety of areas and essentially find their passion.
So, I have my projects that I usually conduct in computer science this time of year, only this time we'll take a different angle. I've asked my students to select an area of interest. This is to be an industry that they are already excited about -- hunting, special effects, hospitality -- these are some of the areas that the students have selected as their "majors."
Their first blog post on their major
Now, when I have their weekly blog posts that summarize the week, they discuss this from their major. For example, two weeks a go I asked them to write specifically about the hardware in their major.
Here is an excerpt from a student who is interested in golf course managment:
I didn't know these things! Or how about the student who is interested in optometry:
Again, she spent time looking into her interests. So, instead of just teaching about hardware, each student is looking at it from the lens of their future interest. I am finding that it makes them more interested and am planning their 8 week assessment as a major project where they will select the hardware and software required for a person to start up in that business (or if it is a large corporation, perhaps just to outfit the office.)
Storage Device Wikis
This week we learned about storage devices and my students have produced some very informative wikis about the types of storage devices:
If you don't know about solid state storage, it is really a MUST READ! They also recorded podcasts to release on the class blog about their topic and are in the process of embedding these in the wiki as well. (You can listen to the one on optical storage.)
How I taught storage devices:
Interestingly, the podcast portion has added an interesting element to teamwork. Here is how I did this week's work on solid state storage:
This is a jigsaw that also uses a reading strategy grid that I created. (For those of you who've had training in cooperative learning and in reading across the content areas.)
1) Students came in and had an outline of the lesson (I always hand out lesson plans so they can follow me.)
2) Each student had an assigned subject (one of the three) and was told to move into that team.
3) Reading Strategy and Planning - Day 1
There was a reading strategy sheet that the students used to read the section of the book. They were to read about their assigned type of storage and glean information about how it works and also its versatility, durability, and several other aspects used to analyze storage devices. This was done as a team.
4) Day 2 - Wiki and Podcast -
Each team was to make a wiki and to record a podcast. They had one day. This forced everyone to divide up tasks and get busy. The best group finished it in one day. The groups where one person wanted to do it all had a harder time. I require each person to post to the wiki. If they record the podcast, they must post it to the wiki after I upload it to the stream. I want to teach them that teamwork is essential. I had one group in particular that has now "gotten it" and produced their work efficiently and effectively.
5) Day 3 - The jigsaw -
The third day, the students were to get with their team number. (I also assigned these on the first day.) There were four teams. Each person was responsible to teach their type of storage to the others and help them complete their information. If they finished early, they were to get back into their teams and could work on the wiki some more. (I've created a group of wiki-perfectionists!)
6) Day 4 - The blog posting and labs
Their blog posts for this week were to discuss the types of storage devices used in their major. Additionally, our book has interactive labs and online quizzes that they take and submit. We spent Friday completing these. It really was a breeze considering how well they understood storage.
7) Monday
I will review this with the students by asking questions and we will move on to peripheral devices on Monday. Could I have talked about these three types of storage in a one day lecture? Perhaps. Would they truly have learned it. Not necessarily!
The Results
One of my students has a parent who works at an elite research center with the most amazing computing systems in this area. He can discuss computing with the experts and understand what they are talking about. He is in tenth grade and he understands the "lingo" of computing and even better, he is unafraid to find out when he doesn't know something!
Time Management
We have been discussing time management/ planning with the 9th graders. This is a very rewarding discussion. I love to pull in movie clips to make the point. Friday I pulled in a clip from one of my favorite miniseries. Band of Brothers based upon the book by Stephen Ambrose.
The D that makes all the difference - Story from Band of Brothers
In this particular scene there is a Lieutenant Dykes who has an ivy league pedigree, aced officer training, and has all of the right connections. He is in charge of EZ company and they are to take over a small village in nazi germany. However, as they have held the woods outside the town, Lieutenant Dykes always dissappears when the bombing gets tough. He's never there mentally.
When they invade, disaster strikes. Dykes cannot make a decision. He is afraid and keeps telling the men to retreat. He stops right in the middle of an open field. People around him are dying. He cannot decide. He mentally cannot do it.
Then, Winters, the battalion commander makes a bold move. Watching from the woods, he pulls in Lieutenant Spears from another company and sends him in to relieve Dykes. He is another great officer. Physically fit, battle hardened, and considered by some as half crazy. Spears goes in, relieves Dykes and immediately takes charge of the situation.
Dykes has spread the company out too far and half is on one side of the city with the other half on the other. They must connect or they will all die. Spears takes off running through the middle of the city, connects with the other half and then, he runs back. No one can believe it! At first the Nazi's don't even fire at him!
EZ company goes on to take the city.
How we discussed it
We then compared and contrasted Dykes and Spears. They were exactly the same except for the decisions that they made. I call it "the Big D that makes all the difference."
I was looking for a way to pull the guys into what they consider boring "planner" girly stuff. My own father is a very successful award winning farmer and he always carried a small book in his pocket -- his list. He worked it and used it.
The discussion was amazing. They got it. And it took a movie.
iTunes and Podcasting
I also taught my classes the basics of itunes and particularly the podcasting area. Interestingly NONE of my students understood how to subscribe to a podcast in ITunes. Don't assume that because they have an iPod that they understand how to subscribe to a podcast or even know what it is.
Coming up
Fifth keyboarding - I'm starting with our fifth graders this week and will be teaching them how to keyboard. I'm excited. This year I've planned to start them blogging with blogs that they can take with them into middle school. We've also planned some work with another class that we'll pick up in early March. I'm going to work with the teacher to pull it into her creative writing activities.
Computer Science
More wikis. More blogs. A test is coming up and we will move into software, then, we'll have a big project that I'll make sure to share with you!
Computer Fundamentals
Monday, after I give them time to write down their own values, we are going to learn airset and explore some other online ways to automate their planning. When we finish, each person is going to create a movie about how they will keep a list, a calendar, and their important addresses. I find that each person needs a system that works for them, but it is must be a system. We have seen a consistent increase in grades after teaching the students this. Then, I will be teaching the amazing Cornell notetaking system that literally is one of the main reasons that I was first in my class at Georgia Tech.
Computer Graphic Design
I'm going to have to share another post about the amazing things going on here. Many of my non-academic types excel in this class where they immerse themselves in effective graphic design and non-verbal communication skills.
I love teaching! It is my life. I love my students! When they learn and get excited, it is a greater adrenaline rush than skydiving (I think), but I can feel it over and over again as I reflect on the light bulb experiences.
Now is the time of year when last year's seniors and their parents call and thank me. My students often take a computer science course their first semester to help their GPA because they are confident. That is the best endorsement I can get!
My tenth graders select a "major"
You may wonder what I'm talking about, but as I planned this 8 weeks with my amazing computer science class, I've been pondering the section of Thomas Friedman's book where he talks about the "strands" at Georgia Tech. This essentially allows students to select a dual area of interest-- computing and aestheics or computing and art. Then, students are qualified to work in a variety of areas and essentially find their passion.
So, I have my projects that I usually conduct in computer science this time of year, only this time we'll take a different angle. I've asked my students to select an area of interest. This is to be an industry that they are already excited about -- hunting, special effects, hospitality -- these are some of the areas that the students have selected as their "majors."
Their first blog post on their major
Now, when I have their weekly blog posts that summarize the week, they discuss this from their major. For example, two weeks a go I asked them to write specifically about the hardware in their major.
Here is an excerpt from a student who is interested in golf course managment:
Golf course management has many different new technologies. One of the technologies is the new GPS systems used on golf courses all over the world. They use GPS systems to see where a golf cart might be on the golf course, the measurements to the green from a certain point on the course. The GPS systems also include integrated dash view or roof view GPS screen, widescreen/flat screen display, Dynamic hole zoom, integrated car control, multiple event advertising, full tournament leader board.
The GPS systems allow golfers to order beverage and food from the cart, which improves pace of play and increases food and beverage sales. Staff can send warning messages to individual or all golfers. Staff responds to emergency requests from golfers and dispatch assistance to their exact location. Golfers send and receive messages using the GPS screen and control panel. Staff send and receive messages - and view exact car locations - from the management computer or from any car on the course.
I didn't know these things! Or how about the student who is interested in optometry:
I have learned through research on optometry that optometrists use many kinds of hardware through the eye examination process. The mostly use computers. Computers are used to store the data. Databases are made to store client information and etc. The computers are used to enter prescription data, payment data, and client data.
Optical hardware is also used. It is used to examine the eyes, take photos of the inside of the eyes, and test the eyes to check to see the prescription number. The examination equipment uses lights and storage devices to look inside and around the eye. A machine is also used to take pictures of the back of the eyeball to check for disease or buckles in the eye. The other machine they use you look into it and look at the Christmas tree in the background and it will measure your eyesight.
Again, she spent time looking into her interests. So, instead of just teaching about hardware, each student is looking at it from the lens of their future interest. I am finding that it makes them more interested and am planning their 8 week assessment as a major project where they will select the hardware and software required for a person to start up in that business (or if it is a large corporation, perhaps just to outfit the office.)
Storage Device Wikis
This week we learned about storage devices and my students have produced some very informative wikis about the types of storage devices:
- Optical Storage (CD's, DVD's)
- Magnetic Storage (Hard Drives, tape backup)
- Solid State Storage (jump drives) they have some things to fix, but the content is good!
If you don't know about solid state storage, it is really a MUST READ! They also recorded podcasts to release on the class blog about their topic and are in the process of embedding these in the wiki as well. (You can listen to the one on optical storage.)
How I taught storage devices:
Interestingly, the podcast portion has added an interesting element to teamwork. Here is how I did this week's work on solid state storage:
This is a jigsaw that also uses a reading strategy grid that I created. (For those of you who've had training in cooperative learning and in reading across the content areas.)
1) Students came in and had an outline of the lesson (I always hand out lesson plans so they can follow me.)
2) Each student had an assigned subject (one of the three) and was told to move into that team.
3) Reading Strategy and Planning - Day 1
There was a reading strategy sheet that the students used to read the section of the book. They were to read about their assigned type of storage and glean information about how it works and also its versatility, durability, and several other aspects used to analyze storage devices. This was done as a team.
4) Day 2 - Wiki and Podcast -
Each team was to make a wiki and to record a podcast. They had one day. This forced everyone to divide up tasks and get busy. The best group finished it in one day. The groups where one person wanted to do it all had a harder time. I require each person to post to the wiki. If they record the podcast, they must post it to the wiki after I upload it to the stream. I want to teach them that teamwork is essential. I had one group in particular that has now "gotten it" and produced their work efficiently and effectively.
5) Day 3 - The jigsaw -
The third day, the students were to get with their team number. (I also assigned these on the first day.) There were four teams. Each person was responsible to teach their type of storage to the others and help them complete their information. If they finished early, they were to get back into their teams and could work on the wiki some more. (I've created a group of wiki-perfectionists!)
6) Day 4 - The blog posting and labs
Their blog posts for this week were to discuss the types of storage devices used in their major. Additionally, our book has interactive labs and online quizzes that they take and submit. We spent Friday completing these. It really was a breeze considering how well they understood storage.
7) Monday
I will review this with the students by asking questions and we will move on to peripheral devices on Monday. Could I have talked about these three types of storage in a one day lecture? Perhaps. Would they truly have learned it. Not necessarily!
The Results
One of my students has a parent who works at an elite research center with the most amazing computing systems in this area. He can discuss computing with the experts and understand what they are talking about. He is in tenth grade and he understands the "lingo" of computing and even better, he is unafraid to find out when he doesn't know something!
Time Management
We have been discussing time management/ planning with the 9th graders. This is a very rewarding discussion. I love to pull in movie clips to make the point. Friday I pulled in a clip from one of my favorite miniseries. Band of Brothers based upon the book by Stephen Ambrose.
The D that makes all the difference - Story from Band of Brothers
In this particular scene there is a Lieutenant Dykes who has an ivy league pedigree, aced officer training, and has all of the right connections. He is in charge of EZ company and they are to take over a small village in nazi germany. However, as they have held the woods outside the town, Lieutenant Dykes always dissappears when the bombing gets tough. He's never there mentally.
When they invade, disaster strikes. Dykes cannot make a decision. He is afraid and keeps telling the men to retreat. He stops right in the middle of an open field. People around him are dying. He cannot decide. He mentally cannot do it.
Then, Winters, the battalion commander makes a bold move. Watching from the woods, he pulls in Lieutenant Spears from another company and sends him in to relieve Dykes. He is another great officer. Physically fit, battle hardened, and considered by some as half crazy. Spears goes in, relieves Dykes and immediately takes charge of the situation.
Dykes has spread the company out too far and half is on one side of the city with the other half on the other. They must connect or they will all die. Spears takes off running through the middle of the city, connects with the other half and then, he runs back. No one can believe it! At first the Nazi's don't even fire at him!
EZ company goes on to take the city.
How we discussed it
We then compared and contrasted Dykes and Spears. They were exactly the same except for the decisions that they made. I call it "the Big D that makes all the difference."
I was looking for a way to pull the guys into what they consider boring "planner" girly stuff. My own father is a very successful award winning farmer and he always carried a small book in his pocket -- his list. He worked it and used it.
The discussion was amazing. They got it. And it took a movie.
iTunes and Podcasting
I also taught my classes the basics of itunes and particularly the podcasting area. Interestingly NONE of my students understood how to subscribe to a podcast in ITunes. Don't assume that because they have an iPod that they understand how to subscribe to a podcast or even know what it is.
Coming up
Fifth keyboarding - I'm starting with our fifth graders this week and will be teaching them how to keyboard. I'm excited. This year I've planned to start them blogging with blogs that they can take with them into middle school. We've also planned some work with another class that we'll pick up in early March. I'm going to work with the teacher to pull it into her creative writing activities.
Computer Science
More wikis. More blogs. A test is coming up and we will move into software, then, we'll have a big project that I'll make sure to share with you!
Computer Fundamentals
Monday, after I give them time to write down their own values, we are going to learn airset and explore some other online ways to automate their planning. When we finish, each person is going to create a movie about how they will keep a list, a calendar, and their important addresses. I find that each person needs a system that works for them, but it is must be a system. We have seen a consistent increase in grades after teaching the students this. Then, I will be teaching the amazing Cornell notetaking system that literally is one of the main reasons that I was first in my class at Georgia Tech.
Computer Graphic Design
I'm going to have to share another post about the amazing things going on here. Many of my non-academic types excel in this class where they immerse themselves in effective graphic design and non-verbal communication skills.
I love teaching! It is my life. I love my students! When they learn and get excited, it is a greater adrenaline rush than skydiving (I think), but I can feel it over and over again as I reflect on the light bulb experiences.
Now is the time of year when last year's seniors and their parents call and thank me. My students often take a computer science course their first semester to help their GPA because they are confident. That is the best endorsement I can get!
