BYOT...Helping or Hurting in the Classroom

courtesy of techgirljenny.wordpress.com

Bring your own technology, the anagram that has started to gain popularity across schools that are looking to bridge the technological gap while keeping costs down.

From one teacher's perspective, maybe we should take a longer look at how we adapt our teaching to this new trend.

I am currently bring to close a 8 week interactive web portfolio saga that started last year as a "lightbulb" idea while walking my dog.  My goal was to have a project at the end of the year that students could reflect on, while also revisiting older projects and proving that learning had taken place.  Without getting to much into specifics, I decided that a end of the year portfolio would be perfect.

Since, introducing the project, a little over 3 months ago, I have had a roller coaster of opinions on how much learning was actually taking place as students were advised to using their own technology to work on their portfolio.  The main issue, to many devices, to little time.

See, the students' devices span the smartphone globe.  Droid, iPhone, Nexus, HTC.  They are all over the place, and I had bought into the idea that the owners knew something about working them, right?  Wrong!!!  To my realization, many of the students do have the first clue how to work the specifics of a smart phone to actually "produce" something.

They've got the consuming idea down pat.  Plenty of YouTube videos of cats playing pianos or Harlem Shakes.  However when it came to actually making something, these guys were in the dark.  They have questions like, how do you work this app or where would I find that setting.  Now, I would like to think that I am somewhat well versed with smartphone technology, however I have on average 35 kids per hour, at 6 hours, well, that's between 180-200 smartphones to have to know something about.  Sorry guys, I'm good, but not that good.  On average, I have been spending about 15 mins. of my 45 min. teaching session to troubleshoot cell phone issues.

Now I know the average reader will say, well this is more an issue about there computer classes teaching them how to use their phone or why are parents buying these devices if the kids don't know how to use them.   Or maybe the teacher should only allow certain types of devices to be used.  Whatever argument you have the truth of the matter is simple, if the audience doesn't know what they are staring at, they most likely won't buy what is being sold to them. (what a weird analogy)

My kids can play their hearts out on Angry Birds, and tweet all the mean stuff they hear in the hallway, but attaching a picture to a tweet while hash tagging the instructor...well that's madness.

I plan on using this lesson again, I won't abandon it, however changes need to be made.  Students need to understand the power that they have in their hands and how/what it can do.  When am I ever going to have to use this Mr. Pappas?

Well from what I am seeing in the "real world"...EVERYDAY.

Does your school adapt to student's technology?

If so, how are they implementing plans?  Classroom-wide, grade-wide, building or district?

"Insert Newest Fad" Here

"You kids and your Kendamas...your gonna poke your eye out!!!"

Whew...I guess this is that time where I start dating my self, and say things I never thought would come out of my mouth as an adult.

"Let's Go to the Hop"  Season 2 Ep 14

For those of you that might not be aware, the newest fad (at least in my area) is the KENDAMA.  In short, its a simple ball and stick, hand eye coordination game, that almost every student in my school is aware of, played, or is about to start obsessing over in the next few hours.

At first, I thought, man are these things annoying.  A wooden ball attached with a rope to this weird looking stick.  Clicking around the hallway or being swung around the classrooms, I felt like we had this new pandemic just like Family Guy...Just put it down already!!!

It got bad after awhile too.  I mean, I was like the Kendama assassin.  Sneaking up behind kids, cutting the string, lecturing about it being a "gateway" game.  It was bad.

Then all of a sudden, a teacher friend opened a brand new art studio just outside of town.  Glow Fish Studios had their first Kendama tournament to usher in their grand opening...and it was a hit!  The kids at school were excited like I've never seen them before.  It blew my mind and actually was a little contagious.  I went online and ordered three blank Kendamas, which would have custom paint jobs, to give away at the tournament.  This whole event opened a big door of creative customization that I never knew existed for my students.  We have had deeper conversation about materials, paint schemes, and construction of these Kendamas more then any art project we have ever done.

I'm not sure how long this fad will last, hell, by the time you read this, it might be over!  I do know one thing...this fad, as weird or silly as it may seem to me, gets my students talking.  They talk about skills, product construction, marketing, everything!!!  If it has gotten my kids this excited, maybe it can't all be that bad.

What are some fads that you remember from your days in school?

Tell me about the cool sweeping trend were you are.  How do you handle it in your classroom/school?

End of the Year...Start the Supply List

YES!!!

Only a couple weeks left.  Keeping that in mind, this is the time for specials teachers to start thinking about their supplies for next year.  The dreaded (queue dramatic music) supply list.  Being an art teacher, one of the biggest concerns that I have is making sure that I have the correct amount of supplies for my students as well as supplies that will work and not cost an arm and a leg.

When I was doing my undergrad work, we had an assignment involving supplies without a budget.  I remember complaining a lot during the assignment due to not having a cap on what I was allowed to spend to.  Little did I know that when I got my job, I was going to be in the same boat.

Today, I teach 4 sections of Ceramics and 2 Painting classes.  When I order supplies, I look for items that will give as professional of a finish as possible while also being forgiving to the students if they make a mistake.

For my Ceramics classes, I lean heavily on the AMACO product line.  Their glazes are fluid enough for a beginner to use and very forgiving.  We work with a Cone 5 clay that is supplied through a local company, Rovin Ceramics.  Their prices are pretty competitive, but I what pleases me the most is their selection of high and low grog (the gritty feeling) clays.

My Painting classes are a little different, as they are continuously using materials that we can't get back.  We use the typical watercolor, tempera, acrylic mediums, however I always advise that students purchase their own supplies if they like the way a certain medium works.  Typically, when it comes to the basic practices of tempera and watercolor, I buy cheap.  Crayola and Prang both make good quality paints that can be purchased in bulk without taking too much of a hit in the wallet.


Each year I try to keep a surplus of a certain supply, so that in the following year, I can go out and spend on a different supply.  Last year I was able to supply 60 students with various types of Sharpies, and this year its looking like either professional markers (Prismacolor or maybe even Copic).  To try and alleviate some of the cost next year, I will be bundling supplies together and "selling" them to students who need extra.  My school doesn't support a class fee and fundraising can be tedious when dealing with student help.  So providing the first set of supplies to students and then asking them to either purchase additional from a store of from my set could help equal out some of the costs on perishable materials.

What do you guys do to help equal out the costs of running your classes?

Any tips?

Ways to get your student's attention...

As discussed on  theartofed, last week, getting your students attention by using non-verbal cues.  This can be a crucial step in getting students ready to start the task at hand.

Having 55 minute class periods for high school students is a bit cumbersome.  The time limit is just long enough to start projects and make progress, however it is too short to really thoroughly complete any project within a class period.  Being a high school teacher, I wanted to try and not reserve myself to cheesy tactics like clapping or hand signals, so I decided to use the ever so popular "bell ringer."

Each class I take has a daily goal that the students are responsible for recording and than responding to a leading question about the task at hand.  Some days these goals really spring board the class into discussions that help provide a successful experience with a specific project.  Other times, students overlook the goal and just start in working with the materials.

I do believe using non-verbal cues to get the students ready to work is a crucial part to properly managing a classroom, and while the art room can be drastically different than other core classrooms, it is still a place where work needs to get done.

What are some other non-verbal ways teacher's use to get their classes up and running?

Week 2, now GO Animate!!!

I really can't stop laughing...well I mean I can, it's just...never mind.

This is exactly what I hear at the end of every card marking, at that point when the student knows, "Crap, I'm in trouble..."

I think it is so easy to get frustrated and even mad at students, when they try to cruise by with the bare minimum in effort and then complain that YOU GAVE them a bad grade.  Really I started to try and think like my students so that I could better understand exactly were they were coming from.  Was the work to difficult, did I not teach it correctly?  Where they embarrassed to say something or did I not make enough effort to help as the project went on?

Since missing a week of school, I knew that getting into my class was imperative to making sure the students were having successful experiences in my class.  After doing almost 2 weeks of prep work, making tutorial videos, and giving out my email to communicate after school hours, I really thought I had all my bases covered.

Fearing that my day would follow the above video's script, I made one announcement today:

"Folks, we have almost 4 weeks left in this class, and I know the desire to relax and take it easy is weighing everyone down.  I ask you all to go back to that same drive you had the very first week of class and finish your projects that have already been discussed, outlined, and demonstrated for you and make wise decisions with how you spend your time completing them.  I know that it is easy to get lost in a YouTube video or tweet about someones sandwich, but the ownership is on your shoulders.  There will not be a sympathetic ear to listen to anyone's excuses as to why your assignment is not complete.
I trust you all and know that you will not let yourselves down on this aspect.  Good luck.  Now lets get started."

Now I'm not 100% sure exactly what types of results I will get, however I did avoid running into the above conversations with any of my students.  However, I can only imagine that time will tell.

Hopefully it doesn't go like this...(my attempt at a GoAnimate cartoon.)
Where did I put that agenda... by jpappas on GoAnimate

Animation Software - Powered by GoAnimate.

Getting the hang of RSS...

I remember when I first realized what that little RSS button actually meant.

I mean, look at it...it sort of makes me think of the Wi-Fi logo.  For a while I actually thought that all those white curved lines meant was that I was getting not so good Wi-Fi service.

I think it was about 7 or 8 years ago, I started to get sick an tired of going on line and having "waste" time by typing in the websites that I wanted to read up on a daily basis.  Then I was introduced to "Bookmarking" which...whew!!!  You mean I don't have to type anymore, awesome.

Once my short attention span fizzled out, I started to get restless again, visiting the handful of pages that I would go to daily by clicking, and clicking, a little scroll action, and then some more clicking.  If there were just a way that I could have all of these sites report to one collective site, I mean is that too much to ask?

Well enter RSS feeds.  Without boring you too much, the RSS feed is the dubbed down version of the website that many users go to daily.  Instead of typing or clicking, an RSS feed will collect the updates from the sites you wish, into one nice list without all the bells and whistles from the pages they originally reside on.

At the time of writing this, I realize that Google is looking to discontinue their RSS feed service soon.(actually, July I believe)

While there are some alternatives, I have had many people ask, just why do I need to care about RSS feeds.  My answer is, "Well it all depends."

I mean, with today's sites being mobile friendly already, the need to have all of your sites postings collected really isn't necessary, however, for those people out there that have multiple sites that they keep updated on everyday, the RSS service is a must!

I'm not sure how all of this RSS feeding will end.  Right now I collectively use Google Reader to go through and keep up-to-date, but I'm not sure how important most of this will be with sites making the switch to a more mobile displayable sites.  I guess only time will tell.

One Week Down...wait how long does this go?

First up, after a crazy week of child births and homework catch-up, I've started putting the pieces back together and tried to come to grips with being a little behind.

My biggest character flaw is having control over everything, even things that there is no possible way to have control of.  For years, I've tried to live by guess what could happen and then preparing for any such deviations from that.  With my first child being born Monday...it is safe to say the wheels have completely fallen off.

My goal wasn't to turn this post into a "Look at my new baby" or "Listen to me complain about something" post.  I'm sure on the internet those posts are a dime a dozen and I could really use more than just dimes at this time.

I will try to provide better updates once I fully understand how to integrate this blog into my life and class load, but for now I leave you with a picture...of what you ask...you guessed it, my son! (your stuck with it, sorry)