CEdO 540 Post#4

Bobby Jones once said that Jack Nicklaus played a game with which he (Jones) was not familiar. Nicklaus had the ability to take a skill level to new heights that was impressive even to an accomplished player like Jones. I don't claim to be anything like Jones, but I will blur plagiaristic lines by stating that Bill Tancer plays a game that I cannot begin to understand. Tancer certainly has found a niche that has real value in the marketing industry. The ability to track consumer behavior, via the Web, can give marketers a decided advantage with advertising strategies and the ability to predict consumer behavior in the future. Perhaps a troubling thought concerning Tancer's work should be addressed. I had always known that my online activity could be monitored, but this is the first time I have seen the reality of this tracking. Is this borderline Orwellian environment going too far in the name of marketing? I wonder what restraints are placed upon Tancer in his pursuit of data. He wields a powerful sword, and that power can corrupt even the best intentions. I can envision a world where every computer has a window open showing a computer generated figure watching everything that people are doing while online. Although that seems a bit extreme, it is not far from what is happening currently.
I liked the assignment concerning futuristic jobs. I have never been accused of having the grand vision, but the nature of the job market is changing so rapidly that even I can take a stab at what the future will bring. There has frequently been the discussion concerning the future of education, mainly the brick and mortar school. My high school has expanded the online offerings to give students the opportunity to learn from home. This is a great option, as evidenced in our graduate work, but will this evolve into the way my kids attend school in the future? I doubt that traditional schools will ever go away, but financial restraints may see some hybrid opportunities in years to come. If nothing else, my kids will be focusing on a different curriculum than I had, and they will be preparing for jobs that do not yet exist.
Tancer certainly has opened my eyes to the ability to track human behavior on the Internet, and I hope that his company remains focused on collecting data for the purposes of marketing. Along the way, perhaps he will be able to provide me, the consumer, with information that will be pertinent to the future of my family.

CEdO 540 Post#3

For the work this week we were asked to address a problem by collecting data through a survey. Our group thought it would be wise to examine the implementation of block schedules in school districts by gathering feedback from those in the trenches. As educators, we are often asked to change what we do in the classroom, and for the most part, we are able to accommodate the needs of a district. With decisions often made without consulting teachers and staff, it was important that our group provided teachers with a voice. We surveyed teachers at four different schools in varied curricular areas. The questions in the survey revolved around current knowledge of block scheduling, whether or not teachers felt block scheduling increased student learning, and pros and cons of implementing block schedules.
Survey Monkey provided the vehicle for this data collection. I liked the fact that the survey was online, and could be easily accessed by individuals participating. Although our survey was simple and broad, Survey Monkey provided an array of question options from which to choose. I think the fact that the survey was short allowed more participants to contribute to our data.
The results of the survey were not surprising. The bulk of the responses were not in favor of switching standard school days to a block schedule. The question then becomes whether teachers really feel that block schedules don't increase student learning and achievement, or if teachers are simply opposed to change. I suspect that the answer involves a little of both. Teachers are often resistant to change, and they would have to be shown how block schedules would benefit students and teachers. At this point, there is not sufficient data supporting increased student performance in a block schedule. Perhaps that data is coming, but until it does, I suspect that most teachers who operate in a traditional school day would like to keep their worlds undisturbed.

CEdO 540 Post#2

I have had the unique experience over the last few days to be taught by the experts in the area of statistics. As I have said in previous responses, my experience with statistics is sketchy at best, and the fog of time has clouded any knowledge that might have been gained in the past. Fortunately, I have students in my advanced composition class who have recently taken AP statistics . My inquiries concerning statistical jargon and procedure were met with a chorus of answers, and I think that the students got a kick out of teaching this old dog. I couldn't help but be reminded of the very nature of 21st century skills, and the fact that teachers are not the only experts in the room. I learned from whatever source was available, and my sources, regardless of generational issues, were sympathetic to my plight. The fact that these young minds could take complex ideas and explain them in simplistic terms gives me hope for the future. During the process, I was also introduced to the graphing calculator, and found how technology can make math almost too easy. My students were able to work the problems without the help of the calculator, but I was amazed at how a machine could take a bunch of numbers and yield the answers in seconds that would have taken many minutes by hand. Where were graphing calculators when I was in school? Why did I have to walk up hill both ways to school in the driving snow everyday. :)
Capterra is a really neat resource for business, but also for educators. We often feel the need or are strongly encouraged to solicit feedback in our classrooms. Capterra provides many tools to create quality surveys without spending valuable time researching for possible survey generators. The work has been done for us, and all we need to do is tell the selected tool what to do. Capterra also provides customer service and a guide to help individuals find the right tool for the job. I would think the temptation could be to pick the first tool that comes to mind without really knowing the limits and possible benefits. Capterra provides that information on hundreds of survey tools, which in turn helps the individual find a tool that is specific to his/her needs.
I enjoyed looking at some ACT data this week, and I found that original hypotheses were proven false by the data. I hate when my assumptions are proven false, but the experience is a nice reminder why we should never assume. Now that I know where to find data concerning student achievement at my high school, I think that my department will be able to develop specific plans to improve student results on standardized tests. No one wants to admit teaching to a test, but the data certainly indicates areas of weakness that can be addressed in the individual classrooms. This shared knowledge can help all the teachers focus attention on getting the most out of students, and I hope will be motivation for students to keep achieving at a high level.

CEdO 540 Post#1

I think this new class will be a nice departure from the classes to this point in the program. In my opinion, the very nature of statistics involves black and white data. It is when humans get their hands on the data that the process goes haywire, mainly because objectivity is nearly impossible to uphold. Why do we gather data? We gather data to make determinations that will influence decisions in the future. Too many people will be affected by these decisions so conflict can often arise. Unscrupulous individuals can "cook the books" and often make spurious claims concerning what the data tells us. But the data itself has no agenda, and the pursuit of data is an important feature of an evolving society.
My background in statistics is sketchy at best. I vaguely remember doing some work with statistics in various math classes, but I have never had a class that focused solely on statistics. After our first class, I felt as though many of the terms used were vaguely familiar, which is good, but my comfort level will certainly be challenged when I am put to task with using statistical data.
Since I work in a data hungry district, I think the experiences in this class will give me the tools to use data effectively in shaping classroom instruction. I have found that the initial assignments have taken me far more time to complete than had been anticipated, but that could be a result of my nature rather than the nature of the assignments. Either way, I look forward to learning how to collect, analyze, and apply data to decisions made in my classroom, language arts department, and my school.

CEdO 535 Post#5

As we wrap up our work for this course, I will have to state that I am really beginning to transform my educational philosophy. I still struggle with the fact that the future in education is uncertain, yet I have bought into the fact that our methodologies must change with the times. At the very least, our students are plugged in. They spend considerable time using technology to communicate and learn online. As educators we can embrace this trend and use it to our advantage, or we can stay with what we have always done and expect kids to embrace outmoded teaching styles. Richardson's final chapter addresses many of the trends in education, and really challenges thinking concerning how to best meet the needs of our students.
One of the ways I can meet these student needs is to educate them on how to communicate online safely and effectively. Whether a teacher agrees with Richardson or not, the ability for students to develop work online that can be stored indefinitely, commented on by a large audience, and allows for ongoing learning seems to make sense. Work that was created solely for a teacher now has a far different audience. Work that was created for a grade and then erased from memory can now evolve well beyond any deadline. I think a Ning is a great starting point for allowing students to change the way they produce work. I love the safety and control that can be placed on a Ning, and the fact that work will be produced for an audience other than me will hopefully increase ownership and quality of work. Allowing students to create work collaboratively is another nice facet of the Ning, again with the focus on a larger audience. I will be curious to see the problems that will occur with students using a Ning, and I am still cautious about trying to do too much too soon.
Since students are communicating online so frequently, what a great opportunity for educators to show students how to do this properly. Since I have joined Facebook, I have been surprised at the number of students that have wanted to be friends. I am even more surprised at the type of content that is found on many student accounts. Although I don't befriend students on Facebook, I do think that time should be spent analyzing the pitfalls involved with social networking. To this point, I suspect that students have adapted their styles to what they have seen by others, and I think some direction would be timely. My students are my children, and I want them to enjoy their online experiences, but I also want them to make educated decisions.
I think Twitter offers the opportunity to take a tool used for social networking, and demonstrate to students how it can be used in the classroom. Keeping students informed about classroom activities, and allowing group discussions on a topic through Twitter can teach students how to use a technology tool effectively. If they then want to use the tool for personal reasons, at least I will have shown them how to use it properly.
And so, my goals with my students will now center around teaching 21st century skills. Students will continue to use the Internet for personal use, so I believe it is paramount for teachers to demonstrate how to interact responsibly in that environment. The added bonus is that I get to learn many new skills along the way, which really enriches my own personal growth as an educator.

CEdO 535 Post#4

The idea of social bookmarking will certainly get some play in my classroom. Although I currently use Delicious (and I use the term "use" loosely) I will be creating a Diigo account. With Delicious, I like that initial searches have been filtered by others, so I can essentially skip the somewhat daunting task of trying to find information in the vast repository of the Internet. Having others do the initial legwork can help save time and produce better quality results. With Diigo, I plan to use the sticky note feature to annotate what we are reading in class. What a great opportunity to look at a piece of literature as a class, and allow students to make comments directly to the document. The fact that this document can be shared with other students eliminates the usual learning in isolation problem. Through Diigo, students can read the comments of other students, and add additional comments to help our overall understanding of the piece. I also like the ability to tag items based upon student interests, and allow RSS feeds concerning those interests come right to the student. Diigo allows me to add sticky notes to the items that students will receive, and can help them focus on what I thought was important.
The idea of podcasting has been on my mind for about a year now, and I think that I have finally found a purpose for it in my classroom. I teach the interview process in my classes, for both research and socialization purposes. With podcasting, I can have the students interview other students and teachers regarding current policies at our school. Through the process, students will have to make arrangements to meet with the individual to be interviewed, present a list of questions to be asked prior to the meeting, and then edit the interview to fit the scope of the project. I think there are so many positives that will be derived from the project, but professionalism, accountability, and organization are the three that stand out. The fact that podcasts can be saved indefinitely gives me the capability to provide examples of prior student work to introduce new projects in years to come.
The screencast capability will be a nice tool as my class becomes more digital. Currently, I take students through the process for using some of these tools in class, but by the time they attempt to use the tools, much of the information has been lost. By creating screencasts, students will have video tutorials concerning how to use tools that I have introduced in class, and these tutorials will be placed online and accessible anytime by my students.
I think that this weeks work really has some possibilities in my classroom. I need to be careful not to try too much too soon. There are some other tools and skills that need to be mastered before I move on to these new areas, but I know that the new information will tie nicely to what I am going to introduce first.

Flickr pics

My family and I had the opportunity to spend a couple days in Wisconsin Dells over the extended weekend. My photos from left to right and top to bottom are some of the highlights of the trip. My son Seth in the bulldozer is a perfect start because he loves heavy machinery. The second picture has my wife preparing the boys for trick or treating at the mall, which turned out to be a nice substitute for going around the neighborhood in Sheboygan. Cole and Seth are being boys at Knuckleheads and wrestling more than dancing. In the forth picture, my oldest son, Cole, squeezed into this plane, although he made no attempts to actually ride it. My youngest son, Owen, had the opportunity to ride in a fire truck although the ride was similar to a bucking bronco. One of the balls got loose from ball city and made my son's day. Cole and Seth are posing outside Mouse Jaw restaurant, and although I don't like picture poses, they both look rather cute. The eighth picture shows how my family will continue to help the dental industry. My wife and Owen are wrestling over a cookie in the next two pictures. One should never interfere with my wife's love of cookies. In the next picture, Owen is playing with a mini etch a sketch, but likes putting everything in his mouth more than actually drawing. My son Cole proudly displays his pumpkin carving skills. The thirteenth picture shows my young artists after completion of yet another project. The last two pictures shows the culinary side of Cole. He helped his mother bake Halloween cookies, and they turned out nicely.
The purpose of my picture is obviously for personal use, and hopefully represents some of the fun my family had over the extended weekend.