A Final Assessment

We’ve reached the end of the semester. Wow. I hope that I’ll maintain this blog beyond it. I have every intention to, but we’ll see.

Ultimately, this class has been everything I hoped it would be, and everything I feared it would be. That is to say, I’ve seen alot of really interesting, useful tools that I look forward to incorporating into my classes. I am especially proud of my podcast that I created this week. On the other hand, I’ve also seen some programs I could do without.

Twitter, for example, epitomizes wasteful technology… in my humble opinion. Much of the new technology is embraced because it is new, not because it is good. I don’t find much value in expressing information 140 characters at a time. I have come a long way since my first sarcastic post, but I am still the same person.

While I have deliberately remained skeptical of new technologies, I have also used most of them. As I mentioned in previous posts, I was already a user of Facebook, Myspace, AIM, Windows Messenger, and Skype before this class even started. Now I’m also a member of Delicious (which I find to be very useful) and Inspiration (which I might never use again). I learned the incredible convenience of creating a personal Google account (specifically, the reader option), and I partook in the collaborative efforts of creating a project on wikispaces.

Only time will tell which of these technologies I will embrace, and which I will discard… but it’s my choice. I could not discard that of which I had never heard. This course literally felt like exploring a world that I barely knew existed.

Like any world, some of it was worth seeing, and some of it was not. But it was a world that I needed to see. To say that I’m not a “computer guy” at this point is like saying, “I’m not a car guy” or “I’m not a phone guy” or “I’m not a sterile medical treatment guy.”

For better or worse, computers, internet, and Web 2.o are an intergral part of our society… so it might as well be for better.

The surprising availability of Podcasts…

I must admit, I’m very intrigued by podcasts. I type in any subject, and there are a large number of podcasts available to educate me. I wonder why.

For example, I felt like drawing on Wednesday, its something I do from time to time. Like anything else, drawing is something that needs to be practiced. When I draw frequently, I am full of ideas. When I don’t, I’m not. I haven’t been drawing a lot recently, so I went onto I-Tunes and checked out some podcasts. I wasn’t looking for a miracle, just a push in the right direction.

I found a TON of really interesting, insightful ideas from professional artists, as well as amateurs, like myself. I am curious as to why such a powerful forum exists. Why do these people take the time to make these Podcasts for free, when they could probably sell videos or books of the same content for a profit? Is it advertisement for a product they are selling? Or is there just something about the internet that makes people want to share?

I have also watched Podcasts on the subject of French, and I’m in the process of creating one myself. I am curious as to who will see it. Will anyone care? Will it help anyone learn French? I certainly hope so, but even if no one else watches it, I still think its an enriching experience. The process of articulating one’s thoughts into a brief presentation that can be readily accessed by others is a valuable skill. Presentation is a skill that is lost on many people, and I am excited that Podcasts offer a new forum to re-embrace that art.

CNN got Punk’d

On April 14th, Ashton Kutcher realized that he had approximately 850,000 Twitter followers, second only to CNN’s 899,000. Over the course of the next two days, he made it his mission to be the owner of the first Twitter account to reach 1,000,000 followers. He achieved the task on Thursday, and celebrated the victory on Oprah’s show… where she made her first tweet. Kutcher commented that we’ve reached an age where one man’s voice can surpass that of an entire network (I’m paraphrasing, I don’t have the exact quote).

I don’t have anything against Ashton Kutcher. We all liked That 70′s Show, some of us liked Punk’d, and apparently a fair amount of people enjoy his generically interchangeable romantic comedies. But what does it say when CNN, a news network, who actively promotes its Twitter account on air, can be surpassed by a celebrity, who declared his Twitter manifesto on a 1 minute Youtube post?

Kutcher is right, his voice has indeed surpassed CNN’s… at least on Twitter. But does he have anything to say? Will the next guy? Can anybody say anything truly profound in 140 characters or less?

 CNN made a conscientious effort to use this exciting new technology to promote news and world affairs. Kutcher used it as a forum to show how cool he is, and won. Americans have decided, at least for the moment, that Twitter is not most useful when used as a tool for education and global awareness. It is at its best when they can hear what Kelso has to say.

the point of powerpoint

This post is a little late arriving. It was lost with all the easter eggs. I started working on it Thursday, but then got side tracked with work and family holiday gatherings. Now it is born again, three days after it was left for dead…

We have been talking recently about powerpoint, and the ineffective uses of it. We’ve all seen teachers literally read paragraphs of information from slides, with little to no eye contact with students. I’m proud to say I’ve never made a powerpoint presentation like this, because, prior to this semester, I’d never made one at all.

I hope that I will easily learn how to use this technology effectively, as I’ve never had it taught to me the wrong way. However, I’m still skeptical of its uses at the secondary level. Powerpoint, either sequential or interactive, can be very effective and entertaining for young children. It can be these things for high school students as well, but I fear that this will be at the expense of efficiency.

While many would agree that lectures are not particularly enjoyable, they are most certainly efficient. There is no way I know of to communicate more information in a shorter time period. For high school students, I still believe that it is a very useful means of teaching. Obviously, neither method is mutually exclusive. A class can have both. However,  I wonder if interactive powerpoint presentaions, even brilliantly designed ones, can truly be implemented consistently into high school classrooms, given the vast amount of subject matter that needs to be covered during the school year.

Facebook and the digital footprint

I recently finished a paper on the digital footprint. For those who don’t know, the digital footprint is essentially what an internet user leaves behind as a result of interacting online. There are horror stories of people being fired from jobs, or not getting into colleges, etc. because they have posted controversial things on social networks. Facebook seems to be at the forefront of the discussion, and I resisted talking about it prior to completing my research paper.

I was one of the first Facebook users. During my time at Ohio State University, I opened an account in late 2004, when only college students at large universities could have accounts. I’ve made mistakes along the way. I made profane “wall comments” at some point, and I’ve probably had a few pictures that I shouldn’t be proud of.

Ultimately though, I’ve conducted my Facebook existence with common sense. Putting up pictures of yourself doing keg stands is a stupid idea, because it’s obviously a stupid idea. In my most recent photo album, I have pictures of myself consuming alcohol. I am sitting at a bar in Venezuela with my brother and two siblings from Caracas that we met on the beach. There is a caption under the picture explaining this. Any HR person worth his or her paycheck can tell that this is a documentation of a legitimate cultural experience. If that picture alone prevents me from getting a job, then it wasn’t a job worth having. This picture is visible to some people, but not to all. I am intimately familiar with my privacy settings.

Even if I did not like Facebook (or social networks in general), it is my obligation to understand it. I have entered a career with the intention of educating students, and it would be irresponsible of me not to familiarize myself with such a significant aspect of their lives. I’ve learned that common sense is not that common. Students need their teachers to guide them and keep them safe, even if it is from themselves.

Facebook is what you make it. If you want, you can use it to connect with people in other countries, debate gay rights and the death penalty, raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur, petition to allow female ski jumping as an Olympic sport, etc. Or you can write 25 things about yourself and wage a war of pirates vs. ninjas. When it comes to my students, I won’t pass judgment… as long as they’re being smart and safe. Because, honestly, pirates vs. ninjas really is an epic struggle.

Continental Connection 3407 Revisited

One month ago, I made a post regarding Continental Connection flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air (http://france1.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/24/).

In that post, only one short day after the tragic accident, I warned that the media would (and already had) jump to conclusions regarding the nature of the crash. It rapidly built the case that the accident was certainly due to icing, and explored no other possibilities.

3 days ago, the NTSB announced some details of the investigation, alluding to the possibility of pilot error. It is no longer suspected that icing contributed significantly to the accident, but rather, the pilot’s reaction to the “stick shaker”.

In simplest terms, as an airplane slows down, it will pitch up. If it pitches up too much, it will stall. Prior to this, the control column will shake, warning of an impending stall, and force the airplane into a nose-down attitude. Pilots are trained to let this occur, and not to resist the stick shaker. However, pulling back on the yoke is a very natural reflex (essentially telling the yoke “Oh, no you don’t!”). It is also the worst thing a pilot could do. When a car driver falls asleep at the wheel and hits the rumble strip, he will often over-correct, and force his car into a middle lane, creating a deadly scenario. Pulling up on the stick shaker yields similar results.

I don’t mean to pass any judgment on this flight crew. I didn’t know them, and I wasn’t on their flight deck. I do know that NTSB has not even conclusively determined this as the cause. I would hate to be guilty of the same thing for which I accused the media.

The Air Line Pilots Association Intl. had this to say:

“We urge the news media, and all who are affected by the Colgan Air Flight 3407 accident, to allow the investigation process to proceed without distraction from conjecture regarding the cause of the tragedy… As our industry has learned time and again, a rush to judgment with the intent to assign blame, rather than to advance safety, in an airline accident investigation fails to determine the action necessary to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.”

That probably says it better than I can…

My world

As this was a week off from classes, I am admittedly at a loss for ideas. So I thought a bit about my world, and what I’ve done recently.

Last week, I spoke with a friend on Skype. He lives in Lyon, France. We discussed his band, which plays many shows in his home town. They have a website, and I was able to view concert footage. We talked about a mutual friend, which compelled me to contact him as well, using MSN messenger (as he doesn’t have Skype). This second friend lives in Rouen, on the opposite side of France. He told me about his website, on which he posts his artwork (sylvainvuilleret.fr if you’re curious)

I recently exchanged facebook messages with my friend, Mikael. Mikael was my German exchange student in 2000. He currently spends his time between Germany and China (where his girlfriend is from) on business, yet our facebook conversations are always the same, no matter where he is.

My most recent conversation with Mikael was on a Thursday. I know this, because I was listening to my brother’s radio show at the time. I listen to my brother’s show every Thursday from 12 to 3 AM… even though it broadcasts at WRIU 90.3 in Kingston, Rhode Island. This is not a problem for me, because I am able to listen to it online using my I-tunes.

The point of this post is simply this; my world really is THE WORLD. Even 15 years ago, I could not have done any of this. I am in direct contact with a friend who may be in Germany or perhaps in China (I can never remember). I am intimately familiar with the touring schedule of an independent French band that will most likely never play a show within 5,000 miles of where I live. And every week, I get to hear my brother play his favorite songs on a radio station whose broadcast range is only 80 miles.

That’s pretty cool… and I don’t even like technology.

Entre Les Murs – The Class

Yesterday, I had the good fortune of accompanying Wilson Magnet’s French classes’ field trip to the Little Theatre, where they watched Entre Les Murs, or The Class, as it is titled in English. Along with students from Foundation Academy and East High School, the students watched this powerful film at the urging of Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard.

The film, nominated for an Academy Award, is a slice of life taken directly out of Paris… and not the picturesque part. Based on the book of the same name, The Class is the story of Francois Begaudeau, a young teacher, and his interactions with an interracial body of students. Begaudeau plays himself, under the pseudonym Francois Marin.

While the entire movie is a powerful statement about education in general, one particular scene is especially relevent to the discussion of technology in the classroom. One of the focal characters in this story is Souleymane, a teenager of African descent who struggles with his French identity as well as his role in the class. Although it is not stated, I inferred from his behavior that he has difficulty reading and writing in French. After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, the students are each assigned to create their own self-portrait. Most students write their stories, however, Souleymane opts to do a photo portrayal. He uploads pictures from his digital camera onto a school computer, and incorporates them into a pictoral display of everything that is important in his life, from his friends to his mother, elegantly dressed in traditional African attire. It is during this assignment that Souleymane excels, as technology is the one true international language.

I will not spoil the ending, as I urge you to see this film. Suffice to say, this is a story of a real man with real students. Hilary Swank does not teach them to write about freedom, Antonio Banderas does not change their world through salsa dancing, and Goldie Hawn does not lead them to an unlikely victory. This film provides no easy answers. In typical French fashion, it does not really offer any answers at all. What it does offer is the opportunity for a great discussion.

The Online Textbook

McDougal Littell’s textbook Discovering French is the textbook of choice in my mother’s IB French classes at Wilson Magnet. The book itself is pretty much par for the course. It has great pictures, comprehensive units, and creative exercises. These are all fine and good, but what makes Discovering French special is that it exists in two locations… it is entirely available online as well.

With the textbook comes an access code to view it on the internet as well. This is very convenient for children because they do not need to bring their textbook home (provided they have internet). This decreases the risk of the book getting lost, damaged, or stolen.

More importantly, the online version of the book features an interactive component that the textbook does not. Students can choose vocabulary words and place them in “flashcards”. They can then have the program “quiz” them and read the words back outloud. This is phenomenal, because it allows the student to hear the proper pronunciation of words even at home. Children had previously resorted to studying vocabulary with their classmates or parents, who did not speak French any better than they did. While this was an effective way of learning words, it was often at the expense of correct pronunciation.

I think that this combined online/paper textbook is a brilliant idea. It integrates the practical modernity of the internet with the established results of an actual printed textbook. I hope that this is the new direction for all textbooks in America.

The Computer Lab… or lack thereof

It has become fairly clear that computers are going to play an integral role in the classroom in the future. With that in mind, what role will the computer lab play?

There is a local school (which shall remain nameless) that has made an interesting proposition. At present, it has one classroom serving as an established computer lab. Teachers of other subjects are required to reserve the computer lab on a first-come, first-serve basis (and it is in high demand). The school has a classroom shortage, and most teachers are currently sharing their rooms with others. Many feel that this room would be better used as an additional room for math or science. What then would happen to the computers?

The proposition is as follows; the school (which lacks space, but apparently not funding) would buy enough laptops to fill a classroom. These laptops would be transported on carts from one class to the next, presumably based on the existing first-come, first-serve basis.

I find this to be a very flawed idea. The image of these laptops being pushed on carts through crowded hallways leads to several doomed scenarios. One (or several) could easily be knocked over. Food or drink could easily be spilled on them. Teachers with smaller classes might request fewer numbers of computers, or share them in an effort to be cooperative. As a result, computers could be lost or temporarily misplaced, or stolen without much difficulty.

What bothers me most about this proposition is the implication that a single classroom should not be dedicated to having computers. I am not prepared to claim (as some do) that every classroom should have computers, but at least one certainly should. This transportable laptop cart idea is an invitation for disaster, and an indecisive stance on the role of computers in schools.