As part of an effort to better inform the education technology community, the Office of Educational Technology for the U.S. Department of Education has started a blog, The Ed-Tekker. They are posting a collection of national and local news stories and updates related to educational technology — every day, Monday-Friday. Please feel free to use this as a resource and as a way to share information with your friends and colleagues.
Interested in purchasing a laptop computer or desktop computer for yourself? If so, you can take advantage of the special pricing SAISD has negotiated on your behalf. Unfortunately, while the information cannot be shared on the Web under purchasing guidelines, you are invited to contact the Office of Instructional Technology at 210-527-1400 or via email. We will be happy to email you instructions or share the web site address over the phone.
Wondering at what free software is available for home use? While there are many free programs available for use on your home computer, did you know that you can use programs like MS Office Suite, Inspiration/Kidspiration under a work at home license? To find out more, please contact the Office for Instructional Technology at 210-527-1400.
A few changes have been made to the Campus Technology Representative (CTR) Data Center. CTRs now have the ability to update CIC information for their campus, much in the same way they update other data. This makes CIC information easily accessible in electronic format via the Web. This data is available online under the CTR Data Center link at:
Specifically, a list of CICs can be found online at:
http://lms.saisd.net/sql/cat/login/results_cic.php
Other information, such as the equipment survey (a.k.a. Campus Access Survey) and Principal list, etc. can be found online. Please make the time to keep this information current so that we can keep you up to date on new initiatives and plans.
Visit the Campus
Technology Representatives (CTR) Data Center now.
Read the latest eNews from Instructional Technology? You can now read about the following topics:
San Antonio Independent School District has 1,400 Palm handheld computers. At a cost of $250–$350 each, they are deployed in classrooms servicing 3- to 4-year-old children, as well as grades K–3. In addition to handhelds being used for student assessment, assistant principals use handhelds as personal data assistants.
The San Antonio Independent School District has more than 5,000 professional staff members who service more than 90 campuses districtwide. The Technology Competency Certification Plan (TCCP) was devised to provide staff members with a recommended path for professional development. TCCP provides a progression of courses based on core content subject areas, creating a natural flow of staff development opportunities designed to enrich classroom teaching and learning.
Read more about the Technology Competency Certification Plan.
The Technology Assessment Literacy Institute transforms how administrative and instructional campus leadership teams approach the use of technology in schools. This multi-hour institute addressed how to assess the level of technology implementation and to use the language of the Texas StaR Chart to plan future growth. Read more about the Technology Assessment Literacy Institute.
Read more about the Technology Assessment Literacy Institute.
If you’re familiar with graphic organizers, then you know how powerful they can be. Although San Antonio ISD currently uses Kidspiration (grades K-3) and Inspiration (grades 4-8), Instructional Technology is considering an initiative that will launch Cmap Tools for use at High School. And, of course, you have the right to share the Cmap Tools software with students for home use. You can download or get the software online for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems.
You can also find tutorials online in both English and Spanish.
From 8:30 until 3:00 PM, on Saturday, June 4, 2005, summer school Gifted and Talented teachers gathered at San Antonio ISD’s Instructional Technology’s offices to learn how to build robots. But that’s not really what a full-day of training was about. Practicing a constructivist approach, Jerram Froese (TCEA and also from Irving ISD) introduced robotics to San Antonio ISD. As we know, an explicit goal of inquiry learning is to put students in the driver’s seat. This type of approach allows them to consider valid, sometimes competing solutions or hypotheses (Fleming, 1999). This article presents how robotics can serve as a trojan horse to introduce technology-enhanced, inquiry learning within science and math curriculum.
Interested in blogging in the classroom or using blog tools to enhance classroom activities? TCEA TechEdge Columnist Wes Fryer and I have chatted several times about blogging and he’s doing some interesting things with a university class. Wes wrote an article on blogging that is available online. You can also find other TCEA Conference Blogging Resources online.
You can also find articles in different magazines. There’s one in THE Journal for February, 2004 by . They mention 4 benefits including:
1) The use of blogs helps students become subject-matter experts. They mention a three step process–a) scouring; b) filtering; c) posting.
2) The use of blogs increases student interest and ownership in learning.
3) The use of blogs gives students legitimate chances to participate.
4) The use of blogs provides opportunities for diverse perspectives, both within and outside the classroom.
The article also mentions that “knowledge construction is discursive, relational and conversational in nature. As students appropriate and transform knowledge, they must have authentic opportunities for publication of knowledge.” This last piece is key for me. As a writer, publishing my work is what motivates me in part to write…it motivates me even if I don’t get paid for it (believe it or not, the excitement is still there even after years). But, that’s not the only motivation. The other is being to easily share my understanding of situations, to hear my voice in a way that it can’t be heard when I speak aloud. It’s that kind of journal type writing that gets me excited and makes me want to write.
As such, just like THE JOURNAL articles states, blogging gives me–as well as students–full control and ownership over online content…and it does so in a way that is easy to manage.
Some practical suggestions to blogging that come from the article include:
1) Consider blogging yourself. I have followed this advice and, since I don’t want to setup a server at home to blog from, I use a cross-platform, free software program called Thingamablog. It’s free and works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. It works well and I carry it on my pen drive/thumbdrive so that I can easily blog from any computer I’m at…and I don’t have to worry about changing formats because Thingamablog is a Java Applet. You can get Thingamablog online.
Wes Fryer, TCEA TechEdge columnist, shares about other blogging tools you can use.
2) Spend time visiting other classroom blogs. Once again, you might check out the work of David Warlick’s BlogMeister at the Landmark Project.
3) Model blogging for your students. This also involves setting rules, etc.While I can’t say I’ve done this yet, here’s some additional resources.
Two other recommendations mentioned include making the blogs more public and explaining the “reach” of blogs to students.
Something the article doesn’t address to my satisfaction is how blogging fits into the writing process. However, at this point, what makes blogging so attractive is that it fits into the idea of journaling, reflecting on your writing, and those pieces.
POLICY ISSUES
On student pages hosted by the District, the blogs have to conform to district policies…they’re still web pages created in response to an assignment or project. In the case of a blogging tool external to the District, I would move to restrict student access to it. I would want them to work within an environment under control by the School District. This would eliminate the District-independent copyright and inappropriate issues that might arise.
TECHNICAL SIDE OF BLOGS IN DISTRICTS
You have several choices…one is to set up an FTP server with FTP accounts for students to use, then give them ThingamaBlog. Blogs databases in Thingamablog are fairly small and would easily fit on a diskette, CD-RW, ZIP, or whatever you use. Students could take them home if they have home access.
Another approach is to set up blogging software along the lines of WordPress on a district/campus server and use that. That’s another alternative. Greg Rodriguez (grodriguez4@saisd.net) is actually doing that in SAISD, and are in the process of doing that with one campus. Although this blog is one example, you can also see a different one at http://lms.saisd.net/sql/blogfolio/
Staples, A., Pugach, M.C., & Himes, D. (Spring, 2005). Rethinking the technology integration challenge: Cases from the three urban elementary schools. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. Vol.37, Number 3, pgs. 285-312.
Findings:
* Teachers and schools adhering to constructivist orientations seemed to reap the benefits of tech quickly. One example (Wenglinsky (1998) in a large-scale study, found that students who used computers in constructivist ways to learn mathematics (e.g. using simulations and spreadsheets) scored significantly higher on math achievement assessments than student whose exposure was to computer-based drill and practice programs. These simulations and spreadsheets enabled students to relate information to real life and solve problems logically.
* Even though Hativa (1988), ina meta-analysis of the use of computer-based drill-and-practice in arithmetic, determined that it was widening the gap between high and low achieving students, teachers continue to use technology as a drill-and-practice remediation tool, particularly with students of color.
* Researchers have noted that teachers in poorer schools utilize technology to reinforce basic skills, rather than to support higher-order thinking.
The influence of principals’ technology training on the integration of technology into schools Christella Dawson, Glenda C Rakes. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. Eugene: Fall 2003.Vol.36, Iss. 1; pg. 29
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether technology training received by principals influences the integration of technology into classrooms. The study examined the levels of technology integration into the schools’ curricula with regard to the amounts and types of technology training received by K-12 school principals. The level of technology integration was also examined with regard to the following demographics: age, sex, principal’s years of administrative experience, school size, and grade level. Statistical significance was found for amounts and types of technology training principals received, indicating that each can influence levels of integration into a school’s curricula. Data showed the age of the principal also influences technology integration into the curriculum.
Findings
Many of the principals who participated in the study appear to have moved beyond the need for workshops that focus on technology fundamentals. Because those principals have progressed in their understanding of technology, technology trainers should turn their attention to creating training opportunities that provide advanced and ongoing assistance to them, thus providing the strategies and procedures that will help them become better technology leaders in their schools.
As principals become more adept at guiding technology integration, more efficient and effective technology use should become prevalent in schools. The principals’ increased knowledge of the benefits and uses of technology should lead to more support of teachers’ attempts to infuse technology into the teaching and learning model. The principals’ improved technology skills should lead to increased use of technology tools, thereby producing principals who are models of technology use.
The findings showed that schools led by principals who received training that focused on curriculum-specific technology and those who received training that was specific to their individual needs had higher levels of technology integration than other schools.The findings showed that schools led by principals who received training that focused on curriculum-specific technology and those who received training that was specific to their individual needs had higher levels of technology integration than other schools.
From these findings, it may be concluded that the more sustained the principal’s training experiences and the more those experiences are tied to the school’s curriculum and to the principal’s needs, the more progress the school is likely to make toward technology integration. The data confirmed that the principal’s involvement in infusing technology into the school is indispensable. It appears that the more training they receive, the more integrated into the schools technology becomes.
It is important that superintendents recognize the influence principals have on the use of technology in their schools, and encourage principals to become directly involved with technology initiatives. Superintendents should encourage principals to take risks and to share technological innovations that improve learning outcomes with their peers.
The Library of Congress has revamped its web site for adults and children. The relaunched site highlights several of the library’s offerings, including its extensive poetry collection, Web casts of speeches, lectures and readings and information about American folklife. It also includes a site that is appropriate for children younger than 13.
Visit the Library of Congress site.
Visit the Site for Children Younger than 13.
The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (ENC) will be closed this Fall, 2005. Future access to the ENC will be fee-based with schools required to cover the cost. The ENC identifies effective curriculum resources, creates high quality professional development materials, and disseminates useful information and products to improve K-12 mathematics and science teaching and learning. Through its web site, the ENC has developed a database of more than 27,000 K-12 math and science product and web site reviews.
Source: eSchool News (June, 2005).
Visit the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (ENC).
Over the last few days, we’ve received a few phone calls/emails about the following issue that has just been publicized to staff.
The District has received numerous emails stating the following:
* Your password has been updated
* Your password has been successfully updated
* You have successfully updated your password
* Your new account password is approved
* Your Account is Suspended
* *DETECTED* Online User Violation
* Your Account is Suspended For Security Reasons
* Warning Message: Your services near to be closed.
* Important Notification
* Members Support
* Security measures
* Email Account Suspension
* Notice of account limitation
The message closes with ??The SAISD Support Team? at the bottom of the message. This email message is part of a virus. The virus was removed from the message, but the text portion of the message still passed through the SAISD firewalls.
If there had been a problem with your account, the Technology Office would have asked you to contact the Helpdesk for details. It is not our policy to change passwords without user consent. If your email account needs to be suspended for security reasons, we would notify you as to why and then suspend your email account. We would then issue you a new one once the problem was corrected.
If you have any messages similar to those listed above do not open the attachment. Simply delete the email message and empty your Deleted Items folder in MS Outlook. If you have a questionable email that you would like us to look at, or you have any other questions concerning this email contact the Helpdesk at 281-9090 or forward the email to helpdesk@saisd.net. Thank you for your understanding.
Excerpt from the RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators:
So, just what is RSS and how can it be used in education? Depending on who you talk to, RSS stands for Rich Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication. Either way, RSS is a real important technology that information specialists and educators would be well advised to harness sooner rather than later. In simple terms, Weblogs (and an ever-growing number of other sites) generate a behind-the-scenes code in a language similar to HTML called XML. This code, usually referred to as a “feed” (as in “news feed,”) makes it possible for readers to “subscribe” to the content that is created on a particular Weblog so they no longer have to visit the blog itself to get it. As is true with traditional syndication, the content comes to you instead of you going to get it, hence ??Real Simple Syndication.?
For instance, say you??re a political science teacher and you’ve found 20 or 30 Weblog and media sites on the Internet that are consistently publishing interesting and relevant information for you and your students. Finding the time to click through to those sites and keep abreast of any new information on a regular basis would be nearly impossible. But what if you only had to go to one place to read all of the new content on all of those sites? Wouldn’t be so difficult, would it? Well, that’s exactly what RSS feeds allows you to do by using a type of software called an “aggregator” or feed collector. The aggregator checks the feeds you subscribe to, usually every hour, and it collects all the new content from those sites you are subscribed to. Then, when you??re ready,
you open up your aggregator to read the individual stories, file them for later use, click through to the site itself, or delete them if they??re not relevant. In other words, you check one site instead of 30?not a bad tradeoff for a typically harried teacher.
Read the RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators
Source for this entry: Weblogg-ed- The Read/Write Web in the Classroom
Wondering about what grants are available for Technology & Learning? Visit the Technology and Learning web site to search their grant database.
Visit Grants & Contests database
This was the question Dr. Chris Moersch posed to an impromptu meeting of associate area superintendents, and/or their designees, on Tuesday, May 3rd. In response to this question, the following recommendations were made.
Advanced Academic Services and Instructional Technology Services have teamed together to develop an extension of the GT Summer School Math and Science curriculum to include Robotics. Students involved in this program are utilizing Lego Robotics Educational Kits to create programmable robots to complete specified missions or tasks. Tasks associated with mission will include traveling a specified distance, taking light reading samples, and tracking terrain changes and alterations.
The National Education Technology Plan recommends the following: 1) Improve the preparation of new teachers in the use of technology; 2) Ensure that every teacher has the opportunity to take online learning courses; 3) Improve the quality and consistency of teacher education through measurement, accountability, and increased technology resources; and 4) Ensure that every teacher knows how to use data to personalize instruction.
Budgets, however, do not reflect the standard–25 to 30 percent of technology dollars–required for spending on professional development. According to the MDR Report The Impact of No Child Left Behind, when leaders were asked about the areas in which they feel their teachers need the most training over the next year or two, technology integration came in fourth behind “assessment,” “dealing with diverse student populations,” and “teaching methods.”
Source: Fletcher, G. (June, 2005). Why aren’t dollars following need? The need for professional development is enormous and expressed; the question is, where’s the money? T.H.E. Journal. p.4
Pearson Educational Measurement was awarded a $275 million contract. The purpose of the contract–which runs over 5 years–includes managing all aspects of the Texas assessment program, including item development, test construction, research and psychometrics, test administration of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), Spanish TAKS, Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) for English Language Learners, State Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA), and online testing and reporting, among other components.
A fundamental question for everyone involved in education ?? administrators, teachers, parents, and students ?? in this time of rapid change is, “What do students really need to be learning today in order to be ready for an unpredictable future?”
Accessing information in an increasingly digital and networked world requires a range of skills of which decoding text is only a small part. Basic skills for today’s students include the following:
1. Finding information: Locating relevant information not only from a local library or newsstand, but also from the Internet. Literacy includes the ability to identify needed information, use Web searching tools to find it, and employ research strategies that expose the best information.
2. Decoding information: Beyond decoding text, literacy requires reading deeply for meaning in multimedia content.
3. Evaluating information: It is critical that students learn to evaluate the information they encounter, and also identify its value in terms of their goals.
4. Organizing information into personal digital libraries: A key strategy for handling the overwhelming amount of information available to us is the construction and cultivation of personal digital libraries. When we create and organize information that is relevant to our ongoing interests and goals, then we can handily find answers to our questions.
Samsung is giving away $200,000 in computer materials & software to 100 schools whose students submit winning essays on “How will the growing use of technology in the classroom benefit students in the future?” Another 100 schools will win
$20,000 in materials. Deadline is July 1.
Campus Instructional Technologists–Maria Christina Prado (Madison ES) and Jill Gernentz (Collins Garden ES) helped judge the Robotics Competition held today, 06/24/2005. While you can find out more information about the Robotics Summer School online, you can hear some quick digital audio interviews below:
Listen to Jim Baldoni, Technology Integration Coordinator.
Interview with Robotics Summer School Teacher
Listen to Christina Prado share about Robotics experiences.
View Photo of Greg Rodriguez, official Judge for the Robotics Competition at Miller ES and Pershing ES. Claude Ascolese also dressed up as a referee at Brewer and W.W. White campuses.
On Friday, June 24th, the reviewjournal.com posted an article asserting the following:
Candidates from institutions in Texas and Connecticut were chosen as the new regional superintendents for the East and Southwest regions Thursday at the Clark County School Board meeting.
Robert Alfaro was chosen as the East regional superintendent… “We’re very fortunate to be able to attract the caliber of high-level administrators as these….” said Agustin Orci, the district’s deputy superintendent of curriculum. Orci said that Alfaro will start his position on July 1
Note that Clark County Schools are located in Las Vegas.
The following are Miguel Guhlin’s notes on AVID Conference 2005 that took place in Austin, Tx during the week of June 26th. Participants from all around San Antonio ISD, but primarily grades 6-12 as well as 5 members of Instructional Technology Services and members from Advanced Academic Services participated. These notes, photos, and video clips are provided for San Antonio ISD members and others who might benefit from them. An update will be posted for each day for the purposes of sharing what was learned with others, as well as modelling “blogging” and “podcasting,” two new innovative ways to use technology in teaching and learning environments.
Advanced Academic Services and Instructional Technology are working together to expand the AVID Strategies in use in SAISD schools. Ed Gordon, teacher specialist for Advanced Academic Services, shares a few thoughts on the AVID Conference (listen to his words from the Conference floor).
The purpose of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program is to restructure the teaching methods of an entire school and to open access to the curricula that will ensure four-year college eligibility to almost all students.
When you consider the message of books such as The World is Flat, which discusses the effects of globalization at a rate unimagined previously and the necessity to prepare students to compete with workers in India, China, and other countries, it’s clear that the AVID’s purpose is more than just about college eligibility. It is about transforming how we approach teaching and learning to ensure our survival as a nation. And, transformation is exactly what Instructional Technology is about.
On Sunday, SAISD staff discussed the purpose of the AVID Site Team at each campus, and what kind of plan to move the campus towards full implementation of AVID. Here’s a few quick “stream of consciousness” type reflections:
Listen: Miguel Guhlin on AVID and Inquiry Learning Connection
Listen: Miguel on Similarities of Problem-Based Learning and AVID Strategies
The following are Miguel Guhlin’s notes on AVID Conference 2005 that took place in Austin, Tx during the week of June 26th. Participants from all around San Antonio ISD, but primarily grades 6-12 as well as 5 members of Instructional Technology Services and members from Advanced Academic Services participated. These notes, photos, and video clips are provided for San Antonio ISD members and others who might benefit from them. An update will be posted for each day for the purposes of sharing what was learned with others, as well as modelling “blogging” and “podcasting,” two new innovative ways to use technology in teaching and learning environments.
Today, we began learning the Socratic Seminar approach. Included are also pictures of the work created. The conference is organized in the following way:
In the morning, you spend time in your particular strand working with folks from all around the nation (world, in some cases). The strand we’re in focuses on Socratic Seminar. In the afternoon, SAISD teachers meet together to develop a campus-specific plan.
BACKGROUND OF SOCRATIC SEMINAR
“Let us examine this question together, my friend, and if you can contradict anything that I say, do so, and I shall be persuaded.”
Socratic Seminar serves as a way to introduce inquiry learning into the classroom. Inquiry immediately engages students with thinking processes. The results, write Socratic Seminar participants, is to enable “student ownership for enlarged understanding of concepts and values.” Some of the basic tenets include the following:
1) Participants begin the learning groups with questions.
2) Participants engage in all levels of critical thinking, from recall of knowledge to evaluation.
3) Participants pursue understanding with mutual respect and civility, mindful of each other’s dignity.
4) Participants are willing to be persuaded by arguments or evidence more powerful than their own and to change their minds in light of fresh insights.
QUESTION DEVELOPMENT
In considering development of questions, Costa’s Model of Intellectual Functioning is considered, as is Bloom’s Taxonomy. Socratic Seminar suggests development of questions at 3 different levels, including the following:
Level 1: questions focus on gathering and recalling information
Appropriate verbs: defining, describing, identifying, listing, naming, observing, reciting, scanning.
Level 2: questions focus on making sense of gathered information.
Verbs: analyzing, comparing, contrasting, grouping, inferring, sequencing, synthesizing
Level 3: questions focus on applying and evaluating information.
Verbs: applying a principle, evaluating, hypothesizing, imagining, judging, predicting, speculating
The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it–at no matter what risk.
–James Baldwin, “A Talk to Teachers”
SOCRATIC SEMINAR
The purpose of this session is for participants to understand, practice and train others in the effective use of Socratic Seminar Instructional techniques. Our presenter was Ellen McCollum from San Diego, California. She introduced us to the “circle” which characterizes Socratic Seminar on Day 1, but first gave us some background and warm-up activities. This is a rough outline of what occurred:
1) After brief introductions (listen to them here; audio quality isn’t that great but gives you the flavor of meeting people for the first time) from folks all over the United States, with these directions in mind, we created Venn diagrams–in groups of 4-5 adults–about the differences between dialogue and debate (listen to one of the presentations).
Venn Diagrams created: Example 1 | 2 | 3
2) The facilitator established ground rules for behavior in the class; these were called “norms.” They included a wide variety of items. As we discussed these whole group, someone wrote them down on a white sheet of paper and we agreed to adhere to them while we were together.
2) After agreeing to ground rules, she gave us an article to read by Mortimer Adler. The title of the article was Democracy and Education. We sat in a large circle and we each stated a question we had about the article. This was difficult, especially if you were at the end since most folks honed in on particular questions. Some of the key points of the article included the following:
-All children are educable, not just trainable for jobs.
-Universal suffrage and universal schooling are necessary to one another. The first without the other means failure.
-Success in schools must be defined as same quality of schooling for all, as opposed to same quantity of schooling for all.
-”The best education for the best is the best education for all.” (Robert M. Hutchins)
There were many questions about this article, some of them quite profound. Ellen, as facilitator, had everyone share their specific question, then focused in on one question. She really didn’t have a good explanation of WHY she chose that particular question and has later explained it as, “Whatever works for you.”
The resulting discussion took us in many directions and “broke the ice,” so to speak, about the idea of Socratic Seminar. We broke for lunch with a homework assignment.
The following are Miguel Guhlin’s notes on AVID Conference 2005 that took place in Austin, Tx during the week of June 26th. Participants from all around San Antonio ISD, but primarily grades 6-12 as well as 5 members of Instructional Technology Services and members from Advanced Academic Services participated. These notes, photos, and video clips are provided for San Antonio ISD members and others who might benefit from them. An update will be posted for each day for the purposes of sharing what was learned with others, as well as modelling “blogging” and “podcasting,” two new innovative ways to use technology in teaching and learning environments.
Building on introduction to Socratic Seminar, we were shown a variety of small group activities for tutorial sessions prior to actually beginning a Socratic Seminar. We also engaged in Socratic Seminar and everyone had the chance to participate in both the “inner” and “outer” circle.
PRIOR TO SOCRATIC SEMINAR: TUTORIAL SESSIONS
For homework, we read an article. After reading the article, we came in Tuesday. In an activity meant to introduce us to various tutorial sessions, the facilitator assigned different activities to each small group. Some of these activities included the following with these directions (note that you can view the actual example when it is available underneath each explanation; some items include short video clips):
1-Venn Diagram: Compare/contrast two characters from the text.
Example not available.
2-Cluster Activity: Select one representative word from the text and put it in the center of the page. Students brainstorm what they have learned in the article/story in regards to the word.
View Photo Example
3-T-Graph: Divide the paper into two parts with a large “T”. On the right side of the paper, the teacher presents a preselected list of five or six quotes directly from the story. Label this side as “Quotes”. On the the left-hand side of the T, students write down their collaboratively decided meaning of the quote and its importance to the story. This side is labelled “Interpretation.”
View Photo Example and Video Clip (13 megs)
4-PMI Chart: Students collaboratively list ideas/issues/values from the story that they found to be a “Plus” to the story, those that they found to be a “Minus” in the story and those that were simply “Interesting” from the text.
View Photo Example
5-Vocabulary Collection: Students search for new vocabulary or words to display on a five-pointed star that has been labelled for them. The labels may include the “5 Ws” or five separate categories such as People, Things, Feelings, Places, and Interesting Words.
View Photo Example
SOCRATIC SEMINAR
The idea of Socratic Seminar, with an inner group of students discussing a particular item and an outer group watching their respective inner group participant, seems a bit impossible at first. Yet, once you are placed in the inner circle, it is an engaging experience. Here’s a quick overview of the process:
1) Arrange the classroom into two circles of chairs. You can see that the organization of the chairs isn’t brain surgery from this quick photo. Class is divided into two groups. The first group forms the inner circle. The second group forms the outer circle.
2) The inner circle members directions are pretty straightforward. We are handed a piece of paper and asked to jot down some notes, questions we might have regarding the article/story we read for class. We will share one of the questions or statements we have written with the whole group.
One interesting technique was to leave an empty chair in the inner circle. This chair could be used as a “hot seat” or a “guest” chair, allowing outer circle members to offer a statement or pose a question. Yet, they could only make the statement or ask a question once, then they were required to return to the outer circle.
Outer circle members are also given another instruction: watch a specific partner and complete the following tally sheet (items shown below) for them. The purpose of this is to keep them engaged and listening. I found this to be particularly true since it enabled me to focus on one person, even as I listened to the discussion. Trying to keep track of others in the group would have been more difficult.
Observation Form: Inner-outer Discussion Circle
Your Name:
Partner’s Name:
Directions: Each time your partner does one of the following, put a check in the box:SPEAKS IN THE DISCUSSION
LOOKS AT PERSON WHO IS SPEAKING
REFERS TO THE TEXT
ASKS A QUESTION
RESPONDS TO ANOTHER SPEAKER
INTERRUPTS ANOTHER SPEAKER
ENGAGES IN SIDE CONVERSATIONSAFTER DISCUSSION: What is the most interesting thing your partner said?
AFTER DISCUSSION: What would you like to have said in the discussion?
Apparently, these individual pages–whether for inner/outer circle–can also be collected for grading purposes.
3) After everyone in both circles knows their job, each inner circle member shares their question/statement. The facilitator then asks one of the individual to elaborate on what they said. Again, the choice is up to the facilitator as to who to start with. And, then, the discussion begins.
4) After a specified time, the facilitator ends the discussion. She then invites the outer circle to provide feedback to the particular inner circle member they were partnered with. The facilitator is sure to cut short any feedback that does not specifically to the Observation Form.
5) Inner Circle members are also asked to complete a post-Socratic Seminar Reflection, which essentially summarizes the discussion that took place.
To quickly review then, the whole process is as follows:
A) PreSeminar Activities to prepare students for the discussion
B) Socratic Observation/Discussion
C) Post-Socratic Seminar Reflection
The following are Miguel Guhlin’s notes on AVID Conference 2005 that took place in Austin, Tx during the week of June 26th. Participants from all around San Antonio ISD, but primarily grades 6-12 as well as 5 members of Instructional Technology Services and members from Advanced Academic Services participated. These notes, photos, and video clips are provided for San Antonio ISD members and others who might benefit from them. An update will be posted for each day for the purposes of sharing what was learned with others, as well as modelling “blogging” and “podcasting,” two new innovative ways to use technology in teaching and learning environments.
Today, we had the opportunity to practice Socratic Seminar. The facilitator split the whole group into smaller groups that each analyzed a news article or poem. In my group, we analyzed Maya Angelou’s Poem on the Inaugural Address, On the Pulse of the Morning. Here’s a quick picture of the work we were about.
The assembled AVID Conference teachers (divided into two different rooms to listen to the keynote speaker, Mary Catherine Swanson) heard something like the following. Please note that these notes are not complete but they were the best I could do with pad and pencil. You can also listen to this audio clip (43 megs) of the presentation, although the quality is not good.
Mary Catherine Swanson, Founder of AVID, Keynote Address
Twenty-five years ago, I never envisioned what lay ahead. I started with 32 students, bused into the suburbs. Communities that were filled with abandoned buildings. All I knew was that we were embarking on a journey that would change the course of history. Although those 32 students and I didn’t plan to impact education, we did. Those we touch…have profoundly different lives. This has been our calling, our journey. It must never end…our calling must be to make education more than an accident. To make the expectation of a systematic education the rule for students in all our schools.
It takes courage to stare down the soft bigotry that bubbles beneath the surface. At its core, AVID is all about self-discovery when talents that have long lain dormant are revealed. When we encounter adversity…we need look to our students and recall their courage and conviction on display. If our students have this courage and determination, then, so must we as educators. It is our calling. According to Confuscian philosophy, it is the mark of a golden era when children are the most important and teaching is the most esteemed profession. Something deep within that moves us to do what is right and we should not claim to be teachers if we do less.
Dedicated to the promise of schools as dedicated, democratic institutions…a significant portion of the population is relegated, dismissed as low performers. Only 1 of 17 in USA can ever expect to earn a Bachelor’s degree. From rich families, those statistics change to 1 of 2 will earn a degree. Institutional change, bureacracy, turf battles, complacency…those impediments still exist. Should we despair, ignore our historic calling?
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –Frederick Douglass
Power concedes nothing without demand–never has, never will. As we seek the courage to overcome, we must remember our students. We now face a critical juncture. We can change the course of history. Those who define the issues also determine the outcome. Challenging age-old beliefs with rigor and support, we can change…that will rattle ingrained systems…a “quiet revolution.” Each of you, small and large has the power to change course of education. Four factors influence student success–income level, family life, education, and the community they grow up in… we have proved that students don’t have to be determined by these factors.
Changing the course of history by design…like our students, we have made the journey. We now have historic goals within our reach. For 25 years, students have risen to the challenge having the individual desire to succeed.
Some quotes from AVID Student Successes:
“America represented to us the door to opportunity.” –Maximo Escobedo
On reflecting on the horrors she witnessed each day, from drugs to stabbings and killings, Precious Jackson stated, “I never complained because I had eyes to see another day. Education became my key to success. In AVID, I was able to make sense of every class. AVID teachers are trained to be human first. it prepared me for college and got me through college. We have a moral responsibility to provide they very best for our students. They turn to us, they believe in us.”
After the keynote address, everyone met upstairs for the afternoon SAISD session. While we were waiting, some teachers were locked outside of the Hilton as Jim Baldoni and Greg Rodriguez tried to help them on a balcony. It took about 20 minutes before they could get back in.
PHOTOS AND AUDIO INTERVIEWS
1-Carol Frausto: View Photo or Listen to Audio Interview
2-Ed Gordon: View Photo or Listen to Audio Interview
3-Fox Tech HS Math Teachers: View Photo or Listen to Audio Interview
4-Pamela Slaughter on AVID ESL Professional Development Strand: View Photo or Listen to Audio Interview
5-New Ideas for Invigorating the AVID Program in SAISD: View Photo or Listen to Audio Interview
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