Educational Philosophy

I have to post my "Educational Philosophy" on my Xavier Web page. Here is what I wrote:


    Communication.

    No matter what your education, no matter what your occupation, no matter what your economic status, there will come a time when it will be necessary to communicate with other human beings. You will need to make your messages clear. You will have to understand their messages. Both sides will have to take action based upon how well each party communicates those messages.

    My job – as a teacher – is to help facilitate that communication.

    I am the gatekeeper to a world of understanding.

Web sites for teachers

Greetings, 

     I had to gather these together for my web page, so I thought I would share them. Here are a few handy links for the budding language arts teacher (a few, such as refdesk.com and elizabethan.org, are good for other teaching fields, too):

Grammar Girl

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/

Refdesk.com

http://refdesk.com

The Subversive Copy Editor

http://www.subversivecopyeditor.com/

Oxford English Dictionary

http://www.oed.com (needs personal, school or library subscription)

Web English Teacher

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/

Edutopia

http://www.edutopia.org

National Council of Teachers of English

http://www.ncte.org/

Newspapers in Education

http://nieonline.com/

William Shakespeare

http://www.william-shakespeare.info/

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

http://shakespeare.mit.edu/

Renaissance: The Elizabethan World

http://www.elizabethan.org/

Famous Poets and Poems

http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/

Screencast: How to Use Keepvid.com to Download YouTube Videos

     Here is a screencast that I created using Smart Recorder (the recording device that comes with SmartBoard) on how to download YouTube videos to your desktop using a Website called keepvid.com. This is a useful tool for teachers who work in a district that does not allow direct links to video websites, or for having a video already on your desktop on days when the network is down and Internet access is impossible.
     This example uses a video that I created myself for YouTube. Within the screencast, I included typed instructions that can be used by doing a freeze frame of the screencast. I have also included these instructions in this post. I hope these instructions prove to be of use to anyone in our class (or to anyone else who stumbles across this blog, for that matter!).

Steps for using keepvid.com

1. Find a YouTube video that you want to download to your computer for educational purposes from www.youtube.com. (Today we will look for one that I have uploaded for practice.)

2. Try to find one that is of fairly high quality. There is a search function that may bring up multiple versions of the same video.

(Today, for practice, use these keywords: SchoolOfBraam. Xavier, Jackson, Tech, keepvid.com

Title: Xavier Practice Video for downloading)

3. Once you have found the video you want, copy the URL address of the video (the URL address can be found at the top of Web browser and usually begins with www) by defining the address and using either Control C on your keyboard or by right-clicking and then clicking on Copy.

4. Open a new tab. Type in the Web address  keepvid.com and hit return.

5. At the top of the window, there is a space that says URL: Enter the URL of video page here. Click inside this space, then either type Control V from your keyboard, or right click and then click on Paste.

(Today the practice video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLkV8SGF5RA)

6. Click on Download.

7. If you get a box asking if you wish to run the program, click on “run.”

8.You should get several options for downloading. If you want to use the video version, click on and download the MP4 or FLV version to a folder (to help keep you organized). If you want audio only, download MP3.

9. You are done! You have downloaded a video for use in the classroom for either embedding into an exercise, or for those days when a link is either not functioning or your school’s network is down. If you do this very often, you may wish to store it, for educational purposes, onto a CD.

Legal Briefs in the Tech & Topics Classroom

  

     Hmm.
     We have been given the challenge of figuring out other possible ways to do the mandatory legal briefs assignment in the Xavier University Tech and Topic class. Increased efficiency and brevity in presentation are two elements that are behind seeking a new method.

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        Currently, we write two legal briefs related to the education field, then discuss them in the classroom. (Note: The presentation portion took up 3.5 hours in a class that is only 3.75 hours long. Our briefs were not too brief!) The briefs are eventually published on each student's personal XU Web page. Part of the stated purpose behind this writing exercise is to prepare teaching candidates for exams that will include questions about various court cases involving education issues.
      My problem? I like this method, partly because it fits my learning style and my educational background. Even though I was a journalism undergrad, my minors were psychology and law.I am already familiar with many of the cases. I do not have a perfect eidetic memory, but I can scan a document in seconds and remember at least the gist of the topic. That means that a well-written legal "brief" is a perfect tool for me to study. Anything that involves video or screencasts -- actually anything that takes longer than simply reading a concise text -- is not time-efficient for me.
     Now how would I redo the exercise for those students who are different-styled learners? Well, I might suggest a method that would combine the old and the new (in other words, a method that still might help me!). I would have students post their legal briefs onto something collaborative, such as a Google Doc. I would categorize them by topic (for example: freedom of speech, student rights, religion, etc.) to make it easier to draw mental connections between cases.
      Since students are working in a collaborative document, I would also have them make comments or add to the other legal briefs. For example, as students read other briefs, they can add notes as to how their own cases that they reviewed are linked in concepts and implications. A variation on this would be to include hypertext links between cases that tie together concepts from each case. A student would read a case, see a hypertext to an interesting/important concept, then would click on it and be taken directly to that other court case's legal brief.
     I am eager to see what other ideas are floating around out there. My challenge to the rest of the class is to present something that might change my mind on my own personal learning style!

21st Century Skills and the 21st-century teacher

     The following is the mission statement for The Partnership for 21st Century Skills:

     “The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national organization that advocates for the

integration of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and communication into the teaching of core academic subjects such as English, reading or language arts, world languages, arts, mathematics, economics, science, geography, history, government and civics.”

     I like this. I applaud this. I also recognize this.

Public Domain

Teachers and students in
modern classrooms face
many challenges that need
 modern tools ... and funding.

     I feel like Michael J. Fox in a “Back to the Future” moment, because this statement reads like a laundry list for dedicated educators for decades (with just a few side trips taken for a few, um, odder educational theories). What knowledgeable educator would argue against “critical  thinking, problem solving and communication”? Or would say that students do not need the  core academic subjects such as English, reading or language arts, world languages, arts, mathematics, economics, science, geography, history, government and civics”? None ... or at least none that have any reason – any reason at all – to be in the classroom other than to pick up a paycheck.

     The only time I ever hear any protests over any of these topics, or the integration of those higher-order thinking skills into those courses, is when I hear a teacher say, “With what time am I supposed to do all this?”

     Ah, time. There’s the rub.

     I might add to that, “Where am I supposed to get funding for that?”

     That’s why organizations such as The Partnership for 21st Century Skills are to be hailed, because another part of its mission is to “provide tools and resources that help facilitate and drive this necessary change.” In other words, they give out “money and stuff.” That is crucial in an era when legislators are slashing funding and school boards are gutting budgets (and teachers), yet state and federal laws still mandate toward teaching for standardized tests. In such a restricted atmosphere. it becomes increasingly difficult to “emphasize deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge.” Teachers (and students) can use every tool – technological and other – that they can get their hands on to counter the forces working against them.

     Perhaps the most meaningful phrase to come out of the “P21 Framework Definitions”  is one listed in the standards section: “Engage students with the real world data, tools and experts they will encounter in college, on the job, and in life; students learn best when actively engaged in solving meaningful problems.” I wholeheartedly advocate teaching children using real-world examples, and having them do activities that they will face in the real world. Teachers need to have an answer when a child asks, “When (or why) will I ever need to know this?” If you – as a teacher – do not have an answer to that pointed question, you need to find one – or else you need to change the activity to one that still teaches the mandated skill and has real-world implications. 

      Actively following the rationale behind 21st Century goals will help teachers reach their students, teach their students, and give them that “deeper understanding” need to succeed in the real world.

      

      I am including this link for further investigation into this organization:

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org.

Investigating "Bloom's Digital Taxonomy"

     My first reaction to Bloom's Digital Taxonomy? It certainly reads as if it was created in the digital age.

      

Web Editor Needed!

     The text is filled with typos. There are missing words. There is a lack of focus, as if the author had pooled all of his resources, then put them together without transitions or putting on his editing cap. I felt like I was reading one giant text message or blog.
      That being said, there is some interesting info to be found here within all of the clutter (Forgive any typos you might find within the copy-and-pasted italicized text. Those are the author's. Any other mistakes, though, are mine.):
    * "This taxonomy is not about the tools and technologies, these are just the medium, instead it is about using these tools to achieve, recall, understanding, application, analysis, evaluation and creativity."
      Other than the fact that this list of what using these tools does includes verbs and nouns (for example: to achieve and to analysis), it is a valid point. Learning how to use one specific tool should not be the focus, since the plethora of tools now available changes daily. Students should be taught the how and why to use tools, so they can judge on their own which tools are appropriate for the task that is facing them that specific moment. Becoming an expert in one tool to the exclusion of other tools risks being outdated and useless the next day.
     * "You can not understand a concept if you do not first remember it, similarly you can not apply knowledge and concepts if you do not understand them."
     Ah, Bloom at its Zen best. I feel like a grasshopper at the feet of the master, or Skywalker being told for the first time by Obi Wan Kenobi, "Luke, feel the force." This is what many teachers seem to forget about teaching students -- they must confirm that their students understand and remember the concept being taught. Too many teachers test and move on, meaning the students will not be able to build on the knowledge in which they have been relentlessly drilled. Students also forget this while they study. Rote memorization may get you through that test today, but you will blow any practical application of that knowledge being used in real life.
     * "[The] value of the collaboration can vary hugely. This is often independent of the mechanism used to collaborate. Also collaboration is not an integral part of the learning process for the individual, you don't have to collaborate to learn, but often your learning is enhance by doing so. Collaboration is a 21st Century skill of increasing importance and one that is used throughout the learning process. In some forms it is an element of Bloom's and in others its is just a mechanism which can be use to facilitate higher order thinking and learning."
     I particularly want to point out the section that says that collaboration "is not an integral part of the learning process for the individual" and that "you don't have to collaborate to learn." I emphasize this as a shoutout to all those students who absolutely hate group work, because they feel as if they do all the work. Too many teachers (and lazy students) seem to think that group work is a be-all and end-all way to teach. I do agree, though, that "learning is enhanced by doing so" and that it can be used as a "mechanism [to] facilitate higher order thinking and learning." Group work should, in general, not be graded (other than as perhaps a participation grade), unless the teacher is absolutely positive that the work reflects the actual skill and understanding levels of all the students involved.
     * "In Bloom's taxonomy the lower order thinking skills are the remembering and understanding aspects. 21st Century pedagogy and learning focuses on moving students from Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) to Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)."
     This is one aspect that the Digital Taxonomy has nailed. For the child who is a "Digital Native," it is important to be pushed from simple LOTS to HOTS. These children already know how to use most of these tools and are absorbing far more information than we (as teachers) ever were even presented with at an equivalent age. That does not mean they are smarter than we were; it just means that they have greater access to a vast wealth of knowledge, and must be trained how to collate, comprehend, and utilize that information (HOTS).
     * "The growth in knowledge and information means that it is impossible and impractical for the student (or teacher) to try to remember and maintain all of the current relevant knowledge for their learning."

Why memorize tables?

     I have been saying this since I was in high school back in the 1970s. For example, in my trigonometry class, I was forced to memorize log, sine, and co-sine tables. This angered me. Why should I be forced to memorize something that A. Was already in a table that I could reference as needed; and B. I could find out in seconds on my Texas Instruments 80 calculator (the height of technology at that time!). Sure ... I could (and maybe even should) memorize the formulas to calculate log, sine, co-sine, but there was no need at all to memorize the answers as long as I knew where to go to get the answers.  My time was much better spent learning how to use those concepts for real-life applications (a concept that I admit I never got). This applies to most fields of study. Why should I memorize an encyclopedia worth of knowledge? I never will be successful in that task, and trying to do so will keep me from learning the "how" and "why." As long as I know what I do no know -- and know where to go look for what I do not know -- I will be OK. (That's my own Zen statement for the day!)
      Well, enough rant for today. I give credit to Andrew Churches, for realizing that a new taxonomy was needed in this digital era in which our children are being schooled.  I just wish to volunteer my services as an editor the next time he does a revision!

P.S. Churches can be reached at achurches@kristin.school.nz

Works cited 

Text:
Churches, A. (2007). "Bloom's Digital Taxonomy." Web. http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/bloom%27s+Digital+taxonomy+v3.01.pdf

Images:
Samuel Tan at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], from Wikimedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Writing_Magnifying.PNG

By en:user:345Kai
(en:Image:Triangle-with-cosines.png) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Drive (Chapter 2 Blog)

     The authors of "Drive" have nailed their theory: Large financial incentives offered to complete a task tend to have little or no effect on productivity -- except for those times when productvity is drastically cut.
     Counterintuitive as it sounds, I have seen first-hand such social mechanics in work during the years I spent covering professional sports as a reporter and editor. Which athletes were the ones most likely to give the greatest effort? Who were the ones most likely to care about winning?

CC

     The ones who were paid the least.
     OK, so that is a little bit of a generalization, but not much of one. I spent more time in stinky locker rooms talking to filthy-rich athletes than I care to remember. Time and time again, the more the athlete was paid, the less effort they made. Don't get me wrong -- they were still superior athletes who remained stars of their respective sports, but the effort levels went way, way down.
     Here is the scale:
     1. Recreational, high school: Work their tails off. Their only reward is victory and possible titles.
     2. College: Athletes on partial scholarships try less than those who are walk-ons. Athletes on four-year full rides are lazy and expect to have grades handed to them. Athletes who get goodies from boosters in addition to their scholarships? Coaches are lucky if they show up at all the practices.
    3. Pro: Kiss the effort goodbye, particularly in the NBA and and NFL. MLB still has some exceptions to the rule, but that is primarily a function of spending so many years in the minor leagues, where an athlete is lucky to get a hot dog before getting on the bus to the next game. NBA and NFL players go straight to the pros -- some of them straight out of high school -- and have no real grasp of what it takes to get along in the real world.

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    What was once joy has now become drudgery. Money has no meaning when even the lowest paid of the players has far more wealth as a 23-year-old than most families will ever earn in a lifetime. I don't really blame them, though. Where is the incentive to go play harder, to go out and sacrifice your body, when you have enough money already in the bank to keep you financially solvent the rest of your life? Why should an athlete risk getting critically injured?
    The only thing that keeps some players is going is the thrill of the spotlight -- what I call the "Ocho-Cinco Factor." Chad Johnson has no financial reason whatsoever to be a success in football anymore. That's why I think he has sort of mailed in his on-field performances the past few years, and another turned to being a media star riding bulls and showing up on Dancing With the Stars. All intrinsic and extrinsic vales associated with playing football has gone away for Ocho-Cinco, someone who I admit has far going on for him than just being an athlete. Quite simply, he's bored with football now that he is near the top of the payscale. He used to be creative in his post-TD celebrations, but even that has paled as the years of million-dollar paychecks have mounted.
     Since the carrot of additional pay no longer works with most athletes, how about the stick of punishment -- fines or loss of playing time? Are you kidding? Fines of $10,000 are meaningless when you literally earn that much just for showing up and strapping on your shoes. A loss of playing time means you just have more time to play with your rich-boy toys. "What do I care if I don't play? I don't get paid by the game -- I'm on salary."
    I admit that I would probably be the same if I were put in the cleats of these athletes. What incentives would I have to become a better teacher if I were paid $400K a year? (Though I'd be happy to give it a go if you know somewhere paying that much!) Five years at that salary -- even three years -- and I would be pretty much set for life. Principal nagging me? Parents yelling at me? Students annoying me? What incentive could you give me to stay if I already had a bankroll stashed away?
    Now offer me the challenge of making Johnny read -- in lieu of any extra pay.
    My pocketbook may be pained, but that's all the carrot that I need.
    
 

The Forgotten Assignment

I hope you have enjoyed my earlier comments.
NOW, the rest of the story (and the actual assignment you requested)!
The biggest thing I want out of this class is a number of new tools, quite honestly, that I can put onto a resume under "Educational Technology" experience. I don't have to become an expert with them right away, because I like to play, and I know I will perfect my usage of them later so that I can use them effectively with my students. In the short run, though, I just want to be able to discuss them intelligently.
I do want some things that will go toward my PRAXIS testing, such as the legal cases, but I know a lot of the cases already (considering I lived through and even read or edited stories about a number of them!)
My biggest concern -- as we have discussed -- is the next few weeks while I wrap up my other classes and the decidedly lengthy papers that go with them. I plan on staying as close as I can to the schedule, but will appreciate any and all help you can give me in keeping my sanity.

Back to the Future?

Some days are just like every other day ... only more so.

Mark Braam (me!) in the newsroom

on one of the last days of The

Cincinnati Post.

Cryptic? Perhaps. But something(s) happened today that I ... was ... just ... not ... expecting.

* Sometimes that unplanned-for e-mail in your in-box throws your day into a tizzy. Three of them arrive in 30 minutes. From three different people. Three different topics. More will follow.
* Urgent Facebook messages reannounce the arrival of old friends, friends who beckon you with siren calls: "Come out and play, Mark, come out and play."
* The phone rings. For once, it is not a telemarketer. But the call may be an offer I just cannot refuse. Then it rings again ... and again.
* A text message. How did that person get my number? And what on earth can he or she possibly want?

Some of the windows of opportunity that open are rapidly slammed shut again. "Been there, done that" locks the window tightly down in some cases. "No rest for the weary" closes others. Others ... well, others are just better left shut forever.
But the zephyr breezes wafting through some of the other windows are redolent of past pleasures. Ah, Fate is a fickle temptress. Do I close these portals, too? Or do I climb through, seeking new adventures in an old world?

Mark Braam, Part Deux: The family roots

Good morning
Nothing earth-shaking. Just experimenting and making sure that the creative juices are flowing even at 4 a.m. Thought I would start off with something tame ... like family photos.

Front: Carl, Gordon, Tom, Hank
Back: Not sure, Not sure, Adolph, Helen, Catherina,
 Carl, Anna, Louise, Cornelius, Not sure

Here's a little photo documentation of the Braam-Schroeder-Varrellman clan. That little guy up front with his hand on his chest is my father, Gordon, while my grandparents are Anna and Cornelius in the back row (see the caption for exact positioning).

Admission of epic fail: I am sad to admit that I am drawing a complete blank on the names of some folks in my family tree. There is no excuse for that, except .... "I'm tired!" and "It's 4 a.m.!" 

No more to say right now, except to say that, um, there will be more to say!

Welcome to Mark Braam

Here is my first post for my first blog entry. Many more FASCINATING entries to follow!