Data Driven Teaching

I am somewhat amazed at the direction education has taken in the past couple years. Through classes there always seems to be the battle between data driven summative assessment and more informal yet informative formative assessment. Due to technology, it seems to make sense. Data is more readily available and the context is so accessible in any format considered. It is great to review a spreadsheet of a class and highlight skills versus weaknesses to help determine how to teach those students. It still seems like the data driven classroom has left behind the other important life-like factor and this is the formative assessment. During a PLC, these life experiences in the classroom are rarely considered, I would imagine primarily due to time. We are so divulged with data, resources, and school improvement that the topic of a child's personality is kind of forgotten.

I like to think that when all is said and done, the teacher is still using formative assessment in the classroom although it is not shared during benchmarking and evaluation time.

Teachers Blogging

There has been some discussion if teachers should be required to maintain a blog for their classroom. As I thought about this there would be some definite pros and cons. As far as communication, this would eliminate the parents who say they never know what is going on in the classroom. A con, would a teacher be responsible to respond at any hour? There are a lot of possibilities with teacher's maintaining a blog. What does everyone else think?

Beyond the Courseroom

My thought about blogs is that they will certainly become outdated and forgotten. I am going to try to defy this notion. Although there is no one out there still reading this blog site, it is my commitment to update it weekly so if perchance someone happens upon it, there will be something current to read about. The idea of being done and turning another direction seems the most logical but some part of me thinks this is an important part of the future so I better try to be here to stay. Hopefully, the more I update my blog, the more natural and habitual it will become. So, welcome to my blog, frequent it if you are interested in reading about my experiences with technology in my community and school. Thanks!

Thing 19

One topic at last nights board meeting was Race to the Top. I had read some about the program early in the school year but did not fully understand the magnitude of its implications. Today I found several interesting podcasts about the program. Two addressed concerns but one showed support but they all gave information to better understand the revolutionary impact taking place in the education system. Through iTunes I wathed Cato Daily Podcast from December 16, 2009 "Problems with Race to the Top." The podcast discussed how powerful the federal government is becoming and that this is not going to help educate students. There were also several comments about the topic.

During a graduate course at EMU my group was assigned to read, review and create a podcast. It was a great and rewarding experience. Now, somewhere hidden deep in iTunes is the podcast we created about the Globalization of Education. One of the great uses of podcasts is the ability to listen to them on an ipod. This makes the commute to work less tedious and more productive. Students can also make use of this opportunity to listen to research for a report or tutoring for a physics class while they are waiting or traveling somewhere. Podcasts are so abundant it would be nice if there were a blogline for podcast updates!

Thing 17

http://roadtoprincipalship.wikispaces.com

I have spent the last week exploring wikispaces. It actually took the most time for me to figure out and I am not convinced I truly understand its uses although some ideas are coming to mind. During the process I actually created three different wikispaces trying to create one that seemed pertinent to my current personal and professional life.

As I started a new class today at Eastern Michigan University, I was quickly reminded of what is all consuming at this time, my K-12 Administration Certification. I began down this path in September 2009 and will continue for the next couople years. It then seemed reasonable for my wikispace to focus on this path to my future.

My next thoughts, will I want to focus on keeping my blog updated or my wikispace. Is it reasoable to expect that I focus on both and accept the interaction as part of my learning and experiences toward principalship? It is really great how the wiki can be edited by others. This means my thoughts can not be set in stone, which would never be a good thing. Yet, I like the pureness of contributing on a blog and knowing what I type can not be altered. It is my goal to maintain both sites and learn as much as possible from a variety of opportunities. I truly believe it is a benefit to have Web 2.0 become a part of my learning experiences as a future school leader. So, here we go!

Thing 4

What is all they hype about? My sister asked me over a year ago what I thought of Wrb 2.0 and I told her I had no idea what she was talking about. When we looked it up (on Wikipedia) it still didn't make sense to me and there was no apparent importance or relevance to my daily activity. Well, at some point it hit me in the head and I can hardly remember what it was like without Web 2.0. The most relevant usage in my life is the Online program at Eastern Michigan University for my Administration Certification. The program fully utelizes all the conveniences of Web 2.0 including Wikispaces, Skype, online conferencing, blogs, etc. The connection I formed with my professor was far greater than any live lecture class I've taken. I am looking forward to using this course as a way to develop skills using Web 2.0 in my classroom and as a future administrator.

Thing 11

The experience of trying something new like blogging and wikispaces is more managable than I imagined. This is something like writing in a daily journal or diary, something I never liked to do. For whatever reason keeping a blog doesn't seem like such a chore. The feedback definately makes writing more interesting. There is opportunity to gain knowledge or hear someone elses perspective making the writing more worthwhile.
Since it is difficult for me to separate personal from professional use it seems most likely I will continue blogging from my professional life (there isn't much separation). It would be nice to have parents interracting on my blog so they can be aware of the communication between school, the community, and the use of technology. The problem may be how supportive the school district is with the use of blogging, something I haven't inquired about yet.

My current goal will be to share what I have learned through this course with the principal and staff in our school. My concern is that I am not completely comfortable with understanding the usage of the different areas of technology. Clearly this just takes time, practice and committment. It would be best by shoveling through all the content with my building principal and she and I can discuss further uses.

Since the opportunities with technology are endless and constantly changing it will be important to continue my blog, developing my wikispace, and interacting with others on my blogline. I can hardly imagine what possibilities lie ahead.