Professionally Speaking

I love going on social outings with my teaching colleagues. When we typically spend our professional conversations around tables sized for ~ 7-year-olds, there seems to stand a little more than just elbow room when we gather around a table on a saturday afternoon for brunch.

Some conversations led to the evolution of technology where some complained about contraptions I had definitely never set eyes on. One comment led to me explaining the perks of Google Applications.

The teacher in questions was organizing order's for the entire school to order t-shirts for our upcoming FIeld Day event. She explained her frantic organization of what seemed like thousands of papers screaming shirt sizes and quantities at her with names and class numbers spitting in her eye.

"Google Apps!" I said, "Would be the answer to your prayers."

She was compelled when I explained she could create one sheet to share with others and receive the information back automatically.

"I'll have to explore this," she said.

"Yes," I replied, "And you'll have to come to my chat about it on June 9th."

;)

A Gamer is as a Gamer Does

This weekend marked the first days of spring break for public schools in the city, which automatically meant I was flying home to California as soon as I could.

Being that I reached the Golden State last night, I was able to blissfully enjoy reading two articles by James Paul Gee about the educational impacts of video games on learners. Both Good Video Games and Good Learning and Welcome to Our Virtual Worlds offered valuable examples of how gaming has possitivley impacted student learning and picks apart the skills and challengers players learn and overcome.

Gee emphasizes that the playing of video games inherantly teaches problem solving skills, interaction and collaboprtation opportunites as well as multiple chances to take risks and learn from mistakes.
I've considered the value of video games in the classroom and would like to try and find games that would be appropriate for students in the elementary grades. I know as a young learner myself I had the chance to travel the Oregan Trail and definitely learned the hardships that travelers were up against. In my own experience I'm sure a broken arm led to a fever led to pnemonia led to dysenteri and a bear attack. It's amazing anyone made it to the West at all judging by how long it took my pixelated wagon to get across my computer screen!

As a continued gamer through my life I have experienced the triumphs and tribulations of the learning experiences that video games bring.

I agreed with the articles right away as, just last night, I turned on my parents' Wii and inserted their newset game: Michael Jackson The Experience.

Right away you are thrown into the midst of a Michael Jackson classic, challenged to follw his sparkling glove and jerk your hips and limbs matching his grace. I definitely looked afool at first, but as I started to hit his golden moves I earned mini Dance School videos to learn from :)

My trial and error and mishaps earned me the chance to learn more. Maybe by the end of my trip in California I'll be practiced enough to bust a sweet groove when Muchale bumps through near-by speakers.




One of the most profound points in Gee's articles I considered was in the article Welcome to Our Virtual Worlds. In it he explained how many individuals can be consdier ed "Pro-Ams", or professional amateurs - ones that have learned compitancies from their own interest based learning from whatever source they may find.

In the end it seems that Gee is challenging the 21st Century educator to find ways for students to guide their own learning in ways that are interesting to them - be it in a video game or elsewhere :)

Getting Declarative

I am a public school teacher.

I wake up before the sun and am probably in my office before you brew your morning coffee.

I didn't get into this by default or because spring, summer and the three o'clock hour offer freedom.

I didn't get into it because it's easy (it's not) or because it was the only thing to do.


I got into it for the kids, but realize I'm in it for the world.

I don't babysit... A 16 year old babysits - I do more.

I talk, I inspire, I enhance - I'm more than just one teacher, I'm more than just one job.

I flip through my roladex of skills and understandings with the speed of that businessman and then execute with the knowhow and precision of a surgeon; sewing up wounds in reading, mending bones in math, helping kids stand in new situations.

I experiment. Guess and check and guess and check to ensure I am finding ways to turn what I know into what they know.

I am on my tippy-toes longer than a ballerina, dancing with and around the pressures put on me and my students by this city.

I paint on canvases Van Gogh and Divinci never touched, swirling my paints into activities far away from chalkboards and boredom.



I still believe a kid can be a kid can be a kid can be a kid, especially in a classroom, even though others  have such a hard time believing it too.