Multimedia and the 21st Century Learner

I have been teaching for fourteen years. Students have changed drastically in that short amount of time. Video games, MTV, sugar, Red Bull, whatever the cause, students’ attention spans have waned considerably over the last decade and a half. Teachers, to remain effective, must adapt to this change.

I teach U.S. History. I can remember being in high school and college history classes that consisted of teacher centered, straight lecture. In fact, most of my classes were taught in that fashion. Now if I lecture for any longer than thirty minutes my students quickly begin to either sleep or climb the walls. Multimedia tools have proven to be a godsend on this front. The Promethean Board is my best example of this. What used to be a simple outline on an overhead projector is now a dynamic and interactive medium including pictures, video, and sound. I can now teach in a more engaging manner that meets the needs of diverse learners.

Multimedia tools can also facilitate school to home communication. Montgomery County Public Schools use Edline on the secondary level for example. I can upload files, pictures, and links on my Edline page allowing parents and absent students to follow the happenings of class. A second obvious multimedia tool for improving communication is the school website.

Competing for students’ attention against the lure of Wii, The Black Eyed Peas, and Facebook is not easy. Utilizing multimedia is a must in the teacher arsenal.

Effective websites

Websites have become increasingly important for schools over the last decade. In many cases they are the first impression of a school to the public. A parent moving to the area and researching options might learn a lot from a school’s site, for example. As in real life, the first impression can be lasting so it would be wise for schools to make the most effective site possible. In class, we were given a list of twelve elements to an effective website. There are great ideas such as; having an appealing design, including pictures of diverse, happy students, including directions, and contact information. I would like to add that ease of navigation would be wise. Further, in a school as diverse as mine, having site versions in different languages would also be advisable.

For my website, I have chosen to go with Google Sites. I will be including the following elements:

1.) Graphs containing H.S.A. scoring information

2.) Links to MSDE and MCPS sites for testing information

3.) Plans for improvement

4.) Future goals and AYP percentages

5.) Links to MSDE and MCPS sites for practice tests etc.

6.) Strengths and weaknesses of the school

7.) Ways technology can be incorporated into improvement

Specifically, I will be including easily comprehendible graphs detailing the recent scores earned by Blair students. These graphs will clearly show the areas of concern and celebration for the school community. However, the most important elements that I feel needs to be included are links to information on the tests themselves. Parents need to readily understand the importance of the tests, the requirements, and explanations for various acronyms.

Powerpoint: Pros and Cons

I will be using Powerpoint for my presentation to the EDUC 590 class. I have chosen this program for a few logical reasons. First, it is a widely used program. In the teaching world it is rare to come across people who are not familiar with Powerpoint. As mentioned in the state standards it is advisable for administrators to model effective use of technology. Using Powerpoint would also facilitate the shared school vision dealing with use of technology. Second, Powerpoint is an effective way to share data. Simply talking to people about statistics can be dry and the audience can have a difficult time interpreting data. Displaying the statistics in graph form is an effective way to share information.

There are some pitfalls in the use of Powerpoint, however. People tend to go overboard with all the bells and whistles available in the program. All the fading, zooming, and noise can become distracting for the audience. There is also a tendency to overcrowd slides. Putting too much information on individual slides makes them overwhelming and difficult to read. Finally, presenters have a habit of simply reading what is on the screen. In my experience, teachers become annoyed and lose interest when they are read to. Powerpoint should be used to enhance your presentation in order for it to be effective.

Data Collection

Data collection is a big issue at Blair High School. This is mainly due to being on the watch list for not making AYP over the last few years. Administration has responded by looking at grade data. This was done both through internal means and external. Internally, we have developed data collection through the use of Filemaker Pro. This allows administration to track student performance and break it down in myriad ways. The information was then presented to the staff through the use of charts for the purpose of analyzation. These numbers have subsequently dictated our School Improvement Plans.

A second way in which Blair has used data collection is through reading tests. Literacy is a goal of Blair so each year the freshmen are given reading tests to determine their MAP-R scores. The faculty is then trained on reading these scores and how to work with low level readers. Administration then looks for evidence of literacy instruction as they observe classes.

On a smaller scale, the U.S. History team meets after the first semester exams to discuss grades and exam scores. The grades are gathered and printed through Pinnacle. Teacher’s names are removed to facilitate open and honest dialogue about where improvement could be made. Specifically, we look at the comparison between students who pass a teacher’s class but not the count-wide final.

In reading the article, “Finding your way through the Data Smog”, I discovered an area where Blair could use some improvement. In professional development, there is little to no data collection done to assess the level of knowledge the staff possesses. The beginning of the 2009-2010 school year illustrates the negative ramifications of this inadequacy. Staff was asked to participate in a round-robin training season that lasted the entire day. This included training in technology applications such as the Promethean Board and the use of Filemaker Pro. Unfortunately, there was no differentiation in these training sessions leaving experienced teachers bitter and feeling as though their time had not been respected. Not exactly a positive beginning to the year. Following a model such as the one presented in the article would have been a more effective use of everyone’s time.

Visionary Leaders Reaction

Are we adequately preparing our students for the 21^st Century? Are they leaving our doors and graduating from our schools equipped with the skills necessary for success in the digital age? Do we, as future administrators even know what these skills are? These are some of the questions that have been running through my head as a result of reading “Leadership in the 21^st Century: The New Visionary Administrator”.

Visionary leaders share many characteristics that set them apart from their peers.

Most importantly, these leaders understand the significance of technology and its place in the school system. They are willing to face myriad challenges to bring about change in their buildings in order to better prepare their students for the future.

The article really hit home with me. This year, I am teaching inclusion classes for the first time in my fourteen year career. Honestly, my level of apprehension at the beginning of the school year was higher than I have felt in a long time. How was I going to reach these kids? How was I going to meet the needs of an extremely diverse group of learners? How was I going to handle cooperative teaching? It turns out that travelling down this new road has inspired my teaching. Never has my technique needed to be sharper, my delivery more concise and understandable. I have had to take a close look at how I teach and what methods I use. My desire to become a “visionary teacher” has never been higher.

The profile in the reading concerning Jeff Billings inspired me to reach those heights. Billings has been working with iTunes U, Apple’s online program designed for use by educators. Imagine a world where I could upload a PowerPoint presentation or flipchart to iTunes? Students could then have access to it whenever they needed. A special education student could access today’s lecture in resource class to review what he missed. Another could download the same lecture to her iPod and listen to it while on the school bus.

Billings went on to discuss the use of Google Docs for teacher collaboration. This could be an effective way for teachers of the same subjects within a school to achieve commonality and best practices.

One final area where I would like to see improvement is parent outreach. Again, the use of technology could facilitate this goal. Many studies show that increasing parent involvement brings about positive results. Shouldn’t the visionary leader consider this as well?

If we are going to meet the needs of today’s learners then we need to face the challenges and benefits of technology head on. We cannot afford to rely on the tried and true methods from the past. We, as future administrators, need to join the visionaries already out there and lead our schools into digital 21^st Century.

Inaugural Post

I have recently entered a journey into "The Darkside". (At least that's what my friends are calling it.) A journey into the ever enigmatic world of school administration. Despite the admonishment of colleagues, I am excited for this new step in my career. I am looking forward to challenging myself and my pre-conceived notions.

My trip has begun with EDUC590, otherwise known as Technology in Educational Leadership.

As a first step I have set up this blog. Here, I will reflect and comment on what I am learning. Please stay tuned as more posts will be forthcoming.