The secret of good teaching is taking kids from the concrete to the abstract.

In other words: Making the hard stuff easy.

Since then, over 10 years have passed and I’ve learned several ways to make that happen. Along with with crucial strategies, I use several “tech toys” in my fourth grade classroom, specifically:

1. PowerPoint
2. A platform visual presenter
3. Blogs for students
4. Moodle software

This is the first in a series of four articles sharing how I’ve used technology to take my students farther than traditional means. I will be including actual samples of my work which you are free to download and use, or make your own.

PowerPoint in the Classroom

Microsoft’s PowerPoint is a powerful tool to use within the classroom. It makes abstract concepts more comprehensible than traditional teaching tools.

• Applies real life photos and videos to the concepts being taught, better imprinting memory.
• Animation and video help show importance and relevance of what is being taught.
• Vivid colorful slides as opposed to traditional black and white handouts.
• Digital slides replace the chalkboard or white-board with something much more exciting.
• Templates are easy to develop and can be changed quickly with each new lesson objective.
• Easy references for children to refer back to the slide.
• Frees the teacher from the front of the classroom, moving and engaging learners around the room.

Recently in my fourth grade class in the subject of Language Arts, I first introduced the students to the objective of the lesson with a PowerPoint slide that states clearly what we are about to learn:

Today, we will apply knowledge of synonyms, and antonyms to determine the meaning of words and phrases.

The slide features the words, with definition of key terminology, and incorporates visual images that represent the symbolism of the terms. The two images represent “electricity” which visually introduces background knowledge of dams and electrical towers. These images will later help illustrate synonyms and antonyms in the slide show.

I use the Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) strategy in my classes, a technique that was developed by Dr. Sylvia Ybarra and a company called Data Works. It has revolutionized my class’ scores and it works seamlessly with PowerPoint. It is similar to to the traditional lesson plan steps but some other key elements are added. Each part of the lesson is distinct step, like a slide:

1. Learning Objective
2. Activate Prior Knowledge
3. Importance
4. Concept Development
5. Skill Development
6. Guided Practice
7. Closure
8. Independent Practice

The next slide shows how the students already know something about the material. This is referred to in EDI as “Activate Prior Knowledge.” The students show they understand what “drought” means based on the idea of a dam in a desert. From here we can teach the students that there are other ways to determine the meaning of unknown words through understanding synonyms and antonyms. This step uses the concept of “scaffolding” or connecting what is known with what is unknown.

Students appreciate the ability to refer back to the slide when asked a question. In addition, they remember the visuals and make connections for more quickly through the presentation than they ever did with traditional “teach from the front” methods. As a teacher, I like the visual engagement as well as the way I can travel throughout the room with a remote. This keeps all the kids on their toes and paying attention.

Integrating PowerPoint Into the Classroom

To incorporate Microsoft’s PowerPoint or a similar slide show program into your classroom, you require a laptop or computer with the software installed and a printer and/or digital projector for displaying the image on a screen from your computer.

PowerPoint includes the ability to print out Notes, pages that feature the slide image with spaces for teacher notes and instructions or left blank for the student to take notes. These can be printed in black and white or color as hand-outs.

In addition to Microsoft’s PowerPoint, you can use the following presentation and slide programs:

• Corel’s WordPerfect Presentation
• Open Office Impress (Open Source)
• Scala
• Smilebox

Links for more tips and information on using Presentation software in the classroom such as PowerPoint here:

• A K-12 Staff Development PowerPoint Tutorial
• Effective Teaching with PowerPoint
• Teach-Nology Tutorial
• How to Keynote in Presentations
• Office XP Tutorial for Educators

My PowerPoint Lesson is available for download: Synonyms and Antonyms with Electricity 4 PPT (1.27 MB)

The Top Ten Edublogs

The top ten blogs on Edublogs this week based upon traffic are:

• Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day
• Reflection 2.0
• The Edublogger
• Teaching Generation Z
• Hörbuch- und Podcast-Blog
• Mobile Learning
• Tama’s eLearning Blog
• always learning
• Betchablog
• Mobile Technology in TAFE

Discussing Twitter on Edublogs

Twitter, an online chat system, is one of the most popular social networking tools today. I thought I’d take a stroll through Edublogs to see who is discussing using Twitter and how are they using it for personal and professional needs, integrating Twitter into their blogs, and how they are incorporating Twitter into the classroom.

Betchablogs writes in “Twitter - Killer App or Overkill?” about the technical aspects of Twitter, listing interesting toys and clients for Twitter, describing it thus:

Having a likeminded group of fellow Twits from which to tap into some collective wisdom turns Twitter from a curious plaything into a rather amazing personal learning environment.

Not So Distant Future talks about “Twittering Your Way Down The Information Highway” describing it as:

Getting answers to that question on Twitter from South Korea, Australia, and here in the U.S. demonstrated to our own teachers how many “universals” there are in education, no matter where you go. And even though we had been brainstorming about this question during two days, some of the Twitterers still gave fresh answers that we hadn’t considered.

I know in my own building, perhaps teachers wonder how to find time for a tool like this or how I can find time to use it? My answer is–it saves me a tremendous amount of time. When someone comes to me with a question, if I don’t know the answer, I can throw it out to a wide network of educators in my network on Twitter, and almost always get an answer.

Techno Tuesday’s Cathy Nelson reports that Twitter is a library stuffed with information and resources which helped her preview blog posts, get advanced tips on upcoming blog posts and topics, tips to global projects, sports updates, and more. She describes it as a “cross between professional conversations and gabbing on the phone about anything.” Not long after, she credits Twitter friends as helping to save her from a nasty allergic reaction after a school remodel. Nothing like virtual life saving. :D

ICT in my Classroom has written a lot about using Twitter including an introduction to incorporating Twitter into your Personal Learning Network(PLN) and participation in the @ManyVoices Project, a “collaborative, creative writing project using Twitter” where each participating child writes an ongoing part of the story within the 140 character limit. Edublogger Tom Barrett also offers lessons in how to use Twitter better by understanding Twitter’s two networks for listening (lurking) or talking and GeoTweets - Inviting your network into the classroom, an exciting experience when Twitter and his PLN really impacted his classroom while learning geography and how to use Google Earth and Twitter.

On Frank’s Blog, also known as Faces of Web 2.0 - 21st Century Teachers, he shares Sage Lewis and 17 uses for twitter, two videos to improve your Twitter usage, and How To Use Twitter In The Classroom, which covers how the teacher and students use Twitter though class chatter, classroom community, and getting a sense of the world around them.

Mobile Technology in TAFE offers a variety of tips and techniques for using Twitter as part of your personal and professional networking, as well as how to incorporate it into your class, such as Are You Using Twitter Effectively For Your Personal Learning?, Getting More Out of Twitter, Help Me Get My Twitter Magic Back, and Tagging, Tracking and Using RSS with Twitter!

Apace of Change asks “Why Twitter?” and then answers the question well, describing the benefits of of a teacher using Twitter as:

• Network of students for sharing class resources that goes beyond social cliques
• Built-in peer support system for immediate questions about/help with work
• Easy way for me (or students) to send an “APB” or links to interesting/related sites
• Convenient multi-user communication - especially useful for group project collaboration

So enthused with the possibilities of Twitter, he started The Twitteracy Project (TTP), an expermiment in incorporating Twitter into the classroom, which ended with The Twitteracy Project is Dead, Long Live the Twitteracy Project, concluding that student motivation wasn’t high enough and logistics interfered with the project as many students had trouble using Twitter from home. Determined, he says he will attempt the experiment next semester, focusing more on getting past these two roadblocks.

Reflection 2.0 recently announced a Twitter Bookgroup where Twitter fans can recommend and read books and review and critique then. She even offers some tips and advantages of participating in such a global book group. This got the attention of eLearning Now who admits, “Finally an educational use for Twitter?” Reflection also offers some tips to help you control the overwhelming information on Twitter.

Many speak of the tremendous collaboration they get with Twitter. In a discussion on Twitter, the TeachingSagittarian asked for help finding student blogs for his students to read and comment on. The discussion led to a team effort to create YoungWriters07, a wikispace that teachers can use to find blogs to recommend to their students.

The TeachingSagittarian also featured Twitter Flickr Learning, another example of how teachers and fellow bloggers can network and correspond on Twitter, showcasing how a Twitter conversation between Chris Betcher and Sue Waters, fellow Edubloggers, resulted in a joint article comparing flickr and Picassa. He also wrote about “High Speed Conferencing thanks to Twitter“, using Twitter to create a true “un-conference” weekend stuffed with learning about software, programs, and tools to help educators without leaving the comfort of home.

The EdTech Bach also admits that Twitter helps discover neat tools to use with the web browser and Twitter, opening up a whole avenue of recommended resources from those with the experience and familiarity you need.

Jabiz Raisdana, the Intrepid Teacher, is teaching in Qatar and thought that he would never run out of blogging steam. He did and in All a Twitter, shares how Twitter brought back the inspiration and motivation for blogging, where the muses never sleep.

When Russel of Wise Provocation hit Twitter with a rant on blocking practice after a frustrating day dealing with a school system that puts such energy and money into blocking online access to viable tools and services. His Twitter friends stepped in with insightful questions and support which helped him get a better handle on his mood and thoughts about the issue.

At the Edubloggercon in the United States last year, Graham Wegner learned about how many bloggers were using Twitter to pass on educational news.

Educators I Follow on Twitter by son-of-a-ditchdigger lists the author’s favorite educators and their Twitter addresses. The list is hard to read, but if you are a Twitter fan, you might check out the list to see which educators you might want to put into your Twitter list.

Many Edubloggers linked to 30 Days with Twitter by Bob Sprankle on Moving at the Speed of Creativity as the inspiration on how Twitter could help them in their personal and professional development. At the end, he points to Twitter in the Classroom from Web 2.0 Primer, which lists examples of how many are using Twitter for educational purposes.

In a bit of Twitter fun, PodPirate Island’s Brian Van Dyck offers the Twitter 12 Step Program called Twits Anonymous (TA).

More and more edubloggers are discovering the invaluable service Twitter provides to them, as a social network, but more importantly, as a valuable tool for learning, for them and their students.

How are you using Twitter in your professional development and classroom?

Passing the principal shuffling along the hall, the principle throws up his hand and tries to smile as he mumbles, “Have a good day?”

The teacher smiles. “Wonderful, just wonderful. Excuse me, but am I going to teach computer skills this semester?”

Without even slowing down as he disappears around the corner, the principal lightly replies, “I will have to call and see if you are highly qualified to teach it.”

Dodged again. Since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) hit the schoolyards of the United States, changes have been apparent. Not that the teacher dislikes change, but how were the students going to master spreadsheets, databases, and web page design if they had no computer skills class? Surely someone had bumped his or her head along their way to Congress. Do people really think that a high school language teacher with two computers and twenty-six hormonal teens has time to teach computer databases?

Some argue that it is teachers, not children, that have been left behind.

For years, the teacher in the hallway taught computer skills in addition to a core subject. Not all teachers have degrees in what they teach. Teachers have personal interests and some are talented in areas outside courses taken in college, and for years, school systems have taken advantage of these “special skills.”

In the 70’s, computers filled entire floors in universities. Entering data was accomplished by using punch cards. Teachers educated during that time took keyboard training in high school only if they wanted to work as a bank teller or become a secretary. Students interested in science never graced the doors of those classrooms. Times are much different today.

The teacher participated in every technology-related professional development opportunity as far back as the TRS-80 training from the Tandy Corp. When computers entered the classroom in the early 90’s, classes were lead by teachers trained in computer technology through classes and on their own time. The teacher had spend hundreds of hours helping fellow teachers to make sure their printers are plugged in if they do not print, and that the little black piece of plastic goes in the slot on the front the square box under the TV with the label facing up, not down, and basically teaching the teachers how to use a computer and training fellow teachers to use a cryptic grade book program, and facilitated Microsoft Office training. Then, as the web developed, taught teachers to create web pages using FrontPage and Dreamweaver. Technology was the future and some fell in love and others dodged it like the plague. But no one handed out certificates of accomplishments to those who did all the teaching and training work without the credit.

This is not unique to schoolyard. Parents, students, tax payers, lottery junkies, state and federal governmental agencies have a stake in teachers waving a magic wand over the heads of students and making them 21st Century Learners/Leaders/Sunday School Teachers.

As for working with students, the teacher taught several semesters of classes with students trying to pass a high stake required computer skills test. Students with learning and behavior challenges stump even the most seasoned administrators and teachers, yet the computer fascinated and kept they going. With the upcoming computer skills test a brick wall for so many students, where were they going to be with no computer skills course in the new teaching schedule?

The next morning, the principal came by the teacher’s classroom and told the teacher that NCLB federal regulations do not apply to non-core subjects like computer skills.

“Computer skills are non-core?”

In a very official tone, the principal fired back, “That is what ‘they’ said.”

The silence was deafening. Both knew the truth versus the myth. Both knew the budget of hundreds of thousands of dollars schools invested in technology annually. Yet, when arguing with the omnipotent “they” - you know there is no argument. Only compliance.

What happened to the computer skills class? Seems it was lost in the shuffle. Test scores published in the newspaper did not focus on computer skills. It is all about the “Three Rs”: reading, writing, and arithmetic.

From No Child Left Behind Act - Performance Goals”

By 2013-2014, all students will reach high standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics.
Performance indicators include the percentage of students in the aggregate and for each subgroup that are at or above the proficient level on the State’s assessment in reading and math. Indicator also includes a requirement that schools make adequate yearly progress (as defined by TEA).
Performance Goal 2: All limited English proficient students will become proficient in English and reach high academic standards, at a minimum attaining proficiency or better in reading/language arts and mathematics.
Performance indicators include the percentage of limited English proficient students (by cohort) who have attained English proficiency by the end of the school year. This also includes those students who are at or above the proficient level in reading/language arts/math on the State’s assessment.
Performance Goal 3: By 2005-2006, all students will be taught by highly qualified teachers.
Performance indicators include the percentage of classes taught by “highly qualified” teachers, the percentage of teachers receiving “highly qualified” professional development, and the percentage of paraprofessionals who meet the definition of “highly qualified.”
Performance Goal 4: All students will be educated in learning environments that are safe, drug-free, and conducive to learning.
Performance Indicators include the number of persistently dangerous schools, as defined by the State. Students at these schools have the option of attending another school.
Performance Goal 5: All students will graduate from high school. Performance indicators include the percentage of students who graduate from high school with a regular diploma, and the percentage of students who drop out of school.

Teachers don’t need to choose being for or against technology. Rather teachers will have to learn how to benefit from it. How do schools overcome road blocks to classroom teachers accessing blogs, wikis, and learning tools which are relevant to the lives of 15 year old students? How can school make a clear and critical analysis of what it takes to make these useful and distracting tools? How best might we use information technology to enhance the educational process?

How will our schools fight this battle may decide who wins the war. Are schools doing all they can to prepare students that do not have access to a computer from the time they are born until they can afford to buy their own computer while earning minimum wage flipping burgers?