Technology In Teaching

Gearing up for the new year

I'm back from summer conferences.  The house needs a major clean-up, which I started this morning.  I'm working on clearing out the paper, and dealing with old correspondence that I'd set aside until after the trips.

Other than that, I'm working on making my blogs pay.  Yes, I'm mercenary.  Big-time.

This was prompted by the receipt of several checks for ads and residuals.  After I did my happy dance, I started researching ways to make money with your blogs.

• Sell ads, either directly or via various services.  I use Linkworth (if you have an interest in this for your own blog, please click on the link.  I get credit for referrals).
• Build traffic by commenting on other blogs - surprisingly, I got a bump one day, when I commented on a popular blog.
• Sign up for Sponsored Reviews.  These are companies that pay to get a mention on your blog - NOT big-time money, but, hey, every bit helps.  The reviews are openly identified as such.  On my other blog, it's on the sidebar, Affiliate Program - Sponsored Reviews.
• Writing posts with an eye to collecting them in a book.  I'm often asked how I do things in the classroom, so I decided to start posting this fall, and mark the posts with a tag "Ebook".  Those are the ones that will eventually be pulled out for publication.  It may be self-published as an e-book.

Technology for the Developing World

This, to me, is exciting.  This engineer is applying her craft to helping poor people in the developing world.  In this article, she talks about her 7 principles for low-cost design.

Gender Bias in Physics

I'm at a workshop in Physics - I've attended each year since 2001.  The gender imbalance is somewhat in favor of the males (perhaps 60-65% male), but the AAPT organization has made great efforts to search out women and minorities for the program.  For the women, it's a great networking opportunity, as well as a chance to have fun with other women in Physics.

Joanne Jacobs has a link to a NYT article about efforts to increase the numbers of women, and why the gender imbalance occurs.

If the gender imbalance persists in physics, engineering and computer science, will those departments go the way of men’s wrestling? Or, perhaps, Title IX could be satisfied by creating Women’s Way of Knowing Physics. Trust me, this is not what women scientists want.

This is a serious issue.  By insisting that numbers have to be equal, Physics & Engineering programs could have limits put on their programs, and grind Physics education to a virtual.

It also isn't fair - do dance programs refuse to accept more women until sufficient men have enrolled?   Will cosmetology schools have to troll the streets for men, until the imbalance is corrected?

That's just silly - whatever happened to Freedom of Choice?  Or does that just apply when it's convenient?

At Physics Camp

I'm in Edmonton, Canada, for the PTRA Training Institute.  This year, we're learning about:

• What the research says about how students learn
• New ways to use video in physics classrooms
• Momentum
• Mechanics (NOT the car stuff, but Mechanics in Physics)
• Technology updates
  

I've been resting more than usual - the car accident in May is still leaving me easily fatigued.  I'm scheduled for an MRI when I return to SC.  I hope I can find out why I'm so slow to heal, and get me started on a regimine that gets me ready for school in the fall.

I'll be online tomorrow, and upload some pictures.

I Can't Believe This! Space is Racially Biased

From the Dallas City Hall Blog:

County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.

Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.

Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."

That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.

Mayfield shot back that it was a figure of speech and a science term. A black hole, according to Webster's, is perhaps "the invisible remains of a collapsed star, with an intense gravitational field from which neither light nor matter can escape."

I reaize the tensions and mistrust that surround racial relations in this country.  I also realize that tensions were high, given that the meeting involved a critique of how a city office functions.

However, the term "black hole" is widely used and should not have caused accusations of racial insensitivity.

I may be biased, as I am a Phyics teacher.

Down Time at the Conference

I am so tired, after a long day of workshops and interactions, that my entire body aches.  I made it back to the hotel, and laid down.  Three hours later, I surfaced long enough to eat, and update my email/blogs/news jones.  I'm going to try to stay awake long enough to sleep through the night.

I can't complain - the conference is really good.  We need more time to practice some of the techniques we were introduced to.

What is a CPLC?

I truly enjoyed my first day at the NSELA conference.  It's a workshop-type conference, so we started by grouping into CPLCs - Conference Professional Learning Communities.  As part of that, i created a wiki to document our learning.

I'll be posting over the next few days.  I'm planning to get some pictures of the group, and show what we're doing.

Gearing up for PD

I'm just planning the packing list for my next 2 professional development jaunts.  I leave on Monday, come back Thursday night, then, 36 hours later (more or less) will be heading off for another week.

Can't complain - I've been looking forward to both.  It will be a hectic week, however, as I will be spending any free time next week preparing for co-presenting a workshop at the next stop.

Good news!  Our proposal for the South Carolina Science Council's meeting in October has been accepted.  If you know any science teachers (Physical Science or Physics), please tell them about the workshop.  We'll be showing them how to make a variety of materials to use in their classes (they'll be taking home their creations), and will be distributing FREE (FREE!) books, as well.

The cost to participants?  Zero.  Only their time.  Which, when not at the convention, can be spent enjoying Myrtle Beach, SC.  Loads to do, lots of fun.

The Traffic is Down, The Livin' is Easy

To mix metaphors.

I can see from the traffic patterns that summer doldrums have set in.  Not with me, but many of the usual readers are playing hooky...[more]

Catching Up

I've been on the road too much of this summer, so far. One graduation, 1 TI training, next week NSELA, then PTRA in Canada. As Den and I are both changing schools again (to Charlotte, NC), we've been spending what time we have clearing out our old classrooms. Read More...

Shoes - What to Wear, Where to Get Them

Ms. Bluebird talks about one of the most important issues for female teachers:

Shoes

I am a mini-expert on this aspect of teaching.  I have box-shaped feet, size 9-1/2, and REALLY suffer when my shoes aren't comfortable



Would SJP of SATC wear them?

Don't be ridiculous!  But, she doesn't teach.

BTW, plan on spending about $250 or so for these or similar shoes.  These come with an 18-month guarantee.

That sounds outrageous - however, how much do you spend on inserts?  creams?  podiatrists?  pain meds?  chiropractors (for the back that went out of alignment, in part due to aching feet and an altered stance)?

I also keep several spare pairs of shoes in a drawer at school:

• A dress pair (black) for those times when you have to talk to adults.
• A lab pair (full shoe, tie, dorky) - when you forgot you have to work in the lab.
• An old pair - for those days when I'm breaking in a new pair, but, by late in the day, my feet are killing me.

I'm also working on losing weight - that takes a tremendous load off the feet.  I'm doing a high-protein diet; I've been recently scoring in the pre-diabetic range.  The plus side:  you get to eat a lot, and you lose fast.  The minus side:  sometimes I just CRAVE carbs, and I'm spending a huge amount of time racing back and forth to the bathroom (it makes you lose water weight, amoung other things).

Preparing Math Teachers - DUH!

I really can't believe that a news organization thinks this is news!  Any teacher could have told them elementary teachers generally aren't well-prepared for teaching math.

[I apologize to those who are stellar - you are the minority, and your job is made harder by this situation]

I teach physics concepts, methods, and technologies to science teachers.  Over the past 7 years of doing so, I have found that a major lack on the part of the workshop participants was physics content.  No insult to them - they were often certified in other areas, such as biology, and pressed into teaching in an unfamiliar area.  I applaud them for the courage in tackling new vistas - and for their willingness to learn.  Smaller schools and rural schools often can't afford to hire a teacher for a class taught only every few years, or with less than 15 students.  So, these compromises are, in the real world, necessary.

I believe that only two subject areas are absolutely essential - math and reading/languages arts.  Teachers need to be thoroughly grounded in the content of these critical areas, including:

• grammar
• phonics - I'm not suggesting that EVERY student needs heavy doses, but the struggling students often benefit from structured lessons.
• teaching writing - clear, focused, and designed to teach EVERY student to express complex thoughts in standard English.
  
• addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division - they should not only be able to teach it, but to be thoroughly versed in using manipulatives, and remediation techniques and strategies
• fractions & decimals- this is often the stumbling block in math education.  I'd love to see an education course - mandatory - that lasts a semester, and is based on mastery - you can't pass until you demonstrate understanding.

That's my wish list.  It would make teaching high school science a breeze.

And, after all, isn't that the real point of elementary education - to make MY life easier?

An Intriguing Post About Race

I found this post about how teachers can influence racial identity on this week's Carnival of Education,  I think it's a particularly timely post, as we watch the first racial minority head for the general election.

If you don't regularly read it, you really should.  The Education Wonks are the central resource for the Carnival - it's hosted on different education blogs each week, but the information about it is always there.

BTW, notice the use of links above?  I've decided to include more on my blogs - people have been nice enough to direct traffic to me, and I wanted to return the favor.  It also takes the focus off me, me, me.

Hope your summer is all you wanted it to be.

School's Out for Summer.....La, La, La (credit to Alice Cooper)

I am finally enjoying my vacation.  The first week was....a LITTLE difficult.  We had workmen in every day for over a week - electricians to fix our electrical system (the blankety-blank who updated it messed up badly, and nearly burnt our house down), A/C setup needed to be fixed (the same @#$%^& who did the electrical, attached a new thermostat, and, in the process of hooking up the heating system, UN-hooked the cooling system), the Internet cable was fried (thanks to that #$%^&*, again), and we had our spare bathroom re-built.

The electrical was fixed just in time for a massive storm that brought a tree limb down on the main line for the street.  Fortunately, the local power company was Johny-on-the-spot, and fixed it in a few hours.

I installed the dual-boot MAC Leopard/Windows combo, and was unable to access my MAC system, or eject any disks.  A call to the Apple support people (bless them!) solved the problem lickety-split.

I'm finally calming down.

The next item on the agenda is to shed all the extra lard I'm carrying around.  That should be interesting, as I've had severe back and hip pain for over a week.  I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Other than that, life should be easy for the rest of the summer - oh, except for the NSELA conference in July, our presentation to the physics teachers in Edmonton, CA, switching credentials to a new state, and, with luck, some family time in SC.

Just in time to unpack all the science equipment in a new school.

An Amazing Post About What It's Like to Teach

I just read an incredible post, at Teaching in the 408, that took my breath away.  It was so insightful and expressed so well what it is like to teach, that it brought tears to my eyes.