#ShowYourLearning Week 1 - Excel

Excel has been my digital kryptonite for too long.  It's time to teach myself how to own the magic that Excel or Google Sheets can produce.  At a conference several years ago the keynote was talking about why we should use digital technologies to enhance Science curriculum.  He pulled data from NOAA and pasted it into an Excel sheet.  What he did next had me in awe.  I frantically took notes on everything he did, but when I tried it on my own I failed miserably.  "Why can't I do this?! It looked so easy!"  I cried and soon gave up.

 As a Technology Integration Coach it's my responsibility to know a little bit about everything digital and when people ask me to build something in Excel...well, frankly, it's a little embarrassing when I say "I am not that good with Excel".  I think my apprehension for learning about the program comes from my math phobia.  I've always struggled with math and I've been known to shy away from having to do any complex form of calculation.  As part of my #showyourlearning project I am going to tackle learning about Excel.  Over the next couple of weeks I will post videos of my trials and tribulations.  If you have any suggestions or input I will gladly take the feedback!

SO, how am I going to accomplish this momentous task you ask?  First of all, I have a subscription to Lynda.com thanks to the generosity of MassCUE.  I plan on using the tutorials to get started.  Next, if those don't work, I plan on going to YouTube to look for some quick "how to's" or asking my friend, the math teacher, to give me a lesson or two.

The real test in my understanding is when someone asks me to help build an Excel sheet!
Wish me luck!  Below is my first attempt at learning Excel!

I think I need to be more Pinky and less Brain

I love Pinky and the Brain.  For those of you who have never watched the cartoon the premise is that two laboratory mice try to take over the world after the lab closes for the evening.  Brain comes up with the plans and usually fails.  Pinky follows along and either screws everything up or does something miraculous.  Pinky is a bit more of a free spirit and Brain is more structured.  It has recently occurred to me that I have taken on quite a bit of responsibility.  For some reason I subconsciously have decided to fix the culture of my school, the lack of technology integration in my district, the unaligned social studies curriculum, and the lack of homework being completed by my students. I have been very Brain lately.  It seems like every initiative I have tried seems to fail in some sort of way.  Crazy and overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe how I felt on the last day of school.  Usually, the last day of school is supposed to be a relief.  The weight of the school year is supposed to lift off your shoulders and the freedom of summer should wash over you.  That's not what I was feeling on June 20th.

The summer ahead is filled with activities that I hope will help me become a better teacher. I plan on researching better teaching methods, take a course or two, re write my curriculum, and among other things. One of which is designing a Flipped Classroom course for teachers to take.  I attended a workshop back in May, but I was disappointed in the lack of depth the workshop went into.  I had so many questions, and I felt like non of them were answered.   It's my goal to design a course that has teachers examine the flipped classroom model including the pros and cons and create their own unit of flipped lessons.

At this point I am just collecting resources.  There is so much information available that it is hard to choose which platform is best, which articles are most informative, and how teachers will use it in their own class.

So much to do and so little time to do it in!

Inspiration

As you enter a classroom ask yourself this question: "If there were no students in the room, could I do what I am planning to do?" If your answer to the question is yes, don't do it. ( —General Ruben Cubero [1]) 

My inspiration for flipping the classroom came from several sources: the constant striving to keep my students motivated and my lessons fresh,  my assistant superintendent and Mr. Zoller's video pod casts.  Mr. Zoller is kind of amazing.  I first found his You Tube Channel when I was looking for a video to show my class about Chinese geography.  It's an interesting topic, but there aren't many documentaries which are engaging for eighth graders.  When i first watched the video I was in awe.  "How does this guy do this?  Is he getting paid?" immediately popped into my head.  The video I found was clear, concise, engaging, and really easy for my students to follow.  When I showed it to my students they were engaged and they loved it!  I immediately wanted to to the same thing.  (side note: this was before I had even heard of "the flipped classroom").   I emailed him a couple of months ago to ask how he came up with the ideas, how he produced his videos, and if he had students make videos too.  He got back to me and offered some great suggestions.  For creating videos his format is very simple and very easy to follow for the kids.  He begins with an introduction which includes a little bit of music and images of himself and historical landmarks.  Then he poses the focus question for the lesson and gives kids instructions on how to follow along and take notes.  He explains the topic using more questions and lots of images.  Finally, he summarizes his ideas and answers the guiding question again.  Brilliant!

I have decided to use his format to make my own videos.  I start with the focus question, provide explanations with images and diagrams, and finish with conclusion.  My students seem to like the first couple of videos I made and the time I have in class to do other activities is a blessing.  I have noticed overall engagement increase.  Currently I am engaged in a project based learning activity and I haven't given any notes in a couple of weeks, but next week the Renaissance begins and new videos will abound!

EdCamp Boston

      What an amazing day!  If any teacher wants an amazing professional development experience that includes sharing ideas, meeting great people, and regenerating themselves than they should attend and EdCamp.  I have been to two EdCamps, and today I attended EdCampBOS at Microsoft NERD.  The greatest thing about being at EdCamp is being surrounded by some of the most amazing, passionate, and inventive teachers I have ever seen.  I walked out the door feeling empowered.  I now have ideas to add to my flipped classroom and I have ideas to enhance professional development in my district.  I can't wait to share what I have learned with my colleagues!

     I went to EdCampBOS with the intention of learning more about the Flipped Classroom.  I came away with much more.  I went to the Flipped Classroom workshop, but I already knew much of what the teacher was sharing (tools for screencasting, privacy settings on YouTube, etc.).  I didn't learn anything new.  However, he did mention that he saw his grades have improved.  That was an important piece of information.  Something I can use later on.  Later in the day I talked to the teacher about equity issues, which he doesn't have to deal with.  In his district there is an expectation that students do homework and they stay after school when they don't have the resources at home.  Lucky guy. In my school I don't think it's going to be that easy.  Teh group of students I will have next year have a reputation of little motivation and engagement by parents.   I think what I am going to have to do is get parents on board from day one.  At another workshop we discussed how to use Edmodo (I will discuss Edmodo in a later post).  In that workshop I began to develop ideas for getting parents on board.  Edmodo has a parent option to follow along with the class.  If I am going to make the Flipped Classroom work I am going to have to have to have parent buy in.  Maybe the parent option on Edmodo will help.
     Professional development has been on my mind quite a bit lately.   I keep asking myself how am I going to improve the quality of my professional development classes?  I enjoy teaching them, but I feel that what I cover in 12 weeks could be covered in 2 weeks or less.  Also, teachers sometimes feel that professional development is a waste of time.  It doesn't involve anything that they are interested in at the time.  I attended a workshop about creative options for professional development and I walked away with some amazing ideas.  In fact, I am going to implement one this summer.  Watch for EdCampBPS!
      Finally, EdCamp has reinforced the idea that Professional Learning Networks are amazing energizers.  Twitter, Nings (Nings I Love:  Classroom2.0, Educator's PLN, Vodcasting and Flipped Classrom) EdCamps, and even Facebook are bottomless when it comes to sharing ideas.  I made about 10 new connections today with teachers who are as passionate about teaching and technology as I am.  I can now access that "just took a class" feeling every day.  All I have to do is log on and read.  So, is EdCamp worth giving up a Saturday for?  Yup.  By the way follow me on Twitter! (@gonfitz)
   
   

First Day Back

I have been flipping my classroom for a couple of weeks so far.  It seems like it has become the norm. The kids know what to do when I tell them their assignments.  And, I have even begun to hear the groans.  At this point you may be wondering what a flipped classroom is.  If you have heard of Khan Academy then you have heard of a flipped classroom.  Or, if you haven't, if you've ever been assigned a reading assignment in English class and expected to discuss it you have been in a flipped classroom.  In short, it's putting your lessons on video and doing the homework in class.  It takes the pressure off of students who may struggle with assignments when they get home.  The flipped classroom allows students to pause, rewind, and replay parts of a lesson they may not understand.  In theory a great idea.  However, many issues and problems have crossed my mind.
     First of all, equity.  What if students don't have access to computers?  This question has plagued me ever since I started researching the concept.  I have talked to quite a few people and read a bunch of articles.  The answers are varied.  However, the best conclusion I have come up with is that you have to make do.  There are computers available to my students seventh period most days.  If they don't have a computer at home they can stay after school or they can go to the town library.  If neither of those options are available I give them the "homework 1.0" option.  A print out of the Power Point I used to record the video I make.  There is no perfect solution to the equity issue.  However, the only advice I can give is know your students and differentiate.
    Second, where do I find my resources?  The first place I looked for videos (at first making my own videos was intimidating) was You Tube.  I managed to find an educator in Wyoming who has posted several amazing videos that are historically accurate and entertaining.  I have used all of the relevant videos in my class.  I also attended a workshop hosted by EdTechTeacher and MassCUE which provided even more resources.  Finding resources has not been a problem.  However, finding resources which specifically deal with what you want to stress to your students is a little bit more difficult.  I have broken down and began making my own videos for my students.  So far, no complaints.  I may post one of them here at some point.
      Flipping so far has been fun, but I have yet to see a major advantage.  I believe that this is the direct result of trying the concept mid year.  Students like routine and when you upset that routine they tend to rebel a little bit. Especially eighth graders.  I am going to keep on plugging and let you know how it goes.

Below are a couple of articles on Flipping the Classroom:

12 Must Read Resources For Flipping Your Classroom.

Flippin Freaking Out!

I have taught for 11 years.  When I first started teaching my students were only 10 years younger than me.  I was a kid teaching kids.  At that point in my career I was idealist.  I believed I could save the world through group work, interactive lesson plans, student centered learning and constructivist lesson planning.    Although I have had a few bumps in the road I can proudly say I still feel that way. I have an enthusiasm that is undying.

However, my enthusiasm is a bit unfocused.  I jump from idea to idea.  From method to method. And, right now it's focused on flipping my classroom. The idea for flipping my classroom came from my assistant superintendent.  All she said was "Carla, have you heard of the "flip"?"  I started researching and became obsessed.  It seemed like the answer for the nagging issues facing my classroom.  Such as, "why don't I have enough time to teach?"  Or, "why aren't my students learning from my notes?"  I have collected resources and begun my process.  For the next couple of months I will use this space to review and reflect on flipping my own classroom.